First Impressions / Retrospective Look

As I alluded to last month, I’m bowing out of the monthly posts for the rest of the season, as these three months are all about Kiiragi, Prooof, and Takaii’s coverage of anime. Please see below for a comparative take on all the shows they’re watching.

Changes since last month:

  • Kiiragi dropped Deadman Wonderland and Hidan no Aria.
  • Prooof picked up Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai.
  • Takaii picked up Denpa Onno to Seishun Otoko.

    • Note: Once again, please be considerate of others who may be interested in picking up a series after reading about it here by placing discussion of any major spoilers in <spoiler></spoiler> tags. There will be little to no tolerance for anyone intentionally spoiling the enjoyment of others.

     

    Technical Note: Just like the season previews, the list is ordered by the date and time that the shows air. The schedule is intended to give a quick overview of all the shows that at least one writer is watching, and serves as a table of contents to jump to specific entries. In lieu of “Top” links, you can use the back button in your browser to quickly return to the schedule.

    Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
    Ao no Exorcist
    17:00 MBC TBS (4/17)    		 Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai II
    25:30 TX (4/11)    		 Bleach
    18:00 TX    		 C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
    24:45 CX (4/14)    		 Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san.
    23:00 AT-X (4/8)    		 Deadman Wonderland
    25:00 tvk (4/16)
    K P T K P T K P T K P T K P T K P T
    Hanasaku Iroha
    22:00 MX (4/3)    		 Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji Hakairoku-hen
    24:59 NTV (4/5)    		 Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae…
    25:15 CX (4/14)    		 GOSICK
    25:23 TX (1/7)    		 Nichijou
    26:20 TVA (4/2)
    K P T K P T K P T K P T K P T
    Steins;Gate
    26:05 TVS (4/5)    		 Hidan no Aria
    25:25 TBS (4/14)
    K P T K P T
    A-Channel
    25:40 MBS (4/7)
    K P T
    Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
    25:55 TBS (4/14)
    K P T
    Legend: 12 Kiiragi 7 Prooof 11 Takaii Not watching
    GOSICK
    Episodes 16 – 19

    Kiiragi: The last four episodes of GOSICK was spent pretty much explaining the real story of the series, and were quite the experience. Well, only after I put together the “pieces of chaos” myself did I understand completely, but what matters is that the substance is there. Since the latest episode, most character motivations of the show have been revealed, and I’m curious as to how it’s all going to pan out in the final arc.
    Nichijou
    Episodes 06 – 09


    Kiiragi: The comedy level has been more or less the same, and if you haven’t found it funny by now, chances are that won’t change. I’ve been having a pretty good time with it, and always look forward to some Hakase+Nano scenes, but there’s been way too much focus on Yuuko lately. A lot of her jokes fall flat, and sometimes are literally her trying to be funny to the characters, but I’m usually just pokerfacing the same way Mio and Mai are. I like the characters that have had far less attention a lot more, like Miss Gundere Misato with her suave Koujirou, and lately, the attempts at love from Manabu towards the always nervous Izumi. Hopefully they get more recurring appearances.

    Prooof: There’s not much to say here that I haven’t said before. The randomness is the main feature of this show, and provides a little light-hearted craziness to brighten up my day. The eccentric characters coupled with some wacky animation really compounds the hilarity. I think I enjoy the school skits the most, especially Mai, Yuuko, Mio, but all the personalities are fun to watch. Although some of the antics aren’t that funny, there are still plenty of others that keep things amusing.

    Takaii: Nichijou never fails to wow me with its crazy humor and random jokes. In stark contrast to another show in the same genre airing right now, I see no need for Nichijou to change anything. Instead of having some overarching plot, we get some incredibly funny moments combined with some of the cutest and insanely trollish characters I’ve ever seen in a slice of life. With Yuuko always recovering after each and every blow from Mai, Mio, or whoever the world feels like sending at her, there’s usually a never dull moment to be had. And let’s not forget about Hakase and Nano! With just the right amount of cute to humor, they provide the contrast to balance the complete randomness from our other main characters.
    Hanasaku Iroha
    Episodes 06 – 09


    Kiiragi: Forgetting the dramatic wit the first episode carried, Iroha, at least for now, has become a light slice of life comedy of what it’s like working in an inn. The romantic aspects seem to inch closer as the episode count increases into what appears to be a multiple thread of “who likes who”, and while I don’t particularly have much experience in that kind of story, it sounds like it could be a headache of misunderstandings and frustrations. I’d rather they keep the current light-heartedness now, but if they do venture into such a plotline, I hope the frustrations are understandable rather than making people want to punch their screens. Even better, they should come up with an overarching obstacle so that romance only accompanies it.

    Prooof: With all the miniature arcs, the pace is feeling more laid back as the story wanders from one situation to the next. Because of that however, everything can be thoroughly examined and the cast can be fleshed out. Though nothing is particularly amazing, I’m still enjoying it since the drama is interesting, the humor works well, the characters (most of them) are fun, and the story just has a really satisfying feel. With a lot of romance misunderstandings potentially brewing, I’m not sure if I’m going to enjoy the resulting mess though.

    Takaii: In terms of production value and being one of my favorite shows on Sunday, Iroha never fails to bring a smile to my face. Each week, there is some new problem that needs to be solved. The thing is, that problem doesn’t necessarily involve Ohana — something that I think is super important in a show like this. The characters around Ohana aren’t just thrust off to the side, but on the contrary are made out to be just as important as her. Jiroumaru and Tomoe are good examples, as each of them had an episode to focus on their own unique problems, giving their characters more meaning and making me care more about them. Even though some of you have commented that two seasons is too much time for a show like this, I’d like to say that without the extra season, things would probably feel rushed and characters would get lost in the wind.
    Bleach
    Episodes 320 – 324

    Prooof: There’s nothing absolutely significant, but this is definitely one of the better Bleach fillers. There are intelligent fights, an interesting mystery that is slowly unraveling, and interesting scenarios through the reigai. Though this arc’s status as filler hampers potential development, the exciting action partly makes up for it. Nothing is horribly dragged out or boring; unfortunately episode quality is still inconsistent and the art/animation wavers between very bad and relatively nice.
    Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji Hakairoku-hen
    Episodes 05 – 09

    Kiiragi: Rather than my initial expectations of using strategy within the confines of the game like most of first season, it turned out more as an outside job, manipulating the game’s rules itself and the enemy player. The chinchiro arc turned out to be really good, as the various antics of the build-up in their “plan” kept things entertaining, and led to some rather painful cliffhangers. I’m happy to say Kaiji season two is just as gripping as the first, but may be too addictive. Impatient people should marathon this one.
    Steins;Gate
    Episodes 05 – 09

    Kiiragi: Steins;Gate is surprisingly one of the more solid shows this season. The time travel antics are well on their way in this month’s batch, and despite the tricky subject matter, the plot is moving along with no hiccups. As Okabe messes more and more with the past, the story direction seems to finally be taking a darker turn. It’s all very exciting. The characters are a delight to watch, mainly due to Okabe’s hilarious mad scientist spiel, so much so that it would be entertaining just to see them screw around, which they do anyway. I like that the story keeps it simple with its developments and has a good pace to follow on. Being two-cour is a huge plus.

    Takaii: Time Travel? No, it’s even better than that. It’s time travel that’s actually used for the benefit of crazy mad scientist Hououin Kyouma. I suppose I was getting a little impatient waiting for real time travel to happen, and while actual time travel hasn’t occurred, the whole concept of changing world lines and Kyouma being the only one who remembers is really interesting. Changing the past using a single text message sounds like a pretty serious thing to do with such a simple method. While I was hoping to actually watch characters travel through time, I’m feeling pretty content watching Kyouma try to deal with reality changing around him. With John Titor still mysterious as ever and Suzuha hiding some sort of secret, I can only see thing getting more heated from here on out.
    A-Channel
    Episodes 05 – 08

    Kiiragi: This slice of life hasn’t changed much, but I watch it anyway. It’s become a real laid-back show to take off some stress, and there’s nothing really wrong with it. On the other hand, there’s nothing really amazing about it either, but the characters remain interesting enough to keep watching. However, I do want some more unique scenarios, rather than the more typical festival and beach episodes. I just know a sports/school festival is probably coming up regardless. And similar to Nichijou, I’d like to see more of the lesser shown cast, such as the teachers. The two that cling onto Tohru should join the main group too. It’s like Lucky Star showing the rest of the cast way too late.

    Takaii: Out of the two major slice of life shows this season, A-Channel keeps pulling me back not with laughs but some fairly serious drama. With characters that cover the entire spectrum from creepy to cute, I never expected A-Channel to have so much life inside of it. In the recent episodes, I’ve been happy with all the time devoted to giving the side characters a proper showing. I personally want to see more of Kamade-sensei, since her “I don’t care but I really do care” attitude really interests me. Besides that, I’d have to say that A-Channel is a slice of life that is driven by its character interactions and not by random jokes.
    Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san.
    Episodes 05 – 08

    Kiiragi: If you ever start getting sick at the superficialness of all anime girls being beautiful, Azazel is the way to go! 97% of the characters are so butt-ass ugly you’ll appreciate the main characters so much more! Anyway, recently there’s been more two episode arcs rather than one, and while I liked the Angel one, the Undine at school didn’t do much for me. Annoying characters are the specialty of this show, but Undine is unbearable AND she isn’t funny. Since that took 2 episodes of this month’s 4, I enjoyed about half of it. I much prefer Azazel and Beelzebub. And Mossan… ;_;
    Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai II
    Episodes 04 – 08

    Kiiragi: Right before I was about to drop it, I checked out Chihiro’s arc after reading the good reviews on Tak’s posts. They were right, it did not disappoint. Chihiro’s plainness compared to the previous heroines and her struggles were conveyed aptly, and I felt some work was given to the pacing as well. There was even some choice cinematography that I noticed, such as Chihiro’s morning walk to school, and the various things she does as she gets there. Perhaps her arc just worked better than the others. Whatever the case, I’ll stick around to see if the sensei arc can do more of the same.

    Takaii: With things really in full swing, Kami Nomi is starting to bring out the big guns plot wise. While they started the season with a regular capture, everything since that point has felt fresh and entertaining. With Haqua giving a little more insight on how loose souls actually work and Chihiro literally forcing Keima to change his approach on capturing loose souls, there hasn’t been a dull episode yet. Another point that I wish they’d tackle is how Keima deals with the memories of all the girls he’s already captured. Even though I can assume from the comments that this isn’t a topic we’re going to deal with during the current season, I’m glad that they hinted at it at the end of Chihiro’s arc. It makes me feel better knowing that Keima isn’t just a heartless 2D-loving otaku. He’s a semi-heartless 2D-loving-3D-accepting otaku (:
    C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
    Episodes 04 – 07


    Kiiragi: The latest C of May was split into two halves, one to develop the background of a leading force of a character and show his goals, and the other to recollect our main character’s actions and the feelings behind them. In essence, it was like preparation for what’s to come, and wraps up the introduction phase of the series. I’ve had no qualms with this show, and feel its plot is superbly done, as it is complex yet defined. However, I do believe a little business knowledge is required to enjoy the show’s reasoning behind certain plot points, as well as knowing what kind of person it takes to be in business. Kimimaro’s actions are purposely a good contrast to an ideal businessman, and it’ll be interesting to see Souichirou’s values clash against his when they (most likely) fight against each other in the finale.

    Prooof: This series still hasn’t really gone anywhere, and so far it has just been revealing the mysterious nature of the Financial District. It continues to raise questions even as it answers them, and there is still no clear villain. My suspicion is that there is no single real “villain”, and instead it is the Midas system that is the enemy. To make up for a lack of a clear plot though, there is a good amount of focus on the characters. Msyu and Kimimaro’s interactions are especially interesting, as are the multitude of other little developments.

    Takaii: For a while, I was getting really discouraged with where this series was heading. The consequences of injecting Midas money into a country’s economy was really starting to get interesting until the drama aspect of the story started to butt in. It really irked me just how wishy-washy Kimimaro was. His inability to make his own decisions ended up not only hurting people around him (Mysu) but will probably end up being his downfall, which is why after the most recent episode, I was pleasantly surprised to watch Kimimaro finally do things that he wanted to do.
    Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai.
    Episodes 04 – 07


    Kiiragi: It’s hard to make statements about Anohana, because there’s always so much more behind everything. There are no hard conclusions to things, as the character issues evolve and morph into continuing ones, blending a seamless plot that actually resembles the unbreaking road of life. The darker turn of Yukiatsu’s problems set the stage for deeper issues to be revealed, and it was fun anticipating what the characters were going to do next. I’ve had some problems with the main duo being ambiguous with their motives while the rest of the cast dances circles around them, and it’s led to some head scratching in recent episodes. I’ll need to see the ending before anything else though.

    Prooof: As potentially one of the best shows this season, Anohana is really gearing up to deliver some emotional hits, and already there is some tugging at the viewers’ heartstrings. Just seeing flashbacks of their childhood made me feel pretty nostalgic. None of the characters are particularly likeable for me, but imperfect characters do bring more depth to a story. However, I feel that the writers are trying too hard to flesh out the various relationships and dragging out the development of the inner turmoil; as a result, the characters are ignoring some pretty obvious courses of action (for example, proving Menma’s existence). Regardless, her wish is clearly being used as the catalyst to bring the cast back together, heal some really deep scars, and find some closure.

    Takaii: So we’ve seen that Menma can physically interact with things. Even though she’s technically ethereal, she can do things like bake muffins. I don’t understand why Jinta isn’t exploiting this fact and not only proving her existence but proving to everyone else that he isn’t crazy. At this point, things are starting to frustrate me a little bit: Anjou not going to school, Matsuyuki still keeping that jerk attitude of his, and Poppo trying to force himself into Jinta’s life. At this point, I’m not really sure what to expect. All I know is that if Menma turns out to really be a figment of Jinta’s imagination, I’m going to probably pop a blood vessel while hurling something out of my window.
    Hidan no Aria
    Episodes 04 – 07

    Takaii: After you look past the silly situations and typical romcom rivalries, this show still has some really great moments that make it stand out among other shows this season. I’ll admit that I wanted a little more depth with the Butei system, but the flashy battles have made up for the lack of clear and detailed information. What redeems everything for me is our awesome protagonist Kinji. Even out of hysteria mode, he still puts up a good fight and manages to handle things fairly well. In a sea of characters that get stuck in the “flow” of things, Kinji is somehow sticking to his guns and trying to walk along his own path. But with genius Sherlock Holmes Aria and esper Shirayuki both fighting for his attention, who knows how long that’ll last. I know I’ll be sitting back and enjoying watching Kinji struggle!
    Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
    Episodes 04 – 07

    Kiiragi: So, continuing from the previous month, nothing’s really changed. In fact, it’s kind of turned for the worse, shifting focus to harem antics, and spending very little time on a plot that was vague enough as it is. The entertainment I get is diminishing, as I find most of the jokes to only get a chuckle out of me if even that, so I can’t expect comedy. The characters, and the accompanying moe was better when it was fresh, and I’m not too interested in Ryuuko’s attempts at courting Niwa. The plot still has potential in the coming episodes, so I look forward to that, but this felt like a bad month for Denpa.

    Takaii: I think I’m at positive adolescence points now, especially after what’s been going on in my personal life. But to get back on track, boy was I happy that aliens haven’t been the focus for the past few episodes. Something about using aliens as a plot point doesn’t mesh well with me, but luckily Ryuuko and Maekawa have replaced this alien talk with a little bit of relationship building and plastic bottle rocket-making. I started watching this show around when episode six came out, and I can honestly say that I’m not sure why I like watching it. It could be the adolescence points, the happy go lucky Ryuushiko, or watching a denpa onna be really denpa. Either way, something keeps drawing me back.
    Deadman Wonderland
    Episodes 04 – 07

    Prooof: Though some material from the manga has been taken out, what remains is still pretty damn good. Although art is iffy in some parts, the animation does make the events and the despair much more brutal and hard-hitting. Things are crazy, violent, and twisted, but there’s also plenty of intrigue and mystery involving both the characters and the overarching system to make this series one that is difficult to put down. I only hope that the anime doesn’t go for an original ending, or if it does, that it’ll be an extremely good one.

    Takaii: The past few episodes have been pretty great in my opinion. As I remember what a wuss Ganta was at the beginning of the series, I’m happy with the direction he’s heading. When you’re given lemons, make lemonade right? With the introduction of a rebellion-type faction of Deadmen, the story is once again invigorated with life. I love watching Deadmen battle, but I think that moving the story along is just as important as well. While the comments have revealed that there is a lot more manga material that probably won’t be covered, I’ve been content with how things have been progressing. Especially with the latest revelation about Shiro, I can’t help but think that an anime original battle between Shiro and Ganta will happen by the end of this — unless of course, a second season is announced.
    Ao no Exorcist
    Episodes 04 – 07


    Kiiragi: Like the other two-cour series, there’s calmly paced storytelling involved, and yet still drops hints at further larger issues. For now, it’s mostly been focus on developing characters, increasing the cast, but it’s proven to be quite fun while doing it. The filler episode was one of the funniest things I’ve seen all month, and still managed to flesh out Rin with a tie-in to Shirou, so it was also one of the more impressive executions of a filler I’ve ever seen. The setting of the show is attractive, and I’m always a fan of Rin’s aptitude in figuring out situations. Once an organized arc begins, Ao should prove quite the riveting experience.

    Prooof: This show seems to consist largely of random tangent short stories, which makes the direction much less serious than I initially thought. I guess the main goal for now is to introduce the core cast characters, along with setting up the world of exorcists. Rin is a pretty standard shounen protagonist, and some of the other characters are rather generic as well. It’s still highly enjoyable though, and I find the anime-original material actually makes the show better. With the fillers, things progress more subtly and led to plenty of laughs along the way, while leaving room for deeper development later on.

    Takaii: I’m not sure how it did it, but Ao no Exorcist is one of the few shows that I’m starting to love. I tend to like all the shows I watch but this one is really special. Be it from the loveable cast, quirky plot points, or epic bro moments, this show does something a little different and does it well. Even random side episodes like the cooking one managed to keep my attention and if I hadn’t read that it was filler, I wouldn’t have even known.

    110 Comments

    1. Steins, Hidan, Exorcist, and Wonderland I’m watching, and I’d have to agree with Kiira’s view on Exorcist. Once it gets to the “meat” of the story, it should be good.

      Silivious
      Reply

    2. Ao no Exorcist, AnoHana, Stein’s Gate, and Iroha have really risen above the rest this season (although Nichijou is still awesome in its own way). Everything else this season kinda wavers between bad and good at times. I believe that C has really taken a downward dive though, with some nasty looking CG and a protagonist who’s pretty much unlikeable at this point.

      Click
      Reply

    3. One show I didn’t see mentioned (I’m guessing you all dropped it for a good reason, because it’s not very good): Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi: what’s up with that show? Is it going *anywhere*? Or is everyone just hanging out, eating ice cream, randomly going to “school,” and having a good time until the Main Character finishes construction on the multi-story compound required to contain his Harem of ever-expanding proportions?

      Speaking of dropped shows, Dog Days finally got somewhat interesting, in that it now has a plot. (But it’s still not a great show. Just something brainless to watch for fun.)

      sarcastic_weasel
      Reply

        1. no one is blogging it here. Divine is still watching it. you’ll only see his thoughts about it in last months retrospective look since he’s not doing it this month.

          amado
          Reply

    5. I watch all the shows that are covered here in this thread as well as X-Men, Astarotte’s Toy, Dog Days, Hoshizora,Sengoku Otome Battle Girls, Shouta Monogatari (very low key underrated show),Sket Dance, and after readin comments from others I picked up Tiger & Bunny and its a better show then the 1st episode indicated. Its a pretty decent anime season.

      It seems like our favorite reviewers are slowly droping coverage of one show after another while others are picking up shows. Perhaps you might consider opening requests for a couple more reviewers to join the staff so it doesn’t end up being such a load for the 3-4 (who do a fantastic job) reviewers we have. Other threads have discussed how the updates seem to be a little less from previous seasons and less shows appear to be covered.

      Kiiragi is covering 12, Proof 7, and Takaii 11. Thats alot for 3 folks to cover and write reviews about while at the same time there are a bunch of series that don’t get any coverage. Hope I’m not sqeezing anyone’s shoes, this is just a suggestion.

      Karmafan
      Reply

      1. Keep in mind those numbers are just the number of shows they’re watching, and not the number of shows they’re covering, the latter of which is outlined in the season schedule. Bringing in more writers doesn’t help reduce the work load of this monthly post, as everyone writes a short blurb on everything they’re watching.

        As for the total number of shows being covered, this season only three less than the winter season when I was around.

        Divine
        Reply

      2. The Respective Look post is just a small look into what each of the writers are watching (like Divine already said).

        Going off of what people say in the comments throughout our various posts, isn’t it pretty normal for people to stop watching what they’re not enjoying? If that’s the case, isn’t it AMAZING that we’re picking up shows? (;

        Takaii
        Reply

    7. Kiiragi’s ideas on Azazel mirror mine 100%!

      It does get a little annoying to see every girl in every anime serious be an 9/10 or above in the aesthetics department.

      That show makes EVERYONE look incredible hideous. I love it!

      (And, Undine is UNBEARABLE)

      Ricalloo
      Reply

    8. aw man!
      I was hoping Divine would have shown his thoughts about oretachi ni tsubasa wa nai.
      I believe its the hidden gem this season. I really love it! the plot keeps getting more interesting and I love each of the characters in the story. I wonder what will happen to the main characters at this rate? it also has great romance.

      hoshizora is now kicking in with the romance department. the jealousy is starting to form on some of the characters. and its still enjoyable despite the “generic” feel of it.

      dog days is now on the more serious parts. if this was 24 eps, they probably would be mostly on character development for each of the characters in the story. im now on the leonmichelXmilhiore ship.

      as for the other series, you’d see my thoughts in my comments in their own respective posts.

      amado
      Reply

    9. thanks for the retrospective look 🙂

      I was wondering if we could have a poll of peoples’ favorite animes this season, I can’t decide on one to watch besides Steins;Gate, which is really good.

      Thanks for all your hard work!

      ffmx
      Reply

    10. Gosick is indeed getting more interesting. Turned out to be much more dark than I expected, but still, very good.
      Hidan no Aria – Promising at first, but the situations are so stupidly unrealistic and the character’s behavior so idiotic that I had to quit watching. Where DO they hire the 8 year old kids who wrote these awful scripts? Oh well, another promising series shot down by bad writing.

      BD
      Reply

    11. Hidan no Aria is probably my one that I was highly looking forward to, as I heard a lot of good things. The sad part is, most of those good things you are only going to find in the books. Its depressing how they seem more content to stick with the harem aspect of it than the story.

      But thanks guys for covering as much as you have. I watched a few series I wasn’t before, because of you guys, so keep up the good work.

      Kageho
      Reply

    16. I was just wondering if any of the reviewers are following the Koe de Oshigoto! The Animation OVA. It’s the best thing since Kiss x Sis OVA’s when it comes to being extremely funny and perverse

      Ryuuroden
      Reply

    17. I might drop Hidan No Aria and A-Channel since I no reason of really watching them.
      That and I’m horrible with time management, I don’t know how Divine does it.

      When are the High School settings going to disappear? Almost every single one has that but their fun in the meanwhile.

      Tiger&Bunny, Deadman Wonderland, Ano Hi, Hanasaku Iroha and Steins Gate are my favorites this season

      Show Spoiler ▼

      IronicTales
      Reply

      1. Yes, there was a rumor about that: from start at Kissuo, getting a boyfriend, graduating college, getting married, etc etc. Remind me of Dragon Quest 5…

        I dropped TWGOK because of the manga: I have been following the manga for a while and it feels redundant to watch the anime. Kaiji and Nichijou’s animation isn’t my cup of tea.
        So it’s Ao no Exorcist, Hoshizora, DOG DAYS, Lotte no Omocha, Deadman Wonderland, Hanasaku Iroha, GOSICK, Hidan no Aria and Denpa Onna for me every week.

        The Moondogg
        Reply

    19. Well, this season has really lot of good shows, myself I view 8 of them!
      Most surprising in the “good” area for me are C: and Steins gate, and if you dont hate Rie Kugimiya, Hidan no Aria.

      ewok40k
      Reply

    22. Takaii, i wanted to highlight something. At the beginning of this blog it was stated to limit the spoiler as much as possible however Show Spoiler ▼

      i think it best be edited or at least put spoiler tag

      lkaze
      Reply

        1. well to be honest, from episode one i was pondering whether Show Spoiler ▼

          . I’m not totally against it, just showing concern for fella that haven’t watch it but want to pick it up.

          lkaze
          Reply

    23. “Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san“ is a Godly….watch it. IT WILL NOT DISAPPOINT, despite a few obscenities.

      it’s the ONLY show this season i cannot find one” single” fault” in”…and probably the only show on earth that can tie perfectly extremely sex/violence with absolutely adorable-to-death cuteness (and i MEAN cute), and being outrageously funny at the same time.

      the story is surprisingly coherent. The little demons are adorable, each with an unique personality, a calculating mind and their own selfish purposes. Azabel and Beelzebub are probably the most disturbing, yet Kawaii things you’ll ever seen (i want their plushies…)

      aaa
      Reply

        2. O.o….really? I LOVED the newest arc…with Beelzebub turning human and stuff. *this becomes important later as the angel spots beelzebub’s human form and recognizes it.

          The Undine arc, I read the manga, the story is not the strongest, but it shows both the Fish and the Monkey’s abilities…but in the anime, the voice actress did SUCH a horrible job that I thought the fish was so obnoxious I wanted to slap her…

          anyways, I’m reading the manga right now. Vol.6 seems to be digressing from the angel stories a little, but otherwise it’s all good. This series has so much potential, I wish it uses it to full extent.

          aaa
          Reply

        3. I thought the voice work was pretty nicely done with regards to character since Undine is SUPPOSED to be obnoxious as hell. But yeh, I can see it getting really annoying for some.

          Hrmmm
          Reply

      2. i have to agree, it is hilarious! but its a different hilarious-ness to nichijou. however, i feel the fanservice is becoming the bread and butter of the show (although that was probably the point) and everything else is getting left out.

        Ebiicake
        Reply

      1. Without a doubt my favorites are: Hanasaku Iroha, Kaiji and Steins;gate (in no particular order). Although I don’t think there have been any mind-blowingly good shows theres a good variety to choose from.

        Tomer
        Reply

      2. it takes real willpower. really.

        an average ep takes 24 minutes. and if taking account the time to load it(if you watch online), it might take 30 mins. that means you could watch 2 shows in just an hour.
        and if there are too many on one day, just save it for the next day or two.

        amado
        Reply

    27. Finally saw where oretachi ni tsubasa wa nai was going. Overall i don’t see it as going be be very good. It explores a rare niche and will probably look at the consequences of what happens when that particular problem is removed but the plot flow is bad and so many characters you have a hard time keeping track of who is who (especially when you watch other series rather than focus on it primarily).

      Caught up with Astarotte no Omocha to ep 3 but its obvious where its going and its not ecchi despite its premise. Still the plot is too common to be interesting.

      A channel has risen strongly in terms of creating an endearing slice of life series with the recent “fight” and mini party. Its not near K-ON level but much better than in eps 1 and 2. Music needs lots more work as it really doesn’t stand on its own unlike “Don’t say lazy” or “Listen”

      Hidan no Aria until ep 7 is pretty boringly standard. My interest is dropping into the sewer for it

      Softenni is going nowhere serious but still manages a few laughs with the recent obstacle course. Poor comedic series are always more watchable than poor drama/horror/etc series

      Maria Holic Alive does seem to be losing steam exponentially. The recent Kanako cannot speak episode was bad. Hopefully they find their spark again.

      Will wait for C, Denpa and AnoHana to complete before watching the rest of the eps as former 2 have caused interest loss (thus epecting to need some fast forwarding) while the latter is probably top 3 this season but may be better to finish in 1 sitting for a stronger impact.

      Current watchables in order of anticipation would be Stein;s Gate, Nichijou, Tiger and Bunny, Azazel-san, Gintama, A-Channel, Gosick, Sket Dance, Maria Holic Alive, Bleach (surprisingly), Kami nomi

      Zaku Fan
      Reply

    28. The following shows are still high on my watch list:

      Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji Hakairoku-hen — There is hope even in an underground concentration camp. The show virtually has no female character. This is an anime made for men, just the way I like it.

      Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai — A sad, sad story. A rare gem in the tragedy genre (well… if you can call it that).

      Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san — One of the best comedy animes of the season.

      Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai II — The pace of story development has significantly slowed down. But it is still worth watching.

      Ao no Exorcist — A pretty decent production so far.

      C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control — The story still lacks a “legitimate” explanation of the existence of the Financial District. The fighting has become repetitive.

      Deadman Wonderland — Same problem as “C”: the fundamental premise of the story lacks legitimacy. People just show up and kill each other. Worse, some of the fighting took place in darkness, which kind of defeated the point of the fight scene. BTW, I am rooting for the warden.

      Matroid
      Reply

    29. Hahas,hope the fact that divine won’t be contributing to the RLs for a couple of months and has to only work on the Naruto posts now will lead to an early summer season preview:D

      Smuglord
      Reply

    30. Gosick, Hanasaku Iroha, Stein; Gate, C, Deadman Wonderland, and Ao no Exorcist are all pretty good and I look forward to them each week. The other series that I do watch, are mediocre. And I had to say that I hated Hidan no Aria and dropped it after 5 episodes.

      Odeus
      Reply

      1. Yep, TIGER & BUNNY IS AWESOME! GREAT CHARACTERS! GREAT ACTION! GREAT HUMOUR! EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT!!!

        *ahem* sorry…but the lack of publicity and recognition of it on this site is killing me…especially since the plot absolutely exploded (literally) in the recent episode. Definitely most anticipated and satisfying show this season for me.

        Also enjoying AnoHana, Ao no Exorcist (have to disagree with Rin being a typical shonen protagonist, he’s at least 50 EQ points higher than most of them.)…Steins;Gate is also great…but I keep forgetting completely about it between episodes. Also watching Azazel san, but mostly for the seiyuus (hopefully Salamander will reappear soon.)

        Also shouldn’t there be a post about OreImo? I thought someone was blogging it.

        Dropping C, Hanasaku Iroha and Deadman until about 70% of the net anime community explodes over them…

        Momogoldfish
        Reply

      1. So far from what i have seen, its about
        Show Spoiler ▼

        Zaku Fan
        Reply

      2. as zaku fan said.
        except he forgot to add itami karura.

        im now wondering how this will end cause when things go like this they tend to end up different. and thats what I like about the series, the drama when those 2 will decide to do it.

        also great romance for each of the characters.

        amado
        Reply

    35. whatever happened to watching anime for escapism? i mean it’s like we’re telling japan “make the shows we americans fans watch” “make shows the way we want them to be”. not every anime has to a have a thought-provoking mature storyline. Look at ayamaya daiyo, Lucky star, and A-channel, these shows don’t stimulate the thought process or intelligence but people still enjoy them just for what they are. Besides isn’t vairity the spice of life.

      sally
      Reply

    41. I’m still watching
      Astarotte
      Ano hana
      ao no exorcist
      [C]
      Deadman wonderland
      Denpa onna
      Dog days
      Gosick
      Hanasaku Iroha
      Hidan no Aria
      Kami nomi
      Steins;Gate

      Gonna wait for the summer’s review

      Ricz
      Reply

    42. Updating the list of anime I’m watching right now, it goes like this:

      Denpa Onna – still the best anime for me this season, love the Meme arc 🙂
      Dog Days – I guess I’m one of the few minority that actually sees how good this anime is.
      Gosick – the last few episodes are every exciting to watch!
      Steins;gate – Kirisutina! still very enjoyable, but being a 24 episode anime, I hope they sustain the intensity they are showing right now
      God Only Knows – like! Wish more Haqua 🙂
      Maria Holic– I like it when Shizu and Maria competes; the last few episodes where we have a lot of involvement from the supporting characters is really fun to watch

      Ghostalker
      Reply

      1. addendum:

        Deadman Wonderland – I like the goriness of this
        Ano Hana – so far I love the direction of the story

        The animes (below) that I’m still watching but could either go “on-hold”, or “will be able to finished but will take time”, or “could be dropped”

        Tiger and Bunny – I’m sure to finished this but will take a long time
        Hanasaku Iroha – still not getting into me, struggling to watched this, might watched and complete this but will take a long time
        Hidan no Aira – I haven’t watched past episode 2, quite the generic and cliche JC Staff production to me
        Ninchijou – still not giving me good laughs, but still promising
        Enma-kun – I don’t know if I will ever watched another episode of this after ep1, I like the OVA because they look mature their, but in this, they are very kiddie.

        Others:
        Moshidora – I watched the first ep, I say this have the potential.

        Ghostalker
        Reply

        1. a bit bias a guess but I recommend oretachi ni tsubasa wa nai. really, its much more deeper than what it looks at first. by ep 4, things start to get interesting.
          this show is underrated and ignored.

          as for the others you mention that’s on hold, I say watch up to ep 4 or something. if its still not interesting, drop it. if you see good potential, put on hold. if its definitely getting interesting, finish it.

          amado
          Reply

    44. There seems to be a high amount of light/normal comedy this season, unfortunately I go for dark humor. Planning to marathon Deadman Wonderland, Denpa Onna, Steins and Gosick.

      [u]In order (of least to more likely to drop):[/u]
      Hanasaku – light show with some side stuff, probably the one I’m looking forward to the most
      Oretachi – Funny and interesting, was compelled to play the VN – it was absolutely awesome.
      Kami nomi – animation originals – art, feeling, drama – is a nice touch, following manga.
      Ano hana – characters are starting to annoy me – am I the only one? ED keeps me watching it
      A Channel – Watching for a laugh here and there, nothing extraordinary.
      Hoshizora – Watching… for some reason; it’s not bad but there’s nothing that good either
      C – Not sure if I like where this is going, mainly because of the MC but curious about midas
      Nichijou – At first it was good but the pace is TOO SLOW for me, developing a skip habit.
      Hidan no Aria – dropped at ep 6 to marathon later. [b]Where[/b]’s my Butei plot? Darn JC Staff.

      Bleach – also watching bleach here and there, this filler arc is pretty good.
      Exorcist – planning on batch marathoning sometime, a few episodes every month or so.

      If you squeeze out OP/ED, it’s around 20 mins per, 3 shows an hour, not bad.

      KJacket
      Reply

    45. Just wondering, but would an extra feature of the RL posts where the writers rank the shows in order of how much they anticipate them every week be possible? I’d really like to see something like that~

      elijah
      Reply

    46. Hanasaku Iroha started off being one of my faves this season, but my interest in it has waned recently… I’m just not looking forward to the love triangle/square/pentagon mess and all the misunderstandings that appear to be headed our way… oh well.

      Gia
      Reply

    47. dudes, anyone is getting the same feeling I have, that something’s missing? I dunno if I’m just growing nostalgic upon older series, but I think that in this season until now there are many shows that could be classified as average and no one truly over the top(still I have my hopes on ao no exorcist, let’s see how it develops), so now I’m a bit disappointed and my focus onto this season is lowering day by day..:D

      duk3 fleed
      Reply

      1. Have you tried Tiger and Bunny? The plot is pretty run-of-the-mill but both the execution and premise (corporate superheroes) makes its stand-out from the rest of the shows this season. Warning though, it takes a lot of cues from Western superheroes and American culture so if you are looking for something really distinctively Japanese then…

        Momogoldfish
        Reply

    49. Aww.. Totally forgot about that. I’m gonna miss seeing what you think of the shows this season Divine. Just when Dragon Kid made her big debut too! (Only one episode? RAGE!) SKET Dance is kickin’ it up a notch too. I cried my stomach to knots from Episode 8’s ridiculousness. xD

      I don’t really understand what’s happening with Hidan no Aria and Azazel-san. The writers aren’t covering those shows on a weekly basis. Is it only during the monthly Retrospective Look?

      Shirt
      Reply

    52. On another note… Fall schedule looks to be good. I’m so looking forward to the sequel to Blood+. Its called Blood-C. Also new seasons of Natsume Yuunijichou and Nurarihyon no Mago (2 of my favorite supernatural series).

      Karmafan
      Reply

      1. Is Blood-C a sequel? I thought it was just a reboot of the Blood franchise. o.O

        Looking forward to Kamisama dolls (looks like a psychological thriller with mecha) and new Baka to Test.

        Hrmmm
        Reply

        1. It didn’t give a description. It mentioned Saya and so I assumed it was a sequel that takes place after the series ended. Perhaps its a prequel or something else. That series was really well made so I’m not sure why they would reboot the series?

          Karmafan
          Reply

    54. After what could be described as the WORST WINTER SEASON EVER, spring is surprisingly amazing, with Deadman Wonderland, C, AnoHana, Kami nomi 2 and Steins;Gate taking my attention, it’s been a pretty entertaining year so far and looking forward to the rest of the year.

      Shirikatsu
      Reply

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