I must say, that we’ve got ourselves an awesome Summer Season here. Sure, there aren’t many series, but a significant majority of the new series succeed at what they intend to do. There may not be a lot of shows with awesome and ambitious story-lines, but in terms of slice of life and characterization, this really couldn’t have been better. Oh, and if you’re wondering what happened to Valkyria Chronicles: I dropped it. It just became too tiring to keep track of it, especially with so many other great series going on.
Rankings, like the past months are a bit strange again, I basically tried to generate the rankings for each show, compared to the others that are currently airing. Say, for example that Show A has a really good setting, and there are only a few other shows with a better setting, it’s going to rank higher than if there are many shows with excellent settings, and vice versa. I know that it’s a bit weird, but for some reason it does more accurately reflect my feelings about the shows this season.
#33 (new) – Element Hunters – (6,5/10) – So yeah, there’s not much hope for this series. It tries to be educational, but the creators have no idea what they’re talking about. The characters behave like your typical shounen leads (really, you can’t get any more typical than these guys), and overall it’s something you show kids when they’re whining too much. Dropped
#32 (new) – Kanamemo – (7/10) – Amongst all of the other slice of life and yuri series this season, Kanamemo is simply overshadowed in the way that there really is nothing special about it whatsoever, and the first episode just felt forced to me. Dropped.
#31 (new) – Princess Lover – (6,25/10) – I originally dropped this, but because so many people seemed to like it and recommend it I stuck with it. My question is: WHY!? What is so good about this series? I can see that the animation is above average and all, but the whole set-up is even more generic than your average harem. The scenarios are very predictable and very much written to suit the story, rather than evolving naturally. Especially the lead character doesn’t seem to be able to decide what personality he wants to be. It’s just way too forced to make any sort of impact.
#30 (new) – Bakemonogatari – (7,25/10) – Watching Bakemonogatari is like watching someone read the Bakemonogatari novels in front of a slide-show. I can see that Nisioisin is a great writer in the way that he uses wordplay through his stories, but Shinbo has been incredibly lazy in adapting it. The characterization is just utterly bland, and we’re given no way whatsoever to sympathize with them with this style. I’d really wish that Shinbo had the chance to watch Mouryou no Hako before adapting this series; now THAT’s how you should adapt a story with lots of dialogue.
Award: Best OP of the Month (the first one)
#29 (19) – Zan Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (7/10) – It’s a shame really. I remember how I used to laugh like crazy over this series, but now all it gets from me are a bunch of chuckles during the good parts. The “social commentaries of the week” are still getting more far-fetched and formulaic by the minute. The only thing that still has my interest is that every single episode has a different OP and ED.
#28 (new) – Needless – (7,5/10) – Well, so this series deserves the reward of featuring the single biggest moron to grace any show this year (“yes, I’m looking for a guy named Adam; do you know such a person?”). It’s an incredibly stupid series and it’s clear that Madhouse’s worst staff has been working on this thing. Yet, for brainless entertainment it does the job. The banter between the different characters is varied and fun to watch at least.
#27 (new) – Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou – (7,5/10) – I’m really not sure what to think of this series. I know that I’m enjoying it so far and I like the concept of programmable magic; it’s not a chore to watch it in any way, and yet it has these cases of hopelessly bad acting and a collection of utterly terrible action scenes, and yet the characters themselves remain strangely enjoyable enough to watch. What puzzles me the most though is this series’ really weird fanservice. Are you getting bullied? Well, just throw your panties in the bully’s face! That will shut him up!
#26 (19) – 07-Ghost – (7,75/10) – Meh, it’s a shame but 07-Ghost has been getting a lot less entertaining. The focus has been getting much less at the church and more at the overall plot which turns out to be surprisingly dull and angsty. Finally my patience seems to be running out with this series…
#25 (16) – Chi’s New Address – (7,75/10) – Chi’s New Address has been getting a bit dull lately. That may be because of the slow subs (I switched to the subs for this series because the raws are near-impossible to keep track of), but granted: the first series also had this. It needs something to spice things up a bit, like the first season did with the big black cat.
#24 (new) – Kuruneko – (7,75/10) – I originally thought that this was going to be another one of those dull kiddie shows. Then I found out who the director was, headdesked and reminded myself why I always check out every single show at the start of each season. Kuruneko only has 3-minute episodes, but they’re really charming so far. I like how the old lady always tries to voice over her own cats, and with the most consistent comedy director in the business behind this series, I can see little that can go wrong.
#23 (22) – Hetalia Axis Powers – (7,75/10) – This month really saw an overabuse of dull Liechtenstein jokes, however after that this series very neatly picked itself back up. Especially the second season had a very nice start.
#22 (13) – Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi – (7,5/10) – Well, I’ve dropped this series at this point. The first four episodes were nice slice of life, but eight is going way too far. I’m not that angry with the series because I’ve never really been a fan, but I can understand the current fans a bit. If Amatsuki were to pull the same thing then I’d be raging too.
#21 (4) – Konnichiwa Anne – (7,75/10) – Ouch, this series has fallen badly this month. The Marysville arc has just been one big mess, full of really cheesy moral speeches that just WOULD NOT STOP and characters ripped off from Emily of the New Moon. The Thomas Family is still as awesome as ever, but characters like the teacher Henderson really manage to bring this series down right now.
#20 (15) – Saki – (8/10) – Okay, so the OP and ED haven’t stopped being annoying and the Mahjong matches have been based on luck more than ever now, but I’m still surprised at how good Saki has become. The reason for this is the cast of characters. They’ve been sufficiently fleshed out and developed right now, and they get more and more engaging with every episode. It’s strange, because apart from that this series has nothing else that makes it special whatsoever.
#19 (new) – Sora no Manimani – (7,75/10) – I originally dropped this, but then I learned about the director. Overall it has been an enjoyable series, but the comedy has been a bit too hit-or-miss, and the creators’ attempts at being heart-warming just end up as cheesy.
#18 (new) – Taishou Yakyuu Musume – (8/10) – For the past year we’ve seen an interesting increase in baseball shows: One Outs, Major 5, Cross Game and now Taishou Yakyuu Musume appears and still manages to stand out individually. The whole gender issues of eighty years ago are nicely touched upon, and the characters themselves are surprisingly likable.
#17 (18) – Gintama – (8,25/10) – Despite my rantings a few months ago, I must say that the new director has been getting better and better. The past arc has been surprisingly good at Gintama’s trademark of taking just about everything to the absurd.
#16 (17) – Basquash! – (8/10) – In this month, Basquash has been trying to get into the right track. Emphasis on “trying”, because I still have no idea whether this series is going to be a success or a total train-wreck. We’ve reached the point now at which Kiss Dum’s director has taken over, so let’s hope that he can give this series the ending it deserves.
#15 (21) – Umineko no Naku Koro ni – (8,25/10) – I’m still having a bit of trouble connecting to the characters, but Umineko definitely has been the most intriguing new series this season. In the first month we seem to have gotten only a little taste of what is to follow, but it’s promising to be a really entertaining mind-screw.
#14 (14) – Shin Mazinger Shougenki! Z-Hen – (8,5/10) – You know, for a homage of the series that popularized the monster of the week genre, the story is surprisingly non-linear. The Germany arc had a surprisingly good conclusion, and now that the past few episodes have started to introduce a whole new layer of depth in the whole story Shin Mazinger has gotten even more epic than it already was. I can always count on this series for my weekly dose of manly entertainment.
#13 (new) – Canaan – (8,25/10) – Canaan really has an awesome set of production values to work with, courtesy of PA Works. Everything looks really crisp and detailed with an excellent direction. Sure, the premise and characters still need some work, but there isn’t anything wrong with the execution so far.
#12 (new) – GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class – (8,25/10) – Talk about the dark horse of the season! I’m really enjoying this series, not just because of the characters, but also because I’m really interested the main topic for this series: Art Design. I love all of the nice ideas that the creators throw into this series, and the creators have really shown that they’re very knowledgeable about this subject. I’m just not sure why they found it a good idea to focus an entire episode on a bunch of unrelated side-characters, but perhaps they’ll return later somehow.
#11 (21) – Umi Monogatari – (8,25/10) – For a Junichi Sato series, Umi Monogatari feels a bit too one-sided, but nevertheless it has a powerful cast of characters and succeeds as a heart-warming drama. The “monster of the week”-theme only turned out to be something of the first few episodes in order to flesh out the characters.
#10 (10) – Marie & Gali – (8,5/10)
This series continues to be my current favourite comedy. It still hasn’t lost any of its charms, and it’s still as funny as ever with all of the weird stuff that the creators throw into it.
Award: Funniest Series of the Month
#9 (6) – Cross Game – (8,75/10)
Cross Game yet again has been a truly excellent series this month. The characters are advancing very subtly and the wit of this series doesn’t seem to be getting less interesting at all.
#8 (3) – Pandora Hearts – (8,75/10)
So yeah, the Cheshire Cat arc rocked. It really pushed the story into a different direction and the characters gained a lot of depth through it. My big worry is the same as the manga readers’ right now: where the heck is that second season!?
#7 (8) – Guin Saga – (8,75/10)
This month, Guin Saga turned to politics and lots of character-development, with some excellent results that really managed to solidify this series’ epic atmosphere. This series has become very solid fantasy and I’m loving it so far.
#6 (8) – Spice and Wolf – (8,5/10)
The first season took a while to get going. The second season didn’t. These past four episodes have been intelligent and complex in the merchant business, and at the same time they showed Lawrence and Horo at their best surpassing the subtle chemistry between them that made the first season so good.
#5 (9) – Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood – (8,75/10)
17 episodes in, and I’m confident to say that Brotherhood has surpassed the original series. The new series is shaping up to be much more interesting, and the way the creators toy around with your emotions, with which you’re not sure whether to laugh or cry, is just brilliantly done.
#4 (new) – Aoi Hana – (8,75/10)
Amazing attention to detail, that’s what this series stands out in. Because of that, this has turned into one of my favourite series of the new summer season. A lot of care has been spent into subtly fleshing out and developing all of the different characters, with some amazing results already within five episodes. Noise rocks!
Award: Best First Episode of the new Season
#3 (2) – Phantom – (9/10)
Phantom has continued to slowly build up its current arc, and you can still see enough of its brilliance throughout. I really like what Cal turned into, and the characterization on Reiji has been truly excellent all the way. This is why I’m such a big fan of Bee-Train.
Award: Best Characters of the Month
#2 (1) – Shangri-La – (9/10)
I really have to praise Shangri-La for its ambition. The storyline is really evolving into something epic right now: there are lots of different sides, every single episode nowadays comes with a truckload of plot twists that hardly ever feel out of place and only make the setting even more intriguing. It’s a lot of fun to watch due to the excellent cast of characters. It’s as a series very rough around the edges, with the direction feeling jerky at times to say the least, but considering how awesome the rest of the series has turned out, I’ve really stopped caring about this series’ flaws long ago.
Awards: Best Storytelling of the Month; Best Setting of the Month; Best ED of the Month (the second one)
#1 (new) – Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 – (9/10)
What an utterly amazing start to this series. I’m really glad to see that the creators chose a realistic approach: they didn’t create a worst-case scenario, but instead a “what if”-scenario. Mirai really works as a flawed lead character, and the creators added a lot of subtle details to her character that make her a really sympathetic lead.
Awards: Best Production-Values of the Month; Best Episode of the Month (02)
Now that I’ve caught up with Gintama, it’s indeed picked up, but there’s still been a general downturn in quality. There are especially times when they push the straight man humor too much, and the serious stuff is cheesier than before. However, there are still plenty of moments that leave me laughing, or even smiling sympathetically, and it’s great to see Otae beat up some people(and some large, ferocious sea dwellers) that aren’t her own friends for once. Now if only they can come back with a better ED than the current one.
I can’t say I get what everyone gets so excited about with 8.0. The disasters are really well depicted and the characters sympathetic, but it’s hardly the best thing this season. I still put it on par with the new SZS.
I really agree with TM:8.0, not because of the earthquake scene but how we can really relate to the main characters…still I can’t help to think that 8.0 would be a better movie than an anime series.
I kinda wanted to pick one slice of life show out of the 3 this season has to offer: Kanamemo, Taishou Yakyuu and Sora Manimani. I’ve dropped Kanamemo but I can’t bring myself to drop Sora Manimani or Taishou Yakyuu, despite much prefering the latter; like you said Sora Manimani can be a bit cheesy and it’s not exactly funny.
As for GA Design Class, only 1 episode subbed so far… ouch.
I was originally full of praise for Bakemonogatari and I absolutely loved the first 2 episodes… but the next 2 were a bit “meh”. The dialogue’s very good, but I don’t care about the loli and more often than not the anime loses me with all its subtext. Senjougahara’s pretty interesting and the chemistry between her and the main character’s good though.
Since we’re halfway through the year already, are there any nominations for anime of the year yet, guys? Cross Game completely took me by surprise, if I’d nominate one it’s probably that one.
I just can’t understand why you seem to like Shangri-La so much. What does it do that Code Geass doesn’t do 10 times better?
That said at least I do agree with you on Spice and Wolf. Great start to the season
Yeah I’ve also dropped Shangri-La forever ago.
How come you never rate a show below a 6, by the way? Surely Elementhunters deserves it? I don’t really get people who rate a show a 7 and then still drop it. A 7 is a “good” show in my book… I don’t drop good shows.
Scamp: I’ve indeed wondered about this, but for me there are lots of reasons why I disliked Code Geass and yet remain a big fan of Shangri-la. The characters of Code Geass were bland variations of various stereotypes whose development made no sense, while in Shangri-la they’re dynamic, colorful and well fleshed out. The story in Code Geass was rather one-sided and developed by Deus ex Machina, while it’s varied and well crafted from the beginning in Shangri-La. Code Geass’ setting never really was that original, while Shangri-la is full of interesting ideas. Those aren’t all of my gripes by far, but just the main ones.
tealovertoma: yeah, I don’t make use of any universal rating system, this is just how my own system evolved over the past years. My definition of a “good” series is around 7,75/10. The series below are enjoyable but have lots of problems, and the series all have their great points.
Oh, and as for my favourite series of 2008 so far: I’d have to say Birdy the Mighty Decode 2. I’ve been waiting ever since it aired for a series that would be able to come even close to its level, but no luck so far.
I completely agree. Code Geass was too much stereotypical like any other Sunrise production except maybe Zegapain. The abuse of power-ups is clearly the weakness in CG. Gurren Lagann do it much better.
However, i still think that TM8.0 is not yet at its full potential. For the moment, it’s just your typical catastrophe anime with a charismatic lead.
And yeah, Birdy 2 was awesome. And if you take in account that the DVD version fixes the animation problems (yeah it was not intentional in the aired serie) it’s probably one of the best of 2009
I just don’t get what your gripe with code geass is! I think the way you evaluate code is way too strict and your interpretation of it doesnot do it justice.Code Geass is show meant to entertain and on that count it delivers as few shows have ever done.Code geass was never meant for the critics.It is a show packaged with all the thingsthat the majority of anime viewers completely enjoy.I’ve noticed that people who have actually panned this have taken this too seriously and look for some meaning to the madness within it when the simple answer is that there is no meaning to it and that is what I believe the creators intended.
In retrospect when you look back at Code Geass you realise you are looking at a well crafted masterpiece of pure entertainment and it’s phenomenal popularity and Lelouch topping every popularity poll stands as a testement to it.
@Steche: What IS a typical catastrophe anime… there have only been, what 2?
Yeah, I’m also kinda starting to get mixed feelings about Bake, maybe it’s just the current arc. As for Princess Lover, I’m not really comparing it to other animes, but rather other eroge adaptations. In that sense PL caught me by surprise.
Zack: saying “it’s not meant to be criticized” is just weak. It’s like saying “everyone should like my favourite anime”. My own personal favourite anime is Mahou Shoujotai; I love it to bits, just as you do with Code Geass, but I know full well that it has flaws and that there are enough people who dislike it, find it too childish et cetera. It’s not like I’m not looking for entertainment or anything: I love a good series that can do that, but I just didn’t find any at Code Geass because it kept breaking my suspension of disbelief.
psgels:I never said it was not meant to be criticized but was merely refering to the way you evaluate it.I understand that code geass has it’s flaws and yeah some times hell..most of the times goes over the top but that is I believe excatly what the creators intended.
The question then is do you enjoy these kind of shows or to put it more accurately did a show which was meant to solely entertain you
satifactorily entertain you?
The answer to the question is how shows like Shangrila or Code Geass should be evaluated because with them you know exactly what you are going to get and looking for something out of place like heavy character development when they usually don’t promise that should not be counted against them.
Maybe you should pick up Spice and Wolf II and drop one of the least interesting series? It certainly has better blogging material than, say, Canaan, judging by your entries
The show I look forward the most every week is still Saki, believe it or not. I can’t put on words how awesome I think lesbians lolis with burning fists playing mahjong is. HHHNNNGGGGG
I don’t mean to butt in the Code Geass discussion, but even for entertainment value, Code Geass was a absolutely retarded trainwreck because it had a serious premise. It was so stupid it made me facepalm every now and then. TTGL and Hellsing Ultimate are shows that I really consider to be entertainment value: they don’t take themselves seriously at all and have a good to excellent presentation (what Geass also didn’t, I hated those deformed faces on the background).
Right now I’m probably enjoying Phantom and Umineko the most, followed by Shin Mazinger and Guin Saga.
The only problem is…I’m several episodes out of date, particularly in the last two cases. XD
I really do want to watch some of the newer shows too, including Spice and Wolf II, but that will have to wait a little.
Leaving everything else aside…am I the only person who finds it increasingly excessive to keep discussing Code Geass at this point?
Granted…I’ve written about it before myself, true, but the fact that the same subject keeps resurfacing every so often gets rather tiresome.
The show was entertaining yet flawed, but it still managed to provide closure to the original premise and some of the characters. That’s pretty much my opinion, for the record. Thus, while I don’t even fully agree with psgels or Howling-kun, it’s not like Scamps or ZACK are going to change that either. What’s the point?
Shangri-La might be better or worse, I can’t really know without watching the actual show myself, but the comparison doesn’t appear to be of much use.
Camario: I think that the thing that makes Code Geass relevant here is that like Shangri La it’s a flawed series that somehow ends up being really good in the eyes of some people, especially considering how I personally loved Shangri-la while I got rather bored by Code Geass
Zack: ah, in that way. The thing is, that I indeed wasn’t expecting deep characters from Code Geass at all. But the thing is that instead of having simple character-development, the character-development didn’t make any sense whatsoever for me.
Perrin: it might be an interesting idea to indeed drop Canaan for a different show; you’re right that there’s only so much you can say about it. I’m not sure whether I’m going to replace it with Spice and Wolf though. GA also seems very interesting with its focus on art design and a bit of extra attention wouldn’t hurt it either.
My fav show so far is still of yet Shangri La.I love series that can keep up the mystery even after the halfway point,but I do hope that the mysteries will be unraveled in a “smart” way and not the typical whole episode(s)straight-forward explanation straight from the mouth of the characters.
Its nice to see this place become a sort of become a Shangri La fans hub when almost everybody else is hating the series ^^
…i really like bakemonogatari’s style, the text flowing down the screen sticks true to its novel roots instead of pretending to be manga based anime like how To Aru Majustu no Index was. In index they would go through long winded explanations which contributed little, in bakemonogatari they get rid of that mostly unnecessary drivel by overloading the screen with text which isnt necessarily important but still relevant. The result is something different and fresh which I appreciate.
I can’t believe that you rated shows lower than the Haruhi Endless Eight episodes. I’m not ragging on your for your ratings or anything; I just find that amusing. xD
The ones I’m enjoying:
[1] Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
[2] Phantom – very engaging
[3] Spice / Wolf – generally cool
[4] Bakemonogatari – good dialogue is worth it
[5] Umi Monogartari (Sea Story) – well done
[6] Canaan – great production, not fully engaged with characters or plot
Haruhi dropped for now, but I *did* really like the one new episode before the endless eight nonsense, and if they get to a conclusion, will return.
Bah. Psgel, your taste allways was strange, but you really turning into fanboy in past few seasons. Also Bakemonogatari have brilliant dialogs.
Lolfang: really? Haven’t I always been? Or did you mean that I stopped blogging series I don’t like or something?
Yes, I am raging! >:E