Random Musings / Series Introduction

Random Musings – Tuesday Shows Over Drive

You remember that show called Over Drive that I briefly mentioned in my Spring 2007 Preview? I wasn’t very attracted to the cycling premise and didn’t think it would be any good. Well, I watched the first episode on a whim and was completely surprised at how un-sports-anime this show was. It was, for all intents and purposes, a show that seemed to be about a boy falling in love with a girl. The animation had its ups and downs, but there was a very quaint atmosphere with light music that I usually attribute to h-game adaptations or romance comedies. The cycling part of the anime didn’t play nearly as big a role as I would have thought. Now granted, I’m sure those sports parts will come out heavily later (note: I don’t plan on watching any more), but for this first episode, Over Drive gave off a completely different feeling.

As for the rest of what aired today, I got some time in during study breaks to watch some of the episodes that aired today. I say study breaks because I’m in the middle of my midterms right now (last one tomorrow), and I used up all my free time today to write up D.Gray-man and DEATH NOTE.
Sisters of Wellber: I had high hopes for this, but the episode turned out merely okay. Nothing really stood out for me, especially not the talking tank.
Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo: Surprisingly enough, I managed to get through the entire episode of Over Drive, but I couldn’t make it through 10 minutes of this. Jaalin’s writing up an entry about it though.
Claymore: This had plenty of blood and monsters, but like Wellber, the first episode was just okay. Mentar assures me that the story will get better fairly soon, and I trust him enough to keep watching a few more episodes.

Everything else I didn’t get a chance to see, but at the current moment, I’m leaning heavily towards just keeping D.Gray-man and DEATH NOTE as my two scheduled Tuesday shows.

First Impressions / Series Introduction

Random Musings – Touka Gettan…

I wasn’t planning on blogging anything today because I have an exam to study for, but Touka Gettan deserves a mention. It’s a well-animated show that had some great music, but the plot made little to no sense. My friend wrote up some thoughts on his own site that close closely reflect how I feel about the show, so give it a look if you’re remotely interested.

El Cazador also aired today, and while the first episode wasn’t bad (Kajiura Yuki music and the FictionJunction Yuuka ED were great), I don’t think it’s something that I’d continue watching.

Tomorrow, however, is going to be a very busy day.

Random Musings / Shakugan no Shana / Zero no Tsukaima

Random Musings – Shakugan no Shana II

Despite this horrible, horrible timing (I hate April Fool’s Day), it was announced today that Shakugan no Shana will be receiving a second series coming in the fall. The official site’s front page and the most recent diary entry both have this announcement, and it was backed up by the picture you see at right that someone uploaded on popular bbs 2ch. I think many of us had assumed that it would only be a matter of time until a second Shana series, and thankfully that turned out to be true. Now there are two Kugimiya Rie/Hino Satoshi series to look forward to (the other being the next Zero no Tsukaima series coming in July). And this was just when I had been thinking that Fall Season 2007 couldn’t get any better too…
CODE GEASS / Kanon / Miscellaneous / Random Musings

Random Musings – The Calm Before The Storm

I realize that most of my random musings entries these days aren’t really random musings, but rather news posts or quick thoughts on stuff. Regardless, I wrote this entry in one sitting off the top of my head, so consider this the first true “Random Musings” in a long time, and please forgive me if I ramble a little.

Here’s a question that’s been on my mind recently: Have CODE GEASS and Kanon set the bar too high? GEASS’s biggest strength is that it has fantastic writing with plot twists and turns one after another that keep you guessing on what’s going to happen. Kanon’s visuals and emotional impact meanwhile are what I consider a new standard for that type of show, or even for all anime. Between those two, Thursdays for the past half year have been pretty incredible. I’m sad really that they’ve ended, at least for now.