As it turns out, I get to skip most of the sequels this season because I didn’t enjoy – and therefore didn’t finish – the original series. These include: Gundam, Rosario to Vampire, Shugo Chara, Noramimi, Hokuto no Ken, and Junjou Romantica. I don’t care though, and neither should you. This (final) batch of shows contains the other new (that is, non-sequel, non-remake) show I originally expected to be good, as well as another stunning show from Mad House. Most of the other shows covered here are sequels, so the standard advice applies.
Watch
» Michiko to Hatchin. I went into this show not really knowing what to expect, given that I had absolutely no prior information except that it was a Manglobe project. I was, however, willing to bet that it would be good based on the Manglobe label alone. Of their two major productions, one is among the best shows produced in the past decade, and the other almost lived up to the hype; determining which show was which is left as an exercise to the reader. No surprises here, of course: my bet paid off in spades. Champloo’s stylistic influences are obvious, although the first episode isn’t nearly as obnoxious with the modern-feudal juxtapositions and disjointed organization. I also feel that it channels a bit of Bebop, without being entirely sure why I think so; perhaps it’s the OP, or perhaps it’s the kid. Further, the main character immediately reminded of FLCL’s Haruko; aside from being far too badass for TV, the woman in this show rides the biggest Vespa I’ve ever seen, in anime or anywhere else. Perhaps most importantly, I had never previously imagined that watching an irritating brat get the shit slapped out of her would be so damned satisfying.
Good Morning.
» Mouryou no Hako. Another Mad House production; they’re three for six this season, which is impressive for a studio with so many projects in the pipe. Although they’re running several shows with paranormal themes, this one is actually the most unnerving; it’s certainly far eerier than the shocking idiocy of Chaos;Head. It also has the best production values, by far. Although Shinkai remains untouchable, several scenes in Hako’s first episode approach the level of visual impact exhibited in Byousoku 5 cm, and I actually find this show’s character designs more attractive overall. Atmosphere and pacing are both excellent, establishing a constant feeling that something Isn’t Quite Right even when the explicit clues are few and far between. I don’t know anything about the plot beyond the fact that it’s a murder mystery, which is much like saying that Karekano is a high school comedy or Cowboy Bebop is a sci-fi action show – in other words, absolutely nothing. Given what we’ve already seen, however, I’m expecting great things.
Wallpaper-ready; Photoshop not necessary.
Skim
» Skip Beat! Full Moon returns! Well, without the throat cancer or the inappropriately colorful shinigami. In fact, it may be Full Moon that ends up dooming Skip Beat, because unless this show’s revenge angle is somehow more compelling than a little girl dying of throat cancer, it will be hard or even impossible for this show to escape the shadow of its illustrious predecessor. It’s similarly impossible to make a reliable call on this show with only two episodes, but it’s put in a reasonably strong showing so far in the basic categories. However, voice acting is somewhat weak – irritating, even – for everyone except the female lead. Furthermore, if the girl intends to be an idol at some point, I honestly hope she can sing; it obviously won’t matter if she sticks to acting though. The real question here is whether I’ll have the time or inclination to watch this with all of the other shows I need to keep tabs on.
Hell hath no fu- ah, forget it.
» Clannad After Story. It’s as if the first season never ended, frankly. The first episode is a bit weak for KyoAni, and I’m getting somewhat tired of the way they drag out the supposedly dramatic endings. KyoAni can generally get away with carelessly throwing around anime cliches simply because they’re so much better at presentation and execution than pretty much any other studio you could name, but even they have limits. The second episode is much better, because watching the girls destroy Sunohara in the face is always a good time. The third episode isn’t particularly compelling unless you’re a Sanae fan – although if you are, you might come away thoroughly disgusted. I still find something odd about the way certain scenes are animated; it’s almost as though there are too many motion frames, resulting in excessively fluid movement (if that makes any sense). I don’t know the first thing about animation’s technical aspects, however, so it’s possible – likely, even – that I’m just full of shit.
Sunohara's La Forge impression.
» Jigoku Shoujo: Mitsuganae . I have even less to say about this sequel than Clannad. If you’ve been following this show through the past two seasons, you already know what to expect, and if you haven’t, this is a Bad Time to start. I would have thought they could scrape together the money for better OP music, but the animation is characteristically good and the usual suspects are all in attendance. Ai’s new entry sequence is … interesting, to say the least, and worth watching at least once even if this isn’t one of your favorite shows. Although Jigoku Shoujo is generally well regarded, I’ve always considered it a ‘Skim’ due to its strictly episodic plot; some of the individual stories simply aren’t very good. For example, the second episode has some unintentionally hilarious anal involving giant power plugs. Yeah.
Excuse me while I adjust my brain.
» Vampire Knight Guilty. Straight continuation of the original series, as the first season didn’t actually finish. This show is my shoujo fix, since I actually liked the manga quite a bit. Granted, my favorite character died an ignominious death at the end of the last season, but since I know how the plot eventually turns out I’m willing to keep watching. Objectively speaking, this is a mediocre show at best, so if you aren’t a fan of shoujo manga and their particular style of character design, there’s no reason to even consider watching this.
pfft.
» ef – a tale of melodies. What can I say? I never really liked ef. I didn’t find any of the original characters interesting and the plot frankly bored me to tears, but the visuals alone were good enough to keep me watching; that seems to be pretty much the case here. It does feel like SHAFT is doing a better job this time around though, or else my memories of the original ef could be worse than it actually was, I don’t know. They’ve certainly been getting better at their brand of humor, and their unique style is always appreciated. In the end though, this is another one of those visual novel romances, and that means lots of skipping no matter how good the art is.
SHAFT is still snorting the good stuff, I see.
Skip
» Tentai Senshi Sunred. Tongue planted firmly in cheek; this is essentially the Japanese version of Western comedy cartoons with ultra-low production values. The poor art is obviously a calculated stylistic effect because the visual quality spikes during particular scenes, and everything else … well, it’s a slapstick comedy show, what do you expect? If you’re into dumb humor ala The Simpsons et al. (and you understand Japanese), this is worth picking up. Otherwise, steer clear.
Why does this air in HD?
Closing Remarks
In considering a new season I usually bet conservatively, so shows tend to be slightly better than where I peg them, on average. Overall, however, this season looks far stronger than I expected, owing mostly to two shows: Kurozuka and Ga-Rei. Surprisingly, both may end up being much better than their manga counterparts; this does not happen every day. Since my original season outlook was based on manga for many of the new shows, and none of the manga were particularly compelling, I was completely blindsided. That’s far preferable to the alternative, however, as I’m sure most would agree. That said, although the average quality is much higher this season, we’re still missing a standout, S-tier show – something on the level of Lucky Star, Cowboy Bebop, Mushishi, etc. This early in the season though, and with this many good shows, it’s largely a toss-up as to who will take the top spot.
Here’s the list of likely winners, in no particular order:
- Casshern Sins
- Ga-Rei Zero
- Kurozuka
- Kuro Shitsuji
- Michiko to Hatchin
- Mouryou no Hako
- To Aru Majutsu no Index
See Part 1 and Part 2 for previously covered shows. Full season listing can be found at AniDB.
