Ao no Exorcist / First Impressions / Series Introduction

Ao no Exorcist – 01

「悪魔は人の心に棲む」 (Akuma wa Hito no Kokoro ni Sumu)
“Demons Live in the Human Heart”

Coming from A-1 Pictures, Ao no Exorcist is a modern representation of what I perceive to be a “classic shounen.” You know, the type that some of us are familiar with from our childhoods watching Toonami. The type that doesn’t use much of any “commercial guarantees,” but boast excellence solely on storytelling. I mean, not even a single female appeared until the sixth minute of this show! Yeah, my mind was blown too.

First Impressions / Hanasaku Iroha

Hanasaku Iroha – 03

「ホビロン」 (Hobiron)
“Balut”

More so then any other show airing this season that I’ve watched, Hanasaku Iroha has successfully managed to become my number one pick. If not for the amazing cast of characters, or the stupidly funny situations, it has to be the show’s ability to consistently toy with my emotions — bringing them up and down at its whim.

First Impressions / Nichijou

Nichijou – 03

「日常３」 (Nichijou 3)
“My Ordinary Life 3”

I’m not sure why, but I reserve a small spot in my top seiyuu list for Shiraishi Minoru. Ever since his role in Lucky Star where he ended up being at the receiving end of just about every bad joke in the book, I’ve been looking forward to watching him become that great seiyuu he wanted to be — and look, he’s playing the part of a near important main character.

First Impressions / GOSICK

GOSICK – 13

「愚者は己の代弁者を指名する」 (Gusha wa Onore no Daiben-sha o Shimei Suru)
“Only a Fool Would Appoint Himself as His Own Lawyer”

It sucks that Avril’s such a charming character, because despite the fact that there doesn’t appear to be a serious reason for her to like Kujou, the power of fate will never let it happen, literally.

Deadman Wonderland / First Impressions / Series Introduction

Deadman Wonderland – 01

「死刑囚」 (Shikeishuu)
“Dead Man Walking”

I didn’t know about this series before, but after burning through 40+ chapters of the manga in a day, I was sold and was excited for the anime adaptation to come out. My main fear was that there would be excessive censoring because it’s TV anime, not DVD or theaters, and also that the one cour may not be enough. There’s quite a bit of material and getting cut short would be no good.

Final Impressions / First Impressions / Retrospective Look

Retrospective Look – March 2011

After further health-related delays on top of the endless wave of new spring shows, the last monthly post of the winter 2011 season is finally here. Included are mostly final impressions, along with some quick thoughts on the episodes leading up to a given series’ conclusion.

Changes for each of the writers over the course of the season are listed below.

  • Prooof picked up Madoka Magica.
  • Takaii dropped Dragon Crisis, put Yumekui Merry and Onii-chan no Koto on indefinite hold.
  • Kiiragi dropped Beelzebub, FREEZING, and Hourou Musuko.
  • Divine dropped Starry Sky.

    • 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.

    First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

    Hidan no Aria – 01

    「La Bambina」
    “The Girl”

    J.C. Staff is back with the Toradora duo of Majima Junji and Kugimiya Rie in their latest light novel/manga adaptation, except this time we have a bunch of armed detectives in training known as “Butei” (Busou + Tantei). As I described in the Spring 2011 Preview, the attention to detail with the Butei specializations and the weaponry they use is one of the highlights of this series.

    Anohana / First Impressions / Series Introduction

    Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai. – 01

    「超平和バスターズ」 (Chou Heiwa Basutaazu)
    “Super Peace Busters”

    I want to say long names correlate with quality, but that wouldn’t really be true. Luckily, I can say Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai will most likely pave the way (wow that’s a mouthful).

    C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control / First Impressions / Series Introduction

    C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control – 01

    「complication （複雑）」 (Fukuzatsu)

    Money is power. Money is the root of all evil. That’s the theme in this supernatural finance series. At least, that’s the impression I got seeing a debt-ridden businessman making a deal with devil at a bank ATM, complete with an evil sounding machine voice and demonic taxi driver. I didn’t really know what exactly I was getting into before this episode, since the subject matter was unusual, but the potential is exciting.

    Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko / First Impressions / Series Introduction

    Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko – 01

    「宇宙人の都会」 (Uchuujin no Tokai)
    “City of Aliens”

    I’m not gonna lie, I wanted to watch this because I like Buriki’s designs, and to that end it delivers. The only SHAFT show I’ve even liked was Madoka, and that didn’t even finish, but wow, this show is just entertaining as all hell.