What anime are you watching?

[Juliannesan]

Been awhile since I've posted on here.
But I just finished watching Nabari no Ou.
I really liked it for the most part, I'm not really sure what I expected from it, but it definitely went beyond whatever those might have been.

I'm watching Itazura Na Kiss.
I love it. Hahaha, its pretty great.

[Atria35]

Gosick 11- still fun!

[mouse]

Series I recently added to my list are Clannad and Serial Experiments Lain. I've read good reviews of Clannad and I've always wanted to watch Serial Experiments Lain, so I'm pretty excited to complete both series.

[MightiMidget]

Finally watched Black Rock Shooter. That was awesome on multiple levels. No, I don't have anymore to say.

[Mouse2010]

Just watched Baccano! episode 13. Good stuff. I am already certain that I'm going to want to re-watch the series someday in the not-too-distant future so that I can put all the pieces together.

[MightiMidget]

Just finished Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom. Why yes, it was amazing. Thanks to QuirkyIceHeart for convincing me to stick with it. (And yes, it took me until episode 21 to realize it was written by the same person who wrote Madoka. Explained so much...)

Thinking however that finishing Mushishi would be a really good option next...

[the_wolfs_howl]

Monster episode 12 - I got very used to hearing, "DEEEETAAAAAH!!!!"

FMA episodes 18-22 - Yay! My favorite part of the first series! (And on through episode 25.)

[Atria35]

GOSICK 12- FILLER. Why? Just... why?

Hanasaku Iroha 1-2- I like. I like a lot. Oh, boy! I'm super excited!

[MightiMidget]

Sweat Punch 1-5:

Professor Dan Petory's Blues -- that was stupid. it got fast forwarded--which is sad when something is only 10 minutes long.

End of the World -- Wow. This was so very Kaiba...I'm not quite sure what I thought of it. But I leaned more toward "that was...interesting but I would not watch it again."

Kigeki -- that was a beautiful, dark fairy tale of a swordsman who took his payment solely in rare books. Kigeki (Comedy) was gorgeous. =)

Higan -- Interesting...possibly...I think...?

Garakuta no Machi -- I only managed to find this dubbed in Russian. Yep. But...there was little dialogue. It was cute, and fun, though nothing particularly special.

[Atria35]

The World God Only Knows S2 ep 1- hrm. Another girl, another conquest. This one is squarely in the cliche range. This show has been steadily letting me down since the last girl's arc.

[blkmage]

Isn't tackling galge cliches the entire point of KamiNomi?

[Atria35]

Isn't tackling galge cliches the entire point of KamiNomi?

Usually, they're different in some way. Or how he romances them is different. This one.... isn't.

[Mouse2010]

Finished Baccano!. It was pretty good. I don't think I would rave about it as much as some people do, but as I said earlier, it's one that I know I'm going to watch again. Actually, that's one of the cool things about it: I know it'll reward a rewatch.

I watched the first episode of Escaflowne today. Since I'm new to anime, this is one of those classics I've never seen. Someone tell me . . . does it get better? For some reason the first episode really seemed slow. I don't understand how a pilot episode that involves fighting a dragon could be boring, but it was! Is that just me?

[blkmage]

Usually, they're different in some way. Or how he romances them is different. This one.... isn't.

Eh, I don't know about that. The captures are interesting for sure and I think that's where most of the uniqueness of it stems from, but each girl has been a pretty standard archetype (which is evident in how he analyzes them).

[Sheol777]

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - finished all 110 episodes...man was that awesome! great writing great characters. It was an epic story in every sense. Now on to the later seasons!.....which are prequels.

[ABlipinTime]

just finished watching The Girl Who Leapt Through Time with some friends. Hilarious movie - even better when you have people to laugh with.

[Agloval]

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - finished all 110 episodes.

Congratulations!

I've begun watching Pretty Cure Splash Star. I wish it had a bigger budget, because then watching Bloom and Egret free running their way up a giant hundred-foot high traffic light monster would be more awesome.

[R86]

Of currently airing anime, for now I'm watching Sket Dance, Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Tiger & Bunny, and most likely once I can, C.

I'm also trying to catch up on Naruto: Shippuuden and Bleach, since I can do so legally. My goal is to catch up by the end of the summer, even though I'm in the low 100s of both series.

Finally, since I'm one of the literally dozens and dozens of people who never saw Honey and Clover, I've started watching that now. Normally I'm not into romance shows, but I've heard for so long that this is such a high quality show that I decided to give it a try.

Since TWWK has been allowing me to guest-write for his blog, I now call this "research."

[ABlipinTime]

I'm also trying to catch up on Naruto: Shippuuden and Bleach, since I can do so legally. My goal is to catch up by the end of the summer, even though I'm in the low 100s of both series.

Finally, since I'm one of the literally dozens and dozens of people who never saw Honey and Clover, I've started watching that now. Normally I'm not into romance shows, but I've heard for so long that this is such a high quality show that I decided to give it a try.

Good luck on catching up.

I'm also one of the dozens. Let me know if it's any good. (Or I may just read the blog.)
=======

Currently watching Ef - A Tale of Memories. Incidentally, we don't have a review for that in our Review section. Anyone read from that section save occasional guests?

[Atria35]

Currently watching Ef - A Tale of Memories. Incidentally, we don't have a review for that in our Review section. Anyone read from that section save occasional guests?

I try to submit a review whenever I can, and do read through to see if the reviewer had a similar opinion on the anime/manga.... if there's a review on it. But because the review section is a tad lacking, I usually don't find it (I haven't seen EF, or I would have submitted a review on it).

[TheSubtleDoctor]

A couple of things:

Kotetsushiin Jeeg - a 2007 restart (not remake) of an old Go Nagai super robot property, this one is only for hardcore fans of Nagai or hardcore super robot fans who can tolerate flawed shows. No prior knowledge of Kotetsu Jeeg (the old show) is required, as they treat those events as part of world history. The show has solid production values, attractive updated versions of Go Nagai's character designs and fun-ish mecha-vs-monster battles. However, the plot and script are very forgettable. I finished the show like a week ago, and I couldn't tell you how it ended. For the hot-blooded who don't expect perfection.

Slow Step - a five episode OVA (thought each episode is 41 minutes long) of a short (seven volume) Mitsuru Adaichi manga. My love for Cross Game is well-documented, so I was looking forward to this a lot, but I suppose I was destined to be slightly let down. Just b/c it can't ascend to its younger sibling's lofty heights doesn't mean it isn't an anime meriting your time, though. Slow Step is a high school come/drama with a bit o' the romance. It fits nicely into the same genres as Cross Game, only with a great deal less sports, but it really is quite a different show. Adaichi's writing is skillful as he weaves a comedy of errors, overlapping love triangles and a touching family story into a compelling whole. A few of the major events in the final episode were head-scratchers: a minor character's issues were solved in a very "out of the blue" way that felt slightly lazy, and the focus shifts dramatically from two of the male mains onto a third character who seemed like only a supporting player. Gripes aside, I would totally recommend this show for Adaichi n00bs (since it's short) and old fans but also to those who think he is a bit of a one-note creator (baseball love story guy!).

[Seto_Sora]

I read the reviews. I've been meaning to submit a couple reviews myself on .Hack because there wasn't anything for Roots and I wanted to give a "second opinion" on Sign.
Also, I just picked up "Summer Wars". I haven't watched it yet. Has anyone else seen it yet?

SDG

[aliveinHim]

I'm watching K-On and I watched the 1st episode of Chobits.

[Atria35]

Also, I just picked up "Summer Wars". I haven't watched it yet. Has anyone else seen it yet?

SDG

Um YES. A bunch of us. While you were gone, we held an 'anime of the year' voting contest- Summer Wars won. Most of us love it. I ended up reviewing it for my own little blog.


In other news, I watched Millenium Actress (again) since that's the only anime that got any vote on my blog for which review I was doing next. I'm not disappointed at all- I love Satoshi Kon's works!

[R86]

I'm also one of the dozens [who never saw Honey and Clover]. Let me know if it's any good. (Or I may just read the blog.)

I am six episodes into the first season (there is a shorter second season as well), and I am pleasantly surprised and tentatively optimistic about this show. Again I'm not normally into romance shows, but there is a good deal of humor in it also, and the characters have all succeeded in making me care about them. Six episodes into a series is usually enough to tell whether anything really disturbing or otherwise unacceptable happens, so with the caveat that Takemoto Yuuta may have secretly been an axe murderer all along and in episode 7 goes on a killing rampage, I will give this show the thumbs up for now.

The only thing I'm not completely buying is why every character, male or female, seems to be going nuts over Hanamoto Hagumi, who is one of these college age characters with the appearance of a little girl maybe 9 or 10 years old. But since I personally dislike that kind of character, it's probably just me. Another thing that surprises me is that time seems to be going by very quickly. I'm sure at least a year has passed in the six episodes I've seen so far.

So far I've only been writing for TWWK on either special topics that we have agreed upon beforehand, or else anime series that have really rocked me to the core and changed my life. So I will only be writing on Honey and Clover if it turns out to be that kind of anime. Which is not something I'm particularly expecting, but could certainly still happen.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

[SIZE="4"]Zoku Natsume Yuujincho[/SIZE]

The last time I talked about Natsume along with his merry band of youkai, I talked a lot about why I liked Natsume, and I especially focused on his selflessness. This was a guy who had the Cliche Villain Background but ultimately ended up helping out tons of people and youkai with their problems with nary a thought of himself. The first season made a big point of how Natsume's childhood was a living hell, where he was shunned by pretty much everyone, including the people taking care of him, yet here he is, helping a little fox spirit who just wants to be more courageous.

This season, however, takes a different focus. While the formula remains the same, where Natsume runs into a new youkai and learns their story, the name of the show(and the reason I didn't translate it) really takes another meaning here. Zoku, you see, means two, but it can also be written to mean something like nakama. Here, we really see Natsume's selflessness really shine through as we see the group of people who realize what a great person he is and now try to help people the same way he does go.

We also now get to see that Natsume, as polite, calm, and nice as he is, still hasn't fully recovered from his awful childhood. Instead of manifesting as anger or bitterness, we see how Natsume really has no idea how to act towards people, because no one has ever wanted to talk or even acknowledge him. Now, as people realize what a great person he is, he isn't sure how to show back to them that he likes them too. It's an instinct to avoid people; they cause you harm, even when they don't.

It is now that Natsume himself has to learn to accept the help of others and learn to trust again. He inspires Taki, Tanuma, Natori, and even selfish Nyanko to be better people, but now they want to help him and he isn't sure how to let them.

This season is ultimately about the effects of being a loving and kind person, where you inspire others to do the same. The early episode with where he aids a group of servants too stupid to simply move around the puddle only to be aided by their master for this simple kindness really exemplifies the ultimate theme as the person who aids can now rely on the people who have been aided to be there for him or even others.

[Sapphire225]

Rewatched Puella Magi Madoka Magica to prepare myself for the next two episodes coming soon. Most likely, I'll move onto Towards the Terra once I get back home for Easter Break.

[That Dude]

Just started "Fractale" I'm liking it so far.

[Mouse2010]

My husband and I take turns picking what we watch together, and lately we've been alternating between Casshern Sins (my choice) and Moribito (his choice). I'm really really liking Casshern Sins so far, despite the grimness. We're only about three episodes in, though, so a lot could change.

I'm on the fence about Moribito. We're watching on Netflix, so we're watching the English dub, and I don't care for the voice acting at all. The story seems interesting, but the dialogue and the delivery of lines sometimes makes it hard to take the show seriously.

[the_wolfs_howl]

I watched the first episode of Escaflowne today. Since I'm new to anime, this is one of those classics I've never seen. Someone tell me . . . does it get better? For some reason the first episode really seemed slow. I don't understand how a pilot episode that involves fighting a dragon could be boring, but it was! Is that just me?

This was one of my first series as well, and it's been so long that I don't really remember, but I think it does get more exciting as it goes along. It's definitely not a school story, by the way; soon enough the mecha battles and fantasy stuff will take over. I thought the ending was very disappointing, and there were other elements throughout that I didn't like so much, but it's a pretty good show.

Anyway, I watched FMA episodes 23-27. I'd forgotten how funny the Izumi introduction episodes are