With Kiiragi’s recent departure, I figured I’d better take part in this season-end monthly post so that there isn’t a sharp decline in the amount of shows being discussed. Some readers also expressed interest in hearing my thoughts on the shows that I’m only watching (a good 16 of them), so it was now or never if I was going to say anything about them at all. Of the 30 shows I was personally watching, 22 of them concluded this month. Along with Prooof and Takaii’s input, this is a hefty post full of final impressions. I hope you find it insightful in some way.

Changes since last month are as follows:

  • Prooof dropped Nichijou.
  • Takaii is behind on Deadman Wonderland, Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko, and Hidan no Aria.
  • 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
    Beelzebub
    07:00 NTV (1/9)
    Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi
    09:00 AT-X (4/11)
    Bleach
    18:00 TX
    30-Sai no Hoken Taiiku
    27:00 MX (4/6)
    C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
    24:45 CX (4/14)
    X-Men
    22:00 ANIMAX (4/1)
    Deadman Wonderland
    25:00 tvk (4/16)
    D P T D P T D P T D P T D P T D P T D P T
    Toriko
    09:00 CX (4/3)
    Fireball Charming
    19:28 MX (4/4)
    Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji Hakairoku-hen
    24:59 NTV (4/5)
    Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae…
    25:15 CX (4/14)
    Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san.
    23:00 AT-X (4/8)
    DOG DAYS
    25:35 TVS (4/2)
    D P T D P T D P T D P T D P T D P T
    Ao no Exorcist
    17:00 MBC TBS (4/17)
    Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai II
    25:30 TX (4/11)
    Steins;Gate
    26:05 TVS (4/5)
    Hidan no Aria
    25:25 TBS (4/14)
    Hen Zemi
    23:15 AT-X (4/8)
    TIGER & BUNNY
    25:58 MBS (4/2)
    D P T D P T D P T D P T D P T D P T
    Hanasaku Iroha
    22:00 MX (4/3)
    Sengoku Otome ~Momoiro Paradox~
    26:00 TX (4/4)
    A-Channel
    25:40 MBS (4/7)
    GOSICK
    25:23 TX (1/7)
    Nichijou
    26:20 TVA (4/2)
    D P T D P T D P T D P T D P T
    Astarotte no Omocha!
    23:30 CTC (4/10)
    Seikon no Qwaser II
    26:30 MX (4/11)
    Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
    25:55 TBS (4/14)
    D P T D P T D P T
    Ore-tachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai
    24:30 CTC (4/3)
    Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera
    26:10 MBS (4/7)
    D P T D P T
    Maria Holic Alive
    26:15 TX (4/7)
    D P T
    Softenni
    26:30 MX (4/7)
    D P T
    Legend: 30 Divine 6 Prooof 8 Takaii Not covering/watching
    X-Men
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: Overall, X-Men was more enjoyable than Wolverine. While the story was just as straightforward, it had some interesting twists pertaining to Professor X and Yui’s past. As the series progressed, it become fairly clear the Mastermind/U-Men subplot was going to be followed to a tee, so it’s hard to fault Madhouse for executing the script they had planned. To their credit, there was a lot more emphasis on developing the story than just mindless action, particularly in Cyclops’ case. When the action did pick up, the “Reassembly” opening theme always added a nice dramatic flair, even if it was a bit overused. Cameos from other Marvel superheroes in the finale, including Iron Man, were a nice touch. It was a decent series that leveraged Hisako’s involvement, but still nothing to write home about.

    GOSICK
    Episodes 20 – 24 (END)

    Divine: I wasn’t sure what to make of this light novel adaptation, even when the seemingly unrelated arcs started to come together and depicted how the fate of the country was torn between the Ministry of Occult and Science Academy. They didn’t come together very seamlessly, but I was willing overlook that once Saubure’s problems escalated in the final two episodes. It wasn’t all that surprisingly to see how things concluded between Kazuya and Victorique, given that Seyrun elder Sergius’ premonition’s been pretty spot on. That didn’t take away from the epic way it played out though, especially with the fated showdown between Albert and Cordelia. The ending itself was pretty surreal and seemed like a bittersweet one, but luckily turned out to be much better. GOSICK is story-driven series that’s definitely worth watching.

    DOG DAYS
    Episodes 10 – 13 (END)

    Divine: What started out as an original series that’s “safe” for younger audiences ended that way too. DOG DAYS is a very innocent and happy-go-lucky for the most part, which isn’t all that unexpected from the director/writer duo behind Nanoha. Leo’s premonition served as a nice suspense builder, but didn’t have much of an impact in the end since Shinku helped resolve it without any hesitation. Also, the drama in the last two episodes felt really forced and completely tacked on, centering on a new problem with Shinku’s return to his own world. It was hard to get emotionally attached, so it even took away from the climactic battle in a way. Looking back, I didn’t mind the more lighthearted fantasy that this series turned out to be because of the cast involved, but it’s still pretty forgettable when it’s all said and done.

    TIGER & BUNNY
    Episodes 10 – 13

    Divine: T&B is still one of the most refreshing series to roll around in a while, both in terms of the premise and the characters themselves. I’m not always dying to watch the next episode, even with the recent developments surrounding Ouroboros/Jake and the murder of Barnaby’s parents, but I almost always watch it first when given a choice between other series. Kotetsu remains one of the biggest reasons that I prioritize this show, since he always means well but is constantly faced with a generation gap with the other heroes. The tomboy Pao-Lin (Dragon Kid) is one of the few exceptions, hence why I really like her character (and her one-piece Bruce Lee-like jumpsuit). Seeing as we’re only at the halfway point and Jake’s already been dealt with, I suspect Lunatic will wind up as the ultimate antagonist.

    Nichijou
    Episodes 10 – 13

    Divine: “Super ultra great delicious wonderful danger.” Someone really has to tell Japan that they can’t just slap English adjectives together as they please, even if I found Yuuko’s overly descriptive outburst pretty hilarious. Her idiocy is by far and large the funniest aspect, which includes her pathetic attempt to perform magic tricks when she’s sick. The Shinonome household has been funnier as of late though, particularly when glue is involved and Sakamoto’s about to get suffocated. His outbursts reminded me that we really need to see Shiraishi Minoru in more roles, outside of the KyoAni ones that he seems to be guaranteed. The second half of the series is looking up as the two different sides finally meet with Nano attending school and befriending Mio, Yuuko, and Mai. It’s like the best of both worlds, but I can just picture the Nichijou universe imploding on itself as a result.

    Takaii: The other slice of life show that I’m covering has been progressively getting better every week. The past few episodes have been a bit more structured, reinforcing the jokes and making them that much funnier. And without forcing my brain to go from something funny to something random every skit, it feels like I’ve been able to focus more on the show rather than the skits themselves. Oh, and did you know that Inadera Yuki from Nirgilis loves this show? (:

    Beelzebub
    Episodes 20 – 23

    Divine: Oga vs. Toujou at last! It was pretty awesome seeing those two powerhouses go blow-for-blow, marking the first stretch of episodes that I really didn’t care about Aoi’s reduced screen time. They more or less made up for it in the following episode anyway, with Aoi’s grandfather and his quick assumptions of her granddaughter’s relationship with Oga. I really like how the focus on Beel’s been lessened as of late, even as the plot continues to revolve around him, simply because it meant less of his electric crying that’s been heavily overused. Furuichi constantly getting shafted is still great on the humor side of things, especially now that he and Oga find themselves in the demon world. The most recent episode left me wondering if Alaindelon’s daughter is as attractive as she seems, or if she’s just another “trap” that Furuichi’s going to fall for.

    Toriko
    Episodes 10 – 13

    Divine: To coincide with the start of the new season, I was looking for an excuse to drop one of two long-running shounen series and Toriko was the likely candidate since I’m much further in Beelzebub. Well that won’t be happening just yet, seeing as the current Regal Mammoth arc has rejuvenated my interest a fair bit. The inclusion of Battlewolf Terry, Rin, and Sunny adds more character dynamic to the group, particular Sunny who’s voiced by Golden Boy star/veteran seiyuu Iwata Mitsuo, whereas the GT Robos of the evil organization Bishokukai serve as antagonists that test Toriko, Coco, and Sunny’s limits as Heavenly Kings. The fighting aspect has also picked up, which appeals to the shounen fan within me even if I wasn’t holding out for it. I’ll watch a few more episodes and see how I feel about the show later on.

    Hanasaku Iroha
    Episodes 10 – 13


    Divine: It really felt like P.A. Works was prepared to end the series at 13 episodes, judging from the ending sequence. Thankfully they didn’t, as it would’ve left a lot to be desired on the Ohana x Kou front. At this point, I’m holding out for a special moment between them in the finale, seeing as Kou wasn’t taken to Kissuisou like I hoped. Regardless, I really enjoyed the change of scenery to Tokyo since it brought Satsuki back into the picture, and resulted in Minko and Tooru spending some time together, even if the latter always had Ohana on his mind. Satsuki’s visit to Kissuisou had some really nice family bonding moments, plus a really cute one when Ohana got drunk on juice. Her flashbacks were interesting as well, though I don’t know if it was necessary to have Itou Kanae voice her teenage self to make it even more obvious that she was just like Ohana.

    Prooof: What is it about this series that’s so satisfying? The characters are believable and have depth to them, and I really think viewers can relate to their situations. It’s easy to sympathize with them too, as they handle their problems and issues, and everything comes together to form a pretty good story that is quite enjoyable. I found the skits touching and sweet, dealing with a wide range of issues including family, friendship, romance and work, and most of the characters are likable too (except for Takako). It’s a laid-back show, but with a nice balance of drama and humor, it’s never boring and makes me feel warm and fuzzy at the same time.

    Takaii: After a handful of episodes dealing with the strained relationship between Ko and Ohana, and the beginning of what I’d call “cutting ties” with the first half, this series seemed pretty intent on highlighting that Ko and Ohana are going to face tough trials in the future. Not to mention that Ohana being clueless about Tohru and Minko has changed from annoyingly mean to surprisingly likeable. With our beloved Okami, it’s been a treat to watch her slowly open herself up and dare I say it, start to show her affection for Ohana! With a huge backstory involving Satsuki and her mother and relationship problems everywhere, I can’t wait to see what P.A. Works has in store for us.

    Ore-tachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai
    Episodes 10 – 12 (END)

    Divine: I gave Oretsuba the benefit of the doubt and held onto the possibility that the ending would turn some heads. Unfortunately, it was too random for most of the episodes, and quite frankly, very “messy” as well. The switching personalities between Takashi, Chitose, and Hayato became a running joke after it was revealed, so the romance aspect never picked up in any substantial way. Asuka and Hiyoko made some headway in that regard, but often slapped our main protagonist around and killed the mood. Midway through, the premise had a lot of potential, which could have led to a fair bit of juicy drama, but evidently that wasn’t what this adaptation was striving for. The ending was interesting, since it gave new meaning to both the ending and the narrator of the story; however, I’m hard-pressed to find a good reason to sit through all twelve episodes.

    Fireball Charming
    Episodes 10 – 13 (END)

    Divine: Much like its predecessor, Fireball Charming’s humor didn’t always click with me. It was an expectation I had coming in, so I was primarily watching this for the CG aspect and whatever quirky laughs it could provide along the way. Well it sure delivered in that sense, particularly in the episodes that featured Drossel and her one-wheeled motorcycle, which was pretty awesome to watch in slow-motion with multiple camera angles. Very Matrix-like. I also loved seeing all of Drossel’s different “hairstyles” to go with the curvaceous hips of her older generation self. The baseball and “Charming Mankind” episodes were some of my favorites, the second of which definitively linked this as the prequel of the original series and even explained why Drossel can never remember Gedächtnis’ name in the future. These 5-min shorts are worth checking out for the CG work alone.

    Sengoku Otome ~Momoiro Paradox~
    Episodes 10 – 13 (END)

    Divine: I was pretty thrilled about the inclusion of the Honnouji Incident, since it put Akechi at odds with Nobunaga for reasons that fit the series’ own spin on history. I wasn’t so thrilled about how this pachinko game adaptation became more and more generic as it progressed though, even after Date-sensei’s true objective was revealed. The idea of Nobunaga as a benevolent and apologetic ruler threw me off as well, and led to a somewhat cheesy turn of events when she rallied all the others in a group cause at the end. On the flip side, I do think Ieyasu looked pretty good in her “new armor”, in that hot and psychotic sort of way, and served as a good antagonist to the storyline. The ending wasn’t too bad either, and had a nice touch with Shiro showing up, leaving things open to a sequel with another dimensional leap, regardless of how unlikely one is.

    Bleach
    Episodes 325 – 328

    Prooof: The fights are exciting, the animation is decent, but the story is still extremely uninteresting. This arc isn’t bad as a showcase of all the different powers of the captains using large-scale battles, but seeing your favorite captain in action would pretty much be the only reason to watch it. Kageroza is a dull, unmenancing villain, and Nozomi also fails to stand out from any other hastily designed filler character. I suppose there have been worse fillers, but Bleach still fails to impress.

    Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji Hakairoku-hen
    Episodes 10 – 13

    Divine: My sentiment from the first season carries over — Kaiji is extremely riveting yet unbelievably irksome to watch. When I finished the first season in two days, I was spared the antagonizing weekly wait, which is pretty unbearable given how the anime stretches out every scene and milks the suspense for all its worth. They serve as great cliffhangers, but my patience wore thin and I ended up reading the manga to confirm a suspicion during the Chinchiro arc. I went on to read the popular pachinko “bog” arc that’s being animated now, since it seemed dumb for Kaiji to leave everything up to chance yet again. I couldn’t believe the arc spanned roughly 90 chapters and was completely drained when I read it all, so I’m not too keen on sitting through that again on a weekly basis. I’m putting this series on indefinite hold as a result, and may pick it up once it’s done just to see how the material was condensed. A great series to watch, when it’s done airing.

    Steins;Gate
    Episodes 10 – 13

    Divine: Like with most two-cour series, I enjoyed the lighthearted first half of Steins Gate that saw a fair bit of goofing around and experimenting with D-Mails. I love Okarin and Kurisu’s back and forth bickering as much as the next person, but it’s good to see the story switch over to a more serious tone now that we’re past the halfway point. This includes the recent developments surrounding Mayuri, which I’ve been waiting to see ever since I inadvertently spoiled myself while looking into this adaptation. Knowing what was coming didn’t take away from my enjoyment whatsoever, since the urgency in the Higurashi/Madoka-like attempts to change the past turned out to be as suspenseful as I hoped. I did rage a bit in the Final Destination-like turn of events, but not before I was left just as speechless as Okarin for a good while. I love where this is going.

    Takaii: Oh my god. What happened to the lighthearted show that dealt with the problem of trying to figure out how to travel through time? I’ll admit that the whole D-mail idea was a little weak to be considered time-travel, but I never expected things to hit the fan in a single episode. As I watched Okabe try to prevent a chain of events from happening, I felt my arm start to shake. I wasn’t not sure if it was from the fear of knowing what was about to happen or the rage from watching him fail to prevent it, but I was downright speechless at the end of it. Why can’t every day be Tuesday?

    30-Sai no Hoken Taiiku
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: Short 15-minute format notwithstanding, this didn’t shape out to be another B Gata H Kei like I had hoped. The series lost a lot of steam midway through and wasn’t something I particularly looked forward to watching. Most of my enjoyment came from Pi and Ku-chan, since Hayao and Natsu’s relationship continued to progress at a snail-like pace even after they started dating. However, the ending was kind of bittersweet, making the series feel somewhat worthwhile in retrospect. It’s just too bad it doesn’t stand out in the comedy or romance department. Style-wise, the presentation was reminiscent of Gathering’s Tono to Issho and verged on Yuruani’s Flash-animated comedies — not quite what I was hoping for.

    A-Channel
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: It was pretty clear from the get-go that A-Channel is more about the slice-of-life aspects than the laughs. Coming in with that expectation, I enjoyed every minute of Run, Tooru, Nagi, and Yuuko’s first year of high school together. Studio Gokumi deserves special praise for featuring a character song every episode — and fairly decent ones at that — to help bridge the gap between itself and highly successful K-ON. A-Channel definitely caters to a similar audience as K-ON, and is recommended if you enjoyed the daily antics of the Houkago Tea Time girls. Yuuki Aoi was awesome as Tooru, using a new voice to portray her with as she tries to make all her roles distinct. For a show of this genre, it turned out to be everything I was hoping for and more.

    Takaii: A show full of girls doing what they do every day — the definition of a slice of life. While this show hasn’t been the strongest in terms of being fun to watch every week, it does have that cute and charming appeal going for it. With a strong group of main characters, each with something unique about them, it’s not too difficult to get through each episode. Plus with a new insert song every episode, there’s an endless amount of songs to listen to later on! All in all, I’d have to say that A-Channel provides a fun watch for anyone looking for something to make them smile for a while.

    Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: I still find it hard to believe that Nagai Gou had perverted and random humor thoroughly incorporated into a manga 38 years ago, but Dororon Enma-kun proves that he did just that. In this renewal project, the randomness is really over-the-top even by today’s standards, as there’s no end to the Youkai Patrol’s whimsical ways. Be that as it may, the humor was pretty hit-and-miss for me. Anything that involved the relatively more sensible Harumi was generally funny, as was Enma ravaging Yuki at every opportunity and Enpi refusing to wear clothes. I like how the show never took itself seriously, but the plot was downright random, even when the finale loosely tied together all the craziness that happened before. As a longtime fan of anime, I’m still glad I watched this, just so I have a better understanding of what was popular back then.

    Maria Holic Alive
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: Although the humor had its ups and downs, I still enjoyed it all the same just like the first season. It’s not always easy to get the humor in SHAFT’s adaptations after all, but Kanako did make it a lot easier with all her outbursts from being victimized — often by her own stupidity. Her younger sister Miki (Katou Emiri) showed up out of the blue too, providing some interesting romantic developments. I just wish we could’ve seen more of Matsurika and Shizu. The same goes for Mariya, who took a backseat for the majority of the series and let the jokes stem from Kanako herself. He was far too passive in this sequel, having grown tired of threatening Kanako all the time. At least he was still rocking the opening theme, which I really like for some reason. There’s something about Kobayashi Yuu and craziness that always seems to work.

    Softenni
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: As a sports comedy, Softenni never really broke out of the mold it set in the very first episode. However, it did get better once Akadama’s team members were introduced, and even more so when Kurodama’s Shidou Misaki (Kotobuki Minako) showed up and dominated everyone on the court while getting dominated off of it. Along with Hiratsuka Yura (Toyosaki Aki), Kurodama saw two-fifths of the K-ON cast — something that had me wishing the other members made an appearance to complete it. After all, the cast is what really made the show for me, particularly Itou Kanae and Kitamura Eri in the lead roles. The inter-school interactions were the next best thing, making this one of the more enjoyable XEBEC adaptations as of late. Unfortunately, that’s not saying a whole lot, so this will go down as another guilty pleasure of mine.

    Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san.
    Episodes 09 – 13 (END)

    Divine: Azazel-san remained the funniest series of the season for me and even took a semi-serious turn with the introduction of the butt-ugly angels that are after demonic grimoires. It never seemed to have any difficulty flipping between the two either, and came back with even more hilarious moments involving Rinko in the second half. The laughs got better when she became the object of ridicule instead of Akutabe’s freakish clients. I figured Moloch’s incident was going to change the direction of the series, but nope, the series wouldn’t have any of that and continued to dish out the laughs with Azazel and Beelzebub leading the way. It’s too bad Akutabe wasn’t around more, after seeing him kick some angel ass. In any case, it was nice to see things end on a comedic note, though they sure had a flair for the dramatic leading up to that point. Beeyan!

    Hen Zemi
    Episodes 09 – 13 (END)

    Divine: The humor of the Abnormal Seminar never failed to gross me out. Making me laugh was a different matter, except in the final four episodes where it really struck a chord. I’m not entirely sure why I found Komugi’s indirect kiss experiment as funny as I did, but I’m fairly sure it had something to do with Anna falling victim to a urine/semen mixed drink. Then there was the episode with all the guys going over to the “Dark Side” after trying to suppress their sexual urges, and using “The Force” to orgasm from their imagination alone — up to 15 times in a row. The lewd humor worked well when Nanako was front and center of it all. The BL stints were amusing too, as were Ichikawa and Anna after learning about the latter’s childhood trauma that brought about her alternate personality and false life. That’s assuming you can take dirty jokes of course.

    Astarotte no Omocha!
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: The show with the fake-out harem premise never wavered from its actual family value-oriented progression, and 13 episodes later, I have to say it was even a bit too cute and innocent. There was a fair amount of sappier moments, which I didn’t particularly mind if the alternative was a more fan-service-filled approach like Zero no Tsukaima. To the series’ credit, the soundtrack brought out all those scenes really well. I still saw Naoya’s growing affection for Lotte in the fatherly sense, even though it was hinted to be something more. Diomedea’s latest adaptation may not be anything special, but in a day and age where there’s an abundance of violent action-oriented anime, I enjoyed watching a heartwarming series to balance things out. At the same time, the relatively laid-back pace makes it difficult to recommend to the average anime fan.

    Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: Seeing as eroge adaptations have a tendency to go for the main heroine route, I’m pretty happy that the story explored Ibuki as a possibility, even though she never really had a chance to begin with. Surprisingly, there were only really three potential candidates amidst all the girls, namely Ui, Ibuki, and Madoka. I was rooting for Madoka because she fell in love with Kazuma when they were just kids, so that should say something about how I felt about the conclusion. Overall, Hoshikaka was better than the adaptation of feng’s other game, Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka. It was reminiscent of Fortune Arterial, which had a similar generic feel yet turned out better than I originally gave it credit. While it’s still nothing special in the grand scheme of things, at least it reached a definitive conclusion with Kazuma confessing to the girl he likes (albeit with a lot of help).

    Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai II
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: Well they sure made me eat my own words when Chihiro’s arc turned out much better than Jun’s. Keima’s unorthodox approach with a “mob character” that inadvertently won her over turned out to be one of the best arcs animated so far. The problem with Jun’s is that it was hard to believe Keima got her to see him as her equal when all he did was get her really depressed and then console her. The emotions felt pretty forced, but I still enjoyed it because of Toyosaki Aki. The finale on the other hand was absolutely hilarious with the chubby Clannad-style character design for Yotsuba and the original Gundam parody. It was right up there with the finale of the first season and foreshadowed the upcoming girls too. Hopefully Manglobe will be up for a third season, because this sequel had everything that I loved about the first one, plus more Elsie and Haqua.

    Takaii: Hey it’s another sequel that I’ve covered! Kami Nomi’s season two gave me exactly what I wanted — more of Keima and his antics moving toward a new goal. Ever since the Chihiro arc, I’ve loved how the show keeps poking at the idea that Keima is starting to regain hope in the real world. Sure, watching the captures play through is fun and I’m glad that the situations were completely different then the first season’s, but I’ve been excited to see what happens when Keima realizes that he’s invested so much time and effort into something that he doesn’t get to keep. While that aspect wasn’t looked into this season, it gives me hope that another season could appear!

    Seikon no Qwaser II
    Episodes 09 – 12 (END)

    Divine: For me, this continuation more or less concluded at episode six, which was finale-worthy in its delivery. After Sasha left Suirei Academy and headed back to St. Mihailov, the series completely changed gears and became an idiotic fan-service-filled affair with very little intent to get onto the next arc. I was pretty forgiving of that change-up because the first half was really good, but it got to the point that seeing Mafuyu and Tomo again could only offset the lack of development so much. The only redeeming aspect was seeing Jita slowly come around, along with the bits of humor poking fun at the series itself. I don’t really understand why the producers decided to spend so much time on the trivial stuff, seeing as the final episode really picked up by starting the Athos vs. Meteor arc. There’s clearly more source material to work with, so it’s a shame they didn’t leave any episodes to actually animate it.

    C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
    Episodes 08 – 11 (END)


    Divine: A lot of viewers may have found C a little hard to understand, but the story worked well with a little suspension of disbelief, much like all sci-fi fantasy series. Most importantly, the developments didn’t contradict the premise the series established. Still, I can see how it’s easy to lose sight of exactly what Kimimaro and Souichirou were trying to accomplish with their actions, leading to a lot of confusion on the interpretation of the ending. It definitely required some thinking to grasp, so if you’re confused, I would actually recommend watching it again. The thought that went into understanding the story was one of the reasons I really enjoyed it, plus the fact that there was no clear indication on whose ideals were correct. The finale was intense, so I have no problems recommending this original series to most people. Just be prepared to think.

    Prooof: Things really took a turn in terms of craziness in the last few episodes. The fast pace did mean that it was easy to get confused and lose track of all the mechanisms at work, requiring some time to process what had happened. With the battle of ideals between Mikuni and Kimimaro forming the backbone of the show, I felt that the lose-lose situation and the lack of a “right answer” was one of the most interesting points of the show. Unfortunately in the end, many factors just conveniently fell into place for Kimimaro and his allies and largely avoided the consequences of their actions. The assets and the fights were an interesting addition, but again these mechanisms were not explored in-depth so the parallels can be murky. The premise was very interesting, but in the end I find it difficult to recommend this series.

    Takaii: The first noitaminA show airing this season almost lost me along the way. I’ll admit that I really enjoyed watching deals and the integration of some basic economics was cool. On the other hand, I’ll admit that the concept of C was pretty confusing. Besides never explaining what C was, I would’ve liked to see the internal working of the Financial District was explained in more detail. The money press and its effect on reality were a little too vague for my liking. It still amazes me how Mikuni managed to figure out how to work the darn thing so well. In the end, I wish a better ending had surfaced, but at least I know the future still has possibilities. OPEN DEAL!

    Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai.
    Episodes 08 – 11 (END)


    Divine: There’s little doubt in my mind that this was the drama of the spring season. It was a roller coaster of emotions that started off by putting us into a false sense of security with how easygoing Menma was. The emphasis was not on Jinta proving her existence to the others, but the emotional burden from the guilt they all carried since her death. Rationale and common sense goes out the window when emotions are involved, and that’s just what we saw with the Super Peace Busters. The ending may not have gone the Sixth Sense/Fight Club/Perfect Blue route like I was hoping, but it was hardly a disappointment. I will admit I found it really awkward when everyone was bawling their eyes out and revealing how they truly feel, because the acting felt a bit unnatural. I did tear up a little bit in the final scene though. Great series. “We found you Menma!”

    Prooof: People aren’t perfect, and Anohana portrays this quite well as the characters try to come to terms with Menma’s death. I found it painfully frustrating seeing the selfishness of each of the characters hurting the people around them. They are young and naive, but also dealing with a really tragic situation that no one is coping properly. Flawed characters do not make a flawed series though, and their issues resulted in some powerful scenes that really hit home. It’s sad seeing everyone stuck at various stages of denial, anger, or depression, but in the end, they finally crack, admit their true feelings and confess their selfishness in a very emotional climax. I felt some parts were a little too dramatic, especially in the finale, but all in all it is a decent drama that I would definitely recommend.

    Takaii: Single-handedly, the only show this season to make me cry pretty hard at the ending. Even with all the little issues I’ve had with this show, noitaminA shows tend to have something that makes them shine. In Ano Hana’s case, its spectacular ending is what would drive people to watch it. I’m a fan of happy endings, and I think this is probably the best way show can handle the death of character without using some sort of deus ex machina. Leaving with a sense of closure, Ano Hana brought a smile to my face full of tears.

    Hidan no Aria
    Episodes 08 – 12 (END)

    Divine: It felt like a bit of a cop-out when Riko’s plea bargain turned her good again, but I loved seeing her back and flirting with Kinji to really get Aria jealous. The same goes for Aria with Shirayuki, which provided ample entertainment on the harem aspect. The progression wasn’t too bad once Jeanne d’Arc came into the picture (Kawasumi Ayako in another Fate/stay night-like role), even though the plot itself was pretty weak, strung together by only Aria’s desire to clear her mother’s name. Despite that flaw, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters interactions. I didn’t mind some of the fillerish episodes either, particularly the one that led to more screen time for Reki. Premise-wise, I also liked the idea that the characters are descendants of famous fictitious figures, including Vlad who was made out to be a video game-like boss. The ending also left the door open for a sequel by foreshadowing the next arc with the appearance of Kana, who’s actually Show Spoiler ▼

    Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
    Episodes 08 – 12 (END)

    Divine: Even without the monsters, this series has the same, almost inexplicable charm as Bakemonogatari. There wasn’t much of an overarching plot, so it was clear to me that the goofy “springtime of youth” characters interactions was what it was all about. This started with Makoto getting Erio out of her futon, and led to the romance aspect care of Ryuuko that was very cute to watch. I actually thought Erio would be more central to the story, but Maekawa really stole the spotlight in the latter half with her easygoing yet observant personality. Yashiro was late to the party but quirky in her own way, and left a lasting impression thanks to Igucha Yuka’s alien speech. The baseball match wrapped things up decently, and it isn’t even the actual conclusion to the series (ep 13 is BD only). I may not be able to pinpoint the exact appeal of SHAFT’s light novel adaptations, but they’re always fun to watch. This is one of their better looking productions too.

    Deadman Wonderland
    Episodes 08 – 12 (END)

    Divine: I can’t speak for the manga since I stopped myself from reading too far ahead, but as far as the anime is concerned, the switchover to Scar Chain and their attempt to get word out about the cruelty in the prison did provide a decent climax to the series. Genkaku and his Undertakers served as good intermediary antagonists, and further emphasized the insanity that goes on in G Block. It’s just too bad Ganta and Shiro’s subplot couldn’t be covered without completely rewriting the script and removing the possibility of a sequel. The way things ended definitely left a lot to be desired, even though I can understand the rationale behind leaving the story open-ended. In terms of providing a dark and gruesome adaptation that will make viewers want to check out the original source material, I feel that Manglobe has succeeded in that regard.

    Prooof: With only twelve episodes in this adaption, it leaves off on a rather ominous ending. It was still a fun ride, even though I’ve already read the manga, and the plot is full of intrigue — it’s chock-full of mysteries and twists that I found quite riveting. There is no shortage of violence and gore, which makes the story all the more hard-hitting as the characters struggle to survive against forces that toy with their lives. The villains and the anti-heroes were some of the best I’ve seen and were a lot of fun to watch. Even with a lot of characters taken out and some disappointment over several of the episodes throughout the season, things really started ramping up after the revelation about the Wretched Egg, so I thought Manglobe did a decent job with this adaption.

    Ao no Exorcist
    Episodes 08 – 11


    Divine: Being a two-cour series, AoEx has had the luxury of exploring the school-life aspect and building up the characters. To that end, it’s been fun watching Rin and others grow as exorcists, particularly Izumo who had a rocky start and finds herself blushing like crazy when a young boy tells her she’s cute. I enjoyed the beach episode with Youhei (Kobayashi Yumiko) waaay more than I probably should have, simply because Izumo kept showing the girlish side of her tsundere personality. While the introduction of Cath Sith (Takagaki Ayahi) was pretty touching, I’m looking forward to seeing the story shift to a more serious tone in the second half, now that Mephisto has Amaimon checking on Rin. I’m also waiting for Yamada to reveals his true identity, having accidentally come across that info while researching. The climactic battles will surely come later on.

    Prooof: Rin is so immature and annoying. Watching him got on my nerves because his stubbornness reminds me of my own little brother, and also of many other shounen protagonists. I also noticed the usual shounen flaw of spending way too long explaining the situation during the heat of battle. Some of the fillers fell short as well, and I see the show deteriorating somewhat after a strong start. Complaints aside, I’m sticking around to see how the main plot progresses, but even that is moving slowly because of all the little side stories.

    Takaii: One of my favorite shows of the season, it never fails to provide something that grabs my attention and keeps it all the way till the ending credits roll. Whether it’s the immense amount of action or the loveable characters that all have their own unique traits, I can honestly say that every Sunday is a treat with both Iroha and Exorcist giving me everything I want. With the overarching plot making me question what Mephisto is up to, I can only see more good things for this show. Plus, this show is so good that if I didn’t know some episodes were filler ahead of time, I would have never known.

    55 Comments

    1. Definitely agree with all your views on Ano Hana. As a whole it was a great series but parts of the final episode just felt really unnatural. I actually wonder how it would have fared with an extra episode but still, I am very satisfied with the series as a whole.

      It was a fun ride from start to end.

    2. I thought the Spring Season was kind of all over the place, albeit in a good way (kinda). Some shows started off or got pretty weak at one point, but the good shows were really, REALLY good. I’d say that the best (finished) series this season were Moshidora and Ano Hana.

      Click
    3. doesnt really feel the same since I wish to see Kiiragi’s thoughts as well…

      well anyways…
      oretachi ni tsubasa wa nai was pretty good imo. I liked the romance aspect that surfaced later and the drama was better played than most anime ive seen. its praised in some sites to be quite good of an adaptation fron the VN and even Arudoc says so. 8/10
      dog days was fun and could really do well in a 24 eps. many characters to shine, too little eps. 7/10
      mariya holic was also quite fun. some of the trivia were amusing but others got a bit boring. some laughs here and there. mariya and matsurika were awesome, wish there were more matsurika holic. 8/10
      hoshizora got downhill when it picked ui. romance wasnt done properly and felt annoying. was rooting for ibuki and hoped for a curve ball due to the OP song. 6/10

      all my other views on the series could be seen in their own respective posts.
      though I do kinda regret missing those that has yuri in it…

      amado
    4. Divine, if you see someone looking at “2+2=3” inscription and telling that it is a complete nonsense, would you actually recommend watching it again ? 😉

      SpoilerMaker
    5. ohhh I’m glad I got to see a glimpse of Divine’s thoughts on Softenni. I felt that was missing this past season as a covered series since we got so many other Xebec series in the past. My guilty pleasure as well. They had me at the first ball spiked of a certain persons head. 😀

      Breedo
    6. I loved Denpa and every moment it brought with it and Ano Hi Mita was a great show to watch, if you haven’t watched it try.

      A nice spring season I say and considering it’s my first one.

      IronicTales
    7. Why can’t every day be Tuesday?

      You and Me both, Takaii… ;_;

      Steins;Gate IMO is the best show that is currently airing. AnoHana had an ok ending but somewhere in the middle it was quite slow and didn’t keep up with the pace it had earlier. Same goes for Iroha. Dropped that for now and waiting till it finishes only then will I marathon everything.

      So far I’m quite ok with three shows till summer. Not finding anything interesting as of now except Usagi Drop. AoEx, Nichijou, and S;G will keep me afloat. 🙂

      megalith
    8. But in Japan its all about the “Super ultra great delicious wonderful danger.” They put it on all kinds of clothing and accessories. Plus its so popular! When I see Japanese people wearing tshirts with the randomest english on it, it just makes me wonder… are these the same guys that take out car catalogs to find names for their characters.

      I hope A-Channel gets stronger even tho the series ended. They need to release more merchandise for the series. I can only hope that it will have a tiny bit of what K-On produced. :3

      <3 the new Qwaser outfits at the end of the series. Clanking armor within the robes gives them a knightly feel especially with the way things might go down.

      boiya
    9. Hidan no Aria is the anime equivalent of a reality tv show. (I.E. complete trash) I think most fans are biased by their support for Kugimiya Rie. If you can enjoy this kind of recycled JCstaff nonsense, then great. But please don’t pretend its anything else but mindless entertainment with various types of “service”. (The show really did try it’s best to include as many fetishes as they could)

      Aria herself is just a horrible person. Completely ungrateful, having massive amounts of unwarranted arrogance, and using/treating people like tools. And her arrogance never gets pulled back, regardless of how many battles she gets the crap beat out of her, or the fact that most her fights are two vs one in her favor. The point where I actually began to have hate for this fictional character, was when she gave Shirayuki permission to come over to Kinji’s place whenever she wanted. Its Kinji’s place, what right does the free loader Aria have in saying who can and can’t come over. (Not that Shirayuki would have stopped coming over without Aria’s ridiculous permission) And no, I don’t believe that her “tragic” back story excuses her behavior in the least.

      And this is one of the few times I can’t fault JCstaff for making a bad adaptation. I dislike the LN’s just as much. And if you guys do get a 2nd season of this trash, you are going to see some truly absurd things.

      Also, aren’t any of tired of seeing this character recycled yet? She’s only getting worse and worse with each iteration. For me, it stopped being amusing after Shana. I mean, after all, if you get your favorite food every day, eventually you are going to get sick of it.

      PS – Divine, I don’t know what character interactions you were talking about. All I ever noticed were archetypes interacting with out archetypes.

      Takun
      1. Additionally, Milky Holmes handled the name Sherlock Holmes with more respect. Seriously, we have a character descended from Sherlock Holmes. Is she an eccentric person who has razor sharp insight? Nope! She’s an angry tsundere who duel wields handguns, and prefers to brute force her way through all her problems. -_-0

        Takun
      2. There there. Take a deep breath and everything will be fine. 😛

        Hidan no Aria was just another show this season. I don’t see any reason to get riled up over the character types that you know they’re going for.

        As for the character interactions, I was referring to the ones between Riko/Kinji and Aria/Shirayuki like I mentioned in the post.

    10. I am completely astounded at the number of shows Divine watched until the end. That requires some serious patience since some of them are just so … bad (imho).

      I’m guessing Divine was able to do this since he didn’t blog this season?

      Fling
      1. Lately, I’ve been watching 20-30 shows every season. It was no different when I was covering shows, and started back in 2007 when I was looking for more shows to fill up extra time with. The added benefit is that it made the wait between episodes of the same show go by a lot quicker. There’s always something else to watch in the meantime.

    11. Divine, if you like the Azazel-san series, you should really check out the two OVAs. Moloch actually does something in the first OVA, and the second OVA is either hilarious or disgusting depending on your tastes. If you get a chance to watch them, I hope you can include some remarks in your July Retrospective Look.

      WW
    12. Tiger & Bunny! 😀 Well expressed Divine.
      I couldnt figure out why I loved this series and watched it before others. Its just so laid back and fun to watch. The plot is indeed simple that Im not too dying to wonder whats happening next. But If its there, I’d go for it. Something chill to watch after long hours at work really

      unknown2
    13. i LOVE kaiji, but for me, it’s like one piece and other shounen series in the same sense that i prefer to marathon it rather than waiting for it weekly. it’s one of those series that once you start, you can’t put down, and waiting a week between every ep is unbelievably suspenseful.

      i also marathoned the first season in a matter of days, and can’t wait for this season to finish so i can do it again

      nolie
    14. I rather enjoyed Dog Days and Omocha. With all the serious stuff this season, it was great to just be able to sit back and watch a good, heartwarming show. 🙂

      Silivious
    15. I thought X-Men was pretty good. Madhouse is stepping it up more with each adaptation at least. The characters felt spot on and aside from Hisako the voice acting was strong. Hisako is pretty much my only gripe with the adaptation really, they had to make everything revolve around her and pulled a lot of bs with her saving the day and such. Its the first of the bunch I’ve watched in its entirety so far, let’s see how they do with Blade.

      If Anohana toned down that last ep. it would have been a lot more memorable for me…I teared up a bit at the end when secret base started to play, but I was expecting waterworks which all the overacting and just strange feel of a lot of the scenes diverted.

      Despite all of its confusion, not fleshing out a lot of details, quirky CG and flux in animation etc. C was probably the show I always looked most forward to watching. After re-watching the last ep. a few times now I wasn’t as disappointed with how it wrapped up as I was after the first watch.

      Keep up the great work guys, always love hearing everyone’s take on things monthly!

      Xin
    16. How is Hoshizora better than Akane-iro?

      The choice of Ui was never developed at all. Ibuki and Madoka got a lot of development, while Ui was never displayed as more than a glutton. Ok, there was a confession at the end, but it seems like it was more a plot, and not due to real romance.

      Akane-iro showed more drama and romance than Hoshizora. You had Yuuhi who started out as the “main” female protagonist, and it seems like this was the ending. However, we saw a lot of development from Minato (especially the second half), and we had something of a drama admist the goofiness of the first half. Junichi picked someone we didn’t see coming, but he had a reason to. He couldn’t live without Minato. That’s some type of romance.

      Can you explain the Ui ending? She showed up mostly at the beginning, never elaborated on the kiss, and stole the show because feng wanted her to. Watch Akane-iro’s ending, and watch Hoshizora’s ending. I see love in one, and a forced ending in the other

      Lucia
      1. I think the difference lies in how heavily the importance of the ending of a romantic comedy is weighed upon. Hoshikaka was more interesting for me along the way, namely because of Ibuki and Madoka’s storylines. Kazuma’s interactions with those two made this series somewhat memorable. There was very little doubt in my mind that the anime would go for the “obvious” ending, so I didn’t use that aspect to knock it.

        Akane-iro I recall being a bit more idiotic and not living up to the expectations I had of it despite its all-star cast. Things got a little too random for my liking.

      2. I haven’t seen Akane-iro, but grouping Hoshizora with Fortune Arterial feels like a slight to the latter in my view. As Lucia mentioned, it was definitely the whole Ui non-development that was most irksome. They have that accidental kiss, Kazuma thinks about her with the other girls only when food comes up, she occasionally is shown projecting her brother issues onto him, then they suddenly go back to her with the cheesy “confessions” in the last episode that the whole cast had to basically force out of both of them.

        It wasn’t a train wreck, but it just felt so generic and unplanned going through the separate girls’ routes. Yea, it was obvious all along Ui would be the one, and that really just makes it worse that they did so little with her. Factoring out the ending, I did enjoy his interactions with Ibuki…but aside from that the only memorable thing I took from the show was Tsumugi’s swimsuit :p

        Anyway, not trying flare anything up, I just agree with Lucia in you being pretty over generous with the show 🙂

        Xin
      3. I agree that Ibuki and Madoka had good development and I enjoyed. However, like Xin says, I feel like you are being generous with Hoshizora. The series is simply too plain. If the final pairing was either Ibuki or Madoka, it would make some sense and we’d all move on to the next series.

        I read another blog, Lost In America, and the writer had this to say:
        http://lostinamerica-deeg.blogspot.com/2011/06/hoshizora-e-kakaru-hashi-12-end-and.html
        He was disappointed, and so were other people.

        It’s true that the difference is how the ending is weighted. Personally I wouldn’t mind an idiotic middle so much, if the ending was powerful enough like Akane-iro. Hoshizora had better side character development, but like Lost in America and Xin, we felt more could be done with Ui, and the ending. Kazuma just didn’t have the character the GenoKiller had. Basically, it depends on whether you like a strong middle road, or a strong finish.

        Thanks for writing this post!

        Lucia
        1. One of the reasons why I feel the developments are just as important as an ending is because if the middle is messy and the ending is good, it comes off as a last-ditch effort to try to redeem the series. I’m left with the feeling that the story wasn’t very well thought out, hence why I didn’t enjoy Akane-iro that much despite its much better ending.

          Just a note: Guardian Enzo runs Lost in America.

    17. Thanks for all your work, love these posts.
      ano hi mita was my fav of the season and year so far
      divine youv been busy while u were away, glad to be reading your thoughts again

      sheenzu
    18. A quick roundup of the statuses of the series I’m watching in the Spring Season (as of today)

      Dog Day: Completed
      Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko: Completed
      Ano Hana: watching at 7/11
      Deadman Wonderland: watching at 9/12
      Kami Nomi II: watching at 10/12
      Maria Holic: watching at 11/12
      Gosick: watching at 22/24
      Steins;gate: watching at 13/24
      Fireball Charming: watching at 5/13
      Ninchijou: on-hold at 4/26
      Tiger and Bunny: on-hold at 4/25
      Hidan no Aira: on-hold at 2/12
      Dororon Enma-kun: on-hold at 1/12
      Moshidora: on-hold at 1/10
      Hanasaku Iroha: on-hold at 3/26

      Amongst the series I’m still watching above: Ano Hana, Deadman, Kami Nomi, Maria Holic, and Gosick – I’ll definitely will complete this series in the next 1-2 weeks time.

      Steins;gate will be carried over this summer season and something I will most like complete.

      Hanasaku Iroha has passed the point were I’m no longer looking forward watching it in a weekly basis, but will watch once it is completed.

      Moshidora is promising but will put in on-hold until the time I get the urge to complete it.

      Uncertain of the status of the other shows, may or may not watch in the next few months or so.

      Impression: I may say that as compare to the Winter Season 2011 lineup, the Summer season is less exciting given how all the series I’ve watch in winter season:8 (including Gosick which is soon to be finish), I completed all of those series without having a series put on-hold (except that I completed Dragon Crisis! about a month after it finished airing). In the Summer line-up: out of 15, only 2 is completed, 5 soon to be completed (including Gosick), while the rest is put on indefinite hold. At least their is no series I’m tempting to drop altogether, just waiting for the perfect time to re-watch those.

      Ghostalker
      1. A series I just realized to be a part of the Spring season is Astarotte no Omocha, what is good about this is the fact that despite the harem and ecchi premise, it is actually a more family oriented series that really made me watching this series. Currently watching at 7/12 which I only started watching about 4 days ago. So this is including to the Spring series I’ll finish for sure.

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