July Summary

Damn that bandwidth. Ah well, it should be over tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy, and try not to mind the missing pictures too much. ^^;

+ Top 12 Anime With 1 Episode Released +
I’m going to go with the same categories as previous month, as they proved to be quite solid. I’m leaving out the anime with none episodes released, though, like Hime-Sama Goyoujin, Gintama AND NOEIN!!! *cough* In any case, these are either the new anime which were so bad that I didn’t bother to wait for the second episode, some OVA’s who only get released once per season and series which have been cursed with slow subbers.

12: Tonagura

This is garbage. I didn’t even bother to continue past the first episode, this anime will definitely be dropped. I don’t see the fun in watching a horny bastard getting what he wants.

11: Zero no Tsukaima

Not another Shana. Another show to be dropped. Is there one thing about this series which isn’t over cliché and overused? The background art also looked horrible. Since when were rooms this empty? Since when were areas this plain?

10: Tsuyokisu

An anime full of tsundere, all waiting to be conquered by our main character. Okay, so what was the good part again? I was too demotivated to check out another episode of this one. Dropped.

9: Boku ga Ita

Credits to the anime for experimenting with the art-style. Still, that doesn’t make up for the fact that the anime itself is incredibly boring. I’m not really the type for plain slice-of-romances. Dropped.

8: Kirarin Revolution

Will this one eventually get subbed? I doubt it. I’ll be following it for now, though I’m wondering whether this one will survive. The same is going on with Yoshinaga-chi no Gargoyle and Hime-Sama Goyoujin. They’re perfectly fine series, but someone needs to friggin sub it. Ah well, I have to remember that Ginga Densetsu Weed only started to get subbed 6 months after it aired.

7: Kyou no go ni
This is another one of those attempts at comedy. This time, it’s about very suggestive middle-school antics. Every scene is full of fanservice, though nothing is meant on purpose. Ironically, the humour only works when there’s no fanservice involved. The creators’ attempt to add some serious scenes also totally backfired. Still, it did feature some entertaining scenes.

6: Dai Mahou Touge

It’s pretty much the same formula as before. An “unlikely” enemy comes, and tries to defeat Punie. It’s too bad that the novelty has worn off this time. At the previous episode, we had no idea about Punie’s nature, which made the shock very entertaining. This time, we already knew that she was an extremely violent girl. The episode didn’t really add anything new. Still, if you ignore this, the scenes remained enjoyable.

5: Pani Poni Dash

The series ended this month, with a quite interesting last episode. It wasn’t necessarily extremely funny, though it was nice to see every single character in the spotlights again, doing something. The rapid succession of all these events turned this into an enjoyable episode. Still, most of the usual humour had to be sacrificed for this.

4: Chevalier

It seems that Chevalier will only start after the beginning of August, and that the first episode was more meant as an introduction, to be aired one month earlier. I’m expecting that the pacing will be turned down a few levels as well, and that the creators really decided to go all out, in order to give this anime good first impressions. So far, it looks interesting, but will this remain?

3: Eureka7

Following Nanashi’s releases again. The climax is really building up now, though I wonder what’ll be happening during the last eight episodes of the anime. Renton and Eureka are now about to head into the great wall, though what’ll happen next? So far, this episode has been very enjoyable. I’m very eager for the rest, even though that might take a while.

2: Ergo Proxy

What the heck is up with Shinsen? It’s been more than a month and all they released is episode fourteen. They need to hurry a bit, though I’m very eager to see more of Ergo Proxy. Still, episode fourteen remained awesome, even though it was a filler. I just love the mind games it played.

1: Black Lagoon

Roberta, the little boy, Revy, Rock, Benny, Dutch and Balalaika all were totally awesome during episode ten. Please forgive me, but I have yet to see episode 11 and 12. Simply because of the fact that I refuse to watch Your-Mom’s releases. Not because they did a horrible job, but because they dared to release in ultra high-quality which my computer couldn’t take. I’d rather wait for Shinsen than to try and watch their release with a horrible amount of lag. Anyway, I wish that there were more series like Black Lagoon. It’s characters really are unique. Thank god it’s getting a second season.

+ Top 26 Anime With More Than 1 Episode Released +
Once more, ranking these was incredibly difficult. Especially if you consider that there were so many awesome series here. But then again, there also have been a lot of bad and mediocre series. Still, I’ve found that the ranking goes better when I divide all of the shows into four groups: garbage, mediocre, good and awesome. With this, things became a bit easier.

26: Bleach

While June featured some interesting moments, Bleach in July was total garbage. Every scene was boring, and the bickering between the different characters also was nowhere to be found.

25: Chottoko Sister

At first, this show showed a spark of potential, though after watching the second episode, I knew: this show will be horribly boring. The horny girl-next-door didn’t help much either. I’ll be dropping this series now.

24: Coyote Ragtime Show

I was looking forward to this show a lot. Needless to say that I wasn’t too happy when I found out that the results were rather disappointing, after seeing four episodes. I’ll be dropping this series, I think. It’s just too dull for me to continue. I so hoped for more than one party to be after the treasure, though it seems that Mister is the only one who knows about it. I also don’t see what’s so great about the maids. All they do is chase after the main character and fail, breaking a lot of things in the process, including themselves.

23: Witchblade

While rather dull and boring, I do find some slightly interesting elements in this show which can become great later on. I’ll keep following this one. Some of the characters really have interesting problems, and the chairman’s worries about his loss of hair are quite humorous.

22: Kamisama Kazoku

The second arc only really started to get interesting with the fourth episode. Before, it was just people acting randomly. And how come Samatarou just “happened” to know about the girl in the hospital? The fact that his father is god does not really suffice. I also do not like the fact that the creators have the tendency to press the reset-button after every arc. Come on, the characters at least need to remember. And when they don’t the creators at least have to use this. But no, they don’t.

21: NHK ni Youkosou!

While the first episode showed potential, the third episode focused around a 20+-year-old guy who discovers eroge and porn and keeps getting horny about it. I did not want to see that at all. I’ll be giving this one more chance, as the music remains great and some themes introduced works good, though I’m very disappointed with how this turned out.

20: Ouran High School Host Club

Ouran remains at the mediocre quality it’s been at for a long time. This definitely isn’t a successful comedy anime, as I haven’t laughed in ages. Ah well, thank goodness there weren’t any episodes dedicated to Honey this month (seriously, why didn’t the guy go to a dentist in order to get his cavity fixed? Why did he just whine instead? And do not tell me he didn’t do that because he didn’t have the money). I also didn’t really like the separation of Hikaru and Kaoru. I mean, why did the two of them act different to begin with? Their personalities were always the same. Why did Hikaru suddenly become a good guy, while Kaoru turned cold? A bit more subtlety, please.

19: Naruto

Naruto’s been inside fillers inside fillers this month. Still, these were just hilarious. Especially when Ino had to impersonate the princess, though Gai-sensei dressing up by putting up an afro also was very funny.

18: Utawarerumono

Utawarerumono has been getting better very slowly. There still weren’t any impressive scenes, but I do have to admit that episode 17 was too cute. It showed that the creators are trying out a few more things, which could promise interesting material for the future. Still, the plot twist has yet to happen. I wonder when it’ll come.

17: Power Puff Girls Z

Okay. Why the heck am I still watching this? In fact, why the heck am I actually enjoying it?! Okay, it isn’t great or anything, though the funny and cute moments remain. Still, I’d like less emphasis on food and candy. And Bubbles needs to receive a blow in the head with a pickaxe. It’ll do her good.

16: Binbou Shimai Monogatari

This is what you get when you do first impressions in patches of three. Sometimes, shows like this one have to wait very long before other new shows get released. Ah well, I like the current system. I’ve already seen the first four episodes, and I have to say that I’m enjoying it, despite the fact that 50% of the scenes remain quite boring. The two sisters are quite touching, and cute as well. Though the hugs are becoming quite annoying.

15: Muteki Kanbanmusume

Most of the time, the comedy doesn’t really work. But there are times at which this anime is completely hilarious. My favourite scene is the battle between the two trains, though episode four also provided very hilarious material. Surprisingly enough, the serious scenes actually work. This is very rare for a comedy-anime.

14: Good Witch of the West

It’s got some huge flaws, yeah. But the story remains awesome. There are only two episodes left, so I’m eager to see how this’ll end. The last episode ended with quite an interesting cliff-hanger.

13: .Hack//Roots

This month was entirely dedicated to Haseo getting more emo by the minute, because of what happened to Shino. While watching these episodes, I found them rather boring and annoying. But when I’m thinking about them right now, these scenes only turn more amazing by the minute. Episodes 11, 12 and 13 also have been deleting an incredible lot of characters, up to the point that only Haseo, Tabby and Phyllo remained. Episodes 14, 15 and 16 on their turn, have been introducing lots of new characters. I have to say, that they work quite good. Still, they’re not yet able to beat the ones they replaced.

12: Otogi Juushi Akazukin

So far, the best episode was the second one. The others have been awesome as well, though. The character designs are a major plus. Everyone just looks SO cute. ^_^

11: Popolocrois 2003

Popolocrois 2003 has proved to be a worthy successor of its 1998 version. While it’s a bit early to call it awesome, I really like the characters. They’re amazing in their own ways, totally different from 1998. Episode six also showed that it’s capable of some really creative and awesome action scenes.

10: Popolocrois 1998

I’m currently waiting for Anime-bt and Pakapuka to release another episode for this one. While it wasn’t as awesome as it was around episode ten, the scenes did remain very creative and awesome. Hyuu, Narcia and Pietoro really have captured me into their world. I’m very eager to learn how this one will end, though I suspect that it’ll take a while.

9: Mushishi

Mushishi really continued with its awesome and unique stories. I really can’t get enough of them. While they didn’t contain something extraordinary, I definitely enjoyed the two episodes released this month. Please, tell me that some kind of Mushishi second season is arriving soon.

8: Ginga Densetsu Weed

Ginga Densetsu Weed is turning near its ending, and at the moment, it’s getting incredible. The creators made a huge spectacle out of each of the character’s deaths, and seeing the bad guy getting defeated like that actually was very heart wrenching. I’m seriously recommending this anime. It’s so bad that so little people know about it. It definitely deserves more attention than this.

7: Saiunkoku Monogatari

Saiunkoku Monogatari really is turning amazing right now. I won’t spoil anything for the people who haven’t been able to keep up with Shadow Dreams, but the arcs which aired this month really were awesome.

6: Tsubasa Chronicle

Tsubasa Chronicle has been awesome this month. While I doubt that it’ll be able to continue this, I really enjoyed it. Especially episode 37 with everything in chibi-style was just totally incredible. Episode 36 also showed that people don’t always have very deep reasons for their actions. ^^

5: xxxHolic

The cases introduced in each of the episodes remain great and surprisingly unique. It’s the same quality that we’re used to from xxxHolic. Most of these stories also really make you care about all the characters involved. I’m also giving it credit for the art style with long limbs.

4: The Third

I’m still in love with the third. A lot of new elements have been introduced, and they work just perfectly. I’m also surprised that the creators went so far, this early in the series. The characters remain some of the most developed ever, which makes them truly awesome.

3: Blood+

This definitely was worth the month-long absence. Episodes 33, 34 were just so totally incredible! You never see such a plot twist coming. Episode 35 actually got even better, and I actually cried during one of these scenes. That alone should be a sign that this anime really is turning more incredible by the minute. We’re now at episode 38, and the anime still remains as solid as ever.

2: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

The third arc ended in a very interesting way, if you ignore Keiichi’s voice-acting. The fourth arc was just totally incredible. Rika, Akasaka and Oishi played their roles perfectly. The fifth arc seems to be the same as the second arc, but in the perspective of Shion. While it remained my least favourite arc, the last two episodes might become good. But episode 17 was a bit too much. Still, The mystery, in combination with fourth arc made up for everything.

1: Simoun

Simoun truly has made a huge impression on me. The episodes just keep getting better and more intense by the minute, showing some extremely well created tensions and relationships. This anime definitely deserves the first place.

+ Upcoming Anime +
I’ve yet again browsed sites like AnimeNfo and AniDB and found quite some interesting titles. Not only for the august season, but also for 2007. Here is a selection of ten of them, ranked from horrible to good. Some of them really look interesting, while others look horrible.

Love dol: Lovely Idol

Wow, it has cute girls. And… more cute girls. With cute costumes! Seriously, I have no idea what the anime will be about, though I’m planning to stay away from this one. Especially when the title is made up by four of the most cheesy words in combination with each other.

Mamoru-kun ni Megami no Shukufuku wo!

Nice to meet you. My name is Yoshimura Mamoru and today is supposed to be the start of my new life. From now on I’ll be attending a high school which is attached to the prestigious Tokyo Beatrice University. Right when I arrived at the school full of expectations, this is where I met her, under the scattering storm of cherry blossoms. I could do nothing but gaze at an fantastic spectacle. The name of the beautiful girl before me was Takasu Ayako. And suddenly she confessed to me… However, little did I know what awaited me after I accepted this stunning offer. She was in reality a rich and spoiled princess who moreover was the genius in control of the Tokyo Beatrice University and this is how my days of a love comedy began. Okay, this’ll be the next tsundere-anime. Will they ever end? Seriously, though, why did the girl confess to the guy? Did she need a slave?

Gift Eternal Rainbow

Narasakicho is a site-spot near the seashore. In this town, there are two mysterious phenomena. One of them is a rainbow over the town, it doesn’t disappear. Whenever one looks up, it is always there. The other one is a magic called “Gift”. It is a present that one can give the other only once.
Amaumi Haruhiko is a student who goes to Shimano Academy. One day, a student transfers to the school. It was his sister-in-law. She used to live with him, but they have been living separately by some reason. This anime will probably become extremely boring, but I appreciate the fact that the creators tried to add some original elements. Even though the two mysterious phenomena are horribly cheesy. Still, “sister-in-law”? I hope my definition of sister-in-law is wrong.

Tempouibun Ayakashiayashi

This show seems to be very hyped, though I have no idea what it’ll be about, except for a picture of some kind of grown man who looks scary. The “Ayakashi” might suggest that we’re dealing with a horror-series here, though AnimeNfo labels it as Fantasy with Historical Settings. Could the guy be a samurai?

Saint October

Whether it is the future or the past… it is the world of fantasy and horror hiding in the shadow of the demon city. In the city, consecutive mysterious incidents that cannot be solved by science have occurred. To solve the incidents, they gather three girl detectives possessing special abilities. Hayama Kotono. She is an orphan living in a convernt. Shirafuji Natuski. She is Kotono’s classmate and a pop idol. Hijiri Misaki. She is a mysterious girl who fights against nightmares of her previous life. Those who want to bring the Judgment Day to the world. Those who want to save the world. Which is justice, and which is evil? When Kotono encounters a boy who lost his memory, the wheel of the story begins to move a little. Then, solving the mysteries, the three girls will confront the fate that will influence the existence of the human beings. It’s a nice description, though we don’t get much wiser about the nature of the series. What kind of mysteries are they talking about? What are the powers of the girls? Why is the boy losing his memory so important? Still, things we do know (the problems of the main characters) seem solid and interesting. The show has been labeled as a fantasy-adventure, so who knows. Maybe it’ll be good. The character designs seem interesting, though.

Saishuu Shiken Kujira

Based on a game by Circus. Like snow falling in summer, like a cicada lamenting the coming of winter … In a town watched over by a whale in the sky … the extraordinary is made ordinary. Spectacles that could never be given form are instead given flesh and soul. And in their midst, the story of a miracle that comes to pass in this town of miracles incarnate … Welcome to the world of Final Examination Kujira. I’ve got a lot of questions for this anime. First of all, what the heck do the description and the promo-art have in common with each other? Why is this show labelled as a mystery-show, while there’s a cute girl on the promo-art? Heck, what is this anime about anyway?

Deltora Quest

This will probably be pure fantasy, and nothing but fantasy. It’s based on a bunch of children’s books, about three heroes who accomplish certain missions for their country. It can become something great, if the creators don’t make the main character the standard fantasy lead. The story goes that our main character is the heir to the throne, though he grows up in a village, away from the castle. A Shadow Lord meanwhile takes over the country, and exiles the current king. It seems solid, so let’s hope for the best.

Death Note

So, the case is like this: a guy is extremely bored with his life. Then he finds the notebook of Death, and decides to kill criminals with it, creating a perfect world. This can, of course, not go unnoticed, so a special detective named L gets sent after him. You’d wonder why the main character just doesn’t kill the guy off. This is another one of the hyped anime, the manga seems to be pretty good, though I have to see this first before I can get convinced.

CODE GEASS Hangayaku no Lelouch

This’ll be the next CLAMP-adaptation, which is reason enough to get enthusiastic. The fact that the creators are expecting a lot out of this by placing it on the same timeslot Blood+ is currently occupying (apparently, prime-time in japan) only makes this better. The fact that this’ll be a mecha-anime, makes it worse, though. I wonder how CLAMP will be able to handle mechas, as they’re not my favourite genre. The anime will deal with three main characters. Two of them are high-school boys, battling to defend japan in a futuristic world, while the third is called the Witch of Destiny. It’ll be a combination of fighting and campus life, as it seems. Ah well, the character designs look impressive, which is one major plus.

Master of EPIC

I already spoke of this one, but here is some more info. Apparently, this anime is based off an MMORPG. As far as I know, it’s never come out in English, though. The anime will probably play inside this world. It’s a very interesting world, populated by four different races. The Newtar are much like humans. They’re about average in everything. I’m predicting that the main character will be a Newtar. Then there are the Cognite. They’re comparable to elves: long, pointy ears, good with bows and friendly with animals, living in forests. There’s also a chibi-race: The Elmony. It consists of little people, living in mushrooms and who make most of their money by selling fruits and vegetables. They also have long and pointy ears, though not as long as the Cognite. The bad guys will probably come from the fourth race: the Pandemos. They’ve got pointy ears as well, along with a couple of horns on their forehead. They dress dark and intimidating and like to use big weapons. An interesting element about this anime is the fact that it plays in four different time zones: The Present Age, The War Age, The Future Age and the Chaos Age. GONZO will be producing it, which means lots of flashy action scenes and fanservice. Ah well, let’s hope they don’t mess up too much. Overall, I like a good fantasy anime, and this has some great potential to be one. For as far as I’ve seen from their main website, they’ve already set the perfect setting. All that’s left is the rest.

+ Top 5 Episodes +
As usual, I close the summary with the five episodes which were the best of the entire month, in order to highlight the little gems that appeared. here they are:

5: Simoun – 14
This was just awesome. Dominüra’s beliefs are shattered, and Waporifu and Morinasu play their parts perfectly. This episode really proved that the characters together can produce some beautiful, emotional scenes.

4: Otogi Juushi Akazukin – 2
This episode was just fun. Akazukin and Baru’s reaction to the technical world were just hilarious to see. Not to mention that the overall cuteness level of the show raised to astronomical heights.

3: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – 15
This is the kind of episode where you only realize it’s totally incredible after you watched it. I want more Rika, damnit. In any case, the episode was just brilliant. Each of the characters was likeable, interesting and flawless for once. A rare feat for Higurashi.

2: Tsubasa Chronicle – 37
Really, can it get more awesome than this? Cutest episode ever!

1: Simoun – 16
This truly was incredible. I can’t see many anime topping this one.