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While we still have a few weeks before the summer shows roll around, I thought I’d take this time to backtrack on some of the spring shows that might have gone under the radar, or just plain ignored by us at Random Curiosity. If you’re not already watching them, I’m hoping I can convince you to at least give the first episode a chance – the spring season had quite an extensive list and it would be a shame to let these shows slip by.
Bokurano – see, it’s one of those shows that I can recognize as excellent, except I don’t enjoy it that much. I watched it hoping it would be have the excitement of Ender’s Game, but it turns out its more about the teenage angst and learning the severity and consequence of one’s actions rather than the action itself. It’s an entirely different and completely legitimate way of interpretation, just not that one that I find myself enjoying. In that sense, it reminds me of Paranoia Agent – who knows, you might find yourself loving it.
Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo – Probably the reason I’m doing this post in the first place. This movie came out a few months ago in Japanese theaters, and was released on DVD a few weeks back. It’s about a girl who gains the ability to leap through time, and how she uses that ability. Really quite an amazing movie that completely took me by surprise (I downloaded it only because the little fansubber’s comment said “best movie of the year”). There have been plenty of movies and whatnot done about the consequences of time travel, but none really pull it off as well as this movie.
Denno Coil – My favorite short in the Animatrix was “Beyond” – the one about the girl chasing after her cat, leading her to that vacant lot that was actually a glitch in the Matrix. While less of an art form, Denno Coil has every bit of that intrigue, and even has some Totoro / Spirited Away elements tossed in it for an authentic anime feel. It starts out as a sort of pet-detective agency, but three episodes in, it’s clear that there’s a lot more going on than tracking down pixilated dogs. As Patrik noted, the 26 episode length should give plenty of time to unmask some huge conspiracy. Check this one out definitely!
Heroic Age – I’m sure most of you are watching this, and for the most part, for good reason. After all, it’s the show that made it to the cover of May’s Newtype, the one Konata got her postcard published in (for those wondering, I actually went out and bought the issue, and yes indeed, her postcard is there…Izumi Konata, Saitama). I started watching this hoping it would be something like Crest of the Stars, and while the scale is indeed just as epic, the two shows take entirely different directions. I’ll never be able to admit I like this show, just because DNAra-sama looks just like Mwu La Fragga, but I will concede that it’s indeed entertaining enough to give a look into. If anything, watch it for the telekinetic loli twins…
Seto no Hanayome – These days I’m starting to wish I chose to blog this show rather than Nagasarete. Hanayome is so insanely crazy, so off-the-walls over-the-top, and it’s an absolute hoot. The characters are simple but very likable, and well, they’re hilarious. Some shows try not to go overboard with the gags and sd-faces, this show just piles loads and loads on and I still can’t get enough.
Ookiku Furikabutte / Hitohara / Overdrive – I lump these three together because they’re essentially the same show, except with a baseball / drama club / cycling context. They’re highlighted by an overly weak and fundamentally pisses-me-off protagonist, who joins some club that they have absolutely no confidence in but possesses some godly omgwtfpwn ability inherent to that activity. It’s obvious that through continuous pressure from their club members and themselves that they’re able to channel that ability and eventually become some superstar and lead their team to a championship or whatever. But see, I have a problem with this. Hanamichi had a tremendous body and didn’t know how to play basketball, but he had such a magnetic personality and a never-die attitude that was infectious. Makunoichi didn’t have much confidence but started working his ass off within two episodes and could do sick punches by the third (don’t quote me on that lol). This new crop of characters? Disgusting. Worthless. Infuriating. I’m guessing that anime/manga writers are looking for the personality traits that best reflect their primary audience, and then turn that dude into the next world-class superstar. As good as Densha Otoko was, I couldn’t stand watching Yamada…he was just too unbelievably retarded and socially inept. And well, these characters are just as bad. At least Ookiku is otherwise a pretty good show, at least Hitohara has a cutish main character, and at least Overdrive has a flaming hot supporting character who gets her boobs grappled from behind by her brother. Anyways, Ookiku is not a bad show, Hitohara isn’t either but it’s a bit boring, and Overdrive is absolutely terrible.
There’s a few other shows that I haven’t watched that could probably make this list: Blue Dragon, Gigantic Formula, Seirei no Moribito, Claymore, Paprika (movie). Anyone care to fill me in on them?
-jaalin
lol 300!!
GOSH. I love the little fanart. 😀 Super cute. heh XD
haha 300
>>I’m guessing that anime/manga writers are looking for the personality traits that best reflect their primary audience, and then turn that dude into the next world-class superstar.
Ooh, spot-on. You just scored a home run. I also covered Gigantic Formula over here:
http://rule41.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/why-arent-you-watching-this-yet/
I aggree with you on Bokurano, while it is one of these great stuffs, not everyone will appreciate, i think i’ll just wait till all episodes are out, so i can watch them all…
As for heroic Age – stopped watching after 3 episodes…reused character designs is no no in my book(it got really annoying to see characters from fafner, gundam seed and few other works…plus, main character’s transformation looks too much like the hakuoro’s real form in utawarerumono).
AS for others:
Blue dragon disappointed me…although it felt nostalgic seeing toryama’s designs yet again, the story did not appeal to me, bad opening soundtrack did not help too…
Claymore for now is one of best shows in this season for me…While it is classified as “shonen”, Claymore transcends these bounds, breaking lots of shonen stereotypes in few episodes…while the storyline may seem very light and bad, story improves over time, thickening and deepening the plot as the episodes go. To me, Claymore also got term “anime” into a new level of brutality(Show Spoiler ▼
). Claymore is that kind of anime, where you have to watch more than three first eps, to really appreciate whats really happening in itShow Spoiler ▼
. Animation quality varies from good to best, storytelling is very good, the only problem i have is the animation studio’s choice of music in some scenes(although I really like the opening and ending songs and visuals).
Also, Claymore is good stuff. It discards the usual shounen cliches for favour of something markedly different and refreshing — I thought it was like Trinity Blood at first, but I was quite wrong. At episode 10 it’s doing great, none of the crap you expect it to pull at some point. Power levels are ridiculous in a non-DBZ way, which is also a plus point since there’s no a) levelling b) drawn-out battles, something I can’t stand in any shounen series.
Come to think of it, this season’s had shounen protagonists who don’t need to train to gain any powers, and I hope the trend sticks for the rest of the year. We’ve had Hei and Jomy, for starters…
Ueki + 300 = win
The law of Spartaaa anime maybe? XD
Seto no Hanayome and Claymore are 2 of the best underrated anime this season IMO. Seto was overshadowed by Hayate no Gotoku, and Claymore was hidden under all the overrated anime this season.
While there are some animes that really are good as the hype market them (RXJ for example), sometimes much more lesser know but very good anime got ditched aside. Thank go I visited this site, as if not, I would not have gotten Lucky Star BTW
LOVELY COMPLEX!!
i would’ve rather u blog this at Nagasarete or Lucky Star. and ditto on Seto no Hanayome. Masa-san rocks!! ^_^.“
Bokunaro – interesting show, but having already read the manga thanks to MangaScreener, I don’t intend to relive the experience, it would be too hard.
Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo – I’m going to watch this next month when it’s released in theaters down there (France)
Denno Coil – THE show of the moment. I doubt it’s gone under radar, it’s just that it came very late in the season.
Heroic Age – the premise was interesting but after a few episodes it’s getting hard not to become bored
Seto no Hanayome – one of the very few shows that really make me laugh out loudly
Hitohara – cute but without subs unfortunately
Ookiku Furikabutte / Overdrive – you nailed it (plus I can’t stand cyclism)
Blue Dragon – looks meh
Gigantic Formula – awesome mecha design, great animation, but very poor story so far (plus kids in robots is getting reaalllyy old)
Seirei no Moribito – one of my fav for this season: great technique (animation, design, awesome backgrounds), interesting characters, story and world, etc…
Claymore – no real genius here, but enjoyable and it grows on you (just like the manga)
Paprika – very good movie, not as good as the previous ones (Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress) but still.
indeed claymore is one of the best shows airing at the moment it’s different from the usual shounen type where the main character powers-up in an amzing way to take off a stronger opponent…i read the manga and i can tell you that’s it has a quiet good story!!i think it’s really a shame that you’re not blogging it!!!
Seirei no Moribito is definitely worth taking a look at, it’s Fantasy and has excellent animation, sometimes it is a bit slow with a lot of (interesting) dialogue, but it has well done fighting scenes as well – so far imho, it is one of the best shows this season.
Claymore was already mentioned by others, definitely great for a shonen series, starts out normal, but gets quite interesting. Imho it really breaks a lot of the Shonen stereotypes. Also best Ending Theme of the season XD
(PS: Whaaat, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo is coming to theaters in France, I completely missed that one – thanks for the info. Gonna make a note on the calendar =)
Am I the only person in the world who thinks Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo is a totally over-praised mess? I think they animate things too much, so that fields of people look like plates of wriggling maggots. And I just don’t like the characters, especially the protagonist, who seems to me to be all surface and no depth. I read the original novella and liked it, but for me the movie just doesn’t make it at all.
Subs are starting to come for the excellent Hitohira. And people should give Touka Gettan more attention: it’s not the easiest story to grasp at first, but it gets easier, and it has so much about it that is exciting and unique, not to mention erotic. And I know most people will think Emily of New Moon is “sappy,” but that’s their problem. It’s an excellent show, with deep emotions.
Wow, I hardly watched any of the shows you listed here…(only seen Hitohira and Claymore).
Claymore is absolutely brillant, you should watch it when the opportunity arises.
By the way, it’s Hitohira, not Hitohara~
Devil May Cry Tv – they shown mission 1 but is not official release to see how they response
HitoHira – lesbian show I think
El Cazador de la Bruja – witchhunter
Princess Ressurection – is a comedy horror the main character is Hime same voice as Saber
Kaze no Stigma -shounen, supernatural power.
When the first time I saw Heroic Age, I thought it’ll be something like Fafner. Maybe its due to the animation style but after watching the first ep, I realise how different they were. Unlike Fafner, Heroic Age is a bit on the brighter side, and just like the title implies, its also an anime on heroism. Its a really great anime so far and those who haven’t watch it should have a go at it.
Gigantic Formula looks decent in the first few ep but its starting to get pretty boring after ep 4. Instead of showing the main characters fighting in their own gigantic, they ended up telling the background story of each gigantic pilots in the different nations.
Seto no Hanayome is a bit more on the crazy side. Unlike Hayate no Gotoku, Seto no Hanayome really makes you wanna laugh out loud. I’m pretty impressed on how close they’re sticking to the manga so far.
Claymore I actually thought I’d hate since I the kind who’s watching Darker than BLACK and Romeo x Juliet, but it turns out it has some weird quality that makes me want to watch it week after week. It has a neat story line (you can’t tell from basic summaries), and the story’s actually very well told.It is very grim though.
lovely complex!! love eeet!!
also kenichi is pretty good, although predictable and formulaic it has such lovable characters! The retro, hand-drawn quality of both shows is also a welcome change.
LMAO ROFL What’s with that 300 + Tokiwa protagonist , friggin hilarious!
This season sees some extremely disturbing characters like you said, I barely able to stand Ooiku main characters.. it’s frustating and super annoying. Bokurano is definitely worth a watch but the tone of the anime is really depressing and disturbing. Nevertheless, there are many good series, much more than Winter season. The anime i really appreciate are
Seto no Hanoyame, Seirei no Moribito, Tokiwa, Dennou Coil, Darker than Black, Claymore, Romeo & Juliet, Toward the Terra, Touka Gettan, Lucky Star, Gurren Lagan.
The rests are just on average, though some are disappointing, some are a bit above average. But certainly we see a lot of improvement of Japanese anime overall this Spring.
Claymore is actually my favorite anime of the season so far. Its stayed pretty true to the manga counterpart and has excellent fighting and good looking girls^^
Darker than Black has actually been somewhat of a disappointment for me. The last few episodes have me scratching my head lol. I also believe the RomeoXJuliet will somehow tank, though its been great so far or Gonzo will find a way to introduce mecha…
I LOVE CLAYMORE ! TERESA, CLARE…KYAA~~
Imo the number one show this season is definitly Claymore, absolutely briljant so far! i like the story and the quality’s really good, it actually shocked me a couple of times, i watching like this 0__0 and screaming NOO!! after episode 8 (i wont spoil), and i’m always dying to know what happens next week, great show but I didn’t expect anything less from Madhouse actually.
Claymore is defenetly worth watching. Nice story, cool drawing und a lot of swordswinging-action 🙂
Seto no Hanayome ROCKS!!!
I like the animation and the songs.
Re-watch value are high enough to make you to laugh the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & bla bla bla……… ^_^
Claymore is awesome. u owe it to yourself to watch this
Baka. . . . . this is the movie 300
What? No Seirei no Moribito? Ah, you’re missing out on that, if nothing else on your list of have-not-seens. Really great show.
Why does everyone forget about Toward the Terra? *sniff*
I must say, that after episode four, I was sold on it. It really has a lot to offer.
Nice, gotta check out Denno Coil then, I loved beyond as well :3
For me, Claymore is pretty awesome, sure Raki might be a little annoying and the character designs might not sit well with some people, but the story and action is really good. There no lame OMG PROTECT FREEDOM AND JUSTICE!!1!! Crap that plagues other shows, Claymore really picks up at around the Teresa arc and from what I’ve seen so far it just keeps getting better
Minikui, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo is going to be released on the 4th of July in France under the name “La Traversée du Temps”
I have to join the others with my support for Claymore.
Episodes 1-4 are probably the weakest in the series, but for many people watching episodes 5-8 is what really cements whether or not they like the rest of this series.
Seto no Hanayome was overshadowed by Nagasarete and Hayate.
I would not say Claymore is underrated since it seems to attracted a strong support form the get go, perhaps its the blogs that decided to not follow.
There are other shows, as pointed Seirei no Moribito (high animation quality), Monster Princess, Kaze no Stigma and the still ongoing Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi.
Awesome. A 300 anime detailing life of Sparta would be great, almost like a Berserk set in ancient Greece. Any mangakas, hear my plea!
-Bokurano, seen the manga, dun like it..
-claymore, i think i’ve seen in from a manga.. again i dun like it..
-bluedragon, hmm.. 1st ep was ok, then gone down hill from ep2.. mayb still gonna follow the story later on.
-overdrive, good, im watching it.
-heroic a.g.e, good -ditto-
-Ookiku Furikabutte, good -ditto- brought sumthin different from usual baseball anime/manga..
-the rest, nope nvr heard and nvr will look into them..
Blue Dragon? (a revival of Dragonball saga character design (in Blue) … haha i like Dragon ball but not in this time~
Gigantic Formula ? … Gundam Fight! Ready, GO!!!
Seirei no Moribito? a spear wacking bodyguard … hell yeah
Claymore = hot chicks 😛
Only for Yaoi/Shounen Ai fans …
The above comment was aimed at the “A 300 anime detailing life of Sparta would be great.” statement.
Bokurano for me is shaping up to be the best show of the season. By far. A cool core concept, awesome character development, interesting mecha designs (probably the first I’ve seen to be larger than Evas) and my favorite OP since Simoun. It’s just a pity that the subbing so far has been so erratic. It irritates me that umpteen people sub junk like Lucky Star, while a gem like this goes mostly unnoticed.
The other series I’ve enjoyed this season has been Rocket Girls. Sure, it’s not the most high-powered series ever – it doesn’t have masses of fan-service, wacky humour or big mechs punching each other, but it’s a very good comedy drama with a reasonably original premise. The poor music and ropey CG is a bit of a downer, though.
El Cazador de la Bruja has potential, I think, but it’s yet to really capitalise on it. I know that Noir (one of my all-time favorite seasons) was a slow starter, but this series really is falling into the “Nadie and Ellis visit another random town-of-the-week” trap. Given how much I enjoyed Noir and Madlax, this one gets to stay on my “to watch” list.
As for the series you’ve been following:
– I’m quite liking Idolmaster Xenoglossia, but it seriously needs to pick the pace up in the next few episodes.
– Darker than Black… well… I feel the same way about this as you do about Bokurano. In theory, I can recognise it as being very good. In reality, it doesn’t seem to do much for me. I had similar reactions to Cowboy Bebop and the Ghost in the Shell TV series.
– Lucky Star – makes me go “heh” about once per episode. Other than that, it’s awful. I’m increasingly coming to the conclusion that TMoHS was a fluke.
– Romeo x Juliet is fun, but every time I watch it, I get the urge to go back and watch Revolutionary Girl Utena. This has slowed the pace I watch it at quite a bit.
On balance – a decent season, much better than last season (where I found Code Geass and Ghost Hunt to be the only series I could be bothered to watch), but as usual, it seems like it’s the series which recycle the same old fanboy-oriented crap that seem to be getting all the publicity.
Kaze no stigma is great. After laughing at the totally Un-GAR of the dude from overdrive Kazume is the epitome of GAR. and he doesnt need to LEVEL UP he’s already at like lvl 99!
tokiwo is da best movie i’ve ever watched…i find it to be sumthing dat girls will definitely like ^^ not sure bout the male audience for this
love the fanart =p
Seirei no Moribito is my favorite anime of spring so far but very few/no one blogs it which is a great shame. I also really enjoy Claymore and the rest you blog anyway lol. DMC seems very promising too after just one episode
Seirei no Moribito is one of the best animes of the spring season. It has good animation and an interesting plot. It actually has a strong female protagonist…
Darker Than Black started out strong but IMO has tapered off recently.
im very disappointed that only one poster, elvyse, mentioned dennou coil.
i agree with elvyse, and i must say dennou coil has been a VERY nice surprise for me this season–i had very strong doubts when i first watched it, but im hooked – and i do agree with your observation that it does have this hayao miyazaki feel to it and i do appreciate the fact that its a show that catches your intrigue without being overly flashy or crazy. i like the concept too… lol
@ jaalin: im not sure if ep. 4 of dennou coil has been subbed yet, but that episode was lots of fun! xD
I have to disagree that OverDrive/Ookiku/Hitohira have annoying leads. For one, they have a lot of personality quirks beyond the stereotypical self doubt and lack of motivation. Also, that stereotype persists for a reason since they’re the biggest type of underdogs.
OverDrive’s lead is a huge case of a closet pervert who isn’t really closeted, Ookiku’s lead is Woody Allen neurotic and Hitohira’s Mugi is just really shy and has an insane imagination.
I love all of them.
And yes, it’s a shame that this site doesn’t cover Claymore. I’m really surprised at that myself. Not to forget stuff like Seirei no Moribito and maybe even Rocket Girls which I found to be fun throughout.
Dward: “Gigantic Formula looks decent in the first few ep but its starting to get pretty boring after ep 4. Instead of showing the main characters fighting in their own gigantic, they ended up telling the background story of each gigantic pilots in the different nations.”
I disagree actually. The other nations’ pilots are way more interesting to me than Shingo or Mana at the moment. And it’ll get interesting once we finally see them fighting the main protagonist and Susanoo. Also, the ridiculous story element of Gigantic Formula is what’s interesting to me. I think it gets too much knocks for its weird/silly background story when just about all mecha shows ever made has a nonsensical reason for the mechas to begin with.
As for the general reaction on Bokurano, I still think it’s a worthy watch since we never really see the dark and ugly side of human nature in anime. Also, even if you’re jarred from reading the manga version, at least the anime toned down some of the more serious issues such as rape. Though it’s still prevalent. But it’s meant to be dark.
And I second every Lovely Complex mentions. It’s just done in a really sweet way I can’t really describe too precisely. I guess it’s the delicate mix of comedy and romantic drama.
And back to Hitohira, I have to say that it has some of the best music in an anime I’ve watched this season besides Heroic Age. And like any other good sports type shows, Hitohira has a great cast of characters. Really fun show. Back to Heroic Age, I don’t think the character designs are a problem. I don’t see what the big deal is over the character designs being maligned. I think it’s varied enough and the epic space aspect is done really well so far. We still haven’t seen the end-game coming for Heroic Age yet. And it hopefully will be even more epic than it has been so far.
As for OverDrive being ‘absolutely terrible’, I have to disagree. Some of its funnier moments were way better than the humorless nonsequitur quips in Lucky Star. And it’s a show about CYCLING. That in itself is a bit unique. At least it’s leagues better than the anime adaptation of Eyeshield 21 IMO.
One more post before I bow out ^^;
But Paprika is a really good watch even if its story makes no sense (even less than other Satoshi Kon anime, which all are pretty nonsensical in their own right).
Basically watch it for the crazy imagery and forget the story is even there.
KAZE NO STIGMA NOW
claymore is my favorite anime!! u should watch it
Claymore is my favorite. The story is good, the way the two mini arcs 1-4 and 5-8 came together at Episode 9 was just great, i don´t know the manga, so I realy was surprised. (To the positive)
The ending song is realy great, but I first realised that after Volume 9, the Vocals fit to the story, i was realy moved when I first realised.
The only real negative thing is that Raki-boy, a real crybaby, makes me want to hit him! Luckiely after Episode 4 he desapiers for a while.
Sorry for the bad (?) englisch.
I hear Raki is supposed to become a badass or at least a bit less whiny. But he’s typical of the ‘everyday character who represents the cluelessness of the viewers’ character.
Eh, I haven’t really been feeling the new anime for this season, because none of them besides Dennou Coil (which is excellent) and Lucky Star have given me the explosive first impression that I was looking for. I’ll catch some episodes of this and that at the next con I go to.
I do plan on watching Paprika soon, as anything by Kon has to be good. Though it probably won’t live up to his previous works.
I’m watching of the those show Seirei no Moribito and Claymore atm and they are very good in my opinion. Will give Heroic Age and Heroic Age and Seto no Hayame a try after reading your post.
I’m quite surprised by the reactions towards Claymore. I’m not saying that I don’t like it, on the contrary I do enjoy it, but I never thought the reactions would be that unanimous. 🙂
Concerning Bokunaro, even if the anime has been a bit toned down, just knowing the tragic fate of those children is a big obstacle to me. I do enjoy dark stories, but rarely more than once.
heroic age: Stopped watching after 5 episoded. For Gundam lookalikes, Fafner was better. At least the OST was superb.
Darker than black: Interesting stuff and has great potential. But I am still waiting for the storyline to pick up speed.
Hopefully something as interesting as Full Metal Alchemist will come up soon.
Oh. forgot to mention. Kaze no Stigma is entertaining, though not superb or extraordinary.
Guardian of the Sacred Spirit Lovely Complex, and Claymore are definitely some great ones, that have been mentioned already.
Oh! Edo Rocket is a show that I believe has been largely ignored, most likely due to a lack of fansubs. But in any case, this is a really funny experience with some great characters and likeable designs. Very nice watch (assuming you understand what’s going on).
“heroic age: Stopped watching after 5 episoded. For Gundam lookalikes, Fafner was better. At least the OST was superb.”
Huh… I didn’t think much of Fafner. Also, how can it be regarded as “Gundam lookalikes” when it’s just the style? I will never understand that.
As for even more obscure shows, I liked what I see of Kamichama Karin. I don’t think most people will be able to deal with the super cutesy, super deformed look of the show if people are going to complain about Heroic Age’s art.
And am I the only person loyally watching Touka Gettan? Though totally nonsensical, it probably has some of the best OST and animation values in the summer season yet. And some of the characters are really cute.
im glad you are admitting to your mistakes, now i will look at your site differently, with a feeling that you have balls.
Toki wo kakeru shoujo is a great. i loved ist story. darker than black disappointed me though.
CLAYMORE!!
I cant believe you missed this awsome series.
CLAYMORE!!
I cant believe you missed this awesome series.
i hope u blog the shakugan no shana season 2 when it comes xD
I have to say Guardian of the Sacred Spirit is very good, the animation is clean and the fighting scenes are to die for; i mean Kenji Kamiyama is directing it, but then again i dont know how many people here are Ghost in the Shell fans.
I’m surprised you didn’t add Claymore, well it’s just my personal favourite this season, might not be for everyone =P
Claymore is the best show this season hands down with Airantou at second. Heroic Age is overrated. I’m still watching, but seeing the fifth nodos with his mouth wide open all the time makes him look dumb and retarded like the person inside him.
How Claymore isn’t even listed is beyond me. Okay, it is there… but mentioned among the likes of Blue Dragon… ugh…
Tokikake IS THE BEST movie of 2006. I’m so happy that I stood in line for 3 hours just to watch its first screening.
Seirei no Moribito by far has the best OST for this spring/summer. In addition the artwork is great. Overall, the story can be a bit slow at times, but the OST really just grabs you. A Must watch.
Claymore, it reminds me how I liked Berserk (being it a dark anime series, but Berserk was much darker) Claymore definitely has a great story, artwork is a little weird and sometimes inconsistent.
hmm.. ^corrected, berserk pwned claymore..
Claymore – Awesome story and music. Bagpipes FTW!
You’re forgetting about Toward the Terra.
Anime Series Future to be airing soon:
Sousei no Aquarion: Uragiri no Tsubasa (OAV) – 5/25/07
Kiddy Grade 2 (TV) – 5/25/07
ICE (OAV) – 5/25/07
Initial D Battle Stage 2 (OAV) – 5/30/07
Devil May Cry TV – 6/14/07
Sky Girls TV – 7/?/07
Armored Trooper Votoms: Pailsen Files – 7/?/07
Shigurui TV – 7/1/07
CODE-E TV – 7/1/07
Zombie-Loan TV – 7/3/07
School Days TV – 7/3/07
Buzzer Beater TV 2007 – 7/3/07
Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai TV – 7/9/07
Mononoke TV – 7/12/07
Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi TV- 7/13/07
ef- a tale of memories TV – 8/24/07
ARIA OAV – 9/21/07
Gundam 00 – 10/1/07
Ghost Hound TV – 10/1/07
Genshiken TV2 – 10/1/07
Dragonaut- The Resonance TV – 10/1/07
SpeedRacer (live-action movie) – 5/9/08
Clannad Tv – 2008
Battle Angel (live-action movie) – 2009
Just to chirp in, Claymore is also one of my favs!! Nice visuals, nice animations, awesome story. Plus, the seiyuus that are in the show = KYAAA!!!!!~~~♡
Btw, speaking of Battle Angel (2009), isn’t that show directed by James Cameron?? Hope he doesn’t butcher the story!! The manga was great cuz it had a good mix of action, violence and lotsa emotions (romance, revenge, etc). What I’d hate to see is a cg character (ok, uptil here, it’s prolly still fine) on screen that … is just there for the purpose of wow’ing viewers (eg, omg, look at the awesome model! ooh! cool animation!!!, that kinda crap) while sacrificing the other elements. That’d be as good as casting Dame Edna for the role of Alita (or Gally, whatever)
… Spread the Toward the Terra love! It’s gotta be the only anime this season that I actually bother watching raw. Claymore and Bokurano might interest me more if I hadn’t read the manga… Then again, maybe I wouldn’t even give them a second glance. Heroic Age is probably the only other series (aside from Toward the Terra) that I really keep up with this season. Not the greatest season for me…
I saw that same 300 + Chiaki image a few months ago. That was when I KNEW I had to watch it. Luckily, my friend and I moseyed into one of the video programming rooms during FanimeCon and it just so happened to be TokiKake. Like jaalin said, I recommend this movie as well. You will be surprised how much you’ll enjoy it.
I DLed one of the old Live-Action versions of TokiKake (before it became an anime movie), but I have yet to watch it completely. Apparently this story has been made into Live-Action movies several times, so it must be a classic story of sorts.
Speaking of Claymore’s seiyuus, here a listing of some that have performed in the series:
-Houko Kuwashima (Kagura from AzuDai, Sango from Inu Yasha, Kirika from Noir)
-Romi Paku (Edward Elric from FMA, Temari from Naruto, Ueki from Law of Ueki)
-Aya Hisakawa (Skuld from AMG, Nyamo from AzuDai, Sailor Mercury from Sailor Moon)
-Kikuko Inoue (Belldandy from AMG. Kasumi from Ranma 1/2)
-Miki Nagasawa (Miyu from Vampire Princess Miyu)
-Ai Orikasa (Ryoko from the Tenchi Series)
-Ayako Kawasumi (Saber from F/SN, Ohno from Genshiken, Aoi from Ai Yori Aoshi)
-Junko Takeuchi (Naruto from Naruto, Gon from Hunter x Hunter)
-Megumi Toyoguchi (Miranda from D.Gray-Man, Winry from FMA)
-Minami Takayama (Conan from Detective Conan, Nabiki from Ranma 1/2)
. . . and that’s just from the first 10 episodes.
I’m surprised ‘Toward the Terra’ isn’t getting more attention. Is it the retro character design maybe? I absolutely love this show and, like Magical Poof mentioned, is the only show I watch raw this season. Man, episode 9 almost made me cry for god’s sake!! More people need to give this show a chance.
only 3 ppl for dennou coil T.T sobsob.
lol, ppl just too hooked up w/ other series like claymore, bukorono etc to noticed Toward the Terra.. which i think is better than both of those series. anyway, here’s a fan of terra e also.
I seriously enjoyed Lucky Star… Almost every conversations and little thing they do is something I can relate to…
As for other anime, haven’t seen the ones that is listed in this topic, but heard from friends that Claymore is very good…
Don’t worry mewmew, there might only be three, but those three are the best 😉 😉 😉
Shippoyasha, I think omo is watching Shippoyasha too, so you’re not alone 🙂
Seriously though, I have yet to watch an episode of this show. So far the screenshots I’ve seen have not made a really good impression on me. Maybe I’ll give it a try.
*erf I meant Touka Gettan of course 🙂
Lucky Star makes “normal” into “damn fine entertainment.” It’s like the writers just ran around a campus with a tape recorder and then made the VAs recite them word-for-word. XD
Ookiku Furikabutte is a solid sports series–while not the near-perfection that is Hajime no Ippo, Oofuri’s lead is terrified of everybody for a very good reason, whereas Ippo just took it up the ass because, well… Morikawa never really explained it. All in all, Ippo (and Eyeshield 21’s Kobayakawa Sena) are leads that I really like because they change quickly–but in reality, people don’t change that fast. Oofuri is a realistic sports series, and it focuses heavily on the strategy of baseball.
OverDrive falls into that other category of sports series, taking a typically wussy hero, throwing in unusual and ill-written quirks, and then somehow making him more badass than everybody else at something. At least Initial D’s Takumi had reasons behind his ungodly badassery.
Probably I give the try to another serie with this, specialy to Bokurano
wow it’s cool
shit you!!
great
Kaze no stigma is awesome. Watch now plox. Claymore is so… typical.
claymore ftw
Bokurano – The story is great, I’m just not much of a fan of the character design or the mech designs. Btw, the opening song, uninstall owns!!!
Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo – I’m getting this right now, going to check it out asap.
Denno Coil – Everyone seems to think that this anime is good, but I’m not really sold by it. Maybe its just because the character design sucks? I dunno, i may pick it up again in the future.
Heroic Age – When i first saw a poster of this anime, i avoided it because the character design wasn’t that good. But a few weeks later, I was bored and decided to pick it up. I’m glad i did, even though the character design wasn’t the best, the mech designs and the nodos designs are great. The animation is great and the story is great.
Seto no Hanayome – I totally agree, this is one hilarious anime.
Ookiku Furikabutte / Hitohira / Overdrive – I like Ookiku Furikabutte and Overdrive, but not so much for Hitohira. I guess it’s because I like sports anime. It’s true that the main character of Overdrive is kinda stupid, but I like the anime nonetheless.
Blue Dragon – I don’t think I’ll be watching this one.
Gigantic Formula – I might watch this one.
Seirei no Moribito – I watched 4 episodes so far, it isn’t that bad, but I rather spend my time watching other anime. If i have time, i will continue this one.
Claymore – Definitely one of the best animes this year, the story is great and the fight scenes are great.
BTW, am I the only one that still watches Terra E and Lovely Complex? Those anime are good.
Overall, I would have to reccommend Seirei no Moribito. The story is fascinating, in a way reminiscent of Scrapped Princess (noble child is threatened by his own family because he is beleived to bring misfortune to the land if he lives). This is a highly character drived anime with all of the characters being really believable (the female bodyguard, her friends in the poor quarter) with the right amount of the fantasy mixed in.
Dennou Coil : very interestingly, a lot the concepts used in this anime are plausible along with state of the art in “Augmented Reality” area. Might sound outdated in a few years when some of them will be part of our daily life ?
Seirei no Moribito : very nice ambiance, quiet pace with some good actions. It’s rare to see a main character as old as Balsa 😛
Claymore : I love the mood of that one : with some of the musics and monsters slashing it quite reminds me of playing the first Diablo 🙂
Terra he : I love the retro design, and thinking it is a remake, it surely had interesting ideas at first run.
Gigantic Formula : while it’s not an excellent show, with some boring ep, it’s still nice to watch, with some good idea in the scenario and original design (weird eyes O.o).
Kennichi : As already stated in the comments, it’s very predictable, but I’m fond of the characters 🙂
Lovecon : That weird duo worth watching it :p
Hitohira and Ookiku Furikabutte could get me involved, if it was not for the lack of subs.
While Nagasumi, Ikuto, Hayate and their numerous (girl)friends still succeed in keeping me watching them, I totally dropped Bokurano, Xenoglossia, and Touka, out of interest after the 4th eps.
Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo was nice, and while I still like it, I have the feeling that something is missing to make it excellent.
hmmm Probably forgot some …
Of course the mainstream of this spring, Gurren Lagan, Heroic Age, Lucky Star, Romeo x Juliet, Nodame, etc … and previously running series keep me busy.
You probably noticed, I’m rather lenient on judging anime. 😉
What I’ve watched so far:
Bokurano: Still interested in it – yes, it is teenage angst, but still.
Idolmaster: Dropped. Somehow, it just started boring me.
Kaze no Stigma: My favourite series after Lucky Star this season. Anmation is somewhat annoying (damn you, Gonzo!), but the plot is interesting (despite the pessimistic reviews of the first eps by some) and the characters (especially Kazuma and Ayano) are nice.
Lucky Star: Doh.
Heroic Age: Enjoying it very much.
Kaibutsu Oujo: It did get a huge initial boost for invoking Lovecraft references (‘That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die’), and I like the characters as well.
Touka Gettan: I think I’m finally, slowly figuring out what is going on there. Waiting until the series uis finished before I play the game. Oh, and it’s aired at 1 o’clock in the morning for a reason XD
StrikerS: Pretty much meeting my expectation – not great, but still nice.
Terra E: Another great series, IMHO.
El Cazador: Still watching it, though it was pretty much an disapointment – propbably because I was expecting another Noir or Madlax, and instead it is a low-action, slow story anime with epiosdes that often remind me of fillers.
Sola: Shares 2nd Place with Kaze no Stigma
Claymore: The art style was kinda annoying at first… but since the story/characer development kicked in, I don’t even notice it anymore. And if they follow the manga (which, so far, they did rather faithfully), it will keep on getting better.
Serei no Moribito: Beautiful animation, interesting characters.
Hayate no Gotoku: SHANA! …. Erm, sorry.
Nagasarete Airantou: Pretty funny, but it’s no match against Lucky Star at all.
Sisters of Wellber: I’m repeatedly on the brink of dropping it and then reconsidering… not sure.
RomeoxJuliet: Dropped for the time – somehow I just lost interest.
Darker than Black: The Bi-episodic girl characters still annoy me, but besides that, very enjoayble nonetheless.
Lucky Star: Konachan daisuke! XD
Murder Princess: OVA, but since the release of its first ep pretty much conincidented with the start of the spring season… enjoayble.
Idolmaster’s story seems to be very fluffy, i expected better from a mecha anime…
Kaze no Stignma – One of my favorite animes of this year besides Code Geass 😛 Code Geass is my favorite anime.
Lucky Star – I picked it up becase Kyoto Animations was doing it, so far I’m satisfied, but i expected more funniness like Fumoffu 😛
Kaibutsu Oujo – Watching it, don’t have it, but don’t really like it either.
Touka Gettan – Dropped after episode 1, i had no idea what was going on.
El Cazador – Same as Morei no Moribito, rather watch other anime with my time, but if I have time, iI’ll continue this series.
Sola – Can’t watch because the subbers only release in hd now 🙁 My crappy comp can’t render it, I have to wait a month or two when i get a new laptop. But, i really like this anime.
Hayate no Gotoku! – Was incredibly impressed by the first episode and decided to continue. As the series goes on, it has less comedic moments or maybe It’s just because I haven’t seen enough anime to get the parodies. But, I still really like this anime, it’s up there with Kaze no Stigma, Claymore and Code Geass.
Sisters of Wellber – Subbers are really slow with this anime 🙁 I like this series thus far though.
Romeo x Juliet – Damn, I can’t watch it, but i really want to. Same case as sola.
Darker than Black – I like this series so far.
Murder Princess – I like this series so far.
BTW: I know this anime wasn’t made this year, but it is definitely a good watch. There are only theree episodes out so far.
KARAS!!!
I find heroic age dull, with little true character developement… that said, it does have amazing animation sequences, but they hardly make up for the two-dimensional nature of the protaganist. Toward the Terra is an interesting show that has the same retro stylization, but much much better character arcs.
As others have said, I’ve found Claymore to be very enjoyable to watch. My favorite anime of the Spring ’07 season.
Other shows that i have watched this season:
Lucky Star: good for the laughs…can’t really say much else
Hayate no Gotoku: i dropped it after episode 9. After a funny first episode, the humor well dried out. I’m only going to follow it by reading blogs since 90% of the anime parodies in the show went over my head, anyway.
Darker Than Black: looks good visually but I still don’t even know what the hell is going on after episode 8 or 9.
Romeo x Juliet: it’s good but I can’t help but feel that the there won’t be a happy ending.
Gurren Lagann: picked this up late. I think it’s okay, but nothing earth-shattering.
Lovely Complex: the style of exaggerating reactions and facial expressions is funny. Not as many laughs but I think the anime’s ability to make you feel sad or happy for the characters at the right times is really working well.
WELL THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN!!! come on now ! its not too late to drop a couple of shows, pick up the mermaid comedy, the claymore, hell even the bad ass spear chick…ITS GOOD SHIT MA NIGGAS!!!!!!!
“Romeo x Juliet: it’s good but I can’t help but feel that the there won’t be a happy ending.”
LOL. I hope you realise the satire in that statment, or perhaps you’re not aware of how the original ends.
sarcasm is tough to convey over the net eh?
Kaze no Stigma: I would highly recommend this, though you have to watch beyond the first couple episodes to really get into it. When I first watched it, the unbelievable similarity to Shakugan no Shana kinda turned me off of it, but when I went back a couple weeks later and watched more, it really grew on me. I like it a lot more than I liked Shana, primarily due to the so much cooler protagonist (I’m sorry, I just got tired of seeing the weak protagonist start the story, and gradually learn how to fight….), and the humor that is prevalent throughout the story.
Claymore: This series turned out a bit differently than my original expectations but I like how the story has been developing so far along with Clare’s character. The animation is nice and though the character designs are cool, they’re a bit, I dunno, off-putting in that ice queen, uncanny valley sorta way (I don’t really find the female characters attractive, disturbing is more like, but that’s half-demons for ya, lol, though the more Clare’s past and motivations shine through the more I like her). The ending theme music and animation are good, even if the rest of the series’ music is strange and jarring at times (clashing with the fantasy setting). I just hope Claymore doesn’t rely so much on leveling/powering up and training to get stronger with new techniques like a lot of other series (I’m looking at you, Bleach); the ranking system of the Claymores is annoying enough.
Darker Than Black: A decent series so far, though the dual episode arc format takes some getting used to. Little by little, the mystery of Hell’s Gate and Hei’s past are revealed, albeit very, very slowly. Hopefully the pace of the overall story arc will pick up, and maybe some have some more spotlight on the minor characters (like Yin, they did show a little for the cat character and his abilities, face plant with the crow, lol). Plus the intro theme is great.
Denno Coil: Saw the first ep raw on TV and was intrigued by the animation style, but not so much by the whole digital pet concept. I’ll have to catch up with this one to see if it’s worth it.
Gurren Lagann: The energy and crazy animation style (except for ep 4, bleh) keep me coming back to this series. The way the first arc overall arc ended was a bit of a surprise, but in a good way for Simon’s character development. The introduction of Nia opens up some new possibilities for even more craziness, though I hope Simon snaps out of his funk soon. Music is great too.
Heroic Age: Couldn’t get past the first two episodes for some reason, though I’ll try to catch up if folks are saying it gets better. I can’t complain about the animation; it’s the characters that left me wanting something more.
Romeo X Juliet: The character designs seem a bit simple at first glance, but the animation and unique take on the play are pretty nice. I’m a sucker for a good love story, though being based on the the classic tragedy, I wonder how it’ll end up.
Seirei no Moribito: Nicely animated, a very strong and believable heroine character, and I like the pseudo-historical Korean setting mixed with a touch of fantasy. The pace can get a bit slow at times (true for all of I.G’s series), but that leaves time to explore the characters a bit and their motivations and quirks. When the action sequences show up, it’s pretty good. The only disappointment has been the music with the ending and intro (not a fan of either), though the in-series music isn’t too bad. Speaking of I.G, why wasn’t their last series Le Chevalier D’Eon blogged? That was a pretty good one, I thought.
I know how the original Romeo & Juliet play ends though I last read it in sophomore year of HS
Paprika is an excellent movie. Definitely worth a watch!
Claymore isn’t funny tho. I don’t wanna watch the show with that Scottish sword name, I wanna see more people watch Kaze no Stigma =[ balance of funny and entertaining, and in the end isn’t that what you all about animeblogger guy :P.
Is Romeo X Juliet following Shakespare’s play or is it adding new elements into it. Basically, is it better?
As far as blue dragon goes, Uh…Well aside from it being an akira toriyama, Animations are fairly alright. Nothing over the top great nothing absolutely horrible. Story wise, typical shonen good vs evil could be a good thing could be bad, would have to wait till the story progresses.
As for the dark themed anime: claymore, probably out of all the anime’s this season its on my top list. Animation quality is average and above. Gorey, which is a plus. Story is progressing and it shows great promise. Pretty Nice action.
Loved the
Show Spoiler ▼
Serei no Moribito has really great animation. The fight scenes are fluid and probably some of the best ive seen so far. Storywise its decent but its interesting, so…you wont be too bored.
Kaze no Stigma- Better, Awesome, Just Watch It, Most Of The Animes On Your List Are Kinda Like This But Better Plus It’s Funny. Screw Claymore. =] Or if you have time you can do both, either way Kaze no Stigma better be there.
Romeo x Juliet, Kaze no Stigma, & Seto no Hanayome. All Gonzo, anyways blog all the anime before this statement. Happy 2007 Anime(s).
Romeo x Juliet, Kaze no Stigma, & Seto no Hanayome. All Gonzo, anyways blog all the anime before this statement. Happy 2007 Anime.
claymore is the best show for this season you have to watch it its owesome
I understand this is quite late and all, but–
Dennou Coil! It was great! Bokurano was certainly a very good show, though I agree that good doesn’t always equal entertaining.
As far as Paprika goes… it’s one of my favorite films. I actually think it’s better than Tokyo Godfathers, but all of Kon’s movies have been completely different genres (Tokyo Godfathers=drama (with a little comedy), holiday; Perfect Blue=noir, mystery; Millennium Actress=character study; Paprika=science fiction/fantasy) so it’s hard to judge them against each other.
The soundtrack is one of the best considering all of his films (up to par w/ the soundtrack from his Paranoia Agent) and the quality of animation is mind-blowing. I also quite liked the story (was taken from a short story) but I know people who didn’t like th story that much. The story is, however, relevant to modern culture and society. Similar themes to his other work.
I loved it, but I really enjoy strange, quirky films that explore the nature of reality. If you didn’t like Paranoia Agent, you mght not enjoy Paprika, but I still think it’s worth the watch.