Thanksgiving was fun. Had a nice, big meal, and then I played two hysterical games of Scattergories with my family. The best part of that game is coming up with ridiculous answers and BSing your way into having everyone else accept the answer. I came up with "Rock Lobster" as something found on a beach and actually argued my way into having it count. I still can't believe I pulled that off. Haha.
Anyway, it's Friday, and that means anime. I guess.
Anime discussed: Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka, Chaos;Head, Clannad ~After Story~, Code Geass R2, Honey and Clover, Hyakko, Kannagi, Kyo no Gononi, Library War, Michiko to Hatchin, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Mouryou no Hako, Spice and Wolf, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Toradora!, X, Yami no Matsuei
-- Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka ep8: I lol at this show's efforts to be emotionally satisfying. The whole storyline with Tsukasa wanting to be a voice actress is pretty half-assed and by the numbers, so even though she is a likable enough character, I never felt connected to her dream. A note to Akane-iro: Stick to being a weird little show that pisses me off each week. You're not good enough to offer an emotional story at this point. kthx
-- Chaos;Head ep7: Best episode yet. It's the first extended look at Kozue, and holy crap, she's awesome. AND she teams up with Sena!! AND they make an amazing team!! Kozue is immediately my second favorite girl on the show, and really, Sena and Kozue are basically 1a and 1b. All the info dumping is a big wtf, but I am getting a strange enjoyment out of how crazy and ridiculous the story is becoming. I cannot wait for more Gigalomaniac Trio antics in the next episode. It will be epic.
-- Clannad ~After Story~ ep8: A good end to Yukine's arc, if a tad predictable. However, I still got a bit choked up at the ending, which shows how damn good Clannad is at plucking the heartstrings. And, man, Sunohara is just determined to top himself each episode. I love how he cannot stop his ego from taking over at times. He's deathly afraid of the other gang, but once Yuki's brother's gang mistakenly praises his fighting abilities, Sunohara makes a big show of it and agrees to fight the other gang leader. Oh, Sunohara.
-- Code Geass R2 ep3: lol @ Rolo. What a friggin' douche. I forgot how much I hated him when I first watched R2. Anyway, not much to say here except it's Code Geass, so it's over the top and batshit insane and enjoyable because of it.
-- Honey and Clover eps 1-8: I am liking this series a lot so far. Every character has their flaws, but I like all of them, which is pretty rare for a series. What is impressing me most about the series is how well it mixes humor and drama; it never feels as if the characters exist in two different universes -- everything feels natural. Morita is hilarious, of course, but so far I would say my favorite characters are Shuuji and Mayama. I like their weird sort of father-son relationship (although they're not related), and it helps that they're voiced by two of my favorite seiyuu (Keiji Fujiwara and Tomokazu Sugita, respectively).
-- Hyakko eps 6 and 7: This series is growing on me more with each episode. The surprisingly sweet story in the first two-thirds of ep6 actually clicked well with me, and I laughed my ass off at the crackhouse insanity of the final third. I liked ep7, too -- Torako's brother is a fun enough character, and I like the contrast between him pulling pranks and him actually helping out a buddy.
-- Kannagi ep8: What more can I say than this series continues to be hilarious? Daitetsu is an underused character, so I am glad he gets a big role in this episode. His random fantasy sequences are hysterical (my favorite is the one where Nagi and Jin are shunned due to their "relationship" being revealed), and I like that he and Nagi are going to be facing off in the name of Jin. That is a story I could really be into, haha.
-- Kyo no Gononi ep8: The series is still getting better, but this episode isn't as funny as the last episode, although the moment where the girls mistakenly think Megumi is pregnant is pretty funny. There were a couple of scenes that weirded me out more than they made me laugh, though, haha.
-- Library War eps 1-2: Much different than I expected -- weird mix between a romantic comedy (of sorts) and an action series. I definitely like it, though. Kasahara is a fun main character; I enjoy her interactions with everyone else in the Library Defense Force. They're a cool bunch of people. Definitely looking forward to continuing this series.
-- Michiko to Hatchin ep4: Great episode. Drunk!Hatchin is amazing (how do you get drunk off juice? haha), and the ending is excellent. I like how Michiko is changing bit by bit -- hardcore criminal!Michiko would not feel an ounce of guilt at kicking Pepe to the curb -- and she might have more problems if the conclusion of this episode is any indication.
-- Mobile Suit Gundam 00 eps 1-2: A pair of solid opening episodes. I hear the first few episodes are the slow part of the series, so yeah, I think I am going to enjoy the ride very much. I really liked the battle scenes, and I loved the music. Lockon is my favorite character by default right now since I don't have any strong opinions on the others at the moment.
-- Mouryou no Hako ep5: YES!! Been waiting SO long to see this series again. <3 And once again it marches to the beat of its own drum by offering up a bizarre story about clairvoyant research, which then ties into the current kidnapping and murder investigation, although with separate characters conducting their own investigations rather than the established characters. My head would be hurting if I were not so in love with how off the wall this series is. Now hopefully it isn't a month before ep6 is subbed. :(
-- Spice and Wolf eps 1-2: Already seen these before, but why not comment on them a bit? The chemistry between Lawrence and Horo is excellent and more than makes up for the show's relatively slow pace. Horo is just too fun to not enjoy. I love how she constantly defies Lawrence's expectations of her, both in a positive and negative way.
-- To Aru Majutsu no Index ep8: You know what? This series is really growing on me, too. Stiyl is becoming a better character with each episode; I like the chemistry between him and Touma, who has become a much better and more sympathetic character after the whole mind wipe ordeal, I think. This show still isn't mind-blowing, or anything, but it knows what it wants to do, and it does it. Can't fault a series for that.
-- Toradora! ep9: When all is said and done, Toradora! might be my favorite new series of the season. There's a ton of very funny stuff in this episode (Minori being afraid of supernatural things, Ami teasing Ryuji, Minori and Kitamura's bizarre greeting dance, naked Kitamura, etc.), and it's also a great showcase for how perceptive the main female characters are, Minori in particular. Her chat with Ryuji near the end of the episode really surprised me and gave me an entirely different view of her. That's what I love about this series -- you'll laugh your ass off, but you'll also get a great moment of emotion at just the right time. Seriously, if there is one series from this season I think everyone needs to see, it is this one.
-- X eps 20-24: Ah, right after I post, X gives me a great Sorata/Arashi story. Excellent. A solid ending to a solid series. Still never really got into Kamui or villanous!Fuma, but the finale is just fine. For the curious, I wrote a review of X on the Anime and Manga Review World.
-- Yami no Matsuei eps 4-5: lol @ the English dub. The series is already walking on thin ice with the ridiculous horror story in this arc (not that I have anything against ridiculous horror stories), but the terrible dub drove it way over the top. My favorite part is the Devil's voice. (Is it a devil or the Devil?) It is so ridiculous and cliche, and it drove me into fits of laughter. Probably not what the series is going for.
