nyanko~sensei/madara from the natsume yuujinchou series. Images all from zerochan.  ,  so I’ll make this short.  ,Quite busy watching sayonara zetsubo sensei series again, so anyone who disturbs my slumber will be…

nah, just kidding. Hope you like it :3

To install, refer here

Download here

Since I haven’t finished any series in awhile, although I’m super close to finishing one or two on this list. I decided that in order to keep up the impression that this blog is semi-reliable in terms of posting, I’ll post these update things on what I’m currently watching…just for fun basically.

Now, as for watch I’m watching, I’m actually watching/keeping up with quite a few things, a lot of them airing which pleases me immensely. The reason behind this being that I usually keep up with airing series until about the mid-way point at which point I tend to become lazy and push it off until it’s finished airing and is now sadly sitting on my “Watching” list, taunting me. This season though, I’ve been pretty good about keeping up with my chosen weekly series (I say chosen because I actually wanted to watch a crap ton more stuff that was airing this season, but was smart and only got myself addicted to a select few.). Although, I’m sad to say, that I did end up giving up a bit on Kuro no Baske and Sankarea, both of which I plan to get my butt started on again…soon…

Anywho, for those who care, here’s what I’m currently watching:

Bakuman Season 1: This is one of the series that I’m really close to finishing. I have about seven episodes left….okay  so maybe I’m a little farther away that “really close”…Let me say this about this show though: The OP is one of my favorite songs. Seriously, I really love this song; it’s one of the reasons look forward to each episode. Sad, I know. However, the OP is like a minute something of this show. Now, I like this show a lot because of the determination of the main characters to accomplish their dream which is really inspiring and learning about the manga industry, but it can get so boring at times. The pacing and overall tone of this show is pretty slow and calm with not a whole lot going on, so sometimes I just get bored. However, I’m going to try my hardest to finish it soon so that I can talk about all the stuff I really liked about the show and what I didn’t like as much.

Natsume Yuujinchou: I’m actually re-watching this because I really want to watch the latest season which I read was awesome. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it since nothing much has changed since I first watched it, so I have no new and amazing feelings about it…other than, I guess, getting a little more out of the stories that I originally did. I love the art, the ED is freaking amazing and one of my favorite songs of all time, I love Natsume, and this show is a whole bottle of awesome sauce. ‘Nuff said…until later, I suppose.

Tsuritama: This was actually my second surprise show out of what I’m watching. I didn’t expcept to like it as much I do. Now this show is also really slow, but unlike Bakuman, I a) have a week break in-between every episode which is actually sometimes really frustrating at times, especially now, near the end and b) I dislike next to nothing about this show. It’s not perfection, but this is an adorable little show. Although I love how its moving out of the slice-of-life aspects and going into the more series stuff as we get into the homestrech. I’m super excited to see how it ends, although I have the feeling that it’s going to be a bittersweet one (*coughHarucough*).

Sakamichi no Apollon: I knew I was going to love this show from the start. Now let me say this here: I have never watched Cowboy Bebop, so I wasn’t all hyped up because I was expecting the same level of greatness from the power duo Yoko Kano and Shinichiro Watanabe (although I have watched Samurai Champloo which I enjoyed immensly, although I’ve only realized relatively recently who directed it). In fact, I typically don’t really care who is directing/producing/etc. I only usually care about the production studio because I kind of understand those. I just don’t understand what any of those people do..Although I’m now starting to pay attention to stuff like that.

Now that my little random rant is over, back to Sakamichi. This show is amazing. Really if you don’t believe me, go out there and read about it only other, better known blogs, and I bet you that for most of them love it or at least admit that it’s really well done. The animation style may take some getting used to depending on the person, but it is really stunning and I wish more stuff was animated this beautifully. After reading about how the playing of the instruments in this show was really realistic, I watched really closely, and it truly is amazing how smooth the animation is with regards to the music. Speaking of which, the music, one of the stars of the show, is fantastic, and the characters, the other star, are extremely loveable and you can’t help but root for them. I think the romance in this show is well handled as well. Most of the issues are addressed really early on, and although they seem to be resurfacing a bit with some new ones in tow, a couple has been tentatively formed, and there will probably be some future development in the love triangle.

Uchuu Kyoudai: This is my surprise series out of what I’m watching. I actually wasn’t planning to watch this because the story didn’t particularly interest me and I wasn’t a big fan of the animation. However, I kept reading really good things about it so I decided to try it…and I love it. (I seem to say that about a lot of series…). The animation style has grown on me to the point where I actually like it a lot because the character designs aren’t very cute, but fit their characters really well. Also, it is really easy to fall in love with Mutta because of his humor/silliness and his determination.

I have just gotten past the first part of the astronaut examinations which were really interesting to watch because I found the selection process to be really cool in the sense that I know absolutely nothing about the process, so it was interesting to see what the candidates were tested on. I’m really excited to see more of Mutta’s adventures in America and continue to learn more about him through his past, which helps fuel his dreams. I’m also excited to see more of Hibito now that the part of the story I’m at includes him more. Now, for those of you who are actively keeping up with this show, you might have noticed I’m a bit behind, and it’s true, I am behind, but I don’t mind. I want to take this show slowly and at a pace I know I’ll be able to keep up because I think this is supposed to up being quite long and I want to be able to see it through to the end.

Eureka Seven AO: First, let me tell you that I am a huge fan of Eureka Seven. Yes, Renton was an annoying brat at the start, Holland was a bit of an ass, the middle was chock full of drama and angst, and the story near the end was a bit hard to follow, but I remember loving this show immensly while I was watching it. I thought the romance was sweet even if it did take forever to develop and I liked the cast, for the most part, at the end. I also think that the drama provided a lot of development for both Renton and Eureka and allowed Renton to grow up a lot.

Back to its pleasing sequel. I’ll admit I had a few qualms about this show going in because its been quite a while since the original aired, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about this mysterious child popping up out of nowhere with no Eureka or Renton in sight (I’m still mildly upset about that, but that’s because I thought they were cute). However, I think that Eureka Seven Ao has been doing a really good job so far. Ao is, I have to admit, slightly more likeable than Renton was when he was introduced. He is really portrayed as a kid who is a little lost,, but is determined to face things head on, despite any risks. This show has the same feel as its predecessor which makes me happy. It has some really interesting things to build on in latter episodes which makes me excited for future episodes. On the other hand, I don’t quite understand the villain (maybe I’m not supposed to yet?) and the political tensions are a bit hard to completely grasp for me. Though, I’m sure these things don’t matter much in the scheme of things because I’ll probably get a better grasp on them as the story goes on. Did I mention how much I love that preview music? It’s so catchy….

UN-GO: I have literally just started this. This is one of those series I wanted to watch while it was airing, but was too lazy to. I’m actually pretty proud of myself because I was able to guess the culprit in the first mystery, although the reasons behind the act were…unexpected, I suppose I could say. Because I’m a spoiler whore, I loosely kept up with blog posts about this show  while it was airing and know that there is a definite undertone dealing with the various effects of the recent war on various people and the society as a whole, which I think is really interesting. I could definitely see that in the first episode. I have to say, I have pretty high expectations for this show because I love BONES and they tend to churn out some really good stuff. However, the one thing I suppose I don’t like as much about the show is how much talking there is. Maybe it was just the first episode and maybe I’m just a slow reader, but I found it a tad difficult to keep up with what all the characters were saying. It felt like the moment I finished processing something or reading the lines then looking at the title of the person who said them, there was already some other quickly spoken piece of dialogue going on. This isn’t  a major thing for me because I suspect this may just be an issue for me, and I’m sure that I”ll get used to it pretty quickly. Anyways, I’m looking forward to seeking  what this show has in store.

Bokura Ga Ita: Now this is the series I am almost done with. I have like five episodes left. Let me say this now: I already know I’m going to be unsatisfied with the ending at the rate things are going. I know the basics of the story, I know how the manga ends, and how long the characters took to get to that ending, so I’m sure that I’m going to be emotionally let down by the ending to this show which is sad because this is a show I’ve grown to like quite a bit. Yes, this show is super soap opera-y with its drama, but I love it (unlike Rumbling Hearts which I hate by the way). The drama is super frustrating because I want their relationship to survive and blossom so much, but it keeps you watching, if you know what I mean, because you want to see what happens next so you keep watching and watching.

I actually tried to watch this show when I was first getting into anime, but forgot about/got bored. I’m glad I’m watching it now because I feel like I have a better grasp on it now than I would have then. The animation style is pretty unique and gives the show a very soft look which suits it well. The characters themselves are…complex, especially Yano, poor Yano.Honestly, one of the reasons I really love the relationship between Yano and Nana-chan is that it helps Yano get past the Nana of the past and helps him heal, even if its just a little. That’s the main reason why I’m kind of dreading the ending because I think I know where its going to end and its going to end in a place that leaves both Yano and Nana-chan alone.

One Piece: Okay, I’ll own up and say I”ve been really lazy when it comes to this series recently. I have One Piece spurts: I’ll watch tons of One Piece for a really long time, and then I’ll take a break for a really long time, then rinse and repeat. Well, I’m trying to get off of my break by slowly making my way through this arc which I have to admit, is not one of my favorites. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really dislike this arc. The only One Piece arc I’ve ever truly disliked was the Ice Hunter Arc which I thought was utterly terrible because I think the One Piece crew should have been able to beat those bimbos in maybe one or two episodes tops Yes, I think ten episodes was too much time spend becaue, I mean, this is after  they completely and utterly destroyed Enies Lobby and the CP9. That arc just really pissed me off, but moving on.

My beef with the Thriller Bark Arc is that I feel like its dragging a bit. I mean, I love Brooks and can’t wait until he joins the crew, and I am used to long arcs, I just feel like all the characters aren’t doing much in their respective battles which are only now, about twenty episodes from the end, getting serious/resolved. Also, I’m dragging a bit because I’m getting close to the Sabaody Archipelago Arc with the splitting up of the crew I love so much and closer to Ace’s…well, you know, which depresses me a bit. However, I’m determined to catch myself up completely on One Piece over the summer, and I know I can do it….probably.

……..

Well, that’s basically it. I know a lot of it was me talking about the stuff I usually do in the first paragraph of reviews/final thought things (how/why I got started on the series), and a lot of it was random rambling, but I didn’t really know how to format or write these things. Hopefully, I ‘ll get better with practice. -One a side note, I’ll probably be doing a few of these over summer since I plan to watch a lot over summer.-

After a long wait, my April order finally arrived (and its already almost the end of May!)

It took a while for my packages to get here since I chose SAL shipping (slower shipping than EMS) and I had a few items that were delayed to a later month. So, I had to e-mail the shop and tell them to split up the order and stuff, but there was Golden Week so I had to wait till after that to get a reply back and etc. BUT, who cares. It’s here!

It’s not really much, as I have a spending limit. I mean, this was already a lot of items >__<;

Let’s see what I got!

Nyanko Sensei Dango Strap – I actually bought this from ebay. It’s really cute. The Dango are like fluff balls.
Kotobukiya – Togainu no Chi Shiki – Yay! He’s finally here. I can now have him next to my two Akira’s.
Bakuman – Eiji Nendoroid – He’ll be joining in with my other two Bakuman boys
Sengoku Basara – Yukimura Sanada Nendoroid – Now Date won’t be lonely. He’s got his rival with him now.
Natsume Yuujinchou Voice Mascots – excited to open that since it’ll be my first voice mascot set
Uta no Prince-sama – Ittoki Otoya Mug – It’s sooooo cute :3!

That’s all the goodies for this month! I’ll be doing a review of them each, well, for sure, Shiki and the voice mascots a little later so look forward to that!

Need more Reiko in Natsume Yuujinchou.

Video: 720p (10-bit)

Audio: FLAC 2.0 (16-bit)

Subs: Commie

Torrent

So my solution is “This Week in Manga”, a series I hope to come out each week where I quickly go over several chapters I couldn’t write a full post about. The ideal number is seven in one update, but it’ll most likely change depending on what comes out. For this week, we have Toriko, One Piece, Fairy Tail, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Kimi ni Todoke, Natsume Yuujinchou and Nisekoi.

Toriko – All’s Fair In Friendship And Cooking

Chefs in the Toriko-verse can be dicks sometimes.

The relationship between Komatsu and Take seems to have gone down a direction I didn’t expect. Even though I understood how he was being portrayed as a corrupt chef, I still thought he was going to end up a victim of the Bishokukai. With all the criminal acts they have committed so far, slavery doesn’t seem all that out of character for them. But in the case of Take, and most likely the other kidnapped chefs as well, it appears that they had some sort of brainwashing applied to them as well.

From this chapter, I think I can make a prediction or two. First is that Komatsu will get healed, most likely by Chin Chinchin and/or the Bubble Fruit. Nobody is expecting him to die right now, so it’s just a question of how he’ll get better. The second prediction, and the one far less likely to happen, is that Take will become a recurring enemy for Komatsu. He isn’t strong enough to just get beaten by Toriko, especially with this new powerup, and an act like stabbing Komatsu can’t just be forgiven in a few chapters, so turning him back into a good guy now is unlikely. With those two out of the way, the most likely option is for him to leave and return in a later arc, at which point it’s hard to say what he’ll be like. I hope that’s the case, because Komatsu could use a good enemy that is only his and not Toriko’s.

One Piece – Thank You, Come Again

I would have picked “Gomu Gomu no Pinball” but yeah, your name is better.

One thing I’ve been patiently waiting for is when we finally get to see how powerful Luffy and the others have actually gotten. Since the timeskip happened, the only thing we know for sure is that Luffy is roughly as strong as Jinbei, and that still isn’t much to go on. This is why I’m usually pretty happy whenever we see a new attack from one of the characters, because it gives us a much clearer view of their power even if the enemy is as weak as the Yeti Cool Brothers turned out to be. The abilities he showed in this chapter were interesting adaptations of those he had prior to the timeskip, with his Balloon technique getting a clear upgrade and his Gatling now able to damage spiked objects (though we have yet to see it against real weapons). It’s not the best way to compare his strength in direct comparison to others, but the level of adaptability he’s displaying makes it clearer that he’ll be able to find his way around those obstacles he couldn’t before.

Fairy Tail – Failure to Communicate

“Even if the current state of affairs were to continue, Father would surely triumph.” Yeah, I doubt that.

For someone who leads a guild which is both worshiped as being tough and engaging in Social Darwinism, the leader of Sabertooth didn’t put up much of a fight. Minerva claims that he’s only hiding his full strength, but that’s a little hard to believe when he’s supposed to be so ruthless as to kick out his guildmates after a single loss (and may we never bring that up again). If he were truly powerful, he would have taken the opportunity to trash Natsu and remind his guild how superior they believe they are.

What I found interesting is that the guild master actually shows a small degree of respect for Natsu’s power and urge to fight. I’m used to the opponents in this series talking about Natsu like he’s a child, so it isn’t the most expected reaction. It doesn’t make me like him any more, though, nor does it help him look tougher when he still had to be bailed out by another member of the guild. For whatever reason, they wanted him to leave as soon as possible. So is their master nowhere near the level he appears, or is there something else being hidden?

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai – Keep Away From Children

I was GOING to show the previous page. Be glad I didn’t.

I’m gonna regret saying this, but there’s not a lot that can genuinely scare me. At least not much in non-horror manga, since I’m not a fan of getting scared and usually avoid that stuff. So I didn’t expect to read something that could genuinely creep me out, and I especially didn’t expect it to come from Haganai, of all places.

I can’t remember how Yozora’s scary story comes across in the anime version of this scene, but the fact that I forgot shows that it couldn’t have been like this. At first I was only expecting the story to showcase some of her feelings and doubts about friendship, but then it got further in and everything went very dark. I’ve had mixed feelings about the artwork in this manga before, since it’s often difficult to tell what I’m looking at, but this is where the sketchy style pays off because it makes everything look much more unnerving. It’s a lot like something you would see in Soul Eater when the madness starts getting to people. I suddenly appreciate Kodaka a lot more if he was able to help everyone to the bathroom so calmly after hearing this.

Kimi ni Todoke – This Arc Will Last Till November, Just To Be Funny

We need a third season just so this can get animated!

With everything that has been happening in recent chapters, there’s a lot riding on this Christmas party. We’re all expecting this to be where Sawako and Kazehaya finally push past their boundary issues and start acting like a couple again. I heard a few negative things about this chapter before I started it, which was primarily due to the fact that things aren’t being resolves right away. After reading, I was happy to learn that the Christmas party hadn’t ended yet, which those posts led me to believe. In fact it’s only just begun. We’ve already gotten some great moments with Ryu and Chizuru, which I feel justifies this whole chapter. There isn’t just one relationship that needs to move forward, after all, and those two deserve some time to themselves.

Thinking in the longer term, enough has been said leading up to this party that I feel like the party can’t end without a big change or two, which is exactly what we’ve been waiting for.

Natsume Yuujinchou – Exorcism for Dummies

He was a big fan of Read Or Die as a kid.

I think this was the first time I read a new chapter of Natsume without watching the anime episode first. It’s a different feeling for sure, since it currently looks a lot more unpolished than the show did, but I’m slowly getting the hang of it. I like the way the shikigami are portrayed in particular, with the paper spreading across the different panels to represent the technique in effect.

This chapter is the beginning of a new storyline with the emergence of a number of new exorcists, who only serve to increase the workload for experienced ones like Natori cleaning up their mess. It’s hard to say exactly where the story is going right now, or what role Matoba will play in it. I think that this being my first manga story for the series, I shouldn’t try and theorize as hard as I do most others. There’s a bit of a learning curve to putting together good guesses, especially with series as far removed from the manga I usually read as Natsume Yuujinchou.

Nisekoi – Star-Crossed Enemies

I’m surprised you could remember his first name. Most of us didn’t.

Like any good harem series, or at least the kind I prefer to read, there’s a lot of debate over which of the girls most deserve to be with the main character. I don’t think there are too many expecting an Ichijou/Tsugumi ending, though that won’t stop people from arguing for or against it. So when most people discuss who could seriously win out at the end of the story, it’s still a matter of Kirisaki vs Onodera. For me, even back during the first few chapters of the story when we were all positive Onodera was the woman of Ichijou’s past, I was still cheering for Kirisaki.

We aren’t going to see an actual resolution to this plotline until the end of the manga, and that’s something I’ve accepted since the start. In that case, the ideal girl for Ichijou should be the one most likely to have good development as the series goes on. Right now, Ichijou likes Onodera and Onodera likes Ichijou. There’s not a whole lot else you can do with that unless they either get together or fall out of love. With Kirisaki, I can already see how much closer the two have gotten since the start, and I feel like they will only get closer as time goes on. This is not to imply that I’m a fan of tsundere behaviour, but maybe I’m a fan of when that behaviour stops and becomes something better.

Happy Mother’s Day for all the mothers who may be stopping by this site today. Hope you have a wonderful day!

To celebrate, I thought I’d pick a few of my favorite mother characters from anime of the past year or so, and have a little spotlight…

Nicest Mom – Touko Fujiwara (Natsume Yuujinchou)

Touko is basically the best mother anyone can hope for. Technically she’s Takashi Natsume’s aunt, but Touko raises him as her own son, and is as loving as can be. It was Touko who visited Natsume in the hospital and offered to raise and take care of him (rather than his other relatives, who were less understanding as they raised him). She does all she can to give him a warm home to come to, and ever so gradually Natsume has come to treat her and and Shigeru (her husband) less formally. One of my favorite moments with her is when Natsume is helping a yokai possessing a snow bunny (which is kept in the fridge overnight), and Touko makes a little snow bunny companion to keep it company.

Most Epic Mom – Cordelia Gallo (Gosick)

She’s a mastermind, exile, and vigilante–not to mention former singer, dancer, and maid. Cordelia is a driven, strong-willed individual with a thoroughly tragic past, but shows throughout the series just how loving and caring she is, too. It’s really quite touching how she is unable to be with Victorique for most her life, but firmly believes the two are still linked in some sense, as she repeatedly calls Victorique her very soul (which is perhaps emphasized in how the two look pretty much exactly alike). Cordelia has quite a variety of skills, and makes good use of all of them while going about her extensive plans, alongside two trickster bishounen who answer her beck and call.

Coolest Mom – Kate (Tsuritama)

If you’ve been watching Tsuritama, you already know just how much fun Yuki’s grandmother is. I’m including her in this post because for all intents and purposes she’s raising Yuki as his mother, and was even quick to let Haru live in her home as well at the start of the series. She may be getting a little old, but she’s still quite energetic and youthful (though an unnamed illness has been affecting her as of late). Hopefully she will get well soon! Kate always has good advice for both Yuki and Haru, and has been instrumental in helping them with their personal struggles as well as their friendship.

Feel free to mention who some of your favorite anime mothers are, and what it is you like about each of them. :>

More Natsume Yuujinchou, more Reiko’s pics.

Video: 720p (10-bit)

Audio: FLAC 2.0 (16-bit)

Subs: Commie

Torrent

This winter review includes thoughts and ratings on Ano Natsu de Matteru, Another, Bakuman 2, Black Rock Shooter, Brave 10, Chihayafuru, Danshi Koukousek no Nichijou, Inu x Boku SS, Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing, Mirai Nikki, Natsume Yuujinchou Shi, Persona 4 The Animation, Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle, Rinne no Lagrange, Senki Zesshou Symphogear, and Zero no Tsukaima F.  Spoilers are included for many of them, so tread carefully.

_______________________________

Another

My favorite aspect of Another was its commentary on death and grief, and though that message wasn’t directly addressed, the reason behind the curse of Class 3-3 and the actions of all classes afterward clearly reflect the importance of proper grieving.  As is later repeated by quite a few characters, it is imperative to “…send the dead back to death.”  Though this phrase is twisted in the ugliest way imaginable as an excuse for murder, the fundamental idea is correct.  The original Class 3-3 should not have pretended the deceased was still among them; by doing that, people were unable to move on, to heal.

Though this suspenseful horror was beautifully drawn and animated, and I found the atmosphere spot on through most of the episodes, there was a clear disconnect between the main part of the anime, and the ending arc.  Guardian Enzo points out how most of Another paces itself slowly like a mystery, then suddenly rushes forward in the last few episodes into a bloody horror.  I could understand the fear that spread among the students, and even among the adults, that resulted in murder, but I couldn’t justify the unlikely number of accidental deaths.  I did find the revelation of the “other” clever, since that person had never even crossed my mind.  I only wish Mei’s ability to “see death” was less gimmicky–little explanation was given for her sight, and I only partially believed her reason for not acting on her knowledge earlier.
Final score: 7/10

Secret ingredient(s): The song and dance scene that caused such a stir among fellow anibloggers.  The daydream was out of nowhere amidst all the eeriness and earned a burst of surprised laughter out of me.

_______________________________

Natsume Yuujinchou Shi

Though the season didn’t wrap up in quite the way that I had originally hoped, the ending still succeeded in satisfying and warming my heart in a new way than did the seasons that came before.  Like San, Shi juggled both episodies focused on snapshots of various youkai, and on more overarching, multi-episode plots detailing Natsume’s relationships with his past and present friends and family and with exorcists of very different minddframes than him.  However, I felt the transitions this time around to be much smoother, even finding the two beautifully melded at times (case in point: the Moon-splitting festival episodes).  Through it all, Natsume continued to grow as both a “normal” human being and as one who can see, touch, and speak with the otherworldly.

As usual, the art is drawn with a definite stroke of gentleness.  I can feel the love of both the original creator and the animators simply by watching the show–I don’t even need to hear the background music.  That isn’t to say, however, that the music doesn’t shine; the truth is the exact opposite.  Like the art, the recognizable melodies always bring a soft smile to my face, as well as a sense of coming home.
Final score: 9/10

Secret ingredient(s): Madara/Nyanko-sensei has long been my favorite character of the NY series, and the same holds true for this fourth season.  Despite his constant claim of self-interest in staying with Natsume, it’s easy to tell from moments like below that he has truly come to care for Natsume and has developed more than a bit of fondness for his new “family.”

_______________________________

Chihayafuru

If a second season isn’t in the making, then there will be hell to pay, because Chihayafuru deserves more than its short 25 episodes.  Although that doesn’t seem like a small amount, extra time was spent on fleshing out most of the characters, even ones who were only featured in one or two episodes.  If anything else, I wish there had been even more time spent focusing on fellow karuta club members Tsutomu and Yuusei.  Unfortunately, this meant we didn’t get too far in karuta rankings, with all of our beloved cast failing to win nationally both as a team and individually.  The last episode was spent with our characters watching others fight for the King and Queen titles via national television.  Despite the lack of winning satisfaction, Chihayafuru set a wonderful basis for our fledgling team to grow and there’s plenty of space for a 2-cours second season–gathering five more club members to protect the club room, Kana-chan and Taichi’s battle to Class A status, the team nationals, and the return to the King and Queen finals.

If there’s one area I felt could have used a bit more care, it would be the development of Chihaya.  She hasn’t changed much from the little girl we saw at the very beginning, and she’s just as naive in love as she is about everything else outside of karuta.  There were times where I wish the camera would turn to one of the lower class matches instead of just always following Chihaya.  Thankfully, the later episodes served to prove to her just how much she still has to learn, particularly in controlling her emotions while playing.  The art style did a wonderful job of playing on that atmosphere, transitioning quickly from Chihaya’s high moments with wind-blown hair strewn with flower petals, to those tense, sweat-inducing matches.
Final score: 9/10

Secret ingredient(s): Kana-chan’s decision to become a certified reader.  Really, any scene featuring Kana was instantly lovable, as she pulled together contrasting elements to endearing effects–remember her hakama match where her soft, girlish figure was made graceful by both her clothing and carriage.

_______________________________

Zero no Tsukaima Final

Finally, this sad, overstretched tale has come to an end.  Despite my mixed feelings about yet another season of ZnT airing, the anime served its purpose of tying up the loose ends left from the previous seasons and delivering to its fans what they’ve probably been craving for through all four series.  The girls are just as lusty for Saito as always, for reasons beyond me, and plenty of opportunities are spared to ogle at their various fruit-sized chests.  I was saddened to see both Queen Henrietta and Queen Tabitha throw aside their former pride chasing after Saito; though their stations understandably doom them to loneliness, their actions still smacked of an unseemly desperation that I would not have attributed to their characters.  Saito and Louise’s love story is about as deep and detailed as the setting.  The gestures are there, but the emotion is lacking.  The main conflict of the Void Mages shifted from one pointless scene to another, and the last arc of the Ancient Dragon felt perfunctory  despite being the supposed smash ending to this quadrilogy.  But like a candy whose sugary fruit flavors all run together into an addicting series of handfulls, I kept on watching.

I admit to a feeling of satisfaction with having sat through all four anime series.  With Saito’s brief return home, and later trip with Louise, we’ve made a full circle.  All that official and fan art out there dressing up Louise and Co. in jeans and t-shirts  are now justified, and I suspect there may be some specials in the making featuring Louise’s integration into Saito’s world.
Final score: 5/10

Secret ingredient(s): Maybe it’s sappy, but I do enjoy a good wedding.  Knowing these two, though, the marriage blues aren’t too far behind!

_______________________________

Brave 10

As reverse harems are one of my guilty anime pleasures, I couldn’t pass up this bishounen rendition of the legendary Sanada Ten Braves.  Part of what aids my enjoyment in shows like these is that I keep my expectations fairly low–as long as there is a nice variety of hot warriors and a passably interesting story, I’m good to go.  It annoys me how many reviews I’ve read about this anime rate it poorly primarily because its genre wasn’t what the viewer expected.  This isn’t Sengoku Basara.  It’s more along the lines of Sengoku Otome: Momoiro Paradox.  Fan service catering to a female audience is a given, and I found the character designs fairly attractive.  The story itself was admittedly below average, including bumpy transitions between arcs and some plot holes.  However, I was never bored, and I’m more prone to drop a show due to indifference than because of anything else.

My favorite part of the show was definitely Sanada’s gathering of his 10 warriors.  Because of the nature of these short reverse harems, the characters began with some very basic archetypes, including the tough, yet caring, Saizo and the loli-shota pyro, Benmaru.  My favorite warrior remains the same from the very beginning to the end: Sarutobi Sasuke, the ninja with close ties to the earth and all its furry and winged creatures.
Final score: 5/10

Secret ingredient(s): Watching Sasuke and Saizo fight was always fun because Sasuke was always able to teach Saizo something new about himself.  Despite their proclaimed hatred for one another, I thought their relationship was actually more understanding of one another compared to those of the other warriors.

_______________________________

Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam

Every time I turn my thoughts to this sequel, I can’t help but heave a huge sigh of frustration.  When Fam was at its highest, it was spot on in intrigue and characterization, but at its lowest we were stuck with idealistic Fam as our protagonist and her equally ridiculous ability to sway everyone else to her perspective.  This anime had it tough from the start, having to deal with the high standard of excellence set by its predecessor.  At times, Fam seemed almost on par with the prequel, primarily when focused on Ades Federation’s political struggles.  I found the generals, particularly Vasant, extremely interesting in their inner conflicts of loyalty.  The airship battles, too, were beautifully animated, albeit lacking in emotional punch (think of Mullin Shetland’s battlefront mantra).

The main problem with Fam? Why, the issue is in the very subject of its title! I enjoyed Fam’s character for about a third of the way through.  I thought that at some point she would finally learn something about the realities of war and desist in shoving her ideals down the throats of much older and rationally-minded people.  And yet, we were treated repeatedly to her declarations of love and peace, and for some strange reason the adults all seemed to be charmed, no, mesmerized by her words.  It’s like Fam had some sort of silver tongue able to persuade everyone but me.  She was even somehow able to get through to Luscinia, whose actions at the very end still perplex me.  I kept returning to Fam in hopes of a deeper plot and character development, only to hit my head on the bottom of the shallow end.
Final score: 7.5/10

Secret ingredient(s): On top of my interest in Vasant and Co., I looked forward to the episodes where Millia stole the spotlight from Fam.  Millia is much more interesting by far as we actually witness her growth from naive girl to capable young woman able to shoulder the weight of her royal station.

_______________________________

Ano Natsu de Matteru

It wasn’t quite love at first sight, but I fell head over heels for Ano Natsu in a remarkably short amount of time.  It reminded me a lot of AnoHana in that the show overflowed with the anxieties of young love and friendship.  Also like in AnoHana, I was more interested in Ano Natsu’s characters, their relationships with one another, and their emotional struggles, than with the main plot.  A gorgeous alien girl dropped into the lap of an average high school boy isn’t an original idea in the slightest, and the high school and summer break settings are also fairly typical in anime.  This show was able to take those conventions and make them sparkle once more.  To a certain extent, the love circle and height of emotions displayed by the group felt utterly believable.  I remember being that young and feeling everything intensely as if I would never feel that way again.  I may have laughed at the naive promise of eternal love between Ichika and Kaito, but deep down I wish I could go back to the time when I actually believed in it.  Ano Natsu immersed me in that dream briefly once more, making it all the more precious.

The side characters outshone the main duo easily, and I was particularly fond of scenes featuring Lemon-senpai and Kanna–especially if those two were in a scene together.  Kanna’s love for Kaito felt more much real than Ichika’s, as it built over the long time they had known each other.  Her endearing mix of energy, sweetness, shyness, and jealousy also made for a fun twist to the girl-next-door archetype.  I didn’t come close to crying at Ichika and Kaito’s separation, but Kanna’s loss of control after her confession had me shredding tissues.
Final score: 8.5/10

Secret Ingredient(s): Lemon-senpai was the number one character I looked forward to in each new episode.  I had my suspicions about her very early on, what with her uncanny amount of knowledge and very adult-like maturity mixed with mischievousness.

A favorite aspect to Ichika and Kaito’s relationship was the way in which their glasses would clink whenever they would bring their faces close together.  The sound is both mood breaking and endearing at the same time–as someone with glasses, I couldn’t help but notice the noise and smile at it.

_______________________________

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

Affectionately dubbed Nichibros by its ardent fans, Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou was a bit of a wildcard.  It skillfully mocked the characteristics of high school anime and slice-of-life, for example, with the running to school with toast scene and the hilltop moments with literary girl.  Only here could our cast of males treat such mundane interests as playing kick the can with ball-busting rules with complete seriousness and produce such hilarious results. The pure genius of this show was its applied earnestness to conventions of high school anime like romance and brother and sister relationships.

I also found Nichibros a bit more relateable than Nichijou (an anime whose humor I would consider at a similar level) as it mocked a genre that I watch a lot.  I was able to pick up on more of the jokes.
Final score: 8/10

Secret ingredient(s): Any segment with literary girl was instant gold, though I do prefer her earlier, nonverbal scenes more than the ones where she actually speaks/yells.  I about died in laughs when her classmates pegged her for her chasing down Hidenori–you always have love chase scenes in romantic comedy and the characters are never called out on it.

_______________________________

Rinne no Lagrange

It’s to be expected that there isn’t really any closure to this show as a second season has already been promised for later on in the year.  Lagrange was one of the strangest shows of the winter as almost nothing happened (Inu x Boku SS and Mouretsu Pirates, as well), or went as the beginning hinted.  The excuse of a second season doesn’t really help the cause either.  I thought there would be more action, a.k.a. mecha battles, but what we got instead was a lot of high school romping around and girl friendship drama.  They were admittedly entertaining, but not very memorable.

Perhaps it was meant to endear the characters to us, which worked to an extent for Madoka and Lan.  Poor Muginami was just presented in the most annoying way possible until almost the very end.  What we know now, though the first five minutes of each of their introductions was enough to set their shallow personalities, is that Madoka is a genki do-gooder who loves everyone and everything.  The whole premise of the Jersey Club perfectly represents her as a person.  Lan is that awkward friend who wants to be closer to Madoka but isn’t quite sure how to get there; Muginami comes in as the girl with a traumatic past who just wants to be loved.  If you’re looking for complex characters, don’t expect it out of Lagrange.
Final score: 7/10

Secret ingredient(s): While I did enjoy Madoka and her excellent VA, Ishihara Kaori, my main pleasure stemmed from the color scheme.  I don’t think I’ve ever come across such a perfect water color array in an anime, or in any series or movie, and the effect was very calming.

_______________________________

Inu x Boku SS

Similar to Lagrange, Inu x Boku SS set a very strange pace through its short 12 episodes.  Although I highly enjoyed the slice of life in both Ayakashi Kan and Riricho’s high school, my expectations for the story went absolutely no where.  This turned out to be less a story about the characters’ spiritual abilities than about their emotions and relationships to one another.  I thought more time would be spent on discovering different types of spirits and their whole supernatural side of life.  Instead, the show focused mostly on the bonds of family and love.

Another strange aspect of this anime was that I found the side characters much more interesting than Riricho and Miketsukami’s interactions (like how I felt with Ano Natsu).  The whole group of Karuta, Watanuki, Zange, and Kagerou was extremely amusing to watch.  Even the employees of Ayakashi Kan were given quirky personalities–their appearances never felt like filler, but more like savory sides to an otherwise so-so meal.  The chef/bartender and his son cracked me up with their back and forth repartee, all to the rhythm of Joutarou’s shaking.
Final score: 7/10

Secret ingredient(s): Roromiya Karuta-chan and her bottomless stomach!

"I want to be filled with wonderful things, too." (ku ku ku)

_______________________________

Bakuman 2

More driven and enthralling than its preceding season, Bakuman 2 was one of my favorite shounen of the winter.  Part of why I enjoyed it so much was because of how the anime itself reflected the style of Ashirogi Muto: serious and outside the boundaries.  It isn’t your typical shounen, but it includes much of the same ideas with battling and defeat before triumph.  I do teeter on whether or not I found there to be a bit too much defeat; I was surprised at their continued failure to grasp the coveted 1st place ranking.  Coupled with the depressing arc of Tanto and editor Miura, it seemed like our protagonists were doomed to failure.  Their gag manga experience and head butting with Miuru seemed to go on forever–but maybe that’s what made their frustration all the more believable.  I was frustrated along with them and wanted nothing more than for them to move on to a new project with a new editor.

Despite the disappointment that was Tanto, they and their editor still managed to learn something from the ordeal.  Perhaps in a similar way to how shounen heros get beaten down and grow stronger from it, Ashirogi Muto went into their new project with a clearer vision of who they were as writer and artist.  Even Miuru eventually swallowed his pride and sought help when it was needed.  Their drastic climb after such a huge decline then plateau made for an intensely satisfying finish to the series.
Final score: 9/10

Secret ingredient(s): I always looked forward to Niizuma-sensei’s uncanny insight into various mangaka’s abilities and pieces.  When he announced that he had stopped following Tanto, that was the red flag that Ashirogi Muto was heading the wrong way.  The combination of him and Iwase cracks me up.

_______________________________

Persona 4: The Animation

Persona was a strange addition for me.  I haven’t played the video games, and the premise sounded a bit off from the start.  All the hype from fans of the franchise is what convinced me to give it a try.  What started as a mediocre battle anime actually turned into an enthralling weekly addition to my anime line up for the winter.  Where shows like Mirai Nikki and Black Rock Shooter started to lose my interest midway through, my liking for Persona only increased.

The 2-cours show spent a lot of time on the individual characters and succeeded in getting me attached to almost every one of them, particularly little Nanako and quiet Yuu-senpai.  Persona 4 evolved from battle anime to more of a mystery, and that’s when I liked it best.  Unfortunately, near the end when things started wrapping up, I found myself caring less about any real sort of resolution.  I can’t really put my finger to it–perhaps a subtle shift in atmosphere to more of a thriller ruined the laid back pace the middle had turned into.  As odd as this may sound, I had come to enjoy the slice of life nature that show had taken on.
Final score: 7.5/10

Secret ingredient(s): I loved the look of all their glasses (or sunglasses).  I particularly liked Yuu’s and Yukiko’s black and red, and Chie’s frame design, so if I could somehow combine those three, I would have the ultimate pair of glasses.

I would also like to point out how fantastic I found the soundtrack to be.  The opening theme song was probably one of my favorites of the entire winter season.

_______________________________

Senki Zesshou Symphogear

There was a time when I refused to drop an anime, no matter how terrible I thought it was, but after increasing my number of currently watching anime by an insane amount, I could no longer justify keeping them on when there were so many other good ones to watch.  I should have made that cut with Symphogear, but a deceptively decent opening and an entertaining amount of suspension of disbelief had me returning again and again to this horribly flawed show.  Not only is the whole premise of the singing and the relics completely nonsensical, but the monsters that look like jello are turned to ash by a trio of high school girls who are as shallow as a puddle of rain.  We don’t even get quickness in the move executions, as the artists decided to throw in title screens for almost every major attack the girls made (“Destroyer: Blue Flash” and “Mega Deth Party”).  I wasn’t sure whether to gape or laugh at the visual circus.

I didn’t even get the satisfaction of a somewhat believable ending after Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris sang their group swan song and supposedly died.  I knew that somehow this show would pull in yet another resurrection of our heroes, but I hoped so desperately that they wouldn’t.  What little depth I felt in the scene where Miku visits Hibiki’s grave was banished not too long after when Miku was saved from the attacking Noise by the friend she thought was no more.  The anime tried to create an illusion of complexity with the twist on the story of the Tower of Babel, but really just ended up sounding like a weak attempt at fan fiction.
Final score: 4/10

Secret ingredient(s): I complained about the named moves from the first episode, but I had no idea has much more gloriously outlandish this show would get.  Throw away your common sense; it doesn’t jive with this show! Just imagine this entire anime as a relic to be absorbed and you’ll be ready to punch the moon to smithereens.

_______________________________

Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle

My feelings about Phi Brain are all over the place.  I was always reluctant to get around to watching the next episode, but once my eyes were on the screen, they stayed there for the duration of the adventure.  I even kept telling myself that I could drop it and focus more on other shows with actual substance.  I’m tempted to believe that the very inspiration for the show, puzzles, is what pulled me in time and time again.  The sad truth is, however, that Phi Brain never gave you the chance to honestly try the puzzles out for yourself; a brief explanation of each Sage Puzzle was given, followed by some random shots for the setting, and WAH-LA! Kaito had the solution in record time and the audience was expected to “ooh” and “ah” over his hyperspeed brain functions.  Since the viewer was never allowed to look the puzzle over and try to either determine its difficulty, or even solve it, any sort of emotional connection to the plight of the Givers and Solvers was almost non-existent.

The show attempts to bridge this gap with several segments along the slice-of-life nature, where we follow along with Kaito and his high school friends during regular school days and events.  This was another spring anime where I preferred the side characters to the main, all of whom are considered Children of the Phi Brain along with Kaito and Rook.  Each gifted in his or her own way, his friends formed the support beam that connected Kaito to his humanity when the armband of Orpheus would have had otherwise.  I always enjoyed scenes featuring Ana Gram “Da Vinci”, who had an uncanny ability to see to the hearts of people–even puzzles–and their true desires.  The season finished with tentative closure, and I would have been satisfied with the lackluster end to the hunt for the Divine Revelations.  However, a 2nd season has already been announced, and the last episode revealed a sneak peek at a villain who looks like a sibling or clone of Rook.
Final score: 6/10

Secret ingredient(s): The staggering scale of the Sage Puzzles always surprised me (alliteration!), as the sheer size of just one of them could take up multiple football fields.  It’s funny to me that the public isn’t more aware of these puzzles that are supposedly hidden yet defy all attempts at concealment.

_______________________________

Black Rock Shooter

BRS struggles to tell a tale of the inter-connected worlds of adolescent females by juxtaposing their apparently cheerful high school life with a battle-fraught dream world.  Following an OVA from two summers ago, this TV series takes 8 episodes to provide us with visionary graphics , an interesting premise, and an utterly mundane story.

I give props to the character design and animation, which were extremely appealing with their contrast between clean lines and grunge patterns.  The lighting and color schemes, as well, set clear boundaries for the intended atmospheres for each scene.  If anything else, it’s the art that pushes my score up to where it is.  I only wish that whatever amount of precious time spent on the art had been divvied out a bit to the storyboard and script.  I can only hear the story of the bird and the color worlds so many times before I go insane.  Or maybe that‘s the true reason for why all those girls around Mato went crazy? :p

The production values for BRS would need some serious overhaul to fix the mess that the story created for its audience.  My main confusion stemmed from the poor arrangement of information; it’s not until almost more than half way through when we finally discover the true nature to Black Rock Shooter’s world, and her role in it.  Up until then, the back and forth scenes between Mato and “her other half” didn’t feel like they had any relevance other than what felt more like a coincidental similarity in her new friendship with Yomi and friction with Kagari.  I still have a hard time justifying Yuu and Saya-sensei’s roles in all of this, as their history felt tacked on for the illusion of creating some sort of depth in hopes to appease the more demanding viewers.
Final score: 6/10

Secret ingredient(s): The art and music, particularly during Yuu’s (the real one in BRS’s world) battle with Black Rock Shooter.  That whole sequence and map had my heart thumping.

I also adore the character designs for Dead Master and “Strength”.  If I were to have figurines for BRS, it would be either of them over poster girl Black Rock Shooter.

_______________________________

Mirai Nikki

For both better and worse, Mirai Nikki provided us with overflowing creativity.  More unstable than any other show of the winter season, it made it almost impossible to predict the next event, a deception that lasted all the way through to the end.

Part of what I admired so much about this anime was its ability to surprise me with not only an unexpected turn of events, but also with its occasional solidity in plot structure, character development, and dialogue.  Take for instance Marco and Ai’s arc.  By timing that encounter with the rockiest point in Yuki and Yuno’s relationship, we had a striking comparison for defining love.  In a way, both relationships began out of necessity; Marco felt an obligation to atone for his absence, and Yuki needed Yuno to survive.  However, one couple has grown beyond that initial duty, finding the true give-and-take type of trust that so many couples and individuals lack.  Yuki’s lack of trust was understandable given what we’d seen of Yuno thus far, but that missing piece meant the different between both of their lives and deaths.

And then there were whole episodes and arcs where, surprise none withstanding, logic failed to explain much of anything.  I think I saw a double-digit amount of tweets the day of episode 19, “Delete All Messages,” where Yuki handled control of a car as if he had taken years of defensive driving, despite not even being old enough to have a license.  Extend this illogical turn of events to the ending–we spent the majority of the season in and fighting for the 2nd world, only to receive our happy ending in the 3rd instead.  I suppose we’re to be comforted by seeing the 3rd-world versions of the characters we have come to know receive the better outcome, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are not the same.  The only one who truly gets the joy that she deserves after all the pain is Ninth.  I do find her union with Nishijima raises some questions of identity, especially when you reflect on Yuki and Yuno’s final decision.  Yuki realizes the love he bears results from all his experiences with Yuno #1, ones that cannot be truly replicated.  Yet, Minene opts to be with Nishijima #3.
Final score: 8/10

Secret ingredient(s):  Yuno, the poster child of MN, made the anime what it was: terrifying and thrilling all at the same time.  I might even apply her yandere nature to the entirety of this show.  The constant jabs and spins had me on the edge of my seat, as if at any moment the show would yank the chair from underneath me.

The fourth season of Natsume Yuujinchou, a beloved series which has made me cry and yet warmed my heart all at the same time is back. It’s more of the same goodness as in the previous seasons. The anime starts off at a pretty quick pace for the first 2 episodes, but slows into its usual slice of life type episodes. This season, Natsume learns to rely a little bit more on his friends and really looking back, he has grown SO much. It’s also in this season that you can clearly see why the compilation of names in the book was called the book of friends. There seems to be more flashbacks in this season but they are crafted really well, in the sense that they are not always from Natsume’s point of view.

If last season saw more of what he was feeling, this season saw more of what people thought of him. Each season always has a theme in mind, which makes the episodes flow so well together. They don’t always follow the order in the manga, and there have been ongoing hints of the tension between Natsume and the exorcists for a while now. It’s what makes this anime more than just a slice of life, there’s conflict and moral dilemmas that add drama to this otherwise mild anime.

The fourth season might be the best so far and although there feels like there should be more, the ending would placate most fans for a while. There’s so many questions left to answer and there’s been a slow build up in the conflict between Natsume and Matoba. With the popularity of the latest season, there is hope that there are more seasons to come. The manga is slowly and steadily making progress, so perhaps there will be a bit of wait. In the meantime, there’s always the previous season to re-watch.

There are a few different ways to get into reading manga series. If you’re like me, then you usually start with the print volumes or scans, but sometimes it’s possible to start a series another way. I’m talking, of course, about the times where you begin by watching the anime and switch over when it ends. There’s nothing wrong with doing this, or at least there had better not be considering the amount of times I’ve done it. Just looking at the series I’ve discussed here, there’s Princess Jellyfish, The World God Only Knows, Kimi ni Todoke, and to an extent One Piece, among others. Since I’m about to add three more to that list, I felt it was worth the time to look at how to deal with transitioning.

One of the most common complaints I hear about many series is the use of “read the manga endings”. Apparently in Japan the line between anime and manga fans is much thinner than it is over here. I’ve read that that’s part of why so many openings are full of spoilers, as well. This is coupled with the relatively short runtimes of most shows to create a large number of endings that simply don’t resolve anything. I suppose this is usually better than trying to wrap up the whole show in a few episodes, which usually results in some very pissed off fans.

I understand how these endings can be frustrating, since I’ve felt the same about light novel adaptations or even some anime originals. That said, I’m not as annoyed when it happens with manga adaptations. Usually, if a show is good enough and comes from a manga, I’ve decided whether I’m going to switch over long before the show is over. However the series ends, I usually want to see more if the show is good. If I can find pictures of the manga, it’s easy to see how simple or hard the transition will be.

There have been times when I liked the anime but chose not to continue. Sometimes it’s like Working!, where the artstyle of the manga is such a change that it wouldn’t feel like how the anime felt. There are shows like Ouran High School Host Club where the tone of the manga is different from what made you like it so much in the first place. Then of course there are shows like Usagi Drop, where the story takes a major downward spiral past where the anime leaves off. Whatever the reason, being unable to smoothly transition can make it hard to keep up with the series.

I suppose a big part of what makes these endings so unpopular over here is how difficult that transition can be for some people. Unless you’ve been reading manga for a long time, it’s hard to see the written and spoken stories as easily comparable. I remember it was really hard seeing both types of series in the same way at first, but eventually I got used to it. That’s how I imagine it is for most people, though since I’m sure most anime fans read at least a little but of manga, there will always be a small chance of being able to transition successfully.

I don’t usually directly ask for opinions from the readers here, but even I’m confused as to what makes a series easy to transition to for other people. What does everyone else usually do in response to those inconclusive endings? Did you even know some of these series came from manga? Even I didn’t know about Nichibros until a week before it ended. Maybe a lot of people don’t even consider the manga adaptations, but I suppose it’s at least comforting to know that sometimes the show doesn’t have to end just yet.

[Order at: Plamoya]

1. Lucky Star

2. Kill Me Baby

3. Folktales from Japan

4. Polar Bear Cafe (Shirokuma Cafe)

5. Ao No Exorct

6. Chihayafuru

7. Phi Brain: Kami No Puzzle

8. Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni

9. Natsume Yuujinchou

10. Mirai Nikki

I’d love to hear suggestions~!

P.S: Yes, I love lists.

With the new season inundating me with a ridiculous number of shows to watch and write first impressions for, most pretty bad, I haven’t had much of a chance to make a Top 5 list for my favorite anime of the Winter Season. In order to put off Medaka Box as long as possible, I’ll take care of that now and cover my five favorite series of last season that I didn’t lavish ridiculous amounts of attention and praise on. So here you go, everything except Nisemonogatari, it’s your time to shine!

5. Senki Zesshou Symphogear

I won’t pretend that Symphogear was actually a good show. It was a stomach churning mess, notable in that it had one of the most needlessly and unexpectedly convoluted plots in recent memory. With what started as a simple “Girl saves the world through song” story began ravaging everything in its path, leaving the mangled corpses of subtlety and finesse in its wake. Soon, government conspiracies became involved, allegiances turned for no apparent reason, hilarious Engrish was made on a regular basis, and a particle cannon was constructed underground to blast a hole in the moon by the reincarnation of an ancient priestess. If you haven’t seen it and the last two events haven’t made you click on the nearest download, then I’m afraid you’re a lost cause.

4. Inu x Boku SS

Everything about the main pairing in Inu x Boku was, to be frank, shit on shit pancakes. Every other scene involving Ririchiyo and Miketsukami either had the latter fawning over the former with an almost Annie Wilkes-esque level of obsessive devotion, or the former flustered over her feelings for the latter. If it were just this for 12 episodes, it would’ve been dropped long ago. Thankfully, thanks to the magic of brilliantly crafted side characters, the show was saved from mediocrity as we saw the S&M-related antics of Ririchiyo’s eccentric fiancée and the bottomless, adorable pit of Karuta’s stomach. It wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good without them.

3. Chihayafuru

A carryover from Fall isn’t cheating, right? Right. Anyway, Chihayafuru has eluded my scrutiny for too long, but now it’s time for it to receive the praise that it so rightly deserves. If there was any show this past season that never ceased to captivate, it was easily this tale of a karuta-obsessed ditz with a heart of gold and an idealistic streak the size of Olympus Mons. What it lacked in… oh what the hell, it wasn’t lacking in anything. I daresay that Chihayafuru was one of only two consistently excellent shows from last season, one that made the characters feel real. It’s rare that a show can actually make me doubt the outcome of a competition, and even rarer when it acts on that doubt to completely flip my expectations around. Also, Chihaya is the uncontested most precious character in anything ever.

2. Daily Lives of High School Boys

I was hesitant to place this on the list, because I have a tendency to be a contrarian and ignore popular series in favor of more obscure ones. However, Daily Lives of High School Boys was just so magnificent, so dead on, that leaving it off this list would’ve been a horrible offense. The comedy genre hasn’t had a good skewering like this in a long time, something that it definitely needed, and just the sheer number of excellent gags kept me roaring with laughter week to week. The world needed Funky High School Girls and Literature Girl, and it may need them again at a later date, in all their horrible glory. Never stop being funky, girls. You’re the real face of moe.

1. Natsume Yuujinchou Shi

Yeah, this is a bit of a copout. But c’mon, it’s Natsume. If there’s anything that’s been continuously enrapturing with absolutely no letup, it’s been this sequel of a sequel of a sequel. While we got less of Nyanko’s amazing expressions, something that I was a little disappointed in, that was nonetheless made up for by some truly touching moments. While it may never rival the second episode of Zoku with the statue gods and the snow bunnies, it still filled some very big shoes, and it did so with enthusiasm. Plus, this had probably the only Natsume OP that I really liked.

—-

Honorable Mentions: Aquarion Evol, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Mirai Nikki (Not over yet), and Mouretsu Pirates. And as much as I loved Nisemonogatari, I felt other shows deserved a fair shot.

Well, there we have it. Until Mirai Nikki finishes, this will officially be the last that I write about the winter season for a good long time. While it gave us quite a few good shows, I think I can echo most everyone’s sentiment by saying thank god it’s over.

First of all, if you haven’t been keeping up with YumeState or Sea Slugs lately, be sure to check out some of my latest posts:

• On Friends and Whether or Not We Should Kill Them
• Winter 2012: Favorite Characters
• Another Review

So what are my thoughts on winter anime? There were four shows I watched all the way through, and one of them still has three more episodes left. And I thought all four shows were great! I’ve written a lot on all of them recently, so I’ll just give ultra-mini-reviews here:

• Natsume Yuujinchou Shi – More heartwarming and wonderful episodes about the sweetest boy in the world. I wished there could have been more in the way of plot developments (at times I admittedly felt the series was dragging its feet, even for Natsume Yuujinchou), but overall I still love the series very much.
• Another – Fascinating and intriguing mystery horror series. I really enjoyed trying to piece together the puzzle behind all the mysteries, and felt the dark atmosphere in general was portrayed very well. Things got a bit too chaotic toward the end, but I was satisfied with the conclusion overall.
• Kill Me Baby – Ridiculous and harmless comedy. Everything about this show screams both low-budget and uber-kawaii, turning the anime into a bizarre sort of satire. Certainly not one of my top anime comedies, but it got me to laugh on a regular basis, thanks to the characters’ ridiculous antics.
• Mirai Nikki – I remember thinking how crazy this show was back in the first few episodes. Wow. This show is so insane, I never could have guessed half of the plot twists this anime has thrown out lately. It has a very “Screw conventional storytelling!” feel to it, while employing (nearly) non-stop fast-paced excitement. I’m intrigued to see how this will end.

With the end of winter also comes the beginning of spring, and this upcoming season has a lot of interesting anime to look forward to. You can find some of my thoughts on the next season here at YumeState and here at Sea Slugs. I won’t know what shows legitimately interest me until I see their first episode or two, but here’s what I’m thinking at the moment for the anime that at least sound intriguing.

DEFINITE WATCH

• Fate/Zero – I can’t wait. This really has the potential to be the best action drama I’ve ever seen.
• Kimi to Boku – I enjoyed the first 13 eps well enough. The next bunch should be good too.
• Tsuritama – This sounds really clever and fun, and has an interesting art style. I’ll be very sad if it’s lame.

LIKELY WATCH

• Jormungand – This looks like an interesting action series. I’m particularly curious about the child soldier protagonist.
• Hyouka – I really like mystery, and the animation for this is very impressive. I hope the characters are interesting.
• Kuromajo-san ga Toru!! – This looks cute and funny, and it’s only 5 minutes. Hopefully it gets subbed…

ALSO POSSIBLY CHECKING OUT

• Yurumates 3D – might be funny, and it’s only 5 minutes.
• Acchi Kocchi – might be funny?
• Polar Bear Cafe – might be funny… or at least meme-worthy.
• Accel World – might be exciting? The animation looks quite nice.

I will continue blogging an anime episodically for Sea Slugs, so look forward to that. For the rest of my spring anime stuff, I’ll be posting mostly at YumeState from now on. That means this blog will deal more with random thoughts I have on various anime (such as shows that aren’t currently airing), as well as most my manga posts. Plus other random stuff that would be more fitting here than elsewhere.

ALSO! Be sure to check out our monthly Anime Watchers Club at YumeState. We will be watching Aoi Bungaku for April, so if you’re intrigued by that anime, be sure to watch and comment on our weekly posts! It looks to be an interesting show to discuss.

1. (3) Senki Zesshou Symphogear (episodes 10-13) – Easily the most entertaining anime of the month. I love you, Symphogear. Thank you for existing.

2. (2) Nisemonogatari (episodes 9-11) – I’m satisfied with the ending. It wasn’t the shows strongest month, but I still had fun watching.

3. (4) Mirai Nikki (episodes 21-23) – RIP Akise. You were a true champ. Although your taste in guys is rather questionable.

4. (1) Natsume Yuujinchou Shi (episodes 10-13) – And so we ended with Natsume’s first ever three episode arc. It was a very good one, though I would’ve preferred this season to close off with more Matoba.

5. (5) Mouretsu Pirates (episodes 8-13) – I’m a bit irritated with this. Finally, eventful and exciting things start happening. The conclusion to the ghost ship thing was kind of stupid. Then the beginning of the thirteenth episode starts of with an urgent warning and I’m ready to rank it higher. But no. It was fake and we go straight back into the school life antics. GODDAMMIT. WHY CAN’T WE JUST HAVE PIRACY?

6. (10) Chihayafuru (episodes 19-25) – That last episode!!! It left a great cliffhanger for a possible sequel.

7. (6) Daily Lives of High School Boys (episodes 9-12) – Nichibros got progressively more hit and miss. For the majority of the middle episodes, I only usually get a chuckle from just one or two of the segments. But the final two episodes were splendid. Also, the K-ON! Movie spoof is very, very appreciated.

8. (9) Rinne no Lagrange (episodes 9-12) – This was easily the best month for this pathetic excuse for a show. Of course, that’s really not saying much.

9. (7) Another (episodes 9-12) – Another actually beat NichiBros in terms of hilarity, but the ending sucked. Nothing about the massacre was scary. Nothing about the entire fucking anime was scary.

10. (new) Ozuma (episodes 1-3) – I’m unable to compare this to any of Matsumoto’s previous works having never seen any. But so far Ozuma has just been boring. The main hero is also incredibly stupid and annoying and I want to punch him in the face. (PS. The animation of the flying food and bottles during the food fight was the most hilarious thing ever.)

11. (new) Guilty Crown (episodes 10-22) – I still have no idea why I decided to pick this back up again. Sure it was boring as hell, but at least the ending wasn’t as corny as BRS’.

12. (8) Black Rock Shooter (episodes 5-8) – Fuck you, Okada Mari. Fuck this show. May Apollon and Tsuritama drag noitaminA back from the depths of hell next season.

Natsume Takashi continues to have troublesome encounters with youkai.

This season surprised me a lot, and in very good ways. It animated some really great parts in the manga, such as the two Matoba episodes in the beginning, the Houzuki Festival, and touched more upon Natsume’s past. We even got our first ever three episode arc!

I’m bothered by the two teenage girls from Natsume’s past. I do hope the writers aren’t trying to incorporate romance into Natsume, because I am vehemently against any kind of romantic relationship in this series. No, really. I don’t even support slash. The only females in the show I like are Hinoe, Reiko and Touko. (Nanase’s okay, too, I guess.) Shipping and Natsume just don’t work for me.

I’m also a little irked about the amount of original stories, they were still all very solid episodes. If we are to receive a fifth season, I hope it adapts more of the manga and less original stuff. Regardless, I still liked this season a lot.

• Story – B+ – Not very original, but every episode is interesting and solid. Plus the overreaching story became visible again.
• Characters – B – Still the weakest aspect of the series.
• Art – A-
• Music – B+ – As much as I love this soundtrack, I’d like to hear some new songs.
• Enjoyment – B+
• Overall – B+

Recommendations: Mushishi, Sketchbook ~full colors~, Mokke