April showers bring [Spring 2011] anime

[Atria35]

I'd already pinned Hana-Saku Iroha as my fave for this season, and I don't think I'll be disappointed. The art? Fabulous. Animation? Above-average. Story? I like. I like a lot. Wooo!

[ich1990]

Kaiji season 2 episode 2 has a techno song in the soundtrack with people saying "zawa zawa" in time with the music. This is a good start.

Kaiji: I hate it!
Narrator: He hates it!
Kaiji: I hate it!!
Narrator: He hates it!!
Kaiji: I hate it!!!
Narrator: He hates it!!!

[blkmage]

「Ｃ」 The Money of Soul and Possibility Control or some permutation thereof was, well, I'm not sure what to think of it yet. It doesn't seem to be straight up economics like Spice and Wolf is. It's mechanics are very Yu Gi Oh. And stylistically, in writing more than in art, it's pretty similar to Nakamura Kenji's previous works, like Mononoke and Ayakashi. It's the way some of the characters talk and behave that does it, I think.

EDIT: oh yeah, and the ED for C is by school food punishment, one of my favourite bands, so awesome

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko is another weird Shinbo/Shaft show. Lots of headtilts. Based on a light novel by the guy who did Lying Mii-kun and Broken Maa-chan, a short, one-volume manga that I really liked.

Hidan no Aria is basically every JC Staff show with Kugimiya Rie, except this time, everyone has guns.

[blkmage]

Gonna quickly add something about Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. It's another drama and it's also sufficiently interesting, but it's a lot more standard compared to HanaIro, not that it's a bad thing. It'll be interesting to see where this goes, but yeah, pretty exciting since there usually aren't two interesting dramas in a season.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I liked the first episode of Toriko quite a bit. The show really seems like the spiritual cousin of One Piece. Its world is just teeming with color and vibrant life. Doesn't look to be breaking SJ the mold but a fun watch for sure.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Sket Dance is a show for me, and something I can dig. Fun stuff.

Hidan no Aria will probably finished but killed any interest I had in Toradora!, which was almost enough for me to blind buy it. The action scenes were fun, but I do not think I can like the Rie Kugimiya tsundere at all. Or any of the other characters, really.

Finally, Ano Hana was really good. I haven't watched enough slice of life/drama stuff to be able to see how standard it is, I guess, but it's definitely one of the potential 9/10s from this season.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Enma-kun continues to be a really solid show that I'd expect out of Brain's Base. Good work, guys.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Hanasaku Iroha and Nichijou continue to be excellent, and Dog Days is entertaining if still mediocre.

[TWWK]

Ano Hana immediately jumped to the top of my list for this season. I can see the emotional final episodes coming even from this point - and I just love that stuff.

[blkmage]

Ao no Exorcist was okay, I guess. It's a newer shounen manga and the first episode was a ton of setup with the TWEEST at the end there. We'll see how it goes.

The thing that's great about Dog Days is how goofy and hilarious their entire system is. It's not ambitious at all, but it is actually fun.

Gotta say, I like Nako because taro is pretty awful. idk why people keep putting it in desserts.

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, AnoHana was good and well put together and I'm expecting good things from it, but various elements definitely got noticed by my internal pattern matcher.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I think the best part about the third episode of Dog Days was when the Intelligence Division shows up and announces who they are as the spotlight shines on them.

[MasterDias]

Yeah, Dog Days is rather fun. I'm amused at all of the details (like the economic/money stuff) that went into the setting. I guess they can't be criticized for not thinking things through.

Balut is nasty. Its wikipedia article made my skin crawl. Minchi gets points for creativity.

Tiger & Bunny continues to be surprisingly good.

C has certainly piqued my interest. Similar to Steins Gate, it really needs multiple episodes for a better opinion to be formed though.

Ano Hana: Just based on the first episode, it looks like it's going to be a solid drama. It appears Ano Hana is going to sell really well too, so I guess noitaminA finally has a financial success again.

Aria the Scarlet Ammo: It's a very J.C. Staff show. I like J.C. Staff, but whether I follow this will partially depend on if there is actually a compelling plot under there. It certainly was trying to make a good first impression.

Deadman Wonderland: It was okay, but it felt really fast paced to me. I like the Nirgilis ending song quite a bit, but it doesn't really work with that sequence.

[MightiMidget]

Tiger and Bunny -- is so far my favorite thing this season, however I've only tried four things--still waiting for the simulcast to be open to us freebie crunchyroll people...and waiting for Funi's C simulcast to start up on Thursday.

Hidan no Aria -- I'm with Dias on this...I really like J.C. Staff? However the fanservice (as relatively light as it was) will not be worth the brainpower unless there is something compelling going on. I sat through Infinite Stratos last season, and I am not in the mood for another plotless anime just yet... but it was fun, and I have to admit the guy amused me with his mortification at his own cockiness.

The World God Only Knows -- reminds me that just because it's shallow doesn't mean it's not entertaining. Looking forward to this again and meeting this new demon that is appearing in the banner. Also, I love how Katsuragi is not changed into a deeper character merely to please the audience. Granted, that also means he isn't growing which is frustrating, but not as much so as a forced growth. Here's to his sucking it up just a tiny, little itty bitty bit. (Which I believe he did somewhere in the last season) But whatever. TWGOK is an awesome comedy, if I want my depth I'll happily look elsewhere. It would just be a perk.

Nichijou -- I think I love this, but honestly don't know. xD

[TheSubtleDoctor]

In Steins;Gate, Mr. Braun (the owner of a small TV shop) wears an apron that reads "I <3 CRTs"

All kinds of lols.

[Cadence]

So I watched the first three episodes of Hanasaku Iroha...the first two episodes were quite good, but if episode four is as bad as three was, I am done.

[MightiMidget]

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko -- okay, I think I liked that. I did not like Arakawa, but this I think I could dig. We shall see.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

After sampling quite a few shows (more than my MAL lets on, b/c I didn't feel right adding something that I only watched a few minutes of), I think I am all set for this season. I have a spot left on my schedule for Deadman Wonderland, but I think that'll be the last one that I keep up with. I may pick up some other stuff later on the way I'm doing w/ Madoka Magica.

I'd say that Toriko, Steins;Gate and Tiger and Bunny look to be as good as anything that has come out in the past several seasons. I'm pretty happy with three (possible for if DW pans out) quality shows to follow, and honestly, it's more than I'd let myself expect for a given season.

*EDIT Oh wait, and there's C which Funi will stream tomorrow. Maybe 5 good shows? Well three is plenty, so I won't get my hopes up.

[blkmage]

Oh yeah, if you're watching Steins;Gate and you've forgotten who John Titor is, well, here you go.

[MightiMidget]

Oh yeah, if you're watching Steins]here you go[/URL].

AWESOME!

[c.t.,girl]

o_o this thread has captured my interest...

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Well, turns out my being "all set" was hogwash.

I watched C today, as planned, and, while it was a visual treat, it didn't grab me the way Eden of the East did (I have heard the two shows compared). Still, I like it. It shows lots of promise and seems worth sticking with.

For some reason, though, I decided I would check out Ao no Exorcist. You know how when you see a movie that you eally, really love but haven't seen in a while so you forget exactly how certain bits are executed? And, you remember the good parts like a minute before they happen? Blue Exorcist was like that for me. I have seen this movie before: "Classic Shounen Tale." But, because I knew the kinds of things that were coming, I got pumped for them. This first episode is fuel for the "execution trumps originality" argument. Will stick with it.

Now. For real. Deadman Wonderland will be the last show I pick up. Seriously.

Also, does anyone else always want to say/almost say Deadman Wunderkind?

[Agloval]

I've settled on watching Kaiji (because it's Kaiji), Enma-kun (because it's Go Nagai) and Dog Days (because I'm a terrible human being). I don't normally watch anything much while it's actually airing, so the chances of me ceasing to follow all three are fairly high.

[MightiMidget]

Watched the first episode of [C] and LOVED it. Oh yes. It did not disappoint. Even if I'm more than a little lost.

EDIT: Just watched second episode of Hidan no Aria. This would be a blast if it focused on action instead of mild fanservice and...wow...Aria is irritating.

EDIT 2: (just going to keep editing here ) Deadman Wonderland was a lot less gory than I was expecting. It took me like an hour to work up the nerve to try it too. But I liked it, and think Shiro is pretty much awesome. It's funny hearing Nessa in a doom-and-gloom environment.

Watched first Anohana episode and not sure what I think of it. Don't believe I will be following, mostly because I am not into drama just for the sake of drama. So we'll see...I might give it another episode, depending.

[blkmage]

Moshidora was, uh, interesting. It is a lot more direct about using Drucker's text than I was expecting.

[MasterDias]

Is there going to be another "Let's Watch" for this season? At least two episodes have aired for all of the shows by this point.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I think HanaIro would probably work the best, since it seems to have the most people watching and has a plot, as opposed to doing one for Nichijou, which I love but would make a bad Let's Watch.

[Midori]

Well, I haven't been keeping really on top of this season's anime, with the exception of Denpa Onna & Seishun Otoko, which I am watching with my parents. It's very weird and we are having a fun time watching it. Eventually I'll probably get around to watching Hanasaku Iroha, Nichijou, and AnoHana, and maybe Tiger & Bunny.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Steins;Gate continues to do what it does, I guess.

I have no idea what happened in the third episode of Enma-kun but I think whatever did happen was pretty awesome.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

So, I like MightyMidget, really dug Deadman Wonderland. A lot. I know that the folks that read the manga got pretty disappointed, but IIRC it doesn't get bad until kinda far along. The anime is only 12 episodes, so I doubt it will run into the storyline issues that the manga eventually does. Now, that's not saying it won't have its own unique difficulties, but some people that were scared away by the manga might consider giving the anime a shot.

I become less enamored w/ Steins;Gate with each passing episode.

[blkmage]

Steins;Gate is certainly taking its time, but that's a problem with most visual novels and their adaptations. Sometimes it makes me wonder why someone would even bother to attempt adapting some of them into anime.