I think we are far enough into the spring season for me to offer some brief thoughts on what I have been watching.
Something that makes this season differ a bit from the two others I've kept up with is that my drop rate is higher than normal. That doesn't really reflect on the quality of the spring season as it does my decision to be tougher with what I decide to watch every week. I kept up with way too many average/garbage shows during the fall and winter; even if I do have a ton of time, it's better spent doing activities aside from watching crappy anime. (Such as learning Spanish, which I am finally going to do now! Yay!)
Dropped list: 07-Ghost (4/25), Dragon Ball Kai (1/?), Natsu no Arashi! (6/13), Pandora Hearts (1/25), Shangri-La (6/24)
The only one of these that has any hope of getting picked up again is 07-Ghost, which I dropped mainly because my preferred subbing group is kind of slow-ish with it. We'll see what happens.
Anyway, my list of shows, from favorite to least favorite:
1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (7/?)
2. Sengoku Basara (6/12)
3. Higashi no Eden (6/11)
4. K-On! (7/13)
5. Valkyria Chronicles (7/26)
6. Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ (5/26)
7. Souten Kouro (4/?)
8. Basquash! (7/26)
Just about everything FMA is new to me, so I am having fun discovering everything and trying to figure everything out while all the hardened, longtime fans react with either nostalgia or cynicism. I expect Higashi to leapfrog Sengoku Basara once the full scope of the story is revealed, but for now I am loving the latter show's aura of craziness. K-On! is surprising me every week. It is giving me the same feeling I got from Kannagi (starting a bit slow, and then suddenly becoming hysterical), even though they are two very different series. Hopefully K-On! doesn't lapse into needless, clumsy drama at the end like Kannagi (although that series did redeem itself).
Valkyria Chronicles is solid (and quite pretty!), and the epic scope of the story is starting to shine through, so that's exciting. Phantom might be a bit higher on the list if I watched more episodes. Its licensing has made subbing a bit inconsistent, though, haha. Souten Kouro is like Sengoku Basara, except on a less absurd scale. I am enjoying its sheer manliness, however. Basquash! is the only one of these series that isn't totally safe, but it looks good enough for me to be a bit more lenient with it. But I have my eye on you, Basquash!
And there you have it. Depending on your preferences, I think shows 1-7 are all good, watchable series.
Just one more thing before I post -- I mentioned earlier that I am going to learn Spanish. Any advice from those who have learned (or are learning) foreign languages? I know the obvious stuff: Study a lot (I'm planning on at least a couple of hours a day, maybe more), write a lot, read a lot, speak with as many native speakers as I can, and so on. But is there anything else that will help me out? Anything is appreciated, whether it's specific to Spanish or just studying languages in general.
