All this talk of the approaching Summer season frightens me, as I’ve just realized most of the shows I’m currently watching won’t wrap up until October. Or, in the case of Nana, until I start cashing Social Security checks.
So, I’ll either need to be very selective about what new shows I pick up or find a way to function without sleep.
Anyway, some thoughts on how the current season is progressing…
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - It’s blasphemy, I know, but I’m actually growing a bit bored with the show. It’s starting to suffer too much from its own formula. Each new chapter is interesting from a story standpoint, but none have managed to match the first chapter in terms of atmosphere. The whole “happy days” -> “ohhh… mysterious” -> “everyone freaks out” -> “WTF?” progression isn’t all that special when you know it’s coming. And, since I’m not putting much effort into solving the mystery, it feels as if the show’s not going anywhere in particular.
Strawberry Panic - Fun to watch in weekly installments. Not so much fun to watch in large batches. Trust me.
Aria - Lovely as always, of course. Some of the recent stories have been especially charming.
School Rumble Second Season - Much like the first season, the second season has had its ups and downs. It’s always enjoyable, but it kind of lacks focus. Deja vu? This time, I don’t particularly mind the new characters… but, I can’t shake the feeling the whole thing is gradually becoming unraveled. Are they shooting for a third season? It sure feels that way.
Utawarerumono - Perhaps the best show of the season as far as pacing goes. A lot has already happened, and now the story is moving in a new direction. I suppose there’s something generic about the show, but “generic” can be great fun when placed in competent hands.
High School Girls - No comment.
The Confusion of Suzumiya Haruhi - The show is still interesting on an episode by episode basis, but as a whole… ah, to hell with it. I give up. I’ll never understand the episode shuffling.
Ouran High School Host Club - After a few slow episodes, the show is back in top form. Was the Marimite parody in the manga? And who would have thought banana peel gags could be so amusing?
Banana peels are of the arch-type comedy in my opinion and seeing Ouran use it, and so effectively at that, is pretty awesome. Only Ouran can take something to cheap and turn it into something so beautiful. ^^
Spring running into summer is bad, but spring/summer/fall is going to be deadly. Time to stock up on energy drinks.
Utawarerumono is my wife’s favorite, right now. I am actually hoping that the anime wouldstart diverging from the game from now, though.
As for School Rumble, they don’t have much choice but do the thrid semester. It is unlikely that they would get to the emotionally intense episodes around Christmas, this season, and the 2nd semester’s rating has been good enough, I believe.
For those who have seen the Kamichu, TV version, I recommend checking the DVD version as well, for there are lots of important additions. I am somewhat surprised at the speed the English DVD came out. The speedier output of the DVD should help increase the sale, if Geneon or ADV can get some decent shelvings. Most Japanese Anime is not even given a chance to be known, for most retailer’s DVD space is already taken up by US media oriented companies, and they will never give up their space ( They will keep giving the retailers enough shelving fee to ensure that majority of Americans remain ignorant of existance of most quality animes ).
It may be possible that Haruhi of Ouran High, not the one in North High, might be the Haruhi which will end up leaving lasting imprint in anime history, especially if you consider the female half of the Anime viewers; I suspect both will do so in their own ways.
Finally, ARIA, still like the show, but I wish Alice would become a Single soon; she is already far better than Akari and Aika in rowing technique. I also wonder who will become Alice’s love interest. I suspect Akari will just have too many admirers who will impeded each other’s progress, thus no one will ever get close to ask her out in formal date. Aika and Al would be fine, mentally, but there is the whole physique difference that cannot be ignored. Gahhhhhhhhh!!! I am writing like gossipping middle age women when it comes to ARIA!! I may wish for edit function for these replies in near future.
Are you planning to have a look at Saiunkoku Monogatari at some point? If you like Utawarerumono, this has, I think, even better plotting. Not to mention a smaller chast of main characters so they get more screentime.
Then again, there’s only one female truly featured so far, so it might not be your cup of tea if you can’t handle bishonen, of which there are quite a few.
What about black lagoon? I think it’s at least #3, if not #2 or #1 in terms of quality and fun factor.
So far, all of the Ouran episodes have been from the manga directly (save for a couple of chapters they’ve skipped - for now?), but that episode was funnier animated. I’m really looking forward to the next episode’s shoujo manga gag.
I was wondering how High School Girls was going, so I’m glad you covered everything I wanted to know in those two words.
For a second opinion on “Girl’s High”, see this.
My top three - in no particular order - is still Haruhi, School Rumble and Higurashi. I don’t understand why some people are phased by the episode shuffle, it isn’t disturbing me by the least. Perhaps I’m a random enough person to have gotten used to things like that. :D Higurashi isn’t getting old on me either, as each new story arc opens some new views and comes with new revelations. School Rumble is… School Rumble. No further excplanations needed.
Rounding out next three spots, again in no particular order, are Utawarerumono, Ouran and Black Lagoon. While recommendable shows all, none reach the greatness of the top trio. Utaware in particular is showing its game roots a tad too clearly.
Some of the shoujo manga gags work wonder when animated. Ouran so far has netted a positive from an adaptation, I feel. It’s the only other comedy I’m following.
I totally agree with JAL’s assessment with Higurashi. BOOORING. Ever since ep 5…well, maybe the tense part of last arc. What they should have done is accelerate the setup for each of the episodes, now that they’ve popped the expectation bubble. But nooo.
Last thing: Jal: thanks for watching the crap shows I don’t bother watching, so I know if they’re worthy to be picked up!
Hmm… now that people have mentioned, you’re not watching Black Lagoon, JAL?
I would consider BLagoon to be the most underhyped series of Spring 2006. :) For such a low-radar series, it blows away most of the competition.
Cheers.
I don’t want to be unfair to Girl’s High… I’m still watching it, after all. Obviously, the show is crap, but since it’s perfectly aware of its crap status, I can somehow watch it with a clear conscience.
As for Black Lagoon, Saiunkoku Monogatari, and the million other shows I passed on this season… I’ll have to save them for a rainy day.
Aria, School Rumble, Haruhi, Ouran and… Yomigaeru Sora? No, please - put down the chair. Really. It’s been coming out so slowly, but for anyone who likes slice-of-life, it has solid pleasures. People actually behave like adults - it’s almost jarring to see that in anime.
I’ve come around to your approach of saving up a bunch of episodes and watching them all in one go. This seems to work especially well for melodramatic shows like Shuffle! — once you’ve gotten over the hurdle of swallowing the melodramatic cheese, you get to wallow in the suffering for a good, long emo soak.
I seem to be doing that with Higurashi — I suddenly found myself lacking the energy to continue, about halfway into the second arc. I’ll probably binge a bunch of them in a bit.
Yes, it’s a late reply to this subject, but I just completed Suzumiya Haruhi no yuutsu and despite the episode shuffling, I think it all made some “sense” in the end. I agree that each episode is interesting as a stand alone, but remember who’s doing the directing in the end. And if you think of it from that perspective, it is more interesting, isn’t it?
And I second terry’s recommendation of Yomiageru sora ~Rescue Wings~. Okay, so there’s nothing special about the series really. No magic, no fan service, no uber-cuteness, no inserted moe character, etc. But credit should be given to a series that manages to capture general life in an interesting manner such as this. For me, it’s in a category of “hot cocoa” anime, which is where I can grab a cup of hot cocoa, put a blanket over me and just relax while watching.