And here is part two of my tl;dr anime write-ups! This covers the six series I watched that spilled over from the fall to the winter seasons. They are all good, and I recommend each of them to varying degrees. I'm not going to cover another fall series I watched, ef - a tale of melodies, because it technically doesn't qualify to be in here, but if I were to rank it, I'd put it just behind Gundam 00.
EDIT: Oh yeah, there are some minor spoilers here and there. Nothing that will ruin any of the stories, but I'm saying it just so you all know. I didn't feel like plopping a bunch of spoiler tags in for something that is mainly meant to be a set of general thoughts on various series.
1. Clannad ~After Story~ (24/24): I barely know where to begin when writing about this series. Admittedly, it does have a bit of a strange beginning ... not really slow, because it moves through stories quickly, but "unfocused" would probably be a better way to put it. Through the first eight episodes, or so, After Story deals with stories about some of the side characters (Sunohara/Mei, Misae and Yukine). Now, I do not want to give the impression that I don't like these stories, because that's not true. I have nothing but praise for them. However, they feel to me more like standalone scenarios rather than a story that connects to one whole. There are certain elements that come into play later, but they are not entirely crucial to After Story.
Or, at least, that is what I thought at first.
When the focus is shifted almost entirely onto Tomoya and Nagisa, After Story transforms into something special, even more so than the first season, and the reasons for those first few episodes become clearer than ever. I heard from just about everyone who had experience with the visual novel that all the really good stuff is in After Story, which blew my mind. How could it be any better than Clannad's first season? But it surpasses the first season is in the emotion it draws from showing what it is like to be a family. Not just the highs and the lows, but what it really means to play the different roles in a family. What it means to be a brother or sister (which is the point of Sunohara and Yukine's arcs). To be a father or mother. To be a husband or wife. To be a son or daughter. Everything comes through honest and pure, not just because of the struggles each character goes through, but also due to the help each person receives along the way. After Story is one of the best shows I've ever seen at emphasizing family as a true unit -- not just as a device to teach moral lessons and give people happy endings, but as a living, breathing being that makes each of its parts all the better for being one of such a wondrous whole.
Clannad ~After Story~ is not a show that is going to give you earth-shattering plot twists. Anyone with half a brain could predict the two biggest twists After Story has to offer. (And, once again, I say that as someone who normally has just half a brain when it comes to calling plot twists.) But despite that, After Story provides more emotion than just about any series I have seen in ages. The run from eps 16-22 is definitely among the most emotional I've seen from any anime. I appreciate great writing, but what I appreciate just as much is something that burrows straight to the heart and stays there forever. Clannad ~After Story~ does just that. (10/10)
2. Toradora! (25/25): See everything I just wrote about After Story? Toradora! damn near matches it for me, and I honestly would not argue with someone who prefers Toradora! It is that good. What surprised me most throughout Toradora's run is the pacing -- something always happens in every episode (there is only one that could maybe be considered filler, but it's hilarious, so I don't mind it in the least), and the transitions between plots are smooth and always make sense. (Compare that to, say, Lovely Complex, which, as much as I like it, often feels more like a series of stories instead of one cohesive tale.) There are 10 light novels in the Toradora! series, so JC Staff had plenty of material to work with, but still, it's a rare event when a show gives you so much in so short a space.
Really, I cannot think of much about Toradora! I do not love. The characters are uniformly likable and deeper than the average romantic-comedy cast. (In fact, Toradora! received a great many positive comparisons to another wonderful JC Staff romantic-comedy with an excellent cast, Honey and Clover. I'd say Honey and Clover is a tad bit deeper, overall, and it breaks from the mold more, as well.) Ryuuji Takasu, a neat freak who just wants to be liked, is an excellent male lead. Taiga Aisaka, the misunderstood girl with a vicious temper, is in every way Ryuuji's equal. The crazy pair of Minori Kushieda and Yuusaku Kitamura make excellent foils for Ryuuji and Taiga, and hide some unexpected depth themselves, especially Minori. Even Ami Kawashima, who is petty and selfish when she makes her first appearance, becomes likable in a strange sort of way. The cast of Toradora! is the most enjoyable of any show that has aired since the fall; I cannot count the number of times they made me laugh and smile. The writing is also some of the best I've come across in a while. In particular, Toradora's use of metaphor, while occasionally obvious, is solid, clear and adds a good deal to the motivations of the characters instead of being clumsy and/or obscure like you might see in other series.
Is Toradora! entirely original? Nope. It is what it is -- an excellent romantic-comedy, perhaps one of the best you'll ever see in anime. Toradora! does not break away from all the clichés of its genre, but I believe it makes them about as interesting as they can be. (If, like me, you are absolutely tired of seeing the same cultural festival arc again and again, you will enjoy how Toradora! tweaks with that tired story.) And along with its well developed characters and story, Toradora! reliably pays off each of its arcs with emotional, satisfying endings. I don't think you can ask for much more than that in a show. (10/10)
3. Mobile Suit Gundam 00 second season (25/25): Gundam 00's second season takes everything great about the first and ramps it up to 11. The action explodes full force from the start, with just a couple of episodes where things slow down. Setsuna continues his evolution from the first season and becomes a capable leader. Ribbons provides a more interesting, cunning villain than anyone from the first season, except perhaps Ali Al-Saachez. (And Ali is more like The Dragon rather than the true Big Bad.) The relationship between Saji and Louise is actually sort of interesting this time around, even if Saji is a freaking dork for more than half the series. Tieria has an interesting conflict between what he truly desires and the circumstances of his existence. And so on. Plus, everything of course looks incredible, since Sunrise provided a budget roughly the size of the national debt.
There are a few nagging flaws with the series. For one, Graham is completely wasted. There is a potentially great story with his obsessive thirst for revenge against Setsuna, but his story is swept to the side as the main arcs play out. As a whole, the Innovators are also somewhat disappointing villains, aside from Ribbons. You get a sense of what Ribbons desires, but because the origins of these specific Innovators are so murky, you never get a sense of why exactly their existence is so crucial. Plus, in regards to the pacing, it never feels like the show is approaching the end until just a few episodes before it happens. Really, I think the main problem with Gundam 00 is that there is just too much potentially awesome stuff to work with, which, I suppose, is part of the reason why there is a movie in the works. (Not to mention the boatloads of cash Sunrise will likely make from it.)
But, hey, those issues are not as big as they could be when Gundam 00 provides such stunning action and builds to a mostly good final episode. This is the first Gundam series I have seen from start to finish, and I loved the experience. (9/10)
4. Shugo Chara!! Doki (25/?): Shugo Chara! is a fluffy piece of sparkly shoujo candy. I feel like a total girl when I watch it, but I don't care. For the most part, the second season of Shugo Chara! has progressed much the same as the first. There is the occasional longer story arc that develops the main storyline, but mainly the episodes are a Monster of the Week type of thing where Amu and her friends defeat whatever ? Egg has transformed a seemingly normal person into a bizarre, kooky creature who merely wants to make his or her wish come true. It's unbelievably repetitive, but I cut the show some slack because 1) It's friggin' hilarious, 2) The creators push the magical girl boundaries about as far as any non-Utena show would dare to go and 3) It's a children's series.
There really is not much else to say. In every way, Doki is an evolution of the first season. Amu is still an adorable, lovable lead. Her friends in the Guardians are still an amusing bunch of foils, as are all their Charas. Ikuto is still hilarious when he tweaks with Amu's feelings. (Also, does anyone have a cooler voice right now than Yuichi Nakamura? Maybe Shinichiro Miki.) Utau has an awesome relationship with Amu. After a rough start, Lulu has grown into a good, sympathetic villain. Shugo Chara! is just a fun series all around; if I had a kid, and he or she were somehow blessed with the patience to read subtitles (or the series were miraculously licensed and dubbed), this would be required viewing.
(I must also once again commend Mr. Desbreko for providing Shugo Chara! episodes with good scripts, good video quality and good typesetting. You are a true patriot, sir.) (8/10)
5. Tales of the Abyss (26/26): After 'Gome encouraged me (many times!) to watch this series, I was not sure what I would think of it. My previous experience with a Tales adaptation -- the Tales of Symphonia OVA -- was not especially great. And Abyss does inherit a couple of Symphonia's problems: The battles, with some exceptions, are not particularly exciting (and downright anticlimactic in the worst occasions), and there is a lot of repetitive walking around from place to place and talking to develop the story. To be fair, this is definitely not a Tales exclusive problem; I imagine it would be difficult to work around this problem when adapting any J-RPG, because part of what makes that style of storytelling work is that the player is the one propelling the action. You can stand lots of walking from place to place to get things done, because you are the one doing it via the characters onscreen. It's just something that is tough to translate from the games to animation.
But Tales of the Abyss does benefit immensely from being long enough to let the story unfold naturally and at its own pace rather than in the overly hurried style of the Symphonia OVA. There is the occasional episode where not much happens, but I cannot say I was displeased with the way the plot is doled out. There are some cool characters, too. We all know how awesome Jade is, but I'm also a fan of Guy, Natalia, Legretta (when she's around, anyway :(), Anise (when she's being snarky with Jade), Peony (when he's being snarky at Jade) and Dist (long live Team Rocket!). Van is not a bad villain, but hell, you will never, ever see me complain about an opportunity to hear Jouji Nakata speak. I also can't complain about the production values; the show looks very good. Overall, there are some flaws to the series, but I am definitely glad I watched it the whole way through. (7/10)
6. To Aru Majutsu no Index (24/24): Agh, it was so frustrating watching this show sputter to an end in the final five or six episodes. Although it never developed into something truly great, the quality at least remained consistent through the first two-thirds of the series, and even spiked into very good territory during the arc where Stiyl and Touma team up. But, ugh, the Accelerator mini-arc ended up being a time waster, while the season-ending arc felt more like something from the middle of the season rather than something substantial. I'm expecting another season of To Aru, and I hope it makes up for how the first one ended.
With that said, I do not regret watching it from the beginning. The action is something that never disappointed; even during the final arc, I at least enjoyed how fantastic the fight scenes are. To Aru is a show blessed with a budget good enough to ensure it looks good every time out. I like how certain characters improve, as well. The Touma from the start of the series bugs the hell out of me, but he eventually becomes a decently likable hero. Index is always an amusing character; however, her sort of counterpart in Academy City, Mikoto Misaka, grows into an awesome third hero and has some great interaction with Touma. Stiyl is a cool character and hilarious when Touma insinuates he has a crush on Index. Kanzaki is cool, too, when she's not info dumping the hell out of everyone. (That is To Aru's biggest problem in general, by the way. If you watch this series, you are going to sit through a ton of bad info dumping and technobabble. It's worth it if you want a good action/fantasy series, but lord is it ever dull to sit through.) Definitely looking forward to the To Aru spin-off (with Mikoto as the lead!) and the eventual second season, but I hope the series cleans up its flaws before then. (7/10)
