Category: Monthly Summaries

The summer-season has always been the season of short and varied series, and in 2008, it’s no different. There’s a wide variety of genres in this relatively small season, only horror seems to be missing at first glance. So far, there are a number of potential classics lurking among them.

#30 (new) – Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu – (4/10) – Sorry, but I have no intention to continue watching this stereotype-filled rubbish.
#29 (new) – Koihime Musou – (6/10) – Nice, but this series is way too silly for me, considering its setting. Dropped.
#28 (new) – World Destruction – (6/10) – I gave this series a chance and watched four episodes. My reward was a bunch of lame uninteresting stories about a bunch of lame uninteresting characters. Heck, I doubt that the world is going to get destroyed at the end of the series anyway. Production IG, you disappoint me. Dropped.
#27 (new) – Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo – (6/10) – I’ve mentioned this before: the “I have no life so I’ll just reveal my evil plans to every random person who happens to drop by”-villains were a major letdown for me. This series is too much Yakushiji Ryouko and too little Kaiki Jikenbo. Dropped.
#26 (25) – Allison to Lillia – (6,5/10) – The only reason why I kept going with this series is to check whether the Lillia-part of the story would be worthwhile, but now that that time finally arrived, it’s still filled with predictable storylines, way too obvious foreshadowing and I’ve got no inclination to care about the cast. Wake me up if the final episodes do turn out good, but for now I don’t want to waste my time with this thing anymore. Dropped.
#25 (new) – Sekirei – (7,25/10) – Sekirei is overplaying coincidences too much: the main character accidentally gets knocked over by a Sekirei, they then go and fly and crash into a house with more Sekirei, he goes to work, only to find more Sekirei. What, is the entire city populated by Sekirei or something? In any case, I have to admit, though: it’s nothing special, but the characters are enjoyable to watch for now. Let’s hope that they’re actually going to develop.
#24 (new) – Slayers Revolution – (7,5/10) – After watching four episodes, it’s not like I’m eager to watch the rest of the Slayers-franchise. In fact, Gintama is currently doing everything this series has done so far, and 10 times better.
#23 (21) – Code Geass – Lelouch of the Rebellion – (7,5/10) – Code Geass’s strange overblown combination between brainless action and soap-opera antics continues. It’s enjoyable enough, although I do have to say that I’m really glad that Karen has been captured. It’s been really refreshing to watch all this airtime without her.
#22 (20) – Itazura na Kiss – (7,5/10) – The wedding came in way too fast, but episode sixteen was surprisingly enjoyable when compared to its previous episodes. Please keep this up for the rest of the series!
#21 (19) – Soul Eater – (7,5/10) – Ugh, it’s getting harder and harder for me to gather enthusiasm for this series. Come on, this is Bones! Make something interesting happen!
#20 (new) – Antique Bakery – (7,75/10) – Good to see that there’s finally a series about gay people that isn’t yaoi or yuri, and instead chooses to deal with the topic of how gays feel awkward in today’s society. Shirogumi (who also did Moyashimon) and Nippon Animation form an excellent combination for the Noitamina timeslot, and the cheese is hilarious as well.
#19 (new) – Birdy the Mighty Decode – (7,75/10) – I may have expected a bit too much from this series, considering the director and all. It’s interesting, but nothing amazing yet. I’ll withhold my judgment for now, though.
#18 (new) – Strike Witches – (7,75/10) – I’m not sure what’s going on here: the premise is obviously strange with the pants-less females, and yet it’s a strangely charming series that attempts to unify the European and Japanese cultures.
#17 (new) – Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~ Natsu no Sora – (8/10) – I’ve no idea where that fourth episode went, but nevertheless it’s a calming slice-of-life series with a number of very strange plot-twists. (Crashing truck, anyone?)
#16 (11) – Chi’s Sweet Home – (8,25/10) – I’m not sure why I switched to the subs for this series (probably because it was easier to keep up with the huge amounts of episodes), but now that these have stalled, it’s getting a bit lonely without Chi, which is a shame because the subs stopped right at the point where this show became hilarious again.
#15 (6) – Porfy no Nagai Tabi – (8,25/10) – The past month of Porfy no Nagai Tabi has been kind-of weak. The Sicily-arc just didn’t live up to the rest of the series.
#14 (14) – Wagaya no Oinarisama – (8,25/10) – Wagaya no Oinarisama continues its tradition of “it’s not supposed to be good, and yet it is”. There’s nothing much else to say, really.
#13 (new) – Mission-E – (8,25/10) – Doesn’t try to be the best, but nevertheless it’s a very enjoyable and fun series that doesn’t deserve the negligence it’s getting right now.
#12 (new) – Ultraviolet: Code 044 – (8,25/10) – The movie may have sucked beyond belief, but the anime manages to fix its mistake by putting a good emphasis on characterizations. The atmosphere is dark, and the fact that there haven’t been any fillers yet whatsoever is also a large plus.
#11 (12) – Blassreiter – (8,5/10) – Well, it seems that the creators had no intention to be less dramatic for the second half, but make no mistake: the action is getting quite good right now, with the characters developing and all. All the prejudices of this show being typical Gonzo-crap are unfounded, and Blassreiter has unfolded into an engaging series now that the teenaged emo is gone.

#10 (15) – Gintama – (8,5/10)

Gintama has been particularly funny this month, and especially episode 67 cracked me up, with its rather wrong parody of the “romantic interest walking in on an embarrassing situation”-trope that you usually find in harem series.

#9 (16) – Macross Frontier – (8,5/10)

Okay, it’s been a long wait, but the plot is finally catching up speed for the finale of Macross Frontier. Characters are starting to get developed, good, good.

#8 (new) – Bonen no Xamdou – (8,5/10)

Shows the beginnings of a classic. It’s done everything right so far: detailed animation, and storytelling, an addictive pacing, an interesting world. I’m very curious to see where the creators plan to go with this series.

#7 (new) – Blade of the Immortal – (8,5/10)

Yes, I’m biased, but I don’t care! This series rocks! The soundtrack is excellent in my opinion, and the first two episodes showed the typical style of Beetrain-storytelling.

#6 (17) – Telepathy Shoujo Ran – (8,5/10)

You know, the more I watch this series, the more I like its adorable cast of characters. Sure, it may have its flaws, but Midori makes up for all of them.

#5 (new) – Natsume Yuujin-Chou – (8,75/10)

A really peaceful summer-like atmosphere and engaging stories to keep the viewer busy. My favourite of the summer season so far.

#4 (2) – Himitsu ~ The Revelation – (8,75/10)

The past few episodes of Himitsu have been either excellent or missed the mark. The series may have its lesser stories, but the good ones really make up for it.

#3 (10) – Nijuu Mensou no Musume – (9,25/10)

July has been a sensational month for Nijuu Mensou no Musume, with just about everything in this series hitting new heights. Whether this series can keep up the same quality for the rest of the episodes remains to wonder, but I’d love to find out.

#2 (8) – RD Sennou Chousashitsu – (9,25/10)

I’m trying to find a good way to describe the past few episodes of RD, but I can’t. Instead, I’ll just vaguely summarize it with one word: unique.

#1 (1) – Kaiba – (9,5/10)

My three favourite 12 or 13-episode series are without a doubt Haibane Renmei, Hi no Tori and Kaiba. I’m not quite sure in what order they go, but one thing is clear: Kaiba has been an amazing ride, from start to finish.

Well, the end of the month couldn’t have come at a better time, because it offered me a good opportunity to experiment a bit with my new rating system. What caught my attention is that the average score seems to be lower than usual, but that can also be because this spring-season overall has turned out to be slightly disappointing, compared to other spring-seasons.

#26 (new) – Ikkitousen Great Guardians – (5,5/10) – If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to punch any of the Ikkitousen-characters in the face for being so annoying, then I’d be a rich man.
#25 (23) – Allison to Lillia – (6,75/10) – Admittedly, the train arc is better than the Fiona-arc. But it still baffles me that Allison and Will just went along with the Major and shot a seemingly friendly craft without knowing what was going on.
#24 (16) – Vampire Knight – (7/10) – Well, my interest in Vampire Knight is dying more and more now that it’s decided to deal out cheesy plot twists as twins who are out to kill each other. I’ve got more problems with this series, but I need a full review in order to be able to list them all.
#23 (18) – Toshokan Sensou – (7,25/10) – Toshokan Sensou took a nosedive in its final episodes. The climax didn’t work for me at all, the angst was too forced, and the end result was half-baked.
#22 (new) – Chocolate Underground – (7,5/10) – This series is strange, but interestingly enough it’s not yet a total trainwreck. I’m really curious to see what this series can get out of only five-minute episodes.
#21 (21) – Code Geass – Lelouch of the Rebellion – (7,5/10) – Aaaaaand the trainwreck has begun. It seems to have started rather early this season: R2 up till now wasn’t anything special, but at least it was solid enough. That all ended with the utter cheese that was episode 11 and 12.
#20 (10) – Itazura na Kiss – (7,75/10) – Itazura na Kiss has reached the point where the humour starts getting dull and the characters need to develop in order to make this series interesting again. Let’s hope that the creators can pull it off.
#19 (14) – Soul Eater – (8/10) – My biggest problem with Soul Eater is that I’m finding it incredibly hard to find something to recommend it for. Nothing really stands out: the fight scenes are okay, the characters also do their job, the story has potential, but it’s been twelve episodes and I still haven’t been impressed, other than by this series’ style.
#18 (9) – Kurenai – (8/10) – The ending was solid, but there was a surprising amount of writing errors, turning this into the least enjoyable month for Kurenai for me.
#17 (new) – Telepathy Shoujo Ran – (8,25/10) – There’s too much angst, but apart from that there’s a lot to like in this series: great music, nice slice-of-life, charming characters. Good stuff.
#16 (17) – Macross Frontier – (8,25/10) – Okay, so as it turns out, you do need to have watched the original Macross in order to understand this series, because otherwise some of the plot twists won’t make any sense at all. In any case, this series is showing some good signs in the direction of character development.
#15 (6) – Gintama – (8,25/10) – Gintama’s back to comedy again. Especially episode 62 was hilarious, and it’s pretty amazing that this series has managed to stay funny for 62 episodes.
#14 (19) – Wagaya no Oinarisama – (8,25/10) – It’s nothing special, but this series continues to surprise me when it turns much more enjoyable than I would have imagined.
#13 (13) – Junjo Romantica – (8,25/10) – The characters are way too quick to jump into bed with each other, but apart from that, this series delivers, whether it wants to be funny or serious.
#12 (20) – Blassreiter – (8,25/10) – Well, now that thingy and whatsit are dead, this series seems to go back on track, especially episode 12 was surprisingly good compared to the emo-fest of the earlier episodes, but I first want to know what the creators have been planning for the second season before getting excited about this series.
#11 (15) – Chi’s Sweet Home – (8,25/10) – This series was about to get dull, and then it came with the beyond awesome episode 41, which entirely changed my opinion of this series. I now understand Karura‘s fascination with large cats.

#10 (11) – Nijuu Mensou no Musume – (8,25/10)

Okay, so this was clearly a month of building up for Nijuu Mensou no Musume. Ken’s changes are rather questionable, but I’m really curious to see where this series is going to evolve to.

#9 (12) – Druaga no Tou – (8,5/10)

This month, Druaga showed its serious colours, and it worked. I didn’t expect this series to pull off a successful climax. Well, halfway-climax. Looking forward to the second season.

#8 (8) – RD Sennou Chousashitsu – (8,75/10)

RD continues to be as charming as it’s ever been. On top of that, this month has also started to give the major characters some more background

#7 (22) – Persona – Trinity Soul – (8,75/10)

Whoa?! How did this one suddenly turn good? I remember noting that this series wouldn’t be able to pull off a good climax… And as it turns out I was wrong.

#6 (2) – Porfy no Nagai Tabi – (8,75/10)

In June, Porfy stopped travelling for a little while in order to stay at Maximilian and his family. This resulted in the quietest month of Porfy ever since the earthquake. It was nice to watch, but nowhere near the highlights of this series.

#5 (7) – Crystal Blaze – (8,75/10)

That was a really strong and solid finish! Crystal Blaze has been wonderfully told from start to finish, without any signs of weakness. Okay, perhaps there’s Manami.

#4 (5) – xxxHolic – (9/10)

xxxHolic hit its all-time height and all-time low in the same month, interestingly enough. Kohane’s arc was dull, but Himawari’s arc was goooooood.

#3 (4) – Amatsuki – (9/10)

Amatsuki came together in a very strong finale. Now where’s that second season?

#2 (3) – Himitsu ~The Revelation~ – (9,25/10)

I love how Himitsu is playing around with its mysteries and morality. I’m really curious as to what this series has in store for its second half.

#1 (1) – Kaiba – (9,25/10)

Urgh… The only bad thing about Kaiba is the fact that it keeps taking these bloody hiatuses. This is no way to treat the best series of the spring season.

I noticed that this season, there are a lot of really good 13-episode series. Much more than usual. This trend seems to become more and more popular. In some cases, it’s unfortunate, because some series would be able to show their potential even more with 26 episodes.

#23 (16) – Allison to Lillia – (6,9/10) – Ugh, what a disappointment. In this month, the continuous amount of hard-to-take-seriously plot twists has destroyed my suspense of disbelief. A few errors in storytelling are okay, but in my opinion, Allison to Lillia is way too lazy in this.
#22 (12) – Persona – Trinity Soul – (7,6/10) – Persona is overplaying the traumatic parents way too much. Heck, did any of these teenagers grow up in a normal way? It’s a shame, but this series still feels like it’s missing something, and I doubt that the finale will be good enough to make up for this…
#21 (25) – Code Geass – Lelouch of the Rebelion – (7,7/10) – I’m finding it hard to force myself to not take this show seriously (why did nobody in the Britannian army for example get the idea of intercepting Lelouch’s phone-calls? How the heck did Lelouch collect 2 million zero-suits?), but Gode Geass is still good enough mindless entertainment.
#20 (11) – Blassreiter – (7,8/10) – Blassreiter: stay away from emo! The action scenes are still amazing, but the amount of emo-scenes has been getting out of hand now. Emo-distorted faces do NOT make a good anime.
#19 (15) – Wagaya no Oinarisama – (7,9/10) – The dialogue is surprisingly hard to understand, so I switched to the subs for this series. The episode about the main character’s love interest was really pointless, but apart from that Wagaya no Oinarisama has been enjoyable.
#18 (21) – Toshokan Sensou – (8,1/10) – I can’t help but thinking that Toshokan Sensou could have been better if it focused more on its plot, though it still can make up for this if the first half was just a simple build-up and it finishes with a strong finale.
#17 (13) – Macross Frontier – (8,1/10) – Macross has mostly been strange fluff this month, though the one action-episode that was included was pretty entertaining.
#16 (18) – Vampire Knight – (8,2/10) – Now I know what this series reminds me off: this is basically just the shoujo-version of Mushiuta. They also share the same strengths and weaknesses: both are solid and have a continuous melancholic atmosphere, and both hardly have any moment where characters are not angsting: so far, Vampire Knight has been all about angst angst angst angst, and nothing else. Angst can be great, but it shouldn’t take up the central focus in an anime!
#15 (23) – Chi’s Sweet Home – (8,2/10) – It’s getting a bit predictable here and there, but overall this turned into such a charming series. Much better than I originally expected.
#14 (17) – Soul Eater – (8,3/10) – It’s not deep, it’s not anything special, but it is fun, charming and it manages to keep my interest. Let’s hope things stay that way.
#13 (24) – Junjo Romantica – (8,4/10) – Well what do you know? Junjo Romantica is actually pretty good: it’s got a great sense of humour and it knows how to develop a romantic relationship. Seriously, I’m a bit baffled to say this, but a lot of straight romance shows can learn something from this series. :S
#12 (22) – Druaga no Tou – (8,4/10) – This turned out to be a surprise: it knows exactly how much it should take itself seriously. It’s not pure silliness, which would leave no room for a storyline, and it’s also not pure seriousness, as that would be rather hard to take seriously, considering the male lead and all. Thumbs up for Gonzo.
#11 (10) – Nijuu Mensou no Musume – (8,6/10) – Well, I think that episode six says it all. The beginning of this series was a bit buggy, though Nijuu Mensou no Musume has been getting better and better

#10 (9) – Itazura na Kiss – (8,8/10)

Excellent shoujo romance. I especially loved the end of episode 7.

#9 (8) – Kurenai – (8,8/10)

This was probably the quietest month for Kurenai, but it’s turned out to be a lot of fun. The characters are deep, and episode 6 was downright hilarious.

#8 (6) – RD Sennou Chousashitsu – (8,9/10)

Okay, so what if RD has turned out to be the opposite of what I expected. It’s fun, intriguing, varied, and clearly building up to something and I’m dying to know what that is.

#7 (7) – Crystal Blaze – (9/10)

Solid plot, both the main characters and villains are fleshed out well enough, great storytelling that doesn’t waste a single scene, great use of music, sympathetic characters. What more could you wish for? Great example of a great low-budget series.

#6 (14) – Gintama – (9/10)

And we’ve entered another serious arc of Gintama, and as usual with arcs like these: the quality increases drastically, and one moment will have you crying with laughter while the other will have you on the edge of your seat. Oh, and Kagura is the best hostage ever.

#5 (4) – xxxHolic – (9/10)

The different random stories on xxxHolic have been excellent so far. This is exactly why I’ve fallen in love with the first season.

#4 (5) – Amatsuki – (9/10)

I’m still not sure what it is with this show, but the dialogue has been incredibly well written so far, even though I only understand 60% of it.

#3 (3) – Himitsu ~The Revelation~ – (9,2/10)

This series is masterful in terms of storytelling I’m still not sure exactly how, but every episode feels complete once it forces you to see the big picture at the end. This becomes all to apparent when the more disturbing roots of the series come to surface (episode eight!)

#2 (1) – Porfy no Nagai Tabi – (9,2/10)

And so Porfy has started travelling. This series continues to be innovative, and it makes every single person Porfy runs into count. Such amazing attention to detail.

#1 (2) – Kaiba – (9,5/10)

Kaiba was simply incredible. A master in storytelling was clearly at work here.

So, most series have had four episodes aired now. So far, the season is looking quite promising, with many good series that have debuted. I’ve been noticing an on-going trend though, about how much more 13 episode-series appear. It’s a shame, because a lot of these series could have easily been lengthened to 24 or 26 episodes.

#39 (new) – To Love-Ru – (4,6/10) – If it was only the fanservice, then this show could have been good, but everything about this series is crap: story, characters, nothing stands out whatsoever. Dropped.
#38 (new) – Kamen no Maid Guy – (5,5/10) – Ugh… This turned out disastrous. Any potential in this series has left due to the incredible overuse of unfunny fanservice-jokes. Dropped.
#37 (new) – Kanokon – (5,7/10) – Well, I guess nothing much can be said about this series that hasn’t been said yet. If you like young boys getting it on with horny fox-spirits, then this is a must watch. If you don’t, then stay far away from this thing. Dropped.
#36 (new) – Kyou Kara Maou – Third Season – (6,5/10) – The episode I watched was decent, but in no way did it make me eager to check out the rest of the series. Dropped.
#35 (new) – Monochrome Factor – (6,5/10) – Okay, so here’s a potential trainwreck. Stay away from this one. Dropped.
#34 (new) – Neo Angelique Abyss – (6,6/10) – Mary-sue, anyone? Dropped.
#33 (new) – Naisho no Tsubomi – (6,6/10) – I am so NOT the target audience for this. Dropped.
#32 (new) – Penguin Musume Heart – (6,9/10) – A very strange series, but I doubt that I’ll continue it with so many good series this season.
#31 (new) – Zettai Karen Children – (7/10) – The fun in this series quickly dies. Dropped.
#30 (new) – Net Ghost Pipopa – (7/10) – Good show for kids; not for me, though. Dropped.
#29 (new) – Kyouran Kazoku Nikki – (7,3/10) – This might become funny, but I don’t feel like finding out. Dropped.
#28 (new) – Nabari no Ou – (7,4/10) – I wish I could watch every series that came out this season, but unfortunately I can’t. Nabari no Ou wasn’t bad, but neither did it impress me. Dropped.
#27 (new) – Special A – (7,5/10) – I decided to drop this series after finding out that it’s only going to feature 13 episodes. Four lacklustre starting episodes may be excused for long series, but one-season long series really need to have delivered at least something at this point, and Special A never really seems to want to go anywhere.
#26 (new) – Golgo 13 – (7,6/10) – Duke Togo is an interesting protagonist, but 50 episodes may be a bit too much for a concept such as this. I’ve dropped it for now.
#25 (new) – Code Geass – Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 – (7,8/10) – Well, it’s getting pretty hard to take the different plot-twists in this series seriously, ever since the infamous episode 22 destroyed my suspense of disbelief, but I admit that Code Geass has been solid enough so far. However, I KNOW THIS SERIES. I wouldn’t be surprised if Suzaku ends up slaughtering the entire world population near the end of this second season, seeing as how this series is so eager to copy parts of the first season.
#24 (new) – Junjo Romantica – (7,9/10) – Yaoi aside, I admit that the romance in this series has been pretty good, and it actually does have a sense of humour. That said, I still don’t know why I continued to watch this series…
#23 (new) – Chi’s Sweet Home – (7,9/10) – It’s amazing to think how deep the creators dived into Chi’s mind. The adventures of Chi are an innocent way to spend 2 minutes
#22 (new) – Druaga no Tou – The Aegis of Uruk – (7,9/10) – Okay, I admit that this series turned out better than I expected it to do after watching the second episode. The band of idiots does make sense so far, but I really wonder what the creators plan to use to get them to the top of the tower when they already struggle at the first level.
#21 (new) – Toshokan Sensou – (7,9/10) – A good show, but for Noitamina, this seems to be missing something. Kaiba would have fitted this timeslot much better, I think. It’s just not a good sign that in an 11-episode series, the characters already start feeling a bit annoying after the third episode.
#20 (25) – Bus Gamer – (8/10) – A nice enough short series. The characters were dynamic enough to keep me interested.
#19 (7) – Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (8/10) – Well, it’s taken a bit longer than usual, but Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei is finally feeling the repercussions of the fact that it refused to develop its characters beyond their stereotypes. This series is still fun, but nowhere near as brilliant as it used to be.
#18 (new) – Vampire Knight – (8,1/10) – Solid so far. I personally like a healthy dose of angst, and Vampire Knight so far has done well in staying away from emo. However, the bishies and squealing fangirls are just as annoying as the hot babes and drooling guys in the shounen counterparts.
#17 (new) – Soul Eater – (8,1/10) – So far, Soul Eater has been a really stylish show. Now let’s hope that it’ll know how to remain fresh for 52 episodes.
#16 (new) – Allison to Lillia – (8,1/10) – This series has an engaging atmosphere so far. This series feels genuine, and it really succeeds in bringing across its sense of adventure, even though it sometimes struggles with believability.
#15 (new) – Wagaya no Oinarisama – (8,2/10) – A surprisingly fun and down-to-earth series for me. Great music, and finally the male main character looks at least a bit different from his counterparts in other series.
#14 (21) – Gintama – (8,2/10) – While Gintama has definitely been better, the transvestite-joke was priceless.
#13 (new) – Macross Frontier – (8,3/10) – At times, it’s a bit too silly for its own good, but the likable characters and godly production-values have really made up for this so far.
#12 (17) – Persona – Trinity Soul – (8,3/10) – Persona has developed into a pretty solid mystery-series so far, but I do hope that the creators have been saving the best for last, because this series still feels like it’s missing something.
#11 (new) – Blassreiter – (8,4/10) – Surprisingly, this turned into my favourite GONZO-series this season. It’s got the best action-sequences so far, and the characters are pretty likable so far. Now let’s hope it doesn’t go trainwreck somewhere in the middle!

#10 (new) – Nijuu Mensou no Musume – (8,4/10)

Great character-development so far, although it’s sometimes a bit hard to believe.

#9 (new) – Itazura na Kiss – (8,6/10)

Without a doubt the best romantic comedy this season. Heck, this series has the potential to be the best romantic comedy since years if it keeps up with this pacing.

#8 (new) – Kurenai – (8,6/10)

Without a doubt the best voice-acting this season. More anime should record the voices before the animation-process.

#7 (new) – Crystal Blaze – (8,7/10)

The animation and graphics may look just average, but to make up for it, Crystal Blaze has delivered us a very solid cast of believable characters that have already started to develop within four episodes. A recommendation for any mystery-fan.

#6 (new) – RD Sennou Chousashitsu – (8,8/10)

This series intrigues me like no other. It’s got a fascinating concept and a pretty good execution so far. It’s away from any stereotype so far, which also makes me very happy.

#5 (new) – Amatsuki – (9/10)

A surprise hit for me. I already somehow suspected that this series would be more than just pretty pictures, but I never expected that it would turn this dark, deep and emotional in such a short time.

#4 (new) – xxxHolic – (9,1/10)

What a wonderful way to start the second season. xxxHolic Kei has been just as good as the best parts of the first season so far, if not better!

#3 (new) – Himitsu ~The Revelation~ – (9,2/10)

I’m an absolute sucker for these kinds of series, and Himitsu has shown that it’s by far the cleverest series of the new season. Great themes, great characters, a terrific concept. This really is one of my favourites of the season so far.

#2 (new) – Kaiba – (9,3/10)

Without a doubt the best new series to air. Everything about this series has delivered so far! It’s a series that makes you think, and at the same time it’s got a wonderful story and cast of characters.

#1 (2) – Porfy no Nagai Tabi – (9,5/10)

April has been a sensational month for Porfy! Every episode delivered, there was no weak moment, and everything about this series was just so gut-wrenchingly sad. With this, this series earned it’s title of “World Masterpiece Theatre”.

And with this, the season is nearly over. There are still a few series left to finish, but they should close off in a few days from now. Overall, I must say that it’s been an interesting half year, and nothing like the spring-season that preceded it. It feels like there were less ground-breaking series than usual, but at the same time it feels like there were much less mediocre series. Either that, or my taste has just gotten broader over the past year. The winter-season has also been the best since years, although there weren’t many popular series that emerged.

#30 (28) – Dragonaut the Resonance – (5,9/10) – Wait… Kazuki just turned good that easily? For Christ’s sake. The final episodes lost any spark of potential that was still left in this series, unfortunately.
#29 (???) – Kimi ga Nozomu Eien ~ Next Season – (7,2/10) – Well, this episode basically recapped the television-series, so it wasn’t that exciting, but at least I now know why Mitsuki left.
#28 (24) – Bamboo Blade – (7,3/10) – The one climax was great and all, but afterwards everything dulled out again. It’s a shame, Bamboo Blade had the potential to become an entertaining series, but it ended up being just mediocre.
#27 (26) – Mnemosyne – Musume-tachi – (7,4/10) – This series needs to start to deliver soon, or I’ll lose interest. This episode was nice and all, but it wasn’t anything special
#26 (27) – Hatenkou Yuugi – (7,4/10) – Episode nine was actually pretty good! Really, that one showed that the manga behind this series had really potential, which makes it such a shame that the anime creators screwed up this series so much. Seriously, I expected much better from the director of Sasami Mahou Shoujo Club.
#25 (new) – Bus Gamer – (7,6/10) – This could have been more interesting, though due to its short length it’s a nice series to watch if you need to burn an hour.
#24 (9) – Kekkaishi – (7,8/10) – Okay, so the final episodes aren’t exactly without their problems. There also were some strange animation-problems in the final one, where the creators suddenly changed style. It’s exactly for this reason that Shounen-series shouldn’t play with superpowers. Sure, it looks flashy, but it also eliminates any sense of tactics.
#23 (10) – Darker than Black – (7,9/10) – The DVD-only episode finally got released. Like expected, it did nothing to wrap up any of the plot-holes it left behind, but at least it was funny. I laughed quite a bit at the silliness.
#22 (36) – Hellsing OVA – (7,9/10) – Well, at least it was a bit better than the previous episode, but am I the only one who considers the TV-series to be better than the OVA?
#21 (18) – Gintama – (8,1/10) – Another standard month for Gintama. I laughed, but there were other comedies that were better.
#20 (13) – Kimikiss Pure Rouge – (8,2/10) – The school festival was nice and all, but I don’t feel that his month has been the best month for Kimikiss. It was just a bit of delaying the inevitable, and nothing that we didn’t knew already appeared.
#19 (17) – Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – (8,3/10) – Episode 21 and 22 were incredibly intense, while 23 and 24 were nothing but building up. I really want to praise this series, but if so little happens during one episode, it’s getting really hard!
#18 (14) – Ahiru no Quack – (8,4/10) – The quality of the soundtrack still surprises me. Herman van Veen is one of the very few Dutch singers who can get away with it. Seriously, if you thought that some of the J-Pop was crap, just wait till you hear some of the artists we have. -_-
#17 (23) – Persona – Trinity Soul – (8,4/10) – Whoa, I never expected this series to be so focused at mystery. I like it, though the creators do need to think about their continuity. More than once, I found myself thinking “where the heck did that come from”?
#16 (7) – Wellber no Monogatari ~ Sisters of Wellber – (8,5/10) – Ugh, I’m not happy. This is why a satisfying ending is so important for a series, because that’ll be one of the major things you’ll remember when thinking back. Wellber no Monogatari may have had an amazing finale, but the aftermath was just one bad idea after the other.
#15 (12) – Suteki Tantei Labyrinth – (8,5/10) – If only for the epic revelation of episode 22, this series deserves points. Sure, it’s for the wrong reasons, but you can’t deny that the cheesiness hasn’t been entertaining.
#14 (10) – Shigofumi – (8,6/10) – Fumika’s story came together quite nicely. I can’t say for sure that this has been the best of Shigofumi, but this remains a great series nonetheless.
#13 (11) – True Tears – (8,7/10) – The final month wasn’t necessarily the best of this series, but nevertheless it closed off this anime pretty nicely.
#12 (20) – Saiunkoku Monogatari – (8,7/10) – And it’s finally over. Thankfully, the final episode left the series on a good note, though god knows when the third season will finally be animated.
#11 (15) – Clannad – (8,7/10) – That final episode turned out better than I could have imagined. Heck, I actually cried for Nagisa.

#10 (8) – Hakaba Kitarou – (8,7/10)

What I liked about this month is the consistency. This series has been consistently entertaining. I think that the scriptwriters are to thank for that. They really knew how to keep this series interesting.

#9 (14) – Gundam 00 – (8,7/10)

That final battle featured some really interesting twists for the second season to work with. I especially liked that final episode.

#8 (16) – Spice and Wolf – (8,8/10)

Boy, those final three episodes rocked! It’s great to see that this series has come together.

#7 (19) – Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (9/10)

The big flaw of Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei is that it refuses to develop its characters. Sure, the show develops, but the characters never change. Thankfully, the rest of the series more than makes up for this flaw, and especially episode 7 was wonderful.

#6 (2) – Ghost Hound – (9/10)

The highlight of this month was of course Makoto’s story coming together. This series has been as solid as ever.

#5 (16) – Power Puff Girls Z – (9,1/10)

Episode 51 was sensational! It really deserves to be up there along with the manga-artist as the best episode of this series. This month has been an awesome month for this series.

#4 (5) – Mokke – (9,1/10)

The final episodes rocked! Especially episode 24 was without a doubt the best of the entire series, and it was a real tear-jerker. Mokke, you’ve been one of my top picks for the Autumn-season for a good reason.

#3 (4) – Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino – (9,1/10)

Another very consistent series. Every episode delivers, and is really well written. Please someone announce the third season!

#2 (3) – Porfy no Nagai Tabi – (9,3/10)

Well, I think episode 13 says it all. Everything that this series has built up for has come together. It’s so heart-wrenchingly sad, though Porfy is without a doubt the best series of the winter-season, and I say that considering the amazing line-up of some of the other series that aired.

#1 (1) – Shion no Ou – (9,5/10)

Talk about a sensational month for Shion no Ou! The final four episodes closed off the series perfectly, and the animation-department was on fire as well. It’s so sad to see this brilliant series gone now.

I must say that this has been the best winter-season we’ve had in years. usually, they just features one or two great series, but this season juast has a whole bunch of worthwhile watches, albeit you do have to look a bit harder than usual.

#28 (28) – Dragonaut The Resonance – (6,6/10) – This is quite rare: the plot has turned out to be quite interesting, but any attempts to further develop it are greatly hammered by the characters. They’re either stereotypes, or are the product of soap-opera plot-twists and melodrama.
#27 (26) – Hatenkou Yuugi – (6,9/10) – The best thing about this series is the card-game of episode six. Apart from that, it just feels like a lazy manga-adaptation. The manga may have had excellent dialogue, but it feels like the anime-staff hardly even cares about it.
#26 (new) – Mnemosne no Musume-Tachi – (7/10) – I’m not yet sold on the gore + fanservice-concept of Mnemosyne. There is potential, but the first episode felt mostly unimpressive to me.
#25 (new) – Mai Otome S.ifr – (7,2/10) – Well, here we go again. At least this one looks to be a bit more solid than its predecessor, but do the characters have to be so annoying?
#24 (24) – Bamboo Blade – (7,2/10) – What the heck has happened to Bamboo Blade? This should be a time of character-development, and the creators should try their best to keep the characters interesting. Who found it a good idea to come up with the pointless foreign girl-arc and braver-arc? Seriously, these have been some of the dullest episodes of this series yet.
#23 (19) – Persona – Trinity Soul – (8/10) – I’m not sure what the creators had in mind with these rather silly side-stories. As a 12-episode series, it really needs to use its time to develop its story and I’m not sure about the point behind wasting half an episode on a haunted-house side-quest.
#22 (???) – Armored Trooper Votoms – Pailsen Files – (8,2/10) – Like expected from Ryousuke Takahashi: a solid science-fiction series that focuses more on believability than action. It’s nothing amazing yet, but it did go into the right direction.
#21 (10) – Gigantic Formula – (8,2/10) – Finally another episode got released, and I must say that I’m impressed how the creators took such a faulty concept and turned it into something worthwhile. I do admit that I like how the corrupt government-subplot has turned out, though these guys seriously lack in development.
#20 (11) – Saiunkoku Monogatari – (8,3/10) – I’m not happy with Madhouse, as it’s continuing its trend of screwing up the endings of its adaptations. The story of Saiunkoku Monogatari has finally become amazing now, and this is definitely NOT THE TIME for budget-problems!
#19 (5) – Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (8,3/10) – Well, the subs are as fast as ever and only one episode got released this month. It wasn’t as continuously hilarious as the previous ones, but thankfully it did feature a bunch of brilliant and clever jokes.
#18 (10) – Gintama – (8,3/10) – I have seen better months for Gintama, but episode 48 and 49 both had a couple of brilliant jokes and parodies.
#17 (21) – Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – (8,4/10) – For the past month, I’ve loved Kaiji in terms of the small picture, but looking at the big picture I feel that it could have been handled better.
#16 (20) – Spice and Wolf – (8,4/10) – Spice and Wolf too has been unspectacular, yet incredibly solid. Its main characters are well-defined, and I admit that the attention to politics and the in-depth look at the job of a medieval merchant turned really interesting. One point of criticism would be that the side-characters could have gotten more attention, as they hardly receive any sort of background or development.
#15 (15) – Clannad – (8,4/10) – Okay, let’s hope now that Clannad has finally shaken away its harem-roots (about the only thing I really didn’t like about this series), so that it can focus on what’s really important. Apart from that, this series has been as solid as usual.
#14 (18) – Gundam 00 – (8,4/10) – Thankfully, every single character has now become more likable apart from Saji. This series still isn’t anything special, but it’s getting more enjoyable with every month.
#13 (12) – Kimikiss Pure Rouge – (8,5/10) – It’s sad to see that Mao has become exactly what I feared her to be: love-triangle bait without any possibility of success. Fortunately, she has been well-developed, which makes up for this a lot. In addition, Kazuki’s story did turn out in an excellent way.
#12 (17) – Suteki Tantei Labyrinth – (8,6/10) – Well, it looks like this series has finally stopped fooling around, and got to its serious part. So far the drama has been surprisingly interesting and the characters are actually well-enough developed and likable.
#11 (13) – True Tears – (8,7/10) – For a 13-episode love-story, True Tears is top-notch. It really makes use of the limited time it’s been given, and the characters are already getting developed.

#10 (7) – Shigofumi – Stories of the Last Letter – (8,8/10)

I like how Shigofumi, amidst the series of Jigoku Shoujo, Shinigami no Ballad and others, managed to find its own style and niche, and continued with this. The stories are well-developed and the extreme plot-twists are enough to keep me more than interested. Okay, you won’t find any subtlety in this series, but that’s part of its charms.

#9 (22) – Kekkaishi – (8,9/10)

Kekkaishi has rocked now that its ending has gotten nearer. I like the wit of the writers to not let everything climax at a worst-case scenario. Now let’s hope they won’t screw up the ending.

#8 (14) – Hakaba Kitarou – (8,9/10)

This series does an excellent job at surprising its viewer. I must say that I never saw some of the plot-twists coming and on top of that the way this series combines horror with humour deserves points as well.

#7 (2) – Wellber no Monogatari – Sisters of Wellber – (8,9/10)

Wellber hasn’t been as good as last month, but that’s probably because of the time it spent building up for the grand finale, and it’s promising to become an awesome one.

#6 (6) – Perrine Monogatari – (9/10)

This is the power of the early episodes of the World Masterpiece Series: you know things are about to happen, you’ll just never know when they will. In the meantime, I keep rooting for Perrine’s mother to get better, even though I know that this’ll be useless.

#5 (4) – Mokke – (9/10)

I’m not sure what it is that this series has, but every time I watch an episode, I end up really satisfied. The two lead characters are just so adorable characters, even though they’re a bit cheesy at times.

#4 (9) – Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino – (9/10)

At this point, I hardly care about the new character-designs and lack of budget anymore. Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino has a terrific plot, period.

#3 (8) – Porfy no Nagai Tabi – (9,1/10)

Like expected, Porfy no Nagai Tabi has been amazing, even though hardly anything happened yet. Porfy and Mina just feel SO real. Even the Ghibli-movies I’ve seen didn’t feature little children that felt so nostalgic as the two of them.

#2 (3) – Ghost Hound – (9,2/10)

In February, Ghost Hound kept its same style of tense and refreshing storytelling, and started introducing increasingly more interesting psychological concepts. Here’s one series that knows how to build up.

#1 (1) – Shion no Ou – (9,5/10)

Shion no Ou has been absolutely sensational. Not one character is wasted, every episode delivers, and especially Satoru has received a tremendous amount of development this month. It’s already one of my favourite series 2008.

We’ve now passed one third of the Winter-season. I must say that it’s been one of the best winter-seasons we’ve had in years. There are so many potentially awesome series, and there have been hardly any disappointments so far.

#31 (new) – H20 ~ Footprints in the Sand – (5/10) – I find it strange to think that this is one of the most blogged-series of the new winter-season. Are people expecting some kind of spectacular trainreck ending, just like with School Days, or was could there really come something good from the crappy first episode?
#30 (new) – Rosario to Vampire – (5,2/10) – A lot of people seem to believe that Gonzo ruined this series, but I’ve got enough reasons to think that the manga was bad in the first place. Gonzo just made it worse.
#29 (new) – They are my Noble Masters – (6,8/10) – Yes, it’s filled with harem-cliches, but it’s also one thing: it’s fun to watch. There’s nothing ground-breaking, but I’d choose to watch this series above Lucky Star at any time.
#28 (24) – Dragonaut The Resonance – (6,9/10) – Yes, the story for this series is as bad as ever. Still, I unfortunately have to admit that it did catch my interest, and I’m actually curious to find out what’s going to happen next.
#27 (new) – Minami-ke Okawari – (7/10) – Just like its predecessor, I just couldn’t get myself interested to watch beyond episode 1, so I dropped it.
#26 (new) – Hatenkou Yuugi – (7,2/10) – The only disappointment for this season. Alas, so many great things could have come from this series, but the storytelling feels dull and uninspired. The creators don’t even seem to care to try and let everything make sense, and the only thing that wasn’t screwed up by the creators seems to be the dialogue.
#25 (19) – Shugo Chara – (7,3/10) – 51 episodes is a terrific format, but you have to use it. There’s no use in putting up 26 filler-episodes to try and make it longer. Let’s hope for now that this series knows what it’s doing for its final quarter, but right now there’s a good chance that I’m going to drop this series and marathon it if it turns out to be good in the end.
#24 (20) – Bamboo Blade – (7,4/10) – Every time I have the urge to drop this series, it drags me back in. Bamboo Blade definitely didn’t catch my interest as much as I’d hoped to, and there are so many better series out there, but it’s moderately entertaining at least.
#23 (new) – Noramimi – (7,6/10) – So, here I am as probably the only one who still watches this. It’s quite cute, and a relaxing series. Still, even though it’s enjoyable, I do have to say that Tetsuko no Tabi was better.
#22 (12) – Kekkaishi – (7,8/10) – Unfortunately, only one episode got released this month. It was just a regular building-up episode, though I did notice how the humour of this series, especially when compared to the first half of the series, has gone down a lot.
#21 (16) – Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – (8,1/10) – With the beam-arc, I felt like Kaiji lost sight of its original purpose a bit: gambling. I went into this series, expecting people, trying to outsmart each other. Not a bunch of people, being scared to death for episodes. Luckily, it feels like the next arc will breathe some new life into this series.
#20 (new) – Spice and Wolf – (8,2/10) – I admit: I’m impressed by the work that Imagin has done for this series. The mood is quiet, and yet enough things are going on to keep you interested, and the storytelling has been quite good so far.
#19 (new) – Persona Trinity Soul – (8,2/10) – I’m still not sure what to think of this series, but I mean that in a good way. So far, it’s carefully building up its storyline, and the climaxes so far have been quite interesting. Now let’s hope that this series can keep this up.
#18 (17) – Gundam 00 – (8,2/10) – So far, so good. Gundam 00 is really turning into an enjoyable series. I have a few problems with it here and there, but the characters and politics work, and thank god that it hasn’t turned into a cheap emo-fest.
#17 (23) – Suteki Tantei Labyrinth – (8,3/10) – So, basically this series turned from moderately entertaining to just plain weird. It’s very strange, it’s either incredibly good or incredibly bad. If you want to watch this, be aware of one thing: you don’t want to take this series seriously.
#16 (15) – Power Puff Girls Z – (8,4/10) – The fight against Him was awesome. The creators knew exactly what to do to keep the fight interesting, and much, much more than what you’d see in any random shounen-series *coughbleachcough*. The love-love-beam episode was also brilliant. Professor Utonium rocks! Unfortunately, the other episodes that got released this month were a bit disappointing, and too dramatic for their own good. Don’t get me wrong, this series actually gets away with its sappy drama, but it’s in no way as fun as the other aspects of the series.
#15 (21) – Clannad – (8,4/10) – Instead of really sad, I’ve found the past number of episodes from Clannad to be really relaxing. I must congratulate Kyoto Animation: they finally churned out a series that I liked.
#14 (new) – Hakaba Kitarou – (8,4/10) – The surprise of the season. This series has brought forth really entertaining horror-series that combines drama, horror and comedy perfectly. A definite recommendation; Noitamina rocks.
#13 (new) – True Tears – (8,4/10) – Like expected from the director of Simoun. True Tears has shown enough signs that it knows what it’s doing, despite the clichéd characters it has do work with. The pacing may be slow, but so far this series has done a very good job to develop its major characters.
#12 (22) – Kimikiss Pure Rouge – (8,5/10) – Kimikiss has gone into the right direction this month, and the love-triangles really work so far. I’m quite impressed with this series, and how carefully it manages to build up the different relationships between the characters.
#11 (10) – Saiunkoku Monogatari – (8,5/10) – Just when the pacing begins to pick up again, this series is plagued with random hiatuses that break it. Let’s hope that the final episodes will all air without any interruption.

#10 (5) – Gintama – (8,5/10)

Episode 46 was the first time where I caught Gintama, milking out its own jokes. Thankfully, episode 47 made more than up for it with what what’s definitely its best introduction to an episode so far. You just have to see that one for yourself to believe it, and I really admire the fantastic job that the voice-actor did on it.

#9 (new) – Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino – (8,5/10)

I don’t seem to mind the bad graphics as much as most others, but the fact remains that the animation has gone down a lot. Thankfully, the art itself is still nice to look at, and the story simply rocks so far.

#8 (new) – Porfy no Nagai Tabi – (8,6/10)

The first four episodes have been excellent in terms of building up. Sure, it’s slow, but Porfy and his sister have already developed into terrific three-dimensional characters.

#7 (new) – Shigofumi – (8,8/10)

The only problem with this series is that it likes to put in random plot-devices to increase dramatic tension. Apart from that, the stories so far have been excellent in terms of both storytelling and characters. On top of that, the art looks terrific and the soundtrack fits the series perfectly. Okay, apart from the OP, perhaps.

#6 (6) – Perrine Monogatari – (8,8/10)

Oh god… I’ve read the summaries for this series, so I know what’s about to happen. Seriously, Perrine’s mother is too awesome for such a thing.. 🙁

#5 (3) – Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (8,9/10)

The big fear would of course be that the second season would run out of jokes, but thankfully, the opposite turned out to be true. For the second season, it seems that the creators decided to let go of all the brakes and go all out.

#4 (8) – Mokke – (9/10)

Have I already mentioned that the background-music for this series is amazing? In any case, for January, Mokke increased the dramatic tension for its episodes a bit, and it really works. The stories are simple, but I’m warming up more and more to the different characters. MadHouse did another terrific job on this adaptation.

#3 (4) – Ghost Hound – (9,1/10)

I really like to see that Ghost Hound has turned into an excellent series, which stands apart from all the others. The characters feel really natural, the storytelling has progressed in a really nice way and the story itself has also become more interesting with every episode.

#2 (new) – Wellber no Monogatari – (9,2/10)

Seriously, with the second season, Wellber no Monogatari has become so much better. Every episode works, and the characters have been absolutely amazing. And to think that there still are enough episodes left for this series to work with.

#1 (2) – Shion no Ou – (9,2/10)

This series just keeps and delivers consistently awesome episodes. Tournament-arcs often fail, but this series has managed to do so many great things with it.

If you’re wondering why the rankings for this month are a bit earlier than usual: well, I wanted to have a bit more time to work on my end-of-the-year-list, with the most memorable and un-memorable series of the past year. It’s going to get a bit bigger than last year’s, which to be honest was rather improvised on the last day due to some internet-issues on my side.

The current summary isn’t that big anyways, since I didn’t watch relatively many series to begin with. Overall, the Autumn-season has only had around three memorable series so far, but I’m glad that with just one exception, every series I decided to follow turned out somehow worthwhile in the end. The winter-season also promises to look excellent, so I’ve got no reason to complain. ^^;

#24 (28) – Dragonaut The Resonance – (5,6/10) – Well, it seems that this series is only going to be 13 episodes long. It’s a shame, because it could really have used 13 extra episodes to flesh out the huge plot-holes in the story. Still, I should be glad that the pain will soon be over.
#23 (25) – Suteki Tantei Labyrinth – (7,4/10) – I have no idea what to say, so I’ll wait till judging this really strange series until the second half has shredded some more of its mysteries…
#22 (26) – Kimikiss Pure Rouge – (7,7/10) – Aah, I’m not sure if this series is going into the right direction. Love triangles have always been tricky for me to like, and all they do is distract from what’s really important: the two lovers themselves. Let’s hope that the creators know what they’re doing.
#21 (19) – Clannad – (7,8/10) – The Fuuko arc ended nicely, though it felt a little too much like a Deus ex Machina. Now it’s Kotomi’s turn to get fleshed out, but really, there is no reason for her to have some mysterious sad past with the lead-character. She’s sad enough without the obvious connections to the guy.
#20 (20) – Bamboo Blade – (7,8/10) – Finally, after the series went stale for a bit, the characters are starting to develop. Let’s hope that this series can remain to be fresh for the second half as well.
#19 (24) – Shugo Chara – (7,9/10) – Well, the first 12 episodes are over now. Let’s hope that the series gets a bit more serious. Sure, it’s fun and all, but it really needs to introduce something fresh.
#18 (23) – Kodomo no Jikan – (7,9/10) – One character is ruining this series for me: Rin’s foster-brother (I’m afraid I forgot his name). Even though he got an episode for himself, his development feels incomplete and his actions still don’t make any sense. This is one example of a side-character that’s better off staying on the side-lines, because the struggles between Rin and her teacher have been really interesting.
#17 (22) – Gundam 00 – (7,9/10) – Like expected, the major problem of this series is that the characters contain one miscast after the other. The politics are moving along decently, and the different tactics that are used are interesting enough to keep watching.
#16 (16) – Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – (8,1/10) – I’m still puzzling at why I’m not amazed by this series anymore. There’s obviously the very slow pacing, but it also feels like this series is a bit too dark for me. Yet, that also doesn’t seem to be it, as I loved Shigurui…
#15 (???) – Power Puff Girls Z – (8,2/10) – And finally, Buttercup too has had her episode, dedicated to her crush. Interestingly enough, GAR and manliness work surprisingly well with this series.
#14 (17) – Blue Drop – (8,2/10) – My major problem with this series has been the alien subplot. The characters themselves are amazing: they all get enough attention and are well-developed, though the aliens and their actions felt rushed, unfortunately.
#13 (12) – Moyashimon – (8,3/10) – So, yeah. The ending was forced with a pointless twist that could have been easily omitted in exchange for more quirky characters. Ignoring that though, then the characters have been better than they ever had in the final third of the series.
#12 (9) – Kekkaishi – (8,3/10) – And a new arc has started, though it’s been basically introductions and aftermaths so far. The series is building up well so far, though, and like introduction of the entire Yagyou (or however you spell it).
#11 (11) – ef – A Tale of Memories – (8,5/10) – I fear that the ending for this series will turn out rushed. Ef has been amazing in terms of character-development, but the last twists for both stories weren’t necessary at all in order to give this series a good conclusion.

#10 (4) – Saiunkoku Monogatari – (8,5/10)

Juusanhime really looks to be an interesting character for this series to work with. Seiga is promising to be a total bastard. Overall, this has been another month of building-up for Saiunkoku Monogatari.

#9 (15) – Sky Girls – (8,7/10)

I sort-of suspected that this series would turn better with its second half, but still the encounter between Kotonoha and Yuuki turned out much better than I ever would have suspected. I love how the past few episodes haven’t felt rushed at all, and how a surprising amount of attention went to fleshing out the setting and storyline. Series like this one show that even a simple storyline can become excellent with the right amount of development.

#8 (8) – Mokke – (8,7/10)

Last month was better, but still Mokke remains among the best of the season. I like how most of the ghosts and spirits have their own personalities and quirks. It really brightens up the series.

#7 (2) – Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette – (8,8/10)

I really can’t think of any other series that spends more time on its aftermath than Les Miserables. It’s really trying to wrap up every single thread in the story, and I actually think that it’s going to succeed. Because of this, this series is starting to feel more and more complete.

#6 (13) – Perrine Monogatari – (8,8/10)

Really, the entire series has been quite light-hearted so far, so I was beginning to wonder why this is regarded as the darkest of all World Masterpiece Theatre-productions. And then episode thirteen came, and launched Perrine and her mother into the Suiss Alps, and I understood. Suddenly, with just one episode, the entire mood of the series went so much darker.

#5 (3) – Gintama – (8,8/10)

This month: Ninja Parodies! I especially loved “doping no jutsu”. That’s just soo true. ^^;

#4 (6) – Ghost Hound – (8,9/10)

Production IG has done it again. Not only is this a very effective horror-series, but the characters are also getting more and more enjoyable to watch as the series goes on. The pacing has really been flawless so far.

#3 (18) – Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (9/10)

The final episodes were more formulaic than usual, and yet I found myself nearly rolling on the floor laughing at everyone of them.

#2 (5) – Shion no Ou – (9,1/10)

Thanks to the excellent cast of characters, Shion no Ou has become my favourite series of the fall-season. Sure, it’s a bit rushed here and there, but both the main- and side-characters more than make up for it.

#1 (7) – Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – (9,3/10)

Ah, and finally the second season has ended. Like Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, it has been quite straightforward, but it worked. Especially the development for Okonogi and Takano was excellent.

+ November Rankings + My general opinion of the current Autumn-Season is indeed that it isn’t as good as the previous Spring-season. There haven’t really come any epic series yet, like Bokura no, Towards the Terra or Kaze no Shoujo Emily, but instead of that, we’ve got quite a lot of well-executed, charming and intriguing series, so overall, I just can’t call it a failure. The Winter-season is also looking better than it’s ever had, with most of the shows of the current season who’ll be hitting their second halves and let’s not forget the amazing line-up of series that are going to start in January. So a slightly less exciting season isn’t really that bad. Oh, and in case this is the first time you see this, the series are ranked from worst to best, the number between the ( and ) indicates the place where that series was on last month, the rating is out of 10, with average being a 6,0 (and yes, I’m using the decimal comma). #30 (29) – Engage Planet Kiss Dum – (5,6/10) – Do note that most of the points this series is getting are because of the entertainment value. Only one episode was released, but it was so bad that it became hilarious. The animation was garbage, the plot couldn’t be more clichéd, and the only thing that was good was the scriptwriting, which made me laugh as well. Overall, this series is a failure, but it’s definitely a fun failure. #29 (40) – Romeo x Juliet – (5,7/10) – So, yep. Like predicted, the two lovers must overcome one more angst-ridden obstacle before they can be together: the fact that both of them are whiny teenagers. It’s clear that Gonzo spent the best of its staff on Bokura no for the spring-season… #28 (35) – Dragonaut The Resonance – (5,7/10) – Really, this is just getting silly. Someone over at the production-team has to realize that the melodrama only causes this series to become laughably bad. It’s a shame, the potential’s there, but right now Gonzo can be compared with a man, trying to walk out an overexcitable dog: the man wants to go to the park, while the dog wants to chase random cars, and in the end, they end up at the local garbage-dump. #27 (new) – Yume da Maya Kidan – (7,2/10) – This doesn’t really warrant its own post, but I do want to say a few things about it. It’s a nice attempt and it’s got a great style, but it was a tad too short to make any real impact. Still, I like the idea of taking the ideas of amateurs, you’ll be surprised at some of the great ideas that some of them have. #26 (38) – Kimikiss Pure Rouge – (7,5/10) – I originally dropped this, but I switched this with Night Wizard, which was getting really pointless with only 12 episodes to work with. Kimikiss surprised me, though, and offers quite a realistic view on high-school romances. #25 (20) – Suteki Tantei Labyrinth – (7,6/10) – Really, what is up with this series? On one hand, it manages to deliver interesting adventures, and the screenplay is terrific, and yet the stories themselves have plotholes and quite often delve into silliness, with of course the epitome being the giant robot which appeared from out of nowhere. #24 (17) – Shugo Chara – (7,6/10) – Fun, cute, cool and spicy, but not really the best this season has to offer. #23 (28) – Kodomo no Jikan – (7,7/10) – Rin’s past may have been a bit too dramatic, but apart from that this series has been going into the right direction. The fanservice is still annoying, but I admit that the characters are quite cute and interesting to watch. #22 (23) – Gundam 00 – (7,8/10) – Well, Gundam has been solid up till now. Nothing groundbreaking has happened yet, but it set a solid base for itself to work with. Apart from the idiotic actions of Setsuna, of course. Really, some one needs to kill this guy fast. #21 (new) – Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations – (7,9/10) – The first episode was mainly an introduction, both to the new story and the new art by Production IG, but something tells me that the real fun is going to start with the next two episodes. #20 (13) – Bamboo Blade – (7,9/10) – Okay, it’ll never be among the best comedies, but it’s quite entertaining to see where the characters go. One thing that holds this series down is the predictability, though. #19 (29) – Clannad – (8/10) – I’m really surprised with this series: it’s basically Kanon, with all the things I hated about it removed. Yuuichi was a horrible lead for Kanon, all he did was chase after cute girls who happened to be special, the scenes felt forced, there was no link between any of the different stories apart from Yuuichi, and the annoyingness of Ayu and Makoto didn’t make things easier. Clannad, however, doesn’t have these problems. The main character suddenly isn’t the only one who can solve the problem of the girl in question, the future stories flow well with each other, and the female lead works excellent with this. While it isn’t the best series in the season, for me, this is by far Kyoani’s best series up till now. #18 (7) – Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (8,2/10) – It’s such a shame that I need fansubs for the complex comedies such as Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei. It’s been almost a month since the last release. The episode was excellent as well, but I can hardly remember what it was about. Thankfully other subbing-groups have now started to pick up this series as well, to make sure that the first season ends before the start of the second season. I have yet to see episode 10, but I look forward to it. 🙂 #17 (15) – Blue Drop – (8,3/10) – The pacing has been slow, but because of this, Blue Drop has had the opportunity to flesh out the side-characters in this month, something which I really appreciate. The angst also doesn’t feel weird, and the characters are getting more touching with every episode. It’s going to be interesting to see where this series is going to go from now. #16 (5) – Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – (8,3/10) – This series has quite a few pacing-issues, but apart from that it remains a fascinating look on human nature. Not to mention the insanity of episode eight. #15 (21) – Sky Girls – (8,4/10) – When Otoha’s childhood-friend that got sucked away by the worms appeared, I was convinced that this series would fall down the pit of predictability, but then it started to introduce quite an amount of new and interesting stuff that got me quite enthusiastic about this series, and it seems that the creators do know how to deliver a few surprises. Good job. #14 (new) – Ahiru no Quack – (8,5/10) – Ah, this one brings back memories. It was probably the first anime I ever saw as a kid, though I never fully finished it because the clown in the OP scared me (no, seriously). This also is probably the only anime that gives an accurate portrayal of the Netherlands through the different ages. And really, for a kid’s show it’s got quite some heavy themes. I remember freaking out when I saw the ending of the second episode at the age of five or six. The soundtrack is also unique, and especially Herman van Veen has a unique voice, and uses it in an excellent way. #13 (19) – Perrine Monogatari – (8,5/10) – This month featured a triple release, in which the first piece of serious drama appeared with the rivalling travelling photographers. I must say that I’ve gotten great respect for Perrine’s mother after this. While I feared that everything would end a bit preachy, the scenes were wonderfully written. #12 (14) – Moyashimon – (8,5/10) – Really, the originality in this series continues to surprise me. Everything from the characters to the stories feels fresh and different, not to mention hilarious. #11 (25) – ef – A Tale of Memories – (8,5/10) – One thing that surprised me for this season is how there are so many quality high-school romances out there, and this one probably is the best of the bunch. Both Clannad, Kimikiss and ef have gone way beyond the stereotypes that you usually see in romances, which inevitably become uninspired harems. Episode seven was really intense, and I really liked it, and the unique directing-style. #10 (24) – Little Princess Sara – (8,6/10) Despite only being two episodes in, I already like this series a lot. It may be more than twenty years old, but the storytelling so far has been excellent. #9 (14) – Kekkaishi – (8,6/10) Finally Kekkaishi is back, and Yoroshiku released a double-release that concluded the current arc. While it suffered from the “I have yet to reveal my true powers!”-syndrome, it did break several shounen-clichés as well, so I’m happy, not to mention that the conclusion was amazing. Naruto should have taken an example of this series. #8 (22) – Mokke – (8,8/10) I finally realize what’s wrong with this series! A lot of people (including myself) have been hoping for this to become the next Mushishi, right from the start. But instead, this turned into a really charming tale between two sisters, and the people they grow up with. It really needs to grow on you for a few episodes, and in the past month, the episodes have been getting better and better and better. #7 (16) – Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – (8,8/10) Higurashi has been really solid for the past episodes. Something you wouldn’t expect after the first season. While part of me is still getting used to the extreme change of pace of the second season, the past few episodes have been flawless in terms of storytelling. #6 (12) – Ghost Hound – (8,8/10) Like Lain, Ghost Hound doesn’t feel episodic at all, and instead it continues to deliver one full story that’s carefully being built up. I like the amount of research the creators put into this to make the traumas that the different characters suffer from look as real and believable as possible. #5 (8) – Shion no Ou – (8,8/10) One thing that does irk me a small bit is how most series this season are quite slow-paced, and take their time in telling the story. But not Shion no Ou! Episode after episode, it keeps pushing the plot forward, and the unique and interesting cast of characters make this an excellent series. #4 (6) – Saiunkoku Monogatari – (8,8/10) Saiunkoku continues to carefully build up its many storylines, with a few excellent climaxes here and there. The new characters are coming together more and more, and if the previous arcs are any indicators, then this series is only going to end up better and better. #3 (4) – Gintama – (8,9/10) In this month, the comedy took a step back to allow for Kagura’s backstory. Had I already mentioned that this is one of the few comedy-series that can turn dramatic and still be awesome? #2 (1) – Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette – (9,2/10) Javert really has been one of the best villains of the year. It’s a shame that the creators changed certain parts of the book, but that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of this series. It’s really a shame that people are chosing series as Ninomiya-kun above this gem. #1 (3) – Dennou Coil – (9,3/10) It’s all about Isako this month, and boy, it surprises me how a series can keep up such a consistent high quality episode after episode. It’s a shame that this series is nearly over.]]>

+ October Rankings + The start of the Autumn 2007-season did show one thing: the amount of great series just isn’t as large as you’d expect. Still, I’m glad that at least a few series managed to stand out for me, and now all that’s left is to hope that they’ll unexpectedly turn out awesome in their second halfs. Another advantage of a small season is that series that originally have been ignored can suddenly hope for a bit more attention than usual. Oh, and in case this is the first time you see this, the series are ranked from worst to best, the number between the ( and ) indicates the place where that series was on last month, the rating is out of 10, with average being a 6,0 (and yes, I’m using the decimal comma). #44 (new) – Goshushou-sama Ninomiya-kun – (3,9/10) – Ehm… No. Fanservice does not equal a good anime. #43 (new) – Koharu Biyori – (4/10) – Only for people with a maid-fetish. How come crap like this gets animated, while truly captivating premises are ignored? #42 (new) – Prism Ark – (4,9/10) – Way too much aimed at teenagers for its own good. #41 (new) – Myself; Yourself – (5,6/10) – I really don’t remember anything about this series. All I know is that it was rather boring, so I never checked out episode 2. #40 (35) – Romeo x Juliet – (5,6/10) – Well, I admit that it’s interesting that [spoiler] the bad guy’s dead, two episodes before the end, but things are still looking grim with an utterly predictable finale in store. #39 (new) – Da Capo II – (5,9/10) – Just has too many stereotypes. #38 (new) – Kimikiss Pure Rouge – (5,9/10) – I couldn’t really get myself to continue this. In the end, it’s just too generic. Dropped. #37 (new) – Rental Magica – (6/10) – This series just feels too generic for me to continue. Dropped. #36 (new) – Shakugan no Shana II – (6,1/10) – Halfway through the second episode, I found myself thinking: “why the heck am I still watching this bore-fest?”, so I dropped this series. Something I should have done ages ago. #35 (new) – Dragonaut the Resonance – (6,5/10) – I’m still not sure what to think of this series. The storytelling is obnoxious, especially the best friend is getting predictable and the outfits are just outrageous, but the potential’s there. #34 (new) – Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro – (6,7/10) – Okay, I know that this one could become good later on, but my inner-mystery-fanboy is screaming because of the shallowness of the first few episodes. Dropped. #33 (new) – Hero Tales – (6,7/10) – A lot of people seem to think that the mangaka of Full Metal Alchemist wrote this series. Well, she didn’t. She just worked on the art. It’s perhaps because of this that I stopped caring about the plot halfway through the third episode and dropped it. #32 (new) – Sketchbook ~ Full Color’s – (6,8/10) – While episode 1 was nice enough, episode 2 was rather boring and much of the same, so I dropped it. #31 (new) – Minami-ke – (7,1/10) – On second thoughts, I dropped this. The comedy isn’t that funny, and it gets old soon. It’s a shame, I would like to have continued this, but my time isn’t endless. #30 (new) – Maple Story – (7,2/10) – Say what you want, but I like this series. It may be rather childish, stupid and without much depth, it also is a fun series to watch. #29 (new) – Clannad – (7,3/10) – This surprises me. In two episodes, the main character feels more as a part of the series than the main character for Kanon did in all ten episodes that I lasted for that one. It’s a shame that star-girl, book-girl and fighting-girl feel too much like unrealistic stereotypes, because this could be the very first Kyoani-series that I actually like. #28 (36) – Kodomo no Jikan – (7,4/10) – Well what do you know? This series actually turned out good enough to continue. It’s just like Umisho: the fanservice is horrible, but beyond that, we have in this case a touching story about children with problems at school, and inexperienced teachers, having to deal with it. Based on the rumours, I really expected this series to turn into some kind of spawn of Satan, and I’m pleasantly surprised that it didn’t. #27 (new) – Night Wizard – (7,4/10) – The thing with RPG-adaptations is that they’re bound to have a few clichés here and there. The thing that they need to worry about is developing their characters well, and making their setting so that the viewer will get interested. A great example is the game Golden Sun. It couldn’t get more clichéd, with the lighthouses and the jewels and all, but the world and villains still kept me interested until the final boss-fight. Still, I’m missing this a bit with Night Wizard. #26 (31) – Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha – (7,5/10) – I’m honestly disappointed in Nanoha, though I’ll go into more detail for that once the series finishes. I haven’t seen episode 26 yet, but I should get the chance in the next couple of days. Episode 25 made up for a few things, and it did manage to turn out a bit touching in the end, but at this time, I consider StrikerS to be the weakest of the Nanoha-franchise. #25 (new) – ef – a Tale of Memories – (7,6/10) – The story of the girl with the eye-patch has turned out great. I wish I could say the same about the manga-writer, though. His story is way too standard, and it doesn’t seem to get anywhere. #24 (new) – Little Princess Sara – (7,7/10) – From now on, I’m also going to include this series in the rankings, as it looks like it’s going to take a while before it finishes. The first episode showed some great potential for the future. #23 (new) – Gundam 00 – (7,7/10) – Right now, Gundam 00 has been building up for a good base to work with. It’s nothing special yet, but neither are there signs for total failure. #22 (new) – Mokke – (7,7/10) – So it’s predictable, and the animation… well… sucks. The storytelling makes up for it, and creates a nice and relaxing atmosphere. #21 (32) – Sky Girls – (7,7/10) – Hah! It’s just as I hoped. While the series is still annoying at times, the characters are starting to get developed, and the overall quality has risen considerably, compared to the first half of the series. #20 (new) – Suteki Tantei Labyrinth – (7,8/10) – Okay, it’s not perfect, but it’s good and intriguing enough for now. But it’s too early to tell whether this will become a success or not. #19 (18) – Perrine Monogatari – (7,9/10) – I was surprised to see a new member of the cast appear, in the form of a circus-boy. The messages about how wrong stealing is may have been a bit too emphasized, but overall it was a solid episode. #18 (20) – Mushiuta – (7,9/10) – The ending created quite a bit of potential for the second season, with all the deaths and all. I must say, that while the series itself had its bumps here and there, I am looking forward to what the second half of this series has in store for us. #17 (new) – Shugo Chara – (8/10) – While not the best beginning for a mahou shoujo out there, the potential is definitely there, and the past few episodes have been quite some fun to watch. #16 (8) – Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – (8/10) – This month, Higurashi has been building up for the final arc. It’s definitely necessary, but not as exciting as the show used to be. #15 (new) – Blue Drop – (8/10) – Blue Drop has been developing into a very nice series. The yuri is always welcome, and something tells me that the best of the series is still to come. #14 (new) – Moyashimon – (8,2/10) – A well-scripted comedy with a unique premise. The different high-school anime really should take an example from this series. #13 (new) – Bamboo Blade – (8,2/10) – Now this turned into a real surprise. Episode four was hilarious, and Tama is also shaping up to become a great character. The chemistry between the characters is just excellent. #12 (new) – Ghost Hound – (8,2/10) – The Lain-influences are so noticeable, though the first two episodes have mostly been just building up. The potential’s there, though. #11 (???) – Mononoke – (8,2/10) – Mononoke ended this month, and while the final arc wasn’t as good as the other arcs of the series, it was a worthy ending of such an interesting Noitamina-series. #10 (29) – Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula – (8,4/10) I’m glad I decided to stick with this series. I know I’ve been ranting against it, but the characters are starting to connect. Sure the plot is still hugely predictable, but the different characters are starting to make up for this. #9 (16) – Shigurui – (8,5/10) It’s been a while since an episode evoked more mixed feelings with episode twelve. The episode itself was absolutely stunning, then it became disgusting and then it had me wondering what the heck happened to the enormous plot-hole that was left open. #8 (new) – Shion no Ou – (8,5/10) Shion no Ou has turned out surprisingly good after episode three, and into the second-best of the new series that aired this season. Shion and her strong character are a delight to watch. #7 (14) – Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (8,5/10) Only one episode was released this month, but it was a hilarious one, about the class-president who doesn’t get noticed by anyone. #6 (22) – Saiunkoku Monogatari – (8,6/10) Now this is more like the Saiunkoku Monogatari I remembered. Most of the time is till spent on building up, but the upcoming arc sounds like it’s going to be an awesome one. #5 (new) – Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – (8,7/10) For me, this is the best series of the Autumn-Season so far. It’s already after four episodes a fascinating look into human nature, and it’s one of the very few series which can be excellent, right from the beginning. Now let’s hope that it will keep up this level. #4 (15) – Gintama – (8,9/10) It was only a matter of time before Gintama went on to take the mick out of the censors, with hilarious results. I also remember complaining about how the endings of Ginrama-episodes are rather disappointing, but let me rephrase that: whenever an episode or half-episode of Gintama is entirely devoted to comedy, the ending turns out disappointing. With drama added, the endings are excellent, which is what the episodes that were released in this month proved. #3 (11) – Dennou Coil – (9,1/10) This month has been an astonishing month for Dennou Coil, showcasing some of the best episodes of the entire series. It’s been one hit after the other. #2 (6) – Baccano! – (9,3/10) Baccano! has turned out awesome. Now that everything is coming together, you can see the incredible quality of the scriptwriting even more. #1 (9) – Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette – (9,6/10) With this month, I know for sure: Les Miserables is one of the best series of the entire year. The episodes that were aired this month were absolutely incredible. + Top 5 Episodes + #5: Baccano! – 12 Now that’s what I call an action-scene! Fun, exciting and extremely well-written. #4: Dennou Coil – 20 This was an excellent climax to the Haraken-storyline. Dennou Coil has really turned out into an excellent series. #3: Ayatsuri Sakon – 26 I LOVE it when the final episode of a series turns out to be the best of the entire series. It couldn’t have been a better conclusion for the series. #2: Les Miserables – 43 Now this is what you can do with some good build-up. There should be no doubt whether Les Miserables is worth of the title World Masterpiece Theatre #1: Les Miserables – 41 This episode wins. Period.]]>