... Yeah. What can I say, I am still adjusting to actually being busy for once. I wanted to get this post out for a while now, but in the back of my mind, I would always be like, "You know, I could probably put it off just a bit longer ..." and now we're here. At least it is not as late as my summer retrospective. (Which has a legitimate reason for being delayed so long: I want to finish Bakemonogatari first -- SHAFT, however, wants to stretch it out as long as possible, I guess.)
The current season has been bashed to hell and back by just about every anime blogger under the sun, so I won't bore anyone too much with the grisly details. Just know that fall is an enormous step down from the summer season in every conceivable way.
So without further ado ...
Dropped: 11eyes (4/12), Kobato. (6/24), Seitokai no Ichizon (1/13), The Book of Bantorra (4/26)
11eyes is a poor man's Chaos;Head without the humor. Kobato. has flashes of a semi-interesting plot but is mostly really, really, really slow. Seitokai no Ichizon's first episode is full of stupid "let's make a lot of references that we'll pretend are jokes but aren't really jokes because we're just mentioning the series!" jokes that I hate. The Book of Bantorra just felt soulless to me. For all I know it might have a great story, but it didn't connect with me in any meaningful way.
And now for my rankings!
1. Aoi Bungaku (6/12)
2. Trapeze/Kuuchuu Buranko (7/11)
3. Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini (8/12)
4. Sasameki Koto (8/13)
5. Kimi ni Todoke (8/?)
6. To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (9/24)
7. Letter Bee (9/?)
8. Shugo Chara! Party (9/?)
9. Kampfer (9/12)
Aoi Bungaku might be the one legitimately great series to come from this season, depending on how the rest of the adaptations go. I like "No Longer Human" and love "In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom". Good story, great ideas that are in perfect sync with the plot, great style and unexpected humor that actually works. Could not have enjoyed that story more. I'm sort of surprised I am ranking Trapeze this high, but it is a very enjoyable, hilarious series, even if it is nowhere near as deep as people assumed it would be before the season (not that there's anything wrong with that). I had trouble ranking Darker than Black, because the plot is still holding most of its cards close to the chest, but its consistently great action and interesting story earn it a high ranking. Sasameki Koto over Kimi ni Todoke was also a bit tough, but the former is hilarious and has me growing really close to the characters, while the latter is definitely fun and charming but is also not really taking any risks, either. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but those are the kinds of things you have to take into account.
To Aru is fun, but I'm slowly growing tired of it, mainly because the show really feels like it is spinning its wheels at times. There's enough to keep me watching, but I don't feel as excited to watch each episode as I should. Letter Bee has a lot of interesting build-up and a nice look, but it is so damn sloooooooooooooooooow. The season is nearly over, and Lag is barely becoming a Bee. WTF. Shugo Chara! Party is just a big disappointment all around, more so because the good segments are actually good -- they're just really freaking short, too. With the recent announcement that the Shugo Chara! manga will end next month, it is probably time for the anime to call it quits soon as well. (But it probably will not.) Kampfer is my, "I have no idea why the hell I am watching this, but my eyes are glued to the screen watching this retardery every week" series. I wonder how [gg] feels subbing this trash each week.
