This news is already a few days old, but I just wanted to mention that the recent announcement of a third season of You’re Under Arrest really caught me by surprise. Even to this day, You’re Under Arrest is one of only a few shows that I can rewatch time and time again and yet never grow tired of. The series is representative of a certain era of anime that, in my opinion, ended far too soon. So, you can’t imagine how happy I am to hear that more is on the way.

I do wonder about the content of the new season, however. Will it pick up where the second season left off? Or will it jump forward into the future? Like most of Fujishima Kosuke’s creations, You’re Under Arrest has quite the gadgetry fetish. In fact, one of the most charming things about the series is how it depicts the emerging technology of the 1990s. I can’t tell you how much of a kick I got out of watching Miyuki go all wobbly at the sight of a 200 MHz PC workstation at one point during the first season, for example. Pure nostalgia, it is.

So, I have to ask: will the third season bring You’re Under Arrest into the 21st century?

Back in March, fellow blogger Wonderduck contacted me with a request: help him bring an AMV idea to life. Two months, countless e-mails, and many a frustrated “uguu~~” later, and it lives! Of course, Wonderduck should be credited for putting in the longest hours. All I did was answer questions and find new and creative ways to crash Adobe Premiere.

Anyway, as the image above suggests, it’s a Kanon video. And a rather clever Kanon video, at that. You can read a full description of the video here, and, if you’re curious, you can download it here.

Be advised that the video contains spoilers from the show.

Speaking as a (lapsed) AMV editor, I have to say that’s it pretty impressive for a first video. It’s a lot more polished than my first video, at least. If you have any comments, feel free to leave them either here or at Wonderduck’s blog. Also, if you happen to be an AMV.org member, you can also leave a comment there.

One of the things that surprised me about the final episode of Manabi Straight was its accurate and detailed portrayal of Narita International Airport. For one, I had always viewed Manabi Straight as being set in some fictional, non-existent sliver of Japan, so I sort of did a double take when a real location popped up in the end. This was compounded by the fact that the backgrounds in that scene were a dead ringer for the airport’s Terminal 1. I’ve done the whole “minasan sayonara!” thing from the same exact spot at which Mikan and friends parted way, so it got me to reminiscing.

I must say, however, that, given how much Japan loves wasting money on unnecessary construction projects, I would have expected them to have replaced Narita twice over by the year in which Manabi Straight takes place. Or at least redecorated.

You know, when I first got hooked on Idol Master XENOGLOSSIA, I was at a loss to explain why the show appealed to me as much as it did. So, it was with some trepidation that I continued watching, expecting it to eventually morph into something not at all to my liking. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Except, it never happened. And, even though I still can’t explain why the show pushes all the right buttons, I can at least breath a sigh of relief, seeing as it has indeed turned out to be as enjoyable as I hoped it would be, if not more so. If you put me on the spot, however, and asked, “What gives? How can you be so enamored with a show everyone and their brother likes to rag on?”, I’d have to say this…

It makes no pretensions.

And that could very well be why the show hasn’t been particularly well-received. Anime fans have a tendency to expect more than simple entertainment from the shows they watch. So far, however, Xenoglossia has offered its viewers little more than simple entertainment. Hence, it’s rubbish. Right? Obviously, I don’t think so, but I’ve spent enough time within the fan community to know that this sort of sentiment is common among anime fans of all stripes. Even I’m guilty at times, I’m sure.

However, seeing as Xenoglossia is neither a blockbuster or widely adored title, should it be elevated to “hidden treasure” status? Beats me. It seems like an odd way to describe a heavily marketed Sunrise series loosely based on a ridiculously popular video game that swept Japan by storm. And, seeing as the show makes no pretensions, I feel like I should do the same. Although, I will admit that, when I read negative comments about Xenoglossia on blogs and message boards, I usually just chuckle and roll my eyes. Ah, conventional wisdom, what would we do without you?

But, at the same time, I don’t see any reason to defend the show. I enjoy it, and that’s good enough. And I have friends who enjoy it, so I at least know I’m not suffering from some sort of brain injury. I can fanboy about Xenoglossia all day long and still sleep at night. I do wonder, however, how the show would have been received had it not been preceded by Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome - two shows that, while having their legions of fans, have not necessarily aged well.

Is Xenoglossia suffering undeserved backlash as a result? Perhaps. The funny thing is, in my opinion, Xenoglossia is better than its two predecessors. It’s clearly less absurd. And it’s far more deliberately paced. Whereas the pacing in Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome left me with whiplash, the pacing in Xenoglossia is surprisingly natural. The writers have planted the seeds, and now it’s time to watch them grow.

And I’m happy to do just that. In fact, for all the cries of, “more action, dammit!”, I wouldn’t mind some filler episodes right about now. There’s a great ensemble cast lurking in Haruka’s shadow at the moment, and nothing brings out side characters like simple, entertaining fluff. So, I’m hoping Xenoglossia will do its best to piss off its detractors even more in future episodes.

My feeding tube has been reattached. ANIME GET!

In case you haven’t heard the news yet, Simoun has been licensed for North American release by Media Blasters. For those of you just dropping in, Simoun was my favorite show of the past year.

I can’t say I’m all that surprised, seeing as I’ve suspected the show would be licensed eventually, if not within the year. Also, rumors of the show’s licensing have been floating around for a couple of months now.

Still, even if I’m not surprised by the announcement, I’m happy as can be. So, if you will allow…

MEDIA BLASTERS BANZAI! JOHN SIRABELLA BANZAI! SIMOUN BANZAI!

I have a lot of stuff going on right now (more on that later), but since you guys miss me and all, I figure I should try blogging a bit.

Anyway, with the new anime season continuing to mature, I thought I’d share some thoughts on the shows I’m watching…

Sola - If you ask me, Matsuri is Mamiko Noto’s best performance since Rescue Wings. Other than that, this show is very much up my alley, given it’s slow, slice-of-life atmosphere and subdued direction. Boring for some, but exciting for me. I haven’t a clue where the story is going, but with so few episodes to work with and such a small cast present, I expect something tight and carefully plotted. My only complaint, really, is that Yorito is more of a dork than the first episode led me to believe.

Hayate the Combat Butler - This show is weird. Seriously. Occasionally, there’ll be an obvious joke, and I won’t react in the slightest. Other times, I’ll be rolling in the floor. There’s nothing in between. I’m not entirely sure what to make of the inside jokes and references, either. Sometimes, I laugh. Other times, I think, “Gee, that’s kind of gratuitous.” Sometimes, I even wonder if that’s WHY the references are funny. I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that, when I sit down to watch anime, Hayate always comes first. I guess I like it?

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Strikers - As much a fan of this franchise as I am, I’m having a difficult time getting into the third installment. I don’t necessarily want to go so far as to say the magic from the first two seasons is gone, but it sure feels that way at times. Plus, I still can’t get used to an adult Nanoha… she’s always had a gentle personality, but now she acts like she’s on Valium all the time. And Fate is pretty much missing in action (when she got the emergency call in her car near the end of Episode 4, I half expected her to respond with, “I’m on my way… as soon as I pick up Nanoha’s dry cleaning!”). That said, I do like the new characters (Teana, especially), and the training sequences have been a bit more fun than I expected. Still, I hope the pace picks up soon. Also, I hope the animation quality improves. Nanoha deserves better!

Lovely Complex - Haven’t started yet. It’s in the queue.

Idol Master Xenoglossia - I don’t know what this show intends to be. But, I suppose that’s really not all that important at the moment. Of all of the season’s new shows, Xenoglossia still remains my favorite, even as it settles into its formulaic Sunrise groove. I’m tempted to describe it as “comfort anime”. Not too hot. Not too cold. Just right. For now, all the show demands of me is that I shut my brain off and pay attention for a half hour. I’m happy to oblige.

Hitohira - Stuck in fansub limbo, so I haven’t watched past the first episode. I figure this will be corrected eventually, but for now, I’m giving serious consideration to watching the show raw. I’d really like to continue.

Lucky Star - It’s getting better. A lot better. I’m not yet sure what to make of the recent staff change brouhaha - Yamamoto-san was doing a perfectly fine job, in my opinion - but my general feeling is that the show can only improve with time. While watching the most recent episode, I had an interesting thought: since the humor in the show relies so much on the personality quirks of its characters, I wonder if the jokes have more punch now that we’ve had the opportunity to get to know everyone. Perhaps that’s one of the myriad reasons the first couple of episodes fell flat for so many people?

Romeo x Juliet - Despite all the noise I made about the first episode, I’ve neglected to keep up with the show. I’ll try to do something about that this week.

Bokurano - I haven’t read the manga, but I can tell GONZO is making changes. And it makes me worry. Given what I’ve heard about the story, the first few episodes haven’t had the sort of impact I hoped for. I’m sure it’ll get better, but… well, I’m worried. When it comes to GONZO shows, what else can I do? That said, the OP is definitely the best of the season.

Emma: Second Act - Still need to finish the first season before I can get my Victorian meido fix.

Kamichama Karin - The direction in the first episode freaked me out so much that I haven’t worked up the nerve to continue. I’m not hearing good things, either. As much as like Koge Donbo’s work, and as much as I was looking forward to this show, I might just drop it. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Shades of Tsubasa Chronicle there.