Man, two months already -- can you believe it? Let's get this show on the road.
(BTW, if you are a member of BoxTorrents, then be sure to take advantage of the freeleech period. I don't think it's available to people who sign up during the period, but it's a godsend for me, since my ratio is terrible. I've been uploading like crazy and have downloaded Minami-ke ~Okawari~, Gankutsuou, Higurashi, Lovely Complex and Shingetsutan Tsukihime, along with Pani Poni Dash!, which I had downloaded from another source. Maybe more to come later, though it will take me forever to watch all of this. >>)
Anime discussed: Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka, Baccano!, Chaos;Head, Clannad ~After Story~, Hyakko, Kannagi, Kurozuka, Kyo no Gononi, Library War, Marimite ~Haru~, Marimite 3rd, Minami-ke Okawari, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Shugo Chara! Doki, Spice and Wolf, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Toradora!, Yami no Matsuei
-- Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka ep11: Good decision to focus more on Yuuhi and Minato rather than Jun. I really could not care less about Jun at this point. Other than that, things are finally moving, the relationships are being resolved, and blah blah blah. I can't bring myself to really care about this when other shows are doing this thing about a billion times better (*cough* Toradora! *cough*).
-- Baccano! eps 1-13: Fun series. The chronology confused me on occasion, but reading about the episodes again on Wikipedia helped me put things in order. What I like most about the series is its energetic, anarchic spirit. It jumps back and forth in time (usually within a period of three years in the early 1930s, although a couple of episodes have events that jump back much further and events that jump forward many years in time), most of the characters have a zany aura about them and the plot is way out there (it involves the mafia, near superhuman assassins and immortals). Also, any anime that gathers a bunch of my favorite VAs into one spot (Keiji Fujiwara! Hiroyuki Yoshino! Marina Inoue!) will almost definitely be met with my approval. Watch this if you need a burst of fun and violence in your life.
-- Chaos;Head ep11: The final showdown is upon us. Takumi finally decides to take some action, attains his Di-Sword and beats the crap out of NOZOMI's minions. It is quite strange seeing Takumi as an action hero. The nurse also takes a quantum leap in awesome (and crazy!) in this episode -- she's revealed as the New Gen Killer, and it is amusing to me that the killings were basically a Macguffin, since she commits suicide to begin the Third Melt. lol @ the jerkwad detective, too, who gets owned by Takumi's godmodding powers. I hope it's not just Takumi alone who takes on Norose; I want to see the six main characters kicking ass together. Do not deprive me of this, Chaos;Head!!
-- Clannad ~After Story~ ep12: Damn. After things went so well for Tomoya the past couple of weeks, he has run into some setbacks, courtesy of his dad. I like that Tomoya's relationship with his father is so complicated. On the one hand, you get the feeling that Tomoya's life might improve a bit if he were to reconcile with his dad, but on the other hand, it's easy to understand why Tomoya is so reluctant to do this. Abuse is not an easy thing to forgive; it's harder for Tomoya because said abuse has had a major physical and emotional impact on his life. On top of all that, Tomoya learns his father is a criminal (although we obviously do not have the whole story there). It's easy to tell Tomoya to forgive his father, but Tomoya is the type of person who will not do it unless he absolutely feels forgiveness for his dad in his heart. Man, all this and I have not even touched Yoshino's story, which was quite moving.
-- Hyakko ep9: Kind of a weird episode. Ooba turns into an insane stalker when people offer her even a smidgen of kindness, and then Suzume goes on a bizarre journey for snacks. A decent amount of laughs, as usual, but the show is in a rut.
-- Kannagi ep12: Serious Kannagi is serious. There are more funny things in this episode than last week (the old man cracked me up for some reason, and Torako offers her weekly dose of hilarity), but again the center of this episode is Jin's search for Nagi's true identity. This week, though, it is more well done, since the loneliness Jin feels upon Nagi's disappearance is used as something to push him forward.
-- Kurozuka ep11: Man, I have no idea where the show is going next week. Pretty much everyone aside from Kuro and Kuromitsu is dead, which I suppose is appropriate considering their relationship is such a vital aspect of the series. Once again the action propels things and keeps interested; if the show were not such a delight to watch, I might not have kept up with it the whole way through, since I just cannot seem to get completely behind the story. I don't know what the problem is, but something is not clicking with me. One more episode, though, and I will definitely be watching, because I want to see how things turn out with Kuro and Kuromitsu.
-- Kyo no Gononi ep12: Pretty solid episode. Once again Aihara is quite awesome -- I'd ask for her to be featured more prominently, but there's just one episode left, haha. Oh well. I like Natsumi a lot more now, too. It's funny how she is like Aihara except in opposite ways: Where Aihara is laid back and free flowing, Natsumi is energetic and wild. They often end up on the same page, though, which is amusing.
-- Library War eps 9-10: Kasahara/Dojo interaction is definitely the best part of the show. I could watch those two awkwardly make advances on each other all day long. Also, I really love Kasahara standing up for herself in ep10 when she owns all those a-holes who mistreated her and her companions, and also when she stands up to her mom and defends her position in the Task Force.
-- Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ eps 2-12: This is a tad better than the first season -- Sei's story (telling how Shimako became her soeur) is just a bit below the level of her big story from the first season, Shimako's story is just as good and the Yumi/Sachiko plots are all better. This is where Yoshino became one of my favorite characters, too. She can be a bit too forceful at times, but I like how her personality contrasts so much with her appearance (and the same with Rei, although I don't like her quite as much). My fondness for Yumi also grew a lot during this season. She is one of those characters who I will either love or despise, but I like her a lot. In a way, she reminds me of Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket.
-- Maria-sama ga Miteru 3rd eps 1-5: This is the best of the three seasons. The episodes are uniformly good -- the plots are fun, and the characters all have their chance to shine. My only problem with it is that I wish there were more of Sei. She is so awesome! But, hey, the Yumi/Sachiko relationship is good enough at this point that a relative lack of Sei does not sting quite as much. It is kind of amazing how much Sachiko grows through these three seasons. In the first she is SO unbearable and offputting, but by the third she has become someone truly worthy of Yumi's affections. That just reminds me of something I had not really thought about before. It is kind of interesting how it is the elder character (Sachiko) who must go through the growth process to become a better person, rather than the other way around. That is not to say Yumi does not do growing of her own, but she does not need to do it quite as much as Sachiko.
-- Minami-ke ~Okawari~ ep1: BoxTorrent's freeleech period inspired me to download a crapload more anime, so I am finally watching the second season of Minami-ke. This episode is actually pretty fun (Mako-chan and Touma enter the fray right away!), but I agree with the majority opinion that the art style is not as appealing as the first season. Chiaki's hair being more animated does not make up for that, unfortunately, haha. If the rest of the series can keep up this quality, though, I will be satisfied, since everything I have heard about this season points to it not being as great as the first season.
-- Mobile Suit Gundam 00 eps 9-10: Just want to mention Tieria's freakout scene in ep10. That is definitely one of my favorite scenes from the first season. It is the core of Tieria's character during the first part of the series. If you think Setsuna is obsessive about his Gundam, that is nothing compared to Tieria's obsession with the mission. His pride is directly connected to his ability to complete the mission; any setback, no matter how minor, is a major blow to him. All Tieria does is use his Gundam's hidden form a bit earlier than the plan calls for, but he takes it as a devastating hit to his ego and his masculinity.
-- Shugo Chara!! Doki eps 11-12: Another pair of awesome episodes. The first is a great one that explores the rivalry between Rima and Nagihiko. Rima, in particular, is awesome in this episode; her facial expressions are hilarious. The second episode shows Amu and Lulu becoming friends, of sorts, although Amu is not aware that Lulu is the one who has been creating all the Mystery Egg problems. This episode makes Lulu a hell of a lot more likable, however, and her family is great.
-- Spice and Wolf eps 10-11: Lawrence takes a fall, but he has a sneaky plan to get himself back on his feet, which shall be executed in the final two episodes. Huzzah! Looking forward to seeing more of Nora, especially if she interacts with Horo.
-- To Aru Majutsu no Index ep12: I did not like the most recent storyline much until this episode, in which Touma makes a fantastic appeal to Mikoto and is the generally awesome character he has been since he lost his memories. I really want to see how well Touma and Mikoto work together; Touma is awesome, but he's better when he has someone to play off of, as evidenced by the amazingness that came from his brief partnership with Stiyl.
-- Toradora! ep13: A brilliant, stellar episode, and a perfect end to the first half-season of the best show of the fall. There is no doubt in my mind about that -- Toradora! is definitely ahead of the rest. Week after week I am amazed at how well everything is handled; there were not one but TWO moments that legitimately moved me to tears in this episode (the part where everyone realizes Taiga's dad has not come to see her and she's all alone on the stage, and the part where Ryuji and Minorin TEAM UP~! for Taiga). I liked Ryuji before, but he is in the stratosphere of awesome for me now. I rooted for him so hard to beat all those other jackasses and redeem himself for how selfishly he acted when he tried to repair Taiga's relationship with her father. And when Minorin joins him ... man ... just so fucking PERFECT. My God. Taiga at the end, too ... she has grown so, so much and is so strong now. Jeez. If the second half somehow tops this, then I really have no idea what I will do.
-- Yami no Matsuei eps 11-12: Man. Muraki is a crazy motherfucker. That is really all I have to say about the ending of the series lol.
