Doraemon666
Magical Girl
Gundam Z-eps 1-15
Your anime viewing journal
- Thread starter Miaka-chan
- Start date
fabio de lunatico
Claymore
Moribito 1-7
Hmm. I'm not sure what to make of this quite yet. There's been some beautifully animated action (hello I.G./Kenji Kamiyama), and spine-tingling music (hello Kenji Kawai), and it's obviously a quality production all round. But it hasn't grabbed me as I thought it would. May be a slow burner.
Hmm. I'm not sure what to make of this quite yet. There's been some beautifully animated action (hello I.G./Kenji Kamiyama), and spine-tingling music (hello Kenji Kawai), and it's obviously a quality production all round. But it hasn't grabbed me as I thought it would. May be a slow burner.
mangaman74
Akatsuki
Paprika - Another top Satoshi Kon film.
Rena Ryuugu
Oyashiro-Sama
Perfect Blue
It was a brilliant film and I really enjoyed watching it
Highschool of the Dead episode 9
Kaichou no Maid Sama episodes 13-14
It was a brilliant film and I really enjoyed watching it
Highschool of the Dead episode 9
Kaichou no Maid Sama episodes 13-14
ilmaestro
State Alchemist
This will be partially "thoughts up to now" as well as the most recent ep, since it's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything (spoilers intermingled in places):
Amagami SS (09) - A big surpise in terms of just how much I've enjoyed it, it's one of the shows that I most want to keep up with each week. Kaoru's arc was a small let-down only in that it would have benefitted from being a couple of episodes longer, otherwise it was as good as I expected it to be after the excellent first arc. Sae's arc I didn't have as high hopes for, and whilst it doesn't quite fit into the tone of the show as established in the first eight episodes, there was a nice lighter touch to episode nine, and I can't deny that Sae and her voice are quite moe.
Asobi ni Iku yo! ( 08 ) - And another big surprise, in terms of it being any good at all! I've read a couple of slightly OTT articles praising this show, but it has to be said that it does rise above any expectations I had for it. It takes a really bad idea, infuses it with a bunch of cliches, but manages to undercut that just enough with its style and production values, and a small helping of tongue-firmly-in-cheek-ness. I'm not sure that I love the Aoi/Manami rivalry in terms of what it does for the narrative, but the potential government conspiracies and the antics of the dog faction are more interesting. As I have surely said before, this is this season's Kampfer, and I can only hope it gets quite as crazy as that did by the end.
Densetsu no Yuusha (09) - Goddam I love this series. The anime sometimes feels a bit like a highlight show, but they've taken their time a little more with the last couple of episodes, not sure how many of the LNs they're actually looking to adapt now (they're still in book 3, so I'm not sure now if they'll do the first 11 main books. Would be nice to see some of the short stories adapted instead and then a second season later on). Telling Fukuyama Jun "just be Lelouch" is some inspired casting for Ryner, ep 9 in particular showcasing this. Needs more of Froaude being awesome especially as this relates to Sion's state of mind, but still great overall.
Fairy Tail (44) - This is the only "stereotypical" shounen fighting anime I'm watching these days, and it might even be good enough to justify that fact. Has been particularly epic since The Lucy/Loke storyline. Juvia is awesome (especially her new look), and so is Gajeel but Erza is just way too good. Backstory, powers, personality, all brilliant. That said, I've been waiting for the next episode for a long time, so that could well jump a certain character far up my rankings.
Giant Killing (22) - Man, they've really done a great job with this Osaka match so far. They've made it feel like the whole series has been building up to this, and the payoff could be great. There's a nice balance of comic relief and serious football action, especially with the non-Japanese characters. Kubota is amazing for Osaka, and a good example of some of the modern tactical aspects that the show is using nicely, questioning more traditional views on what makes an attacking team a truly attacking team (btw, "kubota osaka" brings up some strange stories in google http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 701a3.html). Not as fond of the storyline surrounding the supporters, but it's still good to see them tackling so many diverse elements of the sport.
Heroman (22) - There's something about this series that makes it hard to dislike, but its simplicity and almost slavish adherence to being a "Saturday morning cartoon" (OK, it's not a late-night anime, but it lacks even the complexity of typical evening time slot shounen shows) really hold it back. Very easy on the eyes - and I'm not just talking about Joey's sister - with some solid animation, pretty decent design for Heroman, some variety to its storylines, it has a decent foundation but hasn't quite built on it enough. The last couple of storylines have shown more of the show's potential, but I wonder if this will be looked back on as a missed opportunity.
Highschool of the Dead (09) - I think this has been a hugely successful adaptaion, so far. Lavish action scenes, judicious pacing, no lack of fan service. The homages to other zombie works are great, and now that the main cast is all assembled there's just more opportunity to see how they handle a variety of personal situations in the middle of the larger crisis.
Kaicho ha Maid-sama (22) - I fall more in love with this series every week, as the Usui/Misa-chan relationship gets more and more involved. The bit with the two of them trying to win the weird footman competition, and Misaki's attempts to apologize to and thank Usui afterwards, was good enough, but Hinata's appearance and the way it has affected Usui has been even more entertaining. Great blend of romance and comedy, and more than enough quality in its execution to overcome any lack of originality in the basic ideas behind some of its situations.
K-ON!! (21) - What is really left to be said about this show? Episode 20 was just different gravy, the stops were all pulled out in every aspect of the production. Great animation during the concert sequence, fantastic new songs, tremendous emotional build up during the MC sequences (especially everyone "else" stepping in to introduce Yui) and payoff with the scene in the club room afterwards. This show has an amazing depth to its characters considering how relatively little time is spent exploring them. And it never stops being funny! I can't think of a series I've laughed at so much, even School Rumble or Azumanga Daioh, which would have been my two favorite comedies before K-ON!. Ep 21 was a peach of an episode considering what it had to follow, raising Yui's star even higher (she really has been the outstanding anime character of the year so far for me, along with DRRR!!'s Izaya). I will be very disappointed if the series isn't continued in some way to follow the girls (presumably and hopefully all together) into University.
Mitsudomoe (09) - OK, so it can be kind of one-note at times (the last few episodes especially seem to be leaning hard on the "deliberately vague sentence is interpreted the wrong way"), but the basic outline of each of the three main girls is definitely strong enough to carry the show. My favorite keeps on wavering between Mitsuba (bwwwwwwwwwaaaaaka!!!) and Hitoha, especially with this Gachi Rangers running gag. Feels massively wrong to be comparing this with Hanamaru Kindergarten given the extreme differences in tone, but it's nearly as funny as that at times, which is a pretty decent complement imo.
Nurarihyon no Mago (09) - Much more awesome now that Rikuo is paying due attention to his youkai side. The real appeal of this show for anyone who likes youkai lies, obviously, with the massive range of creatures that it features (you see what I did there?) and there has been no let-down on that score. Gyuki's arc was also pretty cool for showing us an alternate take on some of the characters during his backstory, and the whole series just has a fantastically different atmosphere to so many shounen efforts.
Occult Academy (09) - This is a really odd series. Appropriate, perhaps, for something ostensibly based on the occult, but that's not quite what I mean. It's hard to put your finger on exactly what the series is going for in terms of either tone or narrative, with an extremely variable amount of emphasis placed on the occult in general, the key that Bunmei has come back to look for, the goings on behind the scenes of the school that seem to implicate Kawashima in... something, Mikaze's true intentions behind her relationship with Bunmei... there's a lot going on, entirely apart from the A plot of each individual episode. Taken totally out of context, the show has been highly entertaining on an episode by episode basis. The characters have a great sense of realism to them, the animation is solid, the comedy is well handled, Maya and her amazing array of facial expressions make for a great lead character, but there are ultimately two possible endings for it - either the slightly fragmented nature of the show is indicative of how difficult it is to consistently produce original anime with a cohesive vision (A-1 and the Anime no Chikara block of programming coming to this on the back of SoraWoto, which arguably suffered from lacking the courage of its convictions by the end, and Senko no Night Raid, which was a stunning piece of work that benefited from having a real-life historical backbone around which to weave its narrative) and it will peter out to simply being something that is to be enjoyed and forgotten with the changing of the seasons, or it will all come crashing together in an epic The Usual Suspects-level last couple of episodes, and be remembered as a work of narrative genius. I hold increasingly large amounts of faith in A-1, and absolutely can't wait for their Noitamina show next year, but I'm not 100% convinced that they're going to pull it off this time. Ep 9 was at least very "occulty", and it would be nice if they could carry that sort of thing on through to the end of the show.
--
Wow, been typing for longer than expected. Will get back to flesh out the following shows in a bit:
Ookami-san (09)
Seitokai Yakuindomo (09)
Shiki ( 08 )
Strike Witches ( 08 )
UraBoku (21)
Amagami SS (09) - A big surpise in terms of just how much I've enjoyed it, it's one of the shows that I most want to keep up with each week. Kaoru's arc was a small let-down only in that it would have benefitted from being a couple of episodes longer, otherwise it was as good as I expected it to be after the excellent first arc. Sae's arc I didn't have as high hopes for, and whilst it doesn't quite fit into the tone of the show as established in the first eight episodes, there was a nice lighter touch to episode nine, and I can't deny that Sae and her voice are quite moe.
Asobi ni Iku yo! ( 08 ) - And another big surprise, in terms of it being any good at all! I've read a couple of slightly OTT articles praising this show, but it has to be said that it does rise above any expectations I had for it. It takes a really bad idea, infuses it with a bunch of cliches, but manages to undercut that just enough with its style and production values, and a small helping of tongue-firmly-in-cheek-ness. I'm not sure that I love the Aoi/Manami rivalry in terms of what it does for the narrative, but the potential government conspiracies and the antics of the dog faction are more interesting. As I have surely said before, this is this season's Kampfer, and I can only hope it gets quite as crazy as that did by the end.
Densetsu no Yuusha (09) - Goddam I love this series. The anime sometimes feels a bit like a highlight show, but they've taken their time a little more with the last couple of episodes, not sure how many of the LNs they're actually looking to adapt now (they're still in book 3, so I'm not sure now if they'll do the first 11 main books. Would be nice to see some of the short stories adapted instead and then a second season later on). Telling Fukuyama Jun "just be Lelouch" is some inspired casting for Ryner, ep 9 in particular showcasing this. Needs more of Froaude being awesome especially as this relates to Sion's state of mind, but still great overall.
Fairy Tail (44) - This is the only "stereotypical" shounen fighting anime I'm watching these days, and it might even be good enough to justify that fact. Has been particularly epic since The Lucy/Loke storyline. Juvia is awesome (especially her new look), and so is Gajeel but Erza is just way too good. Backstory, powers, personality, all brilliant. That said, I've been waiting for the next episode for a long time, so that could well jump a certain character far up my rankings.
Giant Killing (22) - Man, they've really done a great job with this Osaka match so far. They've made it feel like the whole series has been building up to this, and the payoff could be great. There's a nice balance of comic relief and serious football action, especially with the non-Japanese characters. Kubota is amazing for Osaka, and a good example of some of the modern tactical aspects that the show is using nicely, questioning more traditional views on what makes an attacking team a truly attacking team (btw, "kubota osaka" brings up some strange stories in google http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 701a3.html). Not as fond of the storyline surrounding the supporters, but it's still good to see them tackling so many diverse elements of the sport.
Heroman (22) - There's something about this series that makes it hard to dislike, but its simplicity and almost slavish adherence to being a "Saturday morning cartoon" (OK, it's not a late-night anime, but it lacks even the complexity of typical evening time slot shounen shows) really hold it back. Very easy on the eyes - and I'm not just talking about Joey's sister - with some solid animation, pretty decent design for Heroman, some variety to its storylines, it has a decent foundation but hasn't quite built on it enough. The last couple of storylines have shown more of the show's potential, but I wonder if this will be looked back on as a missed opportunity.
Highschool of the Dead (09) - I think this has been a hugely successful adaptaion, so far. Lavish action scenes, judicious pacing, no lack of fan service. The homages to other zombie works are great, and now that the main cast is all assembled there's just more opportunity to see how they handle a variety of personal situations in the middle of the larger crisis.
Kaicho ha Maid-sama (22) - I fall more in love with this series every week, as the Usui/Misa-chan relationship gets more and more involved. The bit with the two of them trying to win the weird footman competition, and Misaki's attempts to apologize to and thank Usui afterwards, was good enough, but Hinata's appearance and the way it has affected Usui has been even more entertaining. Great blend of romance and comedy, and more than enough quality in its execution to overcome any lack of originality in the basic ideas behind some of its situations.
K-ON!! (21) - What is really left to be said about this show? Episode 20 was just different gravy, the stops were all pulled out in every aspect of the production. Great animation during the concert sequence, fantastic new songs, tremendous emotional build up during the MC sequences (especially everyone "else" stepping in to introduce Yui) and payoff with the scene in the club room afterwards. This show has an amazing depth to its characters considering how relatively little time is spent exploring them. And it never stops being funny! I can't think of a series I've laughed at so much, even School Rumble or Azumanga Daioh, which would have been my two favorite comedies before K-ON!. Ep 21 was a peach of an episode considering what it had to follow, raising Yui's star even higher (she really has been the outstanding anime character of the year so far for me, along with DRRR!!'s Izaya). I will be very disappointed if the series isn't continued in some way to follow the girls (presumably and hopefully all together) into University.
Mitsudomoe (09) - OK, so it can be kind of one-note at times (the last few episodes especially seem to be leaning hard on the "deliberately vague sentence is interpreted the wrong way"), but the basic outline of each of the three main girls is definitely strong enough to carry the show. My favorite keeps on wavering between Mitsuba (bwwwwwwwwwaaaaaka!!!) and Hitoha, especially with this Gachi Rangers running gag. Feels massively wrong to be comparing this with Hanamaru Kindergarten given the extreme differences in tone, but it's nearly as funny as that at times, which is a pretty decent complement imo.
Nurarihyon no Mago (09) - Much more awesome now that Rikuo is paying due attention to his youkai side. The real appeal of this show for anyone who likes youkai lies, obviously, with the massive range of creatures that it features (you see what I did there?) and there has been no let-down on that score. Gyuki's arc was also pretty cool for showing us an alternate take on some of the characters during his backstory, and the whole series just has a fantastically different atmosphere to so many shounen efforts.
Occult Academy (09) - This is a really odd series. Appropriate, perhaps, for something ostensibly based on the occult, but that's not quite what I mean. It's hard to put your finger on exactly what the series is going for in terms of either tone or narrative, with an extremely variable amount of emphasis placed on the occult in general, the key that Bunmei has come back to look for, the goings on behind the scenes of the school that seem to implicate Kawashima in... something, Mikaze's true intentions behind her relationship with Bunmei... there's a lot going on, entirely apart from the A plot of each individual episode. Taken totally out of context, the show has been highly entertaining on an episode by episode basis. The characters have a great sense of realism to them, the animation is solid, the comedy is well handled, Maya and her amazing array of facial expressions make for a great lead character, but there are ultimately two possible endings for it - either the slightly fragmented nature of the show is indicative of how difficult it is to consistently produce original anime with a cohesive vision (A-1 and the Anime no Chikara block of programming coming to this on the back of SoraWoto, which arguably suffered from lacking the courage of its convictions by the end, and Senko no Night Raid, which was a stunning piece of work that benefited from having a real-life historical backbone around which to weave its narrative) and it will peter out to simply being something that is to be enjoyed and forgotten with the changing of the seasons, or it will all come crashing together in an epic The Usual Suspects-level last couple of episodes, and be remembered as a work of narrative genius. I hold increasingly large amounts of faith in A-1, and absolutely can't wait for their Noitamina show next year, but I'm not 100% convinced that they're going to pull it off this time. Ep 9 was at least very "occulty", and it would be nice if they could carry that sort of thing on through to the end of the show.
--
Wow, been typing for longer than expected. Will get back to flesh out the following shows in a bit:
Ookami-san (09)
Seitokai Yakuindomo (09)
Shiki ( 08 )
Strike Witches ( 08 )
UraBoku (21)
ilmaestro
State Alchemist
But first, more K-ON!!:
Ep 22 - Well, the ending hardly comes as a surprise, more as delightful confirmation. What was important was the journey to get there, and the decision to tell it largely from Azusa's point of view worked perfectly. Her myriad of emotions surrounding the older girls and their impending graduation are probably the best mirror for the viewer's emotions, and with the way the episode was built up it would be impossible not to share in her relief and happiness when she gets the news that they have all passed. More confirmation also that, whilst I would not want a show that didn't involve Mio and Yui, I could certainly handle it if a continuation of the series was slightly more focused on the Azusa/Ui/Jun trio.
Ep 22 - Well, the ending hardly comes as a surprise, more as delightful confirmation. What was important was the journey to get there, and the decision to tell it largely from Azusa's point of view worked perfectly. Her myriad of emotions surrounding the older girls and their impending graduation are probably the best mirror for the viewer's emotions, and with the way the episode was built up it would be impossible not to share in her relief and happiness when she gets the news that they have all passed. More confirmation also that, whilst I would not want a show that didn't involve Mio and Yui, I could certainly handle it if a continuation of the series was slightly more focused on the Azusa/Ui/Jun trio.
mangaman74
Akatsuki
Black Blood Brothers Episode 1
fabio de lunatico
Claymore
No, I bought the R1 singles and box. Set me back about £65 but the lure of Super Jewel cases was too strong to resist.ilmaestro said:
According to this review the UK release is indeed two sets of 13 episodes.
Also, epic post up there. It makes me wish I could stick with weekly-airing anime for more than a couple of episodes.
VivisQueen
Adventurer
Gonna be watching New Getter Robo episode 1 tonight.
I. CANNOT. WAIT. FOR. SUPER. ROBOT. GOODNESS
.... or so I've been promised. >_>
I. CANNOT. WAIT. FOR. SUPER. ROBOT. GOODNESS
.... or so I've been promised. >_>
mangaman74
Akatsuki
Black Blood Brothers Episodes 2 - 5
Doraemon666
Magical Girl
Totally argree,Toward the Terra is indeed a underrated classic.Shiro Inu said:
Cloud Strife
Vampire Ninja
Lets see...over the last two weeks or so since i last posted about watching Giant Killing i've seen:
Giant Killing Episodes 2 - 17
Kaichou wa Maid-sama! Episodes 20-22
The Legend Of Legendary Heroes Episodes 7-9
Fairy Tail Episodes 42-44
Highschool Of The Dead Episodes 7-9
Occult Academy Episodes 7-9
Bleach Episodes 284-286
K-On Episodes 20-22
Seitokai Yakuindomo Episodes 7-9
Amagami Episodes 8-9
Ookami-san Episodes 7-9
Full Metal Panic! - Episodes 1-24
Kara no Kyoukai 1: Fukan Fuukei
Kara no Kyoukai 2: Satsujin Kousatsu (Part 1)
Kara no Kyoukai 3: Tsuukaku Zanryuu
Kara no Kyoukai 4: Garan no Dou
Kara no Kyoukai 5: Mujun Rasen
Kara no Kyoukai 6: Boukyaku Rokuon
The 6th Kara no Kyoukai having been watched today (amazing pieces of work) along with K-On Episodes 22 (i had a slight tear when they all got in the same college aswell and i to laugh at how Ui had her face down completely on the table)
Giant Killing Episodes 2 - 17
Kaichou wa Maid-sama! Episodes 20-22
The Legend Of Legendary Heroes Episodes 7-9
Fairy Tail Episodes 42-44
Highschool Of The Dead Episodes 7-9
Occult Academy Episodes 7-9
Bleach Episodes 284-286
K-On Episodes 20-22
Seitokai Yakuindomo Episodes 7-9
Amagami Episodes 8-9
Ookami-san Episodes 7-9
Full Metal Panic! - Episodes 1-24
Kara no Kyoukai 1: Fukan Fuukei
Kara no Kyoukai 2: Satsujin Kousatsu (Part 1)
Kara no Kyoukai 3: Tsuukaku Zanryuu
Kara no Kyoukai 4: Garan no Dou
Kara no Kyoukai 5: Mujun Rasen
Kara no Kyoukai 6: Boukyaku Rokuon
The 6th Kara no Kyoukai having been watched today (amazing pieces of work) along with K-On Episodes 22 (i had a slight tear when they all got in the same college aswell and i to laugh at how Ui had her face down completely on the table)
ilmaestro
State Alchemist
Catch-up post Part II: The Final Part.
--
Ookami-san (09) - Two months in, and I still don't know if I'm managing to approach this show in the right frame of mind. I was expecting some wordy comedy with a large-ish emphasis on its fairy tale inspirations, but the straight-up drama approach is slowly winning me over. I think there have been one or two too many weaker episodes for me to say it has lived up to the expectations I had for it, but certainly the last couple of weeks have been great. The progression of Ryouko and Ryoshi's relationship has been surprising in terms of the speed with which Ryouko has accepted him, which makes a nice change. Just need to see Ryoshi beat the snot out of Hitsujikai and everybody can live happily ever after. Also, massive plus points for having Kuroko narrating, she has been on tip-top form the last few eps.
Seitokai Yakuindomo (09) - I could sum this up quickly as "/sly chuckle", but it's probably become good enough to warrant more than that. I still feel like I don't laugh whole-heatedly at it as much as I should be for something that is such a relentless comedy, but the relentlessness itself has become part of the joke which raises the overall level of the show a fair bit. The sort-of love triangle that doesn't properly exist yet between Shino-Takatoshi-Mutsumi has some potential. I don't know what it is though, whether the show doesn't feel original enough, or just lacks the insight to see which bits are really funny and which bits could be cut in favor of playing it a bit straighter, but I come away with the feeling that it could have been a lot better almost every week.
Shiki ( 08 ) - This is easily the strongest show that started this season. The pedigree is exceptional (the original work is a book written by the author of The Twelve Kingdoms, based on Stephen King's 'salem's Lot), which obviously helps, but the pacing, visuals, everything is spot on. The character designs - especially the hair - stand out a little at first, like it is trying too hard to be a period piece set in the 80s, despite actually being set in 1994, but even they quickly start to look like the absolute right choice. Since there's no mystery for the viewer to the central horror conceit of how people are dying and who or what is killing them, the fascination comes from the disparate ways in which the main characters have been trying to solve the (in-world) mystery. The quirkiest of these has been Seishin's meetings with Sunako, very hard to tell exactly which way they're going to go, especially now that he knows, and she knows he knows. Probably the only small blot on the copybook is how quickly Toshio has fallen in line with the okiagari theory, he has made a rather abrupt 180.
Strike Witches 2 ( 08 ) - The amazing parallels with the first series don't hamper the entertainment as much as you might think, although there seems to be, if anything, even less actually happening this time around. Episode 7 was suitably outrageous, and I'm very much pleased with how much Perrine-chan we've had so far (and very much looking forward to ep 9 on that count). Still a beautiful looking series, too, but I feel like maybe this season would have benefited a lot from a new regular cast member.
UraBoku (21) - Well, I never thought the series would make it far enough for me to say this, but I really enjoyed the last couple of episodes! Much better action, much better narrative structure, far more entertaining. I still don't quite care enough about the all-knowing, all-seeing, ever beautiful existence that is Yuki (or, frankly, any of the rest of the Giou clan), which makes it kind of weird to see all these characters who just love him unconditionally "just because", but more super cool powers and putting himself on the line to help people will go a long way to improving the series over the last few episodes.
--
Ookami-san (09) - Two months in, and I still don't know if I'm managing to approach this show in the right frame of mind. I was expecting some wordy comedy with a large-ish emphasis on its fairy tale inspirations, but the straight-up drama approach is slowly winning me over. I think there have been one or two too many weaker episodes for me to say it has lived up to the expectations I had for it, but certainly the last couple of weeks have been great. The progression of Ryouko and Ryoshi's relationship has been surprising in terms of the speed with which Ryouko has accepted him, which makes a nice change. Just need to see Ryoshi beat the snot out of Hitsujikai and everybody can live happily ever after. Also, massive plus points for having Kuroko narrating, she has been on tip-top form the last few eps.
Seitokai Yakuindomo (09) - I could sum this up quickly as "/sly chuckle", but it's probably become good enough to warrant more than that. I still feel like I don't laugh whole-heatedly at it as much as I should be for something that is such a relentless comedy, but the relentlessness itself has become part of the joke which raises the overall level of the show a fair bit. The sort-of love triangle that doesn't properly exist yet between Shino-Takatoshi-Mutsumi has some potential. I don't know what it is though, whether the show doesn't feel original enough, or just lacks the insight to see which bits are really funny and which bits could be cut in favor of playing it a bit straighter, but I come away with the feeling that it could have been a lot better almost every week.
Shiki ( 08 ) - This is easily the strongest show that started this season. The pedigree is exceptional (the original work is a book written by the author of The Twelve Kingdoms, based on Stephen King's 'salem's Lot), which obviously helps, but the pacing, visuals, everything is spot on. The character designs - especially the hair - stand out a little at first, like it is trying too hard to be a period piece set in the 80s, despite actually being set in 1994, but even they quickly start to look like the absolute right choice. Since there's no mystery for the viewer to the central horror conceit of how people are dying and who or what is killing them, the fascination comes from the disparate ways in which the main characters have been trying to solve the (in-world) mystery. The quirkiest of these has been Seishin's meetings with Sunako, very hard to tell exactly which way they're going to go, especially now that he knows, and she knows he knows. Probably the only small blot on the copybook is how quickly Toshio has fallen in line with the okiagari theory, he has made a rather abrupt 180.
Strike Witches 2 ( 08 ) - The amazing parallels with the first series don't hamper the entertainment as much as you might think, although there seems to be, if anything, even less actually happening this time around. Episode 7 was suitably outrageous, and I'm very much pleased with how much Perrine-chan we've had so far (and very much looking forward to ep 9 on that count). Still a beautiful looking series, too, but I feel like maybe this season would have benefited a lot from a new regular cast member.
UraBoku (21) - Well, I never thought the series would make it far enough for me to say this, but I really enjoyed the last couple of episodes! Much better action, much better narrative structure, far more entertaining. I still don't quite care enough about the all-knowing, all-seeing, ever beautiful existence that is Yuki (or, frankly, any of the rest of the Giou clan), which makes it kind of weird to see all these characters who just love him unconditionally "just because", but more super cool powers and putting himself on the line to help people will go a long way to improving the series over the last few episodes.
mangaman74
Akatsuki
Black Blood Brothers Episodes 6 & 7
Reevothemusefan
Vampire Ninja
Amagami SS episodes 1-4 - I think it would only be fair to talk about Amagami when an arc finishes. I've just finished the Haruka Morishima arc, I liked it when you get a brief character interaction of the other girls before it concentrates on the proper love interest. Looks awesome (I laughed at the paper fight in episode 2) and I'm looking forward to the next arc whoever is next.