That looks inviting. Anyway, you know the drill by now…
Clannad - Having waited for the 16:9 version to begin airing, I’ve only watched the first couple of episodes. The brisk pace immediately reminded me of Air, but the direction is tight enough this time around that the show doesn’t feel like a runaway freight train. As I’ve mentioned in the past, Clannad is the one Key game I know very little about, so I don’t have any particular expectations for the adaptation going in. It’s off to a great start, at least.
Kimikiss Pure Rouge - A few people have already compared this show to Boys Be, which I suspect very few of you have watched, much less heard of. I’ve always been especially fond of that show, however, and I think the comparison is spot on. The most notable difference, really, is that Kimikiss is a little less male-oriented. And that’s a good thing. Anyway, it’s a remarkably enjoyable show, especially considering that it consists almost entirely of people walking to and from school.
Mokke - This show continues to fly under the radar, but from a content standpoint, I think it’s one of the most interesting of the season. The stories appear simple on the surface, but the more I watch, the more depth I discover in the writing. There’s sort of an old school vibe to the show; not just with the obviously dated character designs, but the overall atmosphere and presentation. It’s very comforting.
Minami-ke - Perhaps it’s just me, but there’s a lot of underlying sexual tension in this show. However, it’s nothing like the mangaka’s previous work, Kyou no Go no Ni. The funny thing is, the characters in Kyou no Go no Ni are much younger on average than the characters in Minami-ke. Interesting. Anyway, the humor in Minami-ke is occasionally hit-or-miss, but the more I watch, the better it gets. The teruterubozu sequence in last week’s episode had me laughing so hard I cried.
Genshiken 2 - Letting a porn studio handle the production for this season of Genshiken was a wonderful idea. Not only is the animation quality more consistent than before, but the the smut is extremely well done. And there’s a lot of smut this time around. I’m starting to understand why the manga has so many fans.
Hayate no Gotoku - I’m amazed by how consistently enjoyable and funny this show continues to be. And it’s only half way through its run! I’ve heard a lot of talk about how the show lost its balance over the Summer, and while I generally agreed with that assessment at the time, I’m starting to think it was more a matter of the show finding its groove and sticking to it. Whatever the case may be, I know I still look forward to new episodes each week - moreso than any other show I’m watching, really - and I think that’s pretty darn impressive for a series that’s been on the air for seven months.
Bamboo Blade - This show has really exceeded my expectations. It almost feels like an accident; was it supposed to be this enjoyable? Beats me.
You’re Under Arrest - Full Throttle - Were these episodes left on the cutting room floor during the first two seasons or something? Even for a show as corny as You’re Under Arrest, this season has been especially silly thus far. I don’t mind, really - otherwise, I wouldn’t be such a big fan of the franchise - but it does seem like the show has finally run out of story ideas.
Sketchbook ~ Full Colors ~ - I can live with the tildes, but I refuse to acknowledge the improper punctuation. Just a note. Oh, and best show of the season.
Haha I watched boys be..like 7 years ago! Watashi tachi wa daijoubu~ I still listen to the theme song. ANd yea you’re right KimiKiss is like Boys Be but with less “hey wanna see my new porn vid lol!”
I don’t know why, but most shows scare me this season. Kimikiss and M;Y are both excuriating, I feel like skipping because I’m afraid. In Clannad ep.1 everything was ok (nobody was stealing any tayaki) until the end, and then boom. Sketchbook is the only one where I don’t feel threatened, but I’m bored. I see why it’s supposed to be the best show, but it just does not click. And Yuno was way better than Sora. So sad…
In Bamboo Blade, characters piss me off with their incompetence (except Tamaki, of course). Seriously, being hit with a bicycle coming right through the center of the field of vision, while keyed for fight? That character is a danger for self in first place.
“Perhaps it’s just me, but there’s a lot of underlying sexual tension in this show.”
It’s not just you.
“Letting a porn studio handle the production for this season of Genshiken was a wonderful idea. Not only is the animation quality more consistent than before, but the the smut is extremely well done. And there’s a lot of smut this time around. I’m starting to understand why the manga has so many fans.”
This season is actually more porny than the manga. Actually, the manga’s not that porny at all. The way you write about the show implies you’ve not read the manga. If you have time, read it, it’d be a not so horrible way to use it.
“Oh, and best show of the season.”
:V
I’ve read some of the earlier chapters of the Genshiken manga, but I didn’t get as far as what’s being covered in the second season. My comment about understanding why the manga is so popular wasn’t really in reference to the smut. It clearly reads that way, though. My mistake.
I’d like to think of Minami-ke as sexy rather than sexually tense.
And I have to check Bamboo Blade and Sketchbook out (once I get a new HDD).
ugh, everything your watching is stuff I’m still trying to catch up on. Anyway, thanks to you I repicked up Mokke to great results, however I dropped Kimikiss because I like ef and CLANNAD worlds more.
Sexual tension is funny, AMIRITE? Joking aside, obviously it’s only part of the whole LOL equation, but that doesn’t explain why I’m watching Ninomiya-kun.
Mokke is interesting, but I think content-wise Blue Drop and Ghost Hounds are just as good. It’s just the latter two doesn’t put me to sleep.
And yea, where’s ef…>_>
I gave up on ef. It just wasn’t holding my attention, and with so many other shows to watch, I decided it wasn’t worth continuing with. Same with Blue Drop.
Hey nice run-down!
I’m glad to read that others are waiting for the 16:9 Clannad eps. Yea, that Sketchbook punctuation is freakishly poor, but it is a great experience (1st or 2nd best for my season).
I felt Bamboo Blade would be Umisho’s successor, but it does good in character development without the ecchi, random comedy. What I found interesting, is that BB is supposedly scheduled for 26 episodes, because the material seems typically suited to 12-13 episodes. I’m not complaining though, since it has proven very fun. Did you happen to check out Moyashimon? I found that a surprise entertainment as well.
^^
Had kimikiss on my toget list for a while, glad to hear that its a more girl orientated Boys Be. I really liked Boys be, was surprisingly good, better than a lot of the romcom/shoujo things ive come across. I tend to accumulate a list of thigns to watch and dont bother with them for months. I guess now ill check it out much sooner.
Surprisingly, out of everything this season, I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying Shion no Ou. If I’d known it was about shogi I probably wouldn’t have tried it out but I’m so glad I gave it a go. Of course, the shogi is absolute Greek to me. I get the giggles every time Shion dramatically slams a shogi piece on the board and a spectator yells out ‘B-9i????’ or summat in such incredulous tones and everyone just reels in shock. But it’s got enough shameless plot twists to keep me hooked :)
You’re so right about Boys Be = Kimikiss. I love the look of Kimikiss; it brings back memories of Hachikuro and Nodame but doesn’t seem to have any depth so far. Fingers crossed that’ll change soon though.
TBH, I couldn’t be bothered with blue Drop either in the end. However I have a backlog of scary proportions: I’m currently following Ghost Hound (it has very Lain-esque vibes, which is good), Clannad (I didn’t think I’d enjoy this but I am), Kaiji (pointy-nosed gambling brilliance) and Moyashimon (it’s all about the talking microbes!). Mokke really does seem to have been passed by, which is a shame when, at least at first, it feels like a lighter Mushishi, which I mean in a good way. I’ll definitely be sqeezing that into my schedule somewhere.
As for Genshiken 2 I haven’t seen the OAV yet (it’s supposed to fill the gap between the first and second season, right?) but since I enjoyed the first season so much I figured buying the second season as and when it’s out on DVD after watching the OAV is the best way to go. With so much to keep me occupied, I can afford to be patient! :)
Add Sky Girls and Dennou Coil left over from last season and that’s pretty much my watch list for the autumn as well, although I place Minami-ke as ‘best show’ so far (having said that, the ‘cat episode’ of Sketchbook was fab).
I am still impressed by your patience with Clannad. With the show now topping out even those great first couple of eps, I am no longer able to resist the evils of the ‘pan and scan’.
Damn: double comment. Go watch Moyashimon! A notable exception from your list.
>.> Blue Drop and ef are my two fav shows this season XD
Boys Be… was a good show, no doubt. You just convinced me to watch Kimikiss.
[quote]I gave up on ef. It just wasn’t holding my attention, and with so many other shows to watch, I decided it wasn’t worth continuing with. Same with Blue Drop.[/quote]
Wow, the only two current shows that I’m follwing for sure :/
Oh wait, there’s Gundam too.
Anyway, Ef had a bit of a rough start, but so far it’s gotten better with each passing episode - I like how un-TEROGE it is despite totally being one at the same time, and there’s been a number of good moments. If they can keep the groove that they’ve gutted up so far all the way to the end (that’s a relatively big if though :p), it’ll probably rank among my favourites of the year. And probably as one of the overall better porngame>anime adaptions (are there any?). …But let’s not get ahead of ourselves too much.
As for Blue Drop, it is pretty much following its set rails, so unless you didn’t like the first episode or two you’re not missing anything by not watching it.
I also like how Hayate seems to have gotten a second wind (and I’d like to think that the second OP had something to do with that), though with the current stuff apparently not coming from the manga, it will be interesting to see how the production team keeps churning out the comedy. I love how there’s more Sakuya in these recent episodes though. :3
More people do need to check out Mokke.
And as others have said, where’s Moyashimon? :P
I know I should be watching Moyashimon… I just haven’t set aside the time, is all. Been pretty busy lately.
Im just to start Claymore. (im about to finish Suzumiya Haruhi no yuuutsu!!) I guess i have to check out this series also…
I watched the Sketchbook ~ Full Colors Official site and its awesome!!