Mistakes of Youth: The Blog (Powered by EXCELLENCE!)

With the dead arts, the forgotten ones, and the old 2007 shows behind us, it is now time to move onto the shows that both began life and ended life in 2008. As usual, I start from the bottom and work my way up…

While we all love anime (we all do, right?) often times we must admit that there is a fair amount of crap amongst all the good stuff. Smart people drop these shows. I don’t. Here’s a rundown of shows that I should have dropped, or shows that just didn’t do it for me, but I finished them against my better judgment.

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You’d think that after watching one whole season of this junk, one would eventually give up and spend their time on more worthwhile endeavours. However, my common sense is forever broken, and I somehow just found myself at the end of the second season of Rosario + Vampire.

Though, to be fair, this season wasn’t nearly as bad as the first one. For most of season two the writers let loose and just threw together whatever asinine ideas they had together into a script. This actually proved to be quite entertaining; almost on a ToLoveRu level. With the writing as batshit insane as it was, I could tolerate the often times shoddy animation, and the sometimes overbearing censorship. The odd panchira did help.

What really fucked them up was the end. As is typical in these sorts of shows, whenever the 13 episode mark creeps up, the writers scurry to come up with a dramatic ending. I don’t mind this if done well, but in Capu 2 they came up with one of the most shallow endings ever. Of course they try to cover up just how shallow it is with some total BS dialogue, but in the end it’s terribly shallow. I realize it’s rather silly to complain about shallowness in a fanservice show, but they went too low for me.

It’s quite sad that Gonzo fucked this show up, since I typically like fanservice shows. Hell, I buy some of them. I buy the R2 releases of some of them. Where these shows succeed or fail lies entirely in execution, and my standards are low. ToLoveRU, while entirely disposable, is a really fun show that I’d recommend anyone watch at least once. Zero no Tsukaima has a wonderful cast of characters, and the writing along with the production values make it worth buying. Rosario + Vamprie, on the other hand, is just so poorly done that, in the end, it doesn’t even deserve your time. Well, maybe certain episodes in season two are worth watching, but on the whole I can’t recommend this show to anybody. If Gonzo lives to make a season three, I am most certainly skipping.

All that said, this guy was a badass.

Current
Casshern Sins: Great art direction but the writing is so boring. I’m pretty sure Casshern says JUST WHAT AM I in every fucking episode.
ChäoS;HEAd: It’s always super special! I like this one a lot.
Clannad ~After Story~: Hit and miss. Needs more Mei and/or baseball episodes.
ef – a tale of melodies: This is like a Shinbo show except not good.
Ga-Rei-ZERO: I mostly like it. Really dig the opening/ending tunes.
Golgo 13: ….
Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae: It’s like the writers on this show compete on who can write the crappiest episode.
Kannagi: Yamakan’s direction is great, and the production values are flawless, but the plot stuff lets it down.
Kemeko DX: Nice tits. Humour is hit or miss.
Kurogane no Linebarrels: This show is about man things like robots, tits and giant black men named JACK SMITH who cut airplanes in half.
Kyou no 5 no 2: I guess it’s fine but I still don’t know any of the character’s names.
Michiko to Hatchin: Uneven, but on the whole extremely well done.
Rosario + Vampire CAPU2: This show has moments of genius, actually. Moments of genius mixed with many moments of utter stupidity.
Shikabane Hime: Aka: This show is incredibly trashy, but it takes itself so seriously that I can’t help but take it seriously too. Gainax’s work also really helps it.
Tentai Senshi Sunred: Mostly funny. Some moments fall flat, but mostly funny.
To Aru Majutsu no Index: Pretty entertaining fluff after a string of terrible opening episodes. Let’s hope it stays this way!
Toradora!: I really like this, even though I can’t find a character to like. Taiga is almost cute, but she’s too violent.
Tytania: :V
Yozakura Quartet: This has a really shitty plot, but the direction is ok. Good voice acting, too.
Zettai Karen Children: Not as good as Hayate, but a thoroughly enjoyable year-long show.

Not Current
Windy Tales: Finishing this soon.

Reading
Hayate no Gotoku: Comic version is pretty good so far, but Kenjiro Hata is kind of a bad artist but works around his failings well.
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee: What? There’s only one volume so far? It’s been a year! Where’s volume two :(

I guess I’ll read more of the Tsukuyomi manga soon.

When it opened with the yankii stuff I pretty much knew this episode was going to be awesome. Too bad the next episode is going to be awful.

But I can’t help but love sukeban parodies.

Current
Casshern Sins: Arty retro stuff. Sometimes boring, but mostly good.
ChäoS;HEAd: Moe psychological thriller. I can dig it.
Crannad ~After Story~: The first arc was great, but now it’s getting into “NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN, KEY” territory.
Detroit Metal City: Hahahaha, the rapping episode.
ef – a tale of melodies: Behind on this already.
Ga-Rei -Zero-: I dunno. Kinda good.
Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae: Lesbians send you to hell.
Kannagi: JIMI, DA NE. The opening is almost the best part of this show, but the real stuff is mostly good. I wish Nagi and Jin would argue less. It’s not funny like when Kohei and Hazuki do it.
Kurogane no Linebarrels: This show is just funny.
Kyou no 5 no 2: Not as good as the porno OVA, but decent. Kind of boring at times.
Michiko to Hatchin: SASSY, CRASSY, ASSY. Need more episodes~
Rosario + Vampire Capu2: You know those people who hate 0nT but watch it anyway? That’s how I am with this damn show.
Shikabane Hime: Aka: On hold because of FUNimation faggotry. I like it, though.
To Aru Majutsu no Index: Hey let’s talk for 30 minutes then make something exciting happen at the end of the episode only for the following episode to be more talking. This show needs to be fixed soon.
Toradora!: I think I love it. Such great character stuff here.
Tytania: I almost love it. Too gay, though.
Yozakura Quartet: I feel the Kurenai magic every now and again, but overall not that great. Good ending song, though.
Zettai Karen Children: Absolutely Lovely! That’s why it doesn’t lose!

Not Current
Gankutsuoh: Pretty good except all the characters who aren’t the Count are dumb cunts.
Mushishi: Pure brilliance.
Windy Tales: Almost pure brilliance.

Manga
Slowly reading through some manga in both Japanese and English.

Oh no– don’t let the title give you the wrong idea. This won’t be some long, drawn out essay. This is just something I’ve noticed.

It seems this season some shows are looking back at the fanbase for certain amounts of inspiration. Rather, the people who make these things are probably fans themselves. Openings in particular have been stellar, and some of the best pieces are those that draw upon Nico Nico Douga for inspiration. The Kannagi opening is reminiscent of a Miku video, Rosario + Vampire Capu 2’s opening is a clear homage to iDOLM@S videos, and both Jigoku Shoujo season 3 and Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei have very MAD movie inspired opening numbers.

This dialogue between fans and creators is really cool. It’s nothing new to anime, though– it’s been happening since the 1980s with things like Project Ako– but the advent of new internet culture gives creators more wacky things to make reference to. I mean, look at Pani Poni Dash– the understanding of most of those sight gags and such is dependent on knowledge of Japanese internet culture.

These kinds of references also put the creators on a more personal level with the fans. When referencing anime, you’re referencing something else that another creator at your same level has made. However, when referencing an internet meme, you’re putting yourself on the same level as an average fan, telling them, “yeah, we’re just like you.”

I just think that’s neat.

I kind of like Capu 2.

But only for loli witch panties.

Casshern Sins

The breadth of my Casshern knowledge extends to about a frame or two of animation I saw while walking past a screening room at Otakon 2008 late one night. Or that could have been Hurricane Polymar. This, however, is fine, since no prior knowledge of Casshern is needed to appreciate this new iteration, or so I’m told. The first seven or so minutes of this first episode really grabbed me– I liked the retro-but-not-quite art direction (really digging the thick linework) and the general tone of it all. But after that, it gradually sank into tedium. Maybe it’ll get better with further episodes.

Kannagi

If this show didn’t have the staff that it did, I probably would not have cared much about it before hand. Even knowing the staff, I approached this show with cautious optimism. I didn’t think the concept would really work, but the show seems to carry itself well in its opening episode. Good production values all around, and none of the characters strike me as particularly annoying. The opening is also pretty awesome.

Could rank as one of the top 3 of the season.

Rosario+Vampire Capu 2

Rosario+Vampire Capu 2 most certainly won’t rank as a top 3 of anything, however. To be honest, I almost hated the first season of this show, with the only things saving it being panties, Shuuichi Ikeda, and the cute loli witch. All that said, I’m afraid to report that I almost liked this first episode of Capu 2. It could just be that my expectations were set so low by the first season, but this first episode of R+V was… almost good. It managed to entertain me on a very basic level (I like panties, I can’t lie) but the chances of it getting better are slim.

One thing of note is the ending sequence, which is like an Idolm@ster video with Rosario characters. It’s actually pretty good.

Up next is Kyou no 5 no 2, To Aru Majutsu no Index and Kurogane no Engrish.

I’m so glad all of this stuff is starting in October, rather than in September like I originally thought. I was wondering how I would be able to handle twenty more shows on top of of the fourteen I already have going. Thanfully, that is not the case, and by the time this new season rolls around, about everything I’m watching right now would have concluded.

This season isn’t looking all too hot. While nothing looks super horrible, nothing looks totally good either. With most seasons I can usually pick out one show that I know I’ll love (eg Kodomo no Jikan, Kure-nai, Gurren Lagann) but there’s nothing really like that this season. I hope at least some of these can surprise me!

Man, I just gotta watch this

• Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: More Zetsubou Sensei cannot be a bad thing.
• Kannagi: Watching for the KyoAni connection alone. The plot seems fairly standard but will be good with the correct execution.
• Kyou no Go no Ni: I actually really dig the new art style– it seems closer to that of the original manga. But considering the OVA covered all of the manga material, I hope this anime-original stuff isn’t bad… or maybe they’ll just adapt the manga again, I don’t know. I just hope for tight loli asses.
• Michiko to Hatchin: Ok, maybe I lied when I said I wasn’t able to pick out one show this season that I’ll just love. Michiko to Hatchin just might be that show. It bleeds Cowboy Bebop (Watanabe is the “music producer”), and just seems like tons of fun. The only problem is that Manglobe is working on it. They made Samurai Champloo, which was a good show– but they also made Ergo Proxy. Yeah.
• Tytania: This is apparently Legends of the Galactic Heroes sans ten billion episodes I have to watch. Sold. (Though, it looks kind of gay)

Man, I should probably watch this

• Casshern Sins: These character designs, man. They’re like retro and modern at the same time. I’m interested in this simply because it’s a remake of an old property, and it may even be good considering Madhouse is behind it.
• Clannad ~After Story~: Ah, so this is the part where things get all depressing and mellow-dramatic. Sweet! After Tomoyo’s OVA, I’m a little sick of Clannad, but hopefully with this series it’ll redeem itself.
• ef – a tale of melodies: I wasn’t totally taken with the first ef series, but I liked it well enough, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t watch the sequel. Also it’s by SHAFT, so it’s basically guaranteed to be good.
• Hyakko: Random school girl comedy. None of these can live up to Azumanga Daioh in my book (yes, point and laugh) but these types of shows are always fun. I kind of like the character designs.
• Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae: Jigoku Shoujo is such trash, but I watch it anyways. If the writers can keep things mildly entertaining, I’ll be happy.
• Shikabane Hime: ZOMBIE SCHOOL GIRL KILLS ZOMBIES AND GAINAX ANIMATES IT. Should be good.
• Ride Black: I’m not totally sold on the premise, but the combination of a Gainax and Ghibli director, plus Madhouse, along with some cool artwork knocks this one up a notch or so.
• Tentai Senshi Sunred: No one will sub this :(
• To Aru Majutsu no Index: I’m all for moe nuns and J.C. Staff.
• Toradora!: I tried to read the manga, but the translation was just soooo bad. Hopefully the anime will be good, so I can just watch that instead. J.C. Staff make good stuff, so it probably will be. I like the character designs, even if they are wildly different from the originals. Main girl is cute.
• Yozakura Shijuusou ~Yozakura Quartet~: Watching entirely for the character designs, but the premise has potential to be entertaining.

Man, I probably shouldn’t watch this

• CHAOS;HEAD: The premise is amazing, but the character designs seem too generic for even me. It’s by Madhouse, but they’re doing like five-thousand things, and this show will probably get shafted on the animation budget.
• Ga-Rei Zero: I like the character designs, but I probably won’t watch this unless it gets rave reviews.
• Kurogane no Linebarrel: This show had potential to be s-CRY-ed 2 with awesome missile spam and robots, but it’s by Gonzo so it’ll suck. Has an English site for some reason.
• Kemeko-DX: Romantic comedy with good artwork. Hopefully it’ll be above average, but my expectations are low.
  
• Macademi Wasshoi!: This looks really panderific in a bad way, but I’ll give the first episode a shot since I have a poster of it up in my room.The artwork is kind of weird.
• Rosario and Vampire CAPU2: Why do I subject myself to pain? But who knows, maybe this one will have an animation budget or something.

Man, fall’s gonna be busy!

Not much now. Will update when new things have started.

Current
Chii’s Sweet Home: Three minutes of stuff.
Ghost Hound: I don’t really care about this one anymore. Almost over.
Hakaba Kitarou: Subs have slowed down. Still decent entertainment with above-average art direction.
Kaiji: HOLY SHIT TISSUE BOXES THIS SHIT IS WILD
They Are My Noble Masters: Bleh.

Finished/Almost Finished
Clannad: Rushed but acceptable ending. I hope this after-story thing won’t be too long… but I suppose having questions answered would be nice.
Dragonaut: One episode to go. As horrible as this show was, I don’t regret watching it, since it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.
Hayate no Gotoku: I’d welcome 50 more episodes. Nagi~
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Yeah, I’m thinking asread didn’t get their Shuffle! budget for this one. Looks good, but moves awkwardly. Ending was fine.
Rosario + Vampire: One episode left. Decent for a crappy show.
Shakugan no Shana II: lol
Wolfy Spices: Well thank god that’s over!!
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Waiting for Strato to sub the rest, but finished it raw. Very difficult to understand raw ;__;

Reading
Shinigami no Ballad: Past the deadline for the review, so trying to finish this one up. Works better as a cartoon.

Reading some KnJ chapters when they surface, and just finished another wonderfully confusing volume of Trigun MAXIMUM. I still have volumes of GSG unread, am almost caught up on OTAKU USA issues and have lots of unread Macias books from Christmas.

Can anyone recommend me any manga series that aren’t adaptations/have been adapted into an anime that I may like? I kind of wanna be an elitist manga reader, hur. Extra points if it’s not shoujo and not over 10 volumes.

Current
Clannad: Fine. Last arc killed two birds with one stone, I guess, so now we’re on to Nagisa.
Dragonaut: Yes, I’m still watching this, 21 episodes in. It’s so horrible, but it’s so bad it goes full circle and becomes good again.
Ghost Hound: Each episode is well done, but as a whole it leaves a lot to be desired.
Hakaba Kitarou: Carries itself on art direction, but is still enjoyably dark and mischievous. Makes me want a US release of the Gegege no Kitarou manga.
Hayate no Gotoku: Coming to a close. I wouldn’t mind a second season after something of a break. This last batch of episodes is pretty strong.
Kaiji: Working off shock value now. About six more episodes to go.
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Not really funny, but an enjoyable watch. Asread’s animation doesn’t seem as good this time around, but I don’t remember much of what Shuffle! looked like past that one Memories episode I skimmed through for screencaps.
Rosario + Vampire: I should drop this crap, but I guess eight episodes is past the point of no return?
Shakugan no Shana II: Stuff is finally happening… four episodes until the end!
Spicy Wulf: Boring but watchable.
They Are My Noble Masters: Kind of want to drop this one too, but it’s not as bad as Rosario + Vampire. Carries itself of references.
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Only good winter season show that’s not Hakaba Kitarou (and I guess Okawari). For serious. ZETSUBOU FAITO.

Not So Current
Dennou Coil: Watching this again for some reason. Still pretty boring, but I’ve gotten past the point where I dropped it last time.

Reading
Trying to get through back issues of OTAKU USA. Have stacks up unread manga sitting about. Should read those Macias books I got months ago.

Current
Clannad: It’s good. I think it has nice characters and a number of good scenes, but thus far the main stories have been kind of weak.
Dragonaut: I don’t even know why anymore…
Ghost Hound: Still moves at a snail’s pace, but that doesn’t really bother me at all. Something of a plot seems to be developing, and I’m hoping it involves more Miyako screentime.
Hakaba Kitarou: Deliciously dark and enjoyable. Needs Nekomusume :3
Hayate no Gotoku: Nearly over, and I shed HOT TEARS OF SHAME. Another year-long season, please?
Kaiji: Show kind of got weaker after GAMBLEBOAT but it’s still fairly enjoyable. I hope E-Card is more complicated than it looks.
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Most certainly different, but that’s not a bad thing. It looks good, but you can tell Asread is still a bit green with some cuts here and there. Probably not as funny as the last one, but still enjoyable. You can tell they’re trying.
Rosario + Vampire: Apparently has no inbetweening. Yeah, this animation is super cheapo, but the characters are always on model, so that’s good. I could probably stand it for another nine episodes.
Shana II: Stuff happens.
Wolf and Spices: Pretty good, but not totally awesome. Probably a step above a lot of stuff airing right now, though.
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: EXTREME. Shinbo and Co. play with original manga material, usually with hilarious results.

Mr. Sunshine used some underhanded marketing tactics and got me into watching They Are My Noble Masters. I’ll check it out soon.

Not so current
Baccano!: Finishing the rest tonight. Just plain fun, but I hope all the stupid commotion makes sense in the end.
Devil Hunter Yohko: Finally finishing this after many years. Lots of nudity, action and dirty jokes– so basically good stuff for growing boys.

The second, and probably last round of reviews for the winter season. Only two this time– probably not going to watch much more than this unless someone decides to sub the new Gegege no Kitarou and/or Noramimi.

• Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-: And I thought they were over-reacting. Then I saw it. I haven’t seen the first one in a bit, so the voice changes didn’t bother me so much, however just about everything else did. Gone is the well thought out cinematic presentation of the original, and instead we are treated to kwality anniemay. This isn’t even average, it’s below average. The animation is stiff, the direction is generic, and the BGM doesn’t work at all. So far the only saving grace for this one may be that I will watch just to see how the story progresses, but in that case I should just shell out for the manga instead. It’s so funny how Artland was able to take a work of art which stood out from the crowd and turn into something that blends far too well into the sea of mediocre anime. Though, I will admit, that one scene with Henrietta hugging Jose’s shirt was quite moe. I need me a job at the Social Welfare Agency!
• Minami-ke ~Okawari~: After I found out that Ayako wasn’t planning on subbing this, I just went for the raws. I’ve only seen one episode so far, but I honestly don’t see why people angry at it. Beyond the opening, the contents of the show are basically the same. I can’t say I understand many of the jokes, but the direction seems similar, the characters appear to be consistent, and it even looks like it picks up where the last one left off! Asread does a fairly good job with the animation, but the odd shot here and there reminds us of the fact that they’re still newbies. Anyway, I like it. Hopefully someone will pick this up, since most of Minami-ke’s charm lies in the dialogue.

That’s it. Considering the titles this season has to offer, I may just end up watching Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Minami-ke ~Okawari~. Rosario + Vampire is pretty insipid and poorly animated, and Spicy Wolf could go up or down for me. I guess the good part is that I’ll have time to catch up with some older shows.