Current stars and bombs?

[Anastasia]

Down in the paper, I can see several series being translated. However, myself and many others aren't in a position to be blessed with enough free time to leisurely download and watch all of them, or even a fair majority.

So, I'd like to ask - what's hot this season and what's crapping out this season?

Right now, I'm only semi up on one current show, Kannaduki no Miko. It's okay - don't try to tangle out the plot much, and just enjoy it for the ride it is. Gets bonus points if you like seeing girls lust after other girls.

[Shuten]

Gundam SEED Destiny is definitely looking to be vastly superior to it's predecessor. Unfortunately if you didn't watch the previous series you'll be completely lost. For those who have seen the prior season SEED Destiny has definitely started with a bang and I'm personally hoping it continues to be as good as it's been so far.

My HiME's a fun little gem as well. Favorite episode so far is episode 10. I'd say why but I'd prefer to avoid spoilers.

Kannaduki no Miko's good as long as you just sit back, ignore the plot, and enjoy the ride.

Fafner in the Azure Dead Aggressor is easily one of my favorites. One of those series that you just know that everyone's going to be screwed over in the end. The fun part is watching the hope build only to be crushed.

That's enough for now.


Sincerely,
Shuten

[Dracos]

Samurai 7 = Bomb.


Barely had time to follow anything else.

Dracos

[thepanda]

Thepanda's Two Cent

Negima is starting off terribly. Poor animation combined with the virtual stripping away of all fan service has more or less doomed this title from episode one. My recommendation, just stick with the manga.

Air is another of those H-games/dating sims remade into a clean anime. The production values are high one this one. They retain the music from the original game, but in this case that is a definite plus. Some of the character designs look a tad odd, but over all worth giving a try. Recommendation, watch the first episode and decide for yourself. Oh, and get the Koi version, as we're protesting in our own little way about the number of groups picking this up.

Bleach is good, solid boy's anime. It manages to balance fighting, comedy, and drama fairly well. I've seen up to episode 12. It isn't original by far, as it takes its queues from the normal boy's anime format. However, what it has in spades is quality. Recommendation, download several episodes and watch them all at once. Its that kind of show.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is Shuten's little gem. As the name implies it is a bout a girl, Nanoha, who becomes a magical girl. She agrees to help a wizard from another world seal off items called Jewel Seeds which, when left alone, bond to various objects and run amuck. Actually, now that I type that it reminds me a bit of the droids from Sailor Moon, only more powerful. Don't let that fool you, though. This show is packed with some of the best fight scenes you'll see this season , and they're done so superbly that there is almost always a question of who will when any given battle.

This one is a gem. Recommendation, if you aren't watching this you should be. Go. Now!

Sensei no Ojikan is a high school slice-of-life comedy in the tradition of Azumanga Daioh. Sadly, it sits squarely in Azumanga's shadow, unloved and under appreciated because of the similarities. All it takes is an episode or two to show you that it isn't Azumanga rehashed and that it can stand on its own merits if people give it the chance. I like the closing song better than Raspberry Heaven as well. Recommendation, give it two or three episodes to get over your Azumanga mindset. You'll come to enjoy it.

Tsukuyomi ~Moon Phase~ is another strange one this season. In short, it's about a vampire who is looking for her mother and who also, for some odd reason, has a tendency to wear cat ears. It has a heavy, gothic art style, but the show so far has been predominately comedy with fighting interspaced. People seem to like it. I certainly do.  Recommendation,  Nekomimi Mode!

Xenosaga the anime. Recommendation, watch the game again. It looks better. -_-

Uta-Kata has been only so-so as far as I've seen. Fairly standard 'life lessons' anime done magical girl style. Recommendation, watch it only if you like that sort of thing.

Oh! My goddess (Or Ah! My Goddess if you like) is shaping up to be pretty sharp. The production values are of course fairly high, and the transition from manga to anime has taxed the character designs far less than it had in the OAV. Only one episode is out yet, so we won't know just how close it follows the manga for a short time, but so far its been a visual treat. I expect great things from this one. Recommendation, a must have for any fan of the manga. If you're new to O!MG wait for a few episodes and then try it.

The Gokusen Live Action is one I'm keeping my eye on personally. It's about a female teacher who has a terrible secret she must keep hidden. She is the heir of a yakuza family, but all she really wants to be is a teacher like her father. If anyone finds out about it she'll lose her teaching job. Unfortunately, being raised as the heir of a yakuza family has left her with certain personality traits that keep slipping out at the worst possible times. Add to this the fact that she's been placed in charge of the delinquent class and you have a formula for some good comedy.

It takes a slightly different premise than the anime. In the anime she takes on both being the heir and teaching. In the live action she rejects being a yakuza to teach. Both are still good, though. I'm not sure if anyone other than myself is watching this one, though. ^^;

Recommendation, I like it, at least. ^^;

[Bean Bandit]

Counterpoint, in regard to Negima:

It's FAR too early to judge this series. Frankly, the Manga was amazingly dull at first, too. Give it time to get rolling before you make any decisions.

[Anastasia]

Ah My Goddess TV!:

I'll agree with Panda here by and large. It looks like a quality product from top to bottom. The pacing is much slower than the OAVs, as if they're going to build this correctly. This is good, as they already are. The setup and execution is taking the time to flesh out the characters and setting already, with Keichii getting more depth than he got in the entire OAV in the two episodes subbed so far.

It feels leisurely and enjoyable, like a good, heartwarming movie you watch once in awhile to raise your spirits. I recommend it completely, with one caveat. If you are new to AMG, I agree with Panda. Wait for 4 or 5 episodes to stack up, then start watching. It's a touch slow for those of you whom aren't up to speed on it already.

[Shuten]

Hmm some new ones.

AIR is easily one of my favorites. The story is moving at a pretty good pace, the music is wonderful, and the animation is some of the best of this season. The attention to detail in a lot of scenes is extremely impressive. It's not perfect, there are some parts that could be a bit better, but there are few shows that come close this season to AIR's animation quality.

For the record the only two shows that come close to matching AIR, in regards to animation quality, in my opinion are Ah! My Goddess and Jinki:EXTEND. Both series are highly recommended by yours truly.


Sincerely,
Shuten

[Brian]

Not to derail -- I read volume one of the Negima manga, and thought it sucked.  Specifically, I thought it was painfully obvious who the main character's love interest was from the get-go.  I'd like to be wrong, but if I'm not, I won't bother following either.

Clarification on if I should continue practicing avoidance?

[Shuten]

Not to derail -- I read volume one of the Negima manga, and thought it sucked.  Specifically, I thought it was painfully obvious who the main character's love interest was from the get-go.  I'd like to be wrong, but if I'm not, I won't bother following either.

Clarification on if I should continue practicing avoidance?

In my opinion the story really doesn't come into it's own until volume 3. Volumes 1 & 2 really aren't anything special. My suggestion would be to check it out until the end of volume 4. If you still don't like it by then you most likely won't ever enjoy it.


Sincerely,
Shuten

[Ebiris]

I'll toss in a recommendation for SunaBouzu, currently being subbed by Lunar.

Admittedly, I've only seen the first two episodes, but I liked what I saw.

It follows the adventures of the 'Devil of the Desert' SunaBouzu, a debt collector who wanders a post apocalyptic world battling assorted gangs and criminals with an assortment of fancy gunplay and cheap tricks.

In execution, it's something of a mix of Fist of the North Star and Lupin III. The setting more of the former, the overall attitude more of the latter - SunaBouzu himself is a lot like Lupin, ostensibly a 'bad guy' (he likes to play up his image as a badass debt collector who finishes every job no matter what) who finds his better nature and weakness for the ladies gets him in trouble far too often.

The art is deliberately ugly for the most part, and even attractive characters don't look that visually appealing, but it's stylish in its own way.

I suck at reviewing, so in conclusion - watch at least the first episode to see if it grabs you. It's a fun way to kill twenty minutes, at the very least.

[Ragnar]

Jinki:EXTEND
     While I haven't actually seen this, I've heard many good things about it. Besides, the music is done by Kenji Kawai (by now you can probably tell he's one of my favorites.)

However, speaking of Mr. Kawai...

Geisters (Or Guysters or whatever)
     Truly awful. The 3D-CG and conventional animation clash like two Greyhound buses colliding while going 60 down a highway. I didn't pay much attention to the story, because it was pretty boring. Granted, I've only seen a little bit of it at a con, but it was enough. I have no idea how Mr. Kawai got roped into doing the music for this one. I'd honestly rather watch old re-runs of "The Beverly Hillbillies."

Just thought I should warn you.

[Shuten]

Air is another of those H-games/dating sims remade into a clean anime. The production values are high one this one. They retain the music from the original game, but in this case that is a definite plus. Some of the character designs look a tad odd, but over all worth giving a try. Recommendation, watch the first episode and decide for yourself. Oh, and get the Koi version, as we're protesting in our own little way about the number of groups picking this up.

Protest shmotest! They should get Koi's version because it's the best version. Of course if people disagree they're free to grab whatever version they desire. ^^


Sincerely,
Shuten

[Shuten]

Hmm. For the record I take back what I said about Jinki EXTEND being one of the better shows of the season. While it's not one of the worst, Negima takes that easily from what I've been able to gather, it certainly hasn't lived up to the potential shown in the early episodes.

What really hurts is the back and forth style of the storytelling that as of late seems to be all but shafting the best character in the whole damned series. A basic breakdown of how I'd rank it...

The beginning rules.

The middle sucks all kinds of ass.

The ending might be extremely sweet if they play their cards right.

Overall it's a mixed bag. Hopefully the ending will be worth it. Oh and for the record Shiba ROCKS! She's the second best part of this show after Aoba. Incidentally Aoba better get her damned ass in gear and appear for more than just a freaking cameo. She's barely appeared at all in the latest episodes which is really starting to get on my nerves. >_<


Sincerely,
Shuten

[Ragnar]

I take back what I said about Jinki EXTEND being one of the better shows of season.

But I bet the music was good, right?

[Shuten]

The ending might be extremely sweet if they play their cards right.

And you'll all be delighted to know that as of the final episode of the on air run, there's supposed to be a dvd only episode but I have no interest in an overglorified epilogue, they failed absolutely miserably.... I'm so enraged at having wasted so much of my time and bandwidth on this crap I could scream. >_<


Sincerely,
Shuten