August Summary

+ August 2007 Rankings + Okay, last time the ratings were a bit confusing so let me explain them for a bit. They’re out of 10, just like the school-system. 6,0 is average, and you really shouldn’t look for likable series below it. Anything above 9,0 is awesome, hence definitely recommended. After the place-numbers, you’ll see another number between brackets. That’s the place that anime was on last month. If it says “???”, then that anime wasn’t in last month’s ranking, and if it says “new”, that show has started this month. I hope it’s a bit clear now. (Oh, and before I start: this is still on for one more day. Exactly 24 hours from now, I’ll close the poll. If no more votes come in, then it looks like Gundam 00 will be blogged by me once it starts. If you want to change this, you’ve only got 24 hours left!) #40 (new): Bokusatsu Tenchi Dokuro-Chan – (4,2/10) – Ugh… when you thought the first season was bad, the second one comes along to smack you in the face. How long will they continue to milk this concept? #39 (43): School Days – (5,3/10) – Things actually went well enough, until the third AND fourth girl confessed their love for Makoto… where the heck did that come from!? I doubt that the endings will save this series as well. The events feel so incredibly forced, not to mention that the three main characters are still idiots. I also don’t understand the people who claim that this is such a realistic series. Sure, I can see Makoto in real life, there are enough idiots like him around, but what part of the fact that every girl who sees him also falls in love with him is realistic? Is he the most attractive guy in school or something (poor school, by the way)? Is he a walking bag of pheromones? #38 (38): Romeo x Juliet – (5,5/10) – You know…. we have yet to see any confirmations about Juliet’s mother, have we? At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if she actually had a secret love-affair with Romeo’s father at one point, making the two of them half-siblings. Such a twist would feel perfectly at home in this series, and that’s not a good sign. It’s also ironic that the only enjoyable character is Willy himself, and don’t you also love how there isn’t a single good bowman in the Capulet’s army? #37 (39): Lucky Star – (6/10) – Really, when I watch this show, it’s like I’ve already seen 75% of the scenes before. 15% is incredibly predictable (Kagami’s admirer, anyone?), leaving only 10% of actually enjoyable stuff, which in most cases are the cultural references, which have nothing to do with the characters. Oh, and the tantrum thrown by the Lucky Channel-guy (apparently, there are only two male characters in the entire series) was fun too. #36 (???): Hellsing OVA – (6,2/10) – And with the third instalment, the Hellsing OVA has fallen apart. Finally, the story gets to be something entirely different from the anime, but if this is exactly according to the manga, then I can understand why Gonzo changed it. This isn’t entertainment; this is pure and senseless slaughter. If these extra months of delay were created, just to give each human soldier 10 extra galleons of blood in his body, something has to be drastically wrong. The only thing I liked was the humour, though. Seras was awesome in her non-serious state. #35 (36): Sky Girls – (6,7/10) – Ugh… you know a series is going the wrong way when the characters start comparing breast sizes. I’m feeling it’s trying the same that Nanoha is currently doing: first half of the series building up, while the real meat of the series will arrive with the second half. #34 (34): Kenkou Senrakei Sueibu Umisho – (7,1/10) – Please… cut down on the huge amounts of fanservice. The characters are enjoyable enough without it, and it only ruins this series! Episode nine showed that it’s perfectly capable of creating a funny episode without any useless fanservice #33 (35): Nanatsuiro Drops – (7,2/10) – I’m still not sure how this series can manage to be both annoying and yet watchable. I think it’s because the male characters: they all somewhat refreshing, when compared to the usual series, and I like how they all end up supporting the main character. #32 (16): Shigurui – (7,3/10) – I want to praise this series, I really do, but the past few episodes have been delving more and more in the absurd. I know there’s lots of detail, and the gore is a good way to create a mood, but these utterly bizarre rituals like cutting off a woman’s nipple and raping her are going way too far. #31 (29): Potemayo – (7,4/10) – I’m still not sure what to think of this series. The initial shock wears off with the first two episodes, and now the jokes still feel refreshing, but not as hilarious as I hoped. There are a few good moments though, like Potemayo chasing the bread-truck. #30 (23): Mushiuta – (7,4/10) – This series could have gone in so many directions, and yet it headed into the wrong way by making each major female fall in love with the male lead. Ladybird really ruins this series. #29 (17): Gintama – (7,4/10) – Gintama is the only show where an episode can be extended into the next one. It was a rather strange episode as well. #28 (30): Murder Princess – (7,5/10) – Actually, episode five was quite good. It explained quite a few interesting things about the setting, and was a pretty nice calm-before-the-storm episode. The question now remains: will this finish well? #27 (37): Heroic Age – (7,6/10) – Interesting enough, this series is starting to get better when themes as genocide suddenly appear, and the two idiots are mercilessly killed off. This series would have been perfectly fine if it just showed the war between the Iron and the Silver Tribe, but Age and Dianeira ruined the entire show. I still can’t understand why Dianeira is considered such a good leader anyway. #26 (8): Saiunkoku Monogatari – (7,6/10) – Well, nothing much can be said. Only one episode aired this month, and that was an aftermath. It was a great aftermath, but the fact remains that I’m not happy with the sudden delays. #25 (25): Shoujo Jang Geum no Yume – (7,8/10) – Okay, it may not be the most realistic series, but it’s fun to watch! I like Jang Geum’s cheery character, and how she’s getting the support she needs from others. #24 (21): Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – (7,8/10) – This series went so well… and then Yoko returned. -_- She really is the worst member of the cast in this anime, and it was refreshing when she didn’t have much to do. Not only is her return full of clichés, she also has the corniest sense of humour. I mean, does she really expect the school-references to work? O_o Episode 22 wasn’t much better either; sure, it had nice action, but the entire thing felt like one big anti-climax when the moon suddenly turned out to be one giant Ganmen. Gainax, at least do something special for the ending!!! #23 (28): Tetsuko no Tabi – (7,9/10) – I’m actually interested in what the mangaka thinks of this adaptation. She’s probably one of the very few people to be featured in an actual anime. I still like her character, by the way. She’s witty, and I love her sarcastic remarks throughout the series, even though it’s much of the same. I originally thought that Shigurui had the best OP for the season, but I was wrong; the best OP for the summer-season belongs to Tetsuko no Tabi. #22 (19): Kekkaishi – (8/10) – And finally the antagonists get serious. It’s now time for Kekkaishi that it’s more than just an ordinary shounen-series, because it can still go down at this point. #21 (???): ICE – (8/10) – I like the storytelling in this OVA. It may be strange, but it works quite well. It’s obviously not for everyone, though. #20 (???): Power Puff Z – (8/10) – It’s interesting how Himeko’s sister took over Princess’s role in the original series. While the past few episodes haven’t been as brilliant as some of the episodes in the 30-40 range, they were definitely fun to watch. #19 (20): Reideen – (8/10) – Finally Roxell is back again. I’m wondering what the creators have in store for the final two episodes. Things are looking pretty straightforward, but I wonder whether the creators can manage to throw in a twist. #18 (18): Zombie Loan – (8,2/10) – I like how the episodes seem to focus more at the shoujo-roots of the story than the shounen-ones. The banter between the characters is great to watch, and at the same time it’s still able to provide powerful character-studies. #17 (12): Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (8,3/10) – Episode five may have had a tad too much fanservice, but episode four was utterly brilliant. It seems like about 50% of the episodes are okay, while the other 50% are absolutely hilarious. I can live with that. ^_^ #16 (4): Dennou Coil – (8,3/10) – Nothing much can be said. Only one episode got released, and while it was an incredibly cute one, the plot hasn’t really been moving forward. Let’s hope that the next episode will fix this. #15 (7): Mononoke – (8,3/10) – While it’s still awesome, this month I failed to understand Mononoke’s dialogues. The stories are surprisingly deep, and my level of Japanese just couldn’t handle it. #14 (22): Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha – (8,3/10) – Finally this series is getting really fired off. Episode 17 was excellent, and I hope that this pace will continue!! #13 (14): Claymore – (8,3/10) – I never could have imagined the current arc to turn out the way it did. So many Claymores together equals awesomeness. It’s just too bad that Raki took a turn for the worse. I just hope my worries about the ending of this series aren’t necessary. #12 (???): Deltora Quest – (8,4/10) – It’s such a shame that some of the good series suffer from chronic lack of subs. Deltora Quest really is unique amongst the fantasy-adventures, and I want to see how it continues. 🙁 #11 (9): Darker than Black – (8,6/10) – I’ve seen this get mentioned by at least three people already, but it’s the truth: while they were good, episodes 17-20 weren’t as awesome as episodes 13-16. I liked how they all seemed to focus on running away, though. I’ve got hopes for the finale, as this is one series that completely understands its setting. #10 (26): Baccano! – (8,8/10) Don’t ask me how they did it, but all the characters are actually coming together, in a pretty excellent storyline. I’ve got high hopes for this. #9 (10): Code-E – (8,8/10) While the past few episodes had me worried a bit with the love-triangle, episode 9 showed that this series knows what it’s doing when everything comes together. The thing I love about this series is how, at the climaxes, the overall quality seems to increase tenfold. #8 (11): Ooedo Rocket – (8,8/10) Ooedo’s biggest problem: the characters are so fun to watch, it’s a pity to see them getting serious for the climaxes. It’s perfect at building up, but the climaxes themselves seem to lack something. Still, do NOT miss episode 21 and 22. ^_^ #7 (1): Toward the Terra – (9/10) This month, this series spent its time in a “calm-before-the-storm”, to set all the chess-pieces right for the big finale. While the series has been better, it still was awesome. #6 (27): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – (9,1/10) This is the Higurashi I fell in love with. The Minagoroshi-hen has finally started, and it’s already an awesome ride. I can’t believe the huge focus that is placed on trusting each other. #5 (15): El Cazador de la Bruja – (9,2/10) Ellis + Nadie + LA = awesomeness. I don’t care about the flaws anymore, as long as I can see the three of them together, I’m happy. Bee-Train really knows how to flesh out its characters. 🙂 #4 (2): Bokura no – (9,2/10) You know, many people complain that Gonzo always screws up adaptations by adding their own storylines, but they’re currently doing a mighty fine job for Bokura no. The twists that came with it were awesome! #3 (6): Les Miserables – (9,3/10) This month was all about developing the different romances, and I’m developing a sortof obsession for Eponine myself. God, her character is awesome. #2 (5): Seirei no Moribito – (9,4/10) It’s very hard to judge the past few episodes of Seirei no Moribito, since it’s so delightfully different from most other anime. There really is no other anime that feels more like a novel than this one, and it’s awesome to see that the story is nearing its conclusion. #1 (3): Kaze no Shoujo Emily – (9,4/10) I’m probably the only one who still watches this series, but I don’t care! Emily is awesome, and as a bonus the past month has increased the focus about the characters, living towards their own dreams. The result is magnificent. 🙂 + Top 5 Episodes + #5: Ooedo Rocket – 22 One of the highlights of the series in terms of comedic value, and it still finds enough time for some great character-development. A cast as crazy as Ooedo Rocket’s really was given the time to shine. #4: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – 34 It’s episodes like these where the characters shine. Especially Rika was awesome to watch. #3: Claymore – 20 The top-3 of this month is all about characters, learning lessons. This episode of Claymore truly shined as an aftermath and introduction with its deep character-developments. I couldn’t help but love Deneve, Undine and Helen and the unnamed Claymore. #2: Kaze no Shoujo Emily – 19 What would you do if you were asked to do something for a dead person, where the only thing you know about him is that he lived an incredibly boring life? This question worked so incredibly well with Emily, and it was a definite highlight in the series. #1: Seirei no Moribito – 19 If anyone still doesn’t believe that Barsa can’t be a good parent, this episode should change this thought.]]>