Mario: Like I said last week, with this thin season, it’s a good opportunity for me to check out some lost gems – one of those shows that are lost in the sea of forgotten anime. Click down to see what those two shows are. I want to pick up one more so if you have some recommendation you can shout out in the comments. Conditions apply: you can only recommend shows that aren’t considered as “classic”, or maybe better that you recommend the ones you enjoy that need more attention. The older the anime the better. Now, let’s run them down.

Houkago Teibou Nisshi 5-6

Wooper: Another week, another pair of Cute Girls Catching Cute Fish episodes (that’s CGCCF for short). The show has gotten a little louder since the introduction of Kotani-sensei, sponsor for the Breakwater Club, which wasn’t to my tastes. In addition to her duties as club advisor and school nurse, she’s an obnoxious drunk – hence the loudness – but even high volumes levels could ordinarily be forgiven. What’s unforgivable is her regular hijacking of the girls’ seafood snacks, which they catch and fry with their own blood, sweatdrops and tears! Add Natsumi’s regular teasing of Hina to the mix, and there were moments where these episodes grated on me, which isn’t what you want from a slice of life club show. Thankfully, we ended on a nice story where Hina heads out to catch some horse mackerel for her family’s dinner, and learns a few new things after Natsumi tags along. It’s always nice to see noisy anime characters prove their worth as main cast members.

Japan Sinks – 02-05

Mario: I know my fellow Lenlo already gave a full review on this and trashed it like crazy, but if you want a weekly tracking on how Japan Sinks stinks then this column is the perfect chance to do so. And after the first half, I am still pretty much on board with how things progress so far. The event that happens at the end of episode 2 is really a game changer, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I did find the Shan city segment a bit overlong, and there’s this growing sense of something deeply wrong with this cult town, but I am not sure how the show will deal with it. The same growing sense of something wrong can be said for our characters as well, as Ayumu’s wound is open and no one seems to care. In addition, for a character that appears right at the beginning, Haruo doesn’t really add anything to the table. It remains to be seen how the second half of this will be.

Appare-Ranman! – 05/06

Mario: Finally, at episode 6, the race truly starts. I don’t know if I will root for our guys, considering they are the blandest characters amongst the cast. I don’t like to say this but I find Kosame’s lead role in all this a bit shaky, given he doesn’t really have a real influence on the race and the story. The story itself is straight-forward with bad guys acting like bad guys and all, and the production so far keeps up with its frenzy. It might not be anything deep but at least now that the race is on, we can shut our brain and just enjoy these crazy people driving and shooting at each other.

LOST GEMS

Aoi Hana (2009) – 01-03

Mario: As I decided to look for hidden, forgotten shows from the past for this column, I immediately thought of Aoi Hana, a show which I watched the first few episodes and then never got around to finish. The manga is written by Takako Shimura, whose Wandering Son left a big impact on me. It does seem like she really loves stage play, as like Wandering Son, one of the subplots revolve around them acting in classic plays. And I have a really great, great time from the first three episodes. It might be about romance and four way love, which arguably isn’t my strong suit, but what Aoi Hana nails it in near perfection is how it draws the cast that feels like real, breathing humans. They are complex, they act their ages (something in which Wandering Son is guilty of) and each encounter between the cast sparks some magical moments. I don’t know how all the romances go from here but these first three episodes more than set the tones with lovely visual and relatable and adorable characters, and I can’t wait to see more.

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (2002) – 01-03

Mario: And for second choice of Lost gems I decided to pick Abenobashi, one of the lesser shows from Gainax. If you don’t know about that fact (that it was created by Gainax) then by the third episode you can definitely tell. The 3rd episode was directed by none other than Hiroyuki Imaishi, even before his Dead Leaves debut. As a whole, Abenobashi is a fascinating ride. It has a strong sense of place – I really love the worn-down shopping arcade where the kids live and play around. It’s silly but whimsical, full of inventive ideas and it knows when to cut-corner. Don’t compare this to Gainax other classics because for me it’s just not fair for this little gem. It has the energy of Gainax but it’s sometimes too nonsensical to be taken seriously. Overall though, I still enjoy my time with it.