What I watched in Spring 2013: Digest Version, part 2 of 2

b House of Five Leaves: The most laid back period show about ronin samurai ever.  There is some action and a certain amount of suspense and intrigue (and a wildly anachronistic soundtrack heavy on Italian/Mediterranean accordion music).  The main character is a seriously timid samurai who has severe social anxiety issues.  He's not actually bad with a sword; he just can't really use it when lots of people are watching him in a real-life situation.  He ends up catching the eye of a mysterious criminal who drags him into his kidnapping business.  As time passes, this criminal's past starts catching up to him.  I think I prefer the manga because the ending is very different and feels more consistent and because there are more interesting sub-plots and more character development.  The anime is sleeker, trimming away the extra plot threads (mostly) and turning on different circumstances and choices.  The art in both is, well, very Natsume Ono, which means it's distinctive, startling, and sometimes hard to get used to.  Even though no one really leaves, there's a relaxed, road trip vibe.  It's a good time, and the character interaction is entertaining.

b Ristorante Paradiso:  Another Natsume Ono story, this one takes place in modern-ish Italy.  It follows a young lady (whose mother abandoned her in order to marry a man who didn't want a woman with a child) as she plots her revenge on the mother she doesn't know.  Except then she meets her mother, and her planned revenge just sort of falls apart as she falls in love with the restaurant her mother's husband runs which has a staff made of up middle-aged men with glasses.  She also starts to fall for one of said middle-aged wait staff and ends up helping out as a kitchen assistant.  This series is also very laid back as it meanders around the lives of folks involved with the restaurant.  If you are looking for resolution or something to really happen, just don't.  Enjoy the ride and try to control the food cravings.

b Steins;Gate: WHOA.  It has bits of gosh-wow fantastic science-fiction increasingly crushed by that pesky time paradox/morality problem.  It has some moments of ridiculous otaku fanservice and episodes of unrelentingly dark moral quandries.  It has murder, mystery, romance, and a main character who has adopted a personna to annoy people around him.  I cannot really explain what makes this show great, but I was hanging on by my fingertips most of the way, and I found the ending to be incredibly well-done.  Excellent voice acting and sometime excellent plotting (it twists, it turns, you NEVER thought it would go there, holy cow).  I suspect it might be a good show to marathon because lots of details MATTER in a way that they don't in most other shows, but some of the characters are reeeeally awkward and might get on one's nerves in larger doses.  Good stuff.

What I watched in MAY 2013: Digest Version, part 1 of 2

b Hare + Guu: This show is delightfully, darkly wacky.  Hare's young mom is a carefree, cheerful, alcoholic slob, and he's a bit stressed from having to be the adult.  Sometimes he thinks his life is pretty bad.  Then he meets Guu, and she proceeds to show him that he had no idea what stress is.  There is lots of hilarious ranting as Hare tries to keep Guu from eating his friends and family and tries to deal with the consequences of her deadpan shenanigans.  Oh, the hyper drama.  Some of these voice performances are amazing. : )

b Pumpkin Scissors: A military drama set in a post-war world where a young and idealistic but strong officer and a somewhat motley crew of enlisted men try to stamp out old corruption left over from the war and new corruption springing up in the economic depression it left in its wake.  There are a lot of conflicts including military factions, class issues, and information control.  The main source of conflict comes from a hulking soldier who was used in experiments during the war and struggles with his abilities as a fearless/brainless killer and his desire to contribute positively to peace time.  Another anime based on a light novel series that I really want to read, this one has a semi-decent conclusion for an ongoing series, but mostly it just leaves intriguing threads dangling.  There are some very good performances on the English dub. 

"The Lieutenant is not the be-all, end-all, damn it!"
---
"I'm a noble, so I always have to be alone."

What I watched in MARCH 2013: Digest Version

b Shonen Onmyouji: Okay, there was this period when Geneon USA was circling the toilet when they started doing these horrifically, ruinously bad offshore dubs.  This is one of those dubs.  Unfortunately, when I was watching this show, I was busy gathering medical records and stuff, so I didn't have the time to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles while not gathering  medical records.  So I think the show is better than my English-dub impression of it.  It must be or everyone would hate it instead of just 50% of the people.  It's the story of a boy and his dog-like spirit companion.  This boy is the grandson of a famous spiritualist, but he's notorious mostly for having no spiritual powers AT ALL.  Then he meets up with this critter, and his life changes, and he discovers his real powers and meets a girl and has all these weird adventures involving the mythology of the Japanese spiritual world.  Did I mention the dub is really bad?

"What good is love if the fireflies aren't real?"

b Taisho Baseball Girls: This cute little series about junior high girls who form a baseball team for various reasons is short and sweet.  The team interactions are fun and cute for the most part, and you respect their grit and determination and the troubles they face.  It's also a fun glimpse at an interesting time in Japanese history as East and West collide and traditional views of womanhood seem on the verge of changing.

b You're Beautiful: So, I had a certain amount of expectation built up for this show.  It more and less met these expectations.  There were some surprises in the end, but it was a good experience over all.  One of the most interesting parts was actually the extras.  Some of these folks are really quite good at acting.  In real life some of them are very different.  The female lead and the happy-chipper dude (Blondie in Sarah's review that started it all) are SO DIFFERENT, I was floored.  The DVD box set seems somewhat impossibly priced out of print, but you can watch it legally streaming at Amazon.

What I watched in FEBRUARY 2013: Digest Version, part 2 of 2

b Ronin Warriors OVA: Yep, the Ronin Warriors in New York City in the 80s.  SO 80S!  The dub?  AWESOME!!!  "The pain will be unbearable.  I suggest you lose consciousness." - a villain  SO MUCH AWESOME CHEESINESS THE MIND BOGGLES.  The other set is full of wonky ethnic stereotypes and semi-hilarious mysticism.

b The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye: Two thumbs enthusiastically up.  Excellent dub!  I liked that actress' work in Piano as a secondary character, so I'm glad to see she got a leading role and really nailed it.  And there was more of a finished story there than your average based-on-a-light-novel anime adaptation.  I'll definitely be watching it again.

b Tweeny Witches: This show is a pretty great one to listen to in the background as you do other things.  Don't get me wrong; the visuals are weird and creepy and interesting and well worth watching, but the English dub is pretty fun and lets you follow the story well enough.  Arisu is a normal girl who believes in magic, and then she gets sucked into a magical world, and she turns it on its ear through the power of positive thinking.  Kind of.  It gets pretty dark sometimes, but it's ultimately hopeful.

b Xam'd: So it sort of falls apart in the end, but you almost don't care because of the trippy journey it takes to get there.  I think maybe if I watch it 2 more times, I will get it.  Maybe.  I wish it had been a 39 episode show.  I think it might have been able to be more complete in all its varied storylines and thus been a tad more coherent.  They did a decent job with Eureka7, but that one fell apart a bit in the end, as well.  They both sort of choked on their own mysterious mythology.  But were awesome just the same.  And that opening sequence for the DVDs: holy cow is that catchy despite being totally nonsense Engrish.  I listened to it every single time and still liked it.  (Some fun resources.)

What I watched in FEBRUARY 2013: Digest Version, part 1 of 2

I don't know why, but I love reading reviews where reviewers get the details wrong.  I mean, I understand that they usually have a lot on their plates and can't go back and fact check, but, wow.  Sometimes they're just really wrong enough to make me wonder if we watched the same thing . . .

b Antique Bakery: I like the manga better for all that it leaves in.  The big-busted news ladies and the things they contributed to the actual plot, for one example.  The fact that Tachibana can't really open up and have a relationship with anyone, for another.  But something of the essential nature of Fumi Yoshinaga's characters is really brought to life here, and that makes it somewhat worthwhile.  The over-the-topness is often pretty funny.

b Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom:  Good English dub.  Lots of unfamiliar voices that are really good.  Shades of Darker than Black, Black Lagoon, and Leon (The Professional).  Apparently made by the same people who created Noir, Madlax, etc.  The difference is that this one has one boy and one girl instead of two girls.

Dark, dark stuff.  A generally good example of tragedy.  Made me think (in both good and bad ways) and did a good job with the melancholy tone.  Some lovely/appropriate music and a good reiteration about the motto: "Live by the sword, die by the sword." 

For a good synopsis, check out Serdar Yegulalp's piece.  "There’s an astonishing amount of plot in Requiem; I’ve barely described half the story in the above synopsis, and I’m still leaving out a lot of details . . ."     

"If you want to live, you have to be reborn.  You are now only allowed to exist for the purpose of killing people."
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"I'm too young to be this broken."
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"You're just doing the job someone else would do."
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"You live bearing the pain of what you've done.  You don't make mistakes.  You're careful."
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"Once you kill, everything in the world changes."
--- 
"That's it.  I wanted to go back."
"No.  Let me go back to the world you live in."
--- 
"Before I met you, I was a dead man wearing the skin of the living."
--- 
"There's more to being in love than being with each other."

What I watched in DECEMBER 2013: Digest Version, part 3 of 3

b Nichijou (My Everyday Life):  So very wacky and random.  I loved it.  It was just a weird series of short vignettes, and unexpected things were always happening.  Plenty of non-sequiter humor.  For those who don't mind being totally lost and still sometimes laughing at the punch-lines.  It's like Azumanga Daioh on uppers.  You can watch it on Crunchyroll.  It is an excellent pick-me-up when life has made you tired.

b Princess Jellyfish: The touching (?) story of a bunch of misfit nerds and some fashionable people and how they all collide with, hurt, and help out each other all while being their totally unique selves.  Lots of  laughs at and with various people who don't know how to interact with each other but still (sometimes) try to connect (and sometimes even succeed).  Painful and funny.  And frustratingly unfinished, like so many short anime based on longer light novels.  Yen Press?  Maybe a little help here?

b Ray: Um, so have you heard of Black Jack?  Ray was just spare parts, kept stashed away with other kids who shared the same fate.  She'd already lost her eyes when she was saved and given new, special, x-ray eyes by a mysterious, rogue surgeon.  She grew up to be a much more attractive rogue surgeon always on the lookout for the other kids and with a desire to bring to justice the evil scum who used the kids.  In very little clothing.  I first came across this story in the few volumes of manga published by ADV. (Remember that frustrating experience?)  This adaptation goes much further than what was published, but it's also pretty different. It has a decent conclusion, and there's some fun along the way.

b Yu Yu Hakusho ssn 3 and 4:  Guess what?  There is so much fighting in this show.  Surprise!  With all the drama and bombast, it also surprised me that sometimes this show wasn't loud enough to drown out the perpetually crying child next door.  Sigh.  But the good guys sort of win in the end through the power of fighting.   And I sort of forgot that Hiei had such a romantic ending to his story.  Well, romantic for Hiei, anyway.

What I watched in DECEMBER 2013: Digest Version, part 2 of 3

b Bamboo Blade: The story of a kendo prodigy who ends up joining her high school team (sort of against her will) and her wacky teammates and loser coach.  It's good fun (though the loser coach/teacher is really kind of a terrible human being, as many of his students don't hesitate to point out).

b NeoAngelique Abyss:  The adventures of Egg Girl, MonocleMan, PantsMan, RobotMan, and ScienceMan as they whomp on totally unfrightening baddies from another dimension and try to save their world from the forces of MildlyScary.  Yeah.  The best part was watching this with ST and the many soulful, why-are-they-torturing-me-like-this looks she cast my way.  I'm told the original (Angelique) was pretty awesome.  I would like to see it.  I would have liked to have seen it instead of this.

b Kurenai: Another series that sort of suffers from being an adaptation of one part of a longer series of novels, Kurenai is pretty intriguing and sometimes annoying.  It might have been better had I known that the little girl was only the main character of this series/novel because I ended up pretty baffled at the end when things seemed to be coming to a conclusion when I thought this was a beginning.

What I watched in DECEMBER 2013: Digest Version, part 1 of 3

b Dennou Coil: I love this show so much.  I really, really want to own it, so I can watch it and make all my friends watch it, too.  It's like Miyazaki meets Ghost in the Shell in the best combo possible.  It's the nearish future, and the coolest current tech toy is basically a really advanced and much cheaper version of Google Glasses, which turn the world into a big game.  When you're wearing your glasses, you can see all sorts of things that don't really exist. 

But it's not all fun and games.  There's an urban legend about how the glasses world can cause death and injury in the real world.  And there are various mysteries and realistic portrayals of differently broken kids and their trials in the real world and the glasses world.  Love, love, love this show.  Suspense, sci-fi, kids, adventure, mystery, friendship!  What is not to love?

b Kids on the Slope: Great music, lovely art.  Like a lot of adaptations, it suffers from that Cliff's Notes feeling.  The loving care taken with the music scenes is kind of stunning.  (The animation.  Matches.  The music.) The story of kids in a different era and how they relate through music (and how sometimes music isn't enough to keep you together when time keeps marching on) is painful and touching.  There is the feeling that things are missing because there just wasn't enough time to get them in (and sometimes these are important things).  I wish they'd had enough time to tell the whole story because I think it's a really good story.  And the music.  Oh, the music.  And the cultural history.  Oh, it was really lovely.  I may purchase this in blu-ray, so I can listen to this on someone's nice surround-sound system.

Great music, lovely art.  Like a lot of adaptations, it suffers from that Cliff's Notes feeling.  Some things feel rushed while others are, well, sometimes they're explained about later.  In KotS, some things are lovingly depicted (the animation actually matches the music) and others, it seems like you're just supposed to get them.  Maybe this is a case of me not being Japanese enough?  Or maybe I was just slow on the uptake at the end.  I look forward to more viewings in case they clear things up.  Anyway, I was pleased with how much happened in such a brief series, even if I do want to read the full version some day.

What I watched in NOVEMBER 2013: Digest Version

Not much happened in November with anime because I was participating in National Novel Writers Month.  Trying to write 50,000 words in a month sort of sucks up your free time.  : )

b Hamataro:  Little hamsters, big adventures.  Super cute adventures about friendship and niceness and hamsters (that talk).

b xxxHOLiC movie: Hmmm.  It was pretty.  The English voice actor for Watanuki is still hilariously high strung.

What I watched in October 2012

b Angelic Layer: Sometimes you just want some goofy, shonen goodness as only CLAMP can provide.  It's a tournament show about fighting dolls and the people (mostly girls) who play with them.  Seriously.  It's about grit and determination and odd family dynamics and wiggly, wiggly I-chan.

o Baccano:I was going to sit down and watch anime instead of having it on while I did other things.  Then the first couple minutes happened.  They were not kidding about the graphic violence.  And so I found this anime better "viewed" 25% with my eyes and 75% with my ears.  Defying laws of physics everywhere all the time!  Netflix apparently doesn't have the last volume, and I don't actually care.  I don't think my stomach can take the conclusion . . .

"Mercy and Compassion are virtues only the strong can possess.  And I am strong."

b DanDoh: Dandoh's dad is a loser!  What a total jerk!  I don't care why.  Where are the adults and the monitors and stuff?!  WTH!!!!!  If there's this much cheating in golf, it's a much more interesting game than I thought. Yuka, you are my hero.  You talked to the adults and explained what happened.  How novel!  The best voice acting comes from the golf announcers.  Nice.

"That's it!  I'm not going to lose to someone who can't even count!" 

"If adults teach them everything, then the kids will never get to explore and learn things on their own."

"Your ball hasn't given up this match yet!"

"He is a man who killed his talents with his own hands."

"That is SO RIDICULOUS!!!!" - me (so many times)

b Strawberry Marshmallow: Adorable warm fuzzy goodness and some amazing English voice acting.  Mio, in particular, is endearingly 100% obnoxious.  (I'm still not very fond of Anna, but she's the only exception.)  The group dynamics are a hoot and somehow realistic while still being firmly in comedy territory.  A neat trick.  This show is a real pick-me-up and pretty much always leaves me grinning for days. 

b Viewtiful Joe:Another great pick-me-up show, Viewtiful Joe makes me happy.  Its good natured, dudical goofiness and relentlessly positive slacker hero are just the ticket when you're feeling down.  And Joe's English voice is outstanding, as are several of the other characters.  It's an all-around good time.

"There's a kind of heroism in staying behind sometimes, I figure."

"What's cool now is to pretend you're too smart for hope.  That hope is for those too frightened to face life as it really is."

What I watched in September: Digest Version

b DMC (Detroit Metal City) live-action movie: Not as gleefully profane as frequently as the manga, but that's to be expected because movie audiences usually prefer something that more directly resembles a linear plot.  Some of the good early moments of the series are in here, but sometimes it feels a bit like a Cliff's Notes version.  On the whole, it's coherent and frequently hilarious, especially when you remind yourself that this is the guy who played L in DeathNote and Shin in Nana and that guy in Gantz . . .  What can I say?  This guy can disappear into a role.

And what a weird role this is.  Soichi Negishi is a 20-something, pop-music-loving schmuk who secretly fronts a Glam Rock metal band to pay the bills.  There's a pop-loving girl he likes, crazy fans, trendy pop-singers, psycho band-mates, and a manager from hell (considerably cleaned up from the manga but still plenty horrifying).  There is profanity, vulgarity, and all manner of Very Wrong Things.  And some nice lessons couched in those Very Wrong Things.  Japanese live-action movies and dramas can be a weird experience because of the over-acting, and the manga it's based on is already so far over the top that this could have been a train wreck.  Somehow it wasn't.  Go to DMC, indeed.

b Heroic Age: Things blow up!  There is frantic instrumental music!  Laws of physics are totally mocked!  Earnest monologues are delivered sincerely!  It's all very epic and confusing, but once upon a time there was this super advanced race called the gold tribe, and then there may have been a war and for some reason the gold tribe left and gave some special creatures behind to let them duke it out to determine which tribe will dominate.  I think.  Anyway, there's lots of fighting and tragic backstories and unrequited love geometries and good and evil and betrayal and weirdoes.  It's not as bad as it could have been, but sometimes it was dialed up to 14 on a scale of 10, and the unintentional hilarity was too much.  Other times, despite that, it was really sad or touching.  Maybe it would have been more coherent if I hadn't watched it stretched across a couple months.

"That's . . . kind of creepy." (re: Age's painting)

"Don't eat my aircraft!"

"If Age gets lost, you bring him back."
"The path that leads to more peace is worth fighting for."

b Moon Phase: Really decent dub for this slightly oddball show.  There is a high lolicon ick factor that is sometimes impossible to ignore, but there is also this weird stage-yness.  It's kind of like breaking the 4th wall (which happens sometimes, too), and the effect is quite odd in an anime but not horrible.  It's jarring but not terminally so.  I give it extra kudos for totally not showing any of the climactic showdown battle AT ALL!  Bwahahah.  Well played.  : )  This isn't really an action show, after all, so why blow your budget when everyone knows how things will play out anyway?  It makes me want to read the whole manga to see if the same thing happens there.  It's a mostly happy, slightly confused ending and a weird ride, but I enjoyed it.

"One thing I know how to do is honor the heck out of an obligation."

"It's just the fruit of my daily training."
"Well, then, meet the fruit juicer!"

What I watched in August: Digest Version, Part 2 of 2

b Gungrave: I think this probably qualifies as MANime.  At least until it falls apart at the end.  Actually, maybe that's part of the MANime madness?  Nah, I blame that part all on the video game.  The bits around that are pretty good, though.  Lots of violence, so it's not for the weak of stomach.  If you really want a deep and intricate plot, it's probably not the one you want to choose.  If you want a nice buddy story gone terribly, horribly wrong with lots of action and mayhem and bullets and tears and some really silly names, well, this is an excellent choice.

"Bind your opponent with invisible irons.  That's the true way to use power."
---
"Whatever made me think living was so important?"
---
"A place for people with dreams like you who can still look toward the future with hope."
---
"I love the taste of despair!"

b Hetalia: Some people (and some governments) maybe take this show/manga too seriously.  I mean, any country that actually sanctions another because of a gag comedy that makes fun of all the countries is probably . . .  (And they didn't even see the American dub which amps up the offensiveness even more with a cheerful smile and a rude gesture.)  In the commentary, they talked about their desire to offend everyone because they don't believe in singling countries out.  I would say they have achieved success at this equal-opportunity policy.  And frequently hilariousness.

"I say we hit Italy first because they can't drive and are usually drunk!"
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"Their killer technique is profiting from the sidelines." (France)
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"Waving this white flag is really tiring!" (Italy)
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"I'll definitely (probably) quit it." (can't remember)

b Moribito:  Am I seriously getting misty-eyed just from hearing that tune play over the menu?  Yes, yes I am.  Because this show is THAT good.
Someday, I will cosplay Balsa.  I will need to be able to use my hands and arms enough to do some serious weight-lifting before then.  So maybe I will not ever cosplay Balsa, but I would if I had better muscle definition on my arms.  Anyway, have I mentioned that I love this show? Because I do.  It has action, drama, mystery, fantasy, a dash of romance, amazing animation, good music, a decent plot, and Tanda.  Who really needs a hug.  Just because.  I cry at the end every time.  I want to read more of the novels SOOOOOO BAAAAAAAD.  Oh, please, Viz, please.  PLEASE!

What I watched in August: Digest Version, Part 1 of 2

b Broken Blade: Oh, that opening is stuck in my head until the next time I watch the Guin Saga closer.  (Keep those amazing theme songs for dramatic fantasy/sci-fi mecha coming, folks! ; )  I liked this the second time through, too, but I was still frustrated by the dangling threads that those who read Japanese will get to see resolved in the manga, which I think is still being published.  There is certainly closure to some things, but the things I was most interested in were not among them.  Again, it was nice to see adults have most of the starring roles.  It brings some different things to the table.

b Guin Saga:  Thank goodness this isn't even close to as graphic as the novels.  Unfortunately, it's totally watered down, instead.  (I'm mostly okay with that since my stomach couldn't handle such horrific violence in a visual medium.)  Actually, it's kind of like an anime Cliff's notes.  Holy cow!  They tried to cram something like 40 volumes worth of the novels into 26 episodes.  Something had to give, and that something was details.  Those details were pretty important for character development, so the end result is you get to go further in the adventure, but you care less.  Or maybe that only applies if you read the novels and know what you're missing.  I would like some folks who enjoy fantasy to give it a try and let me know their reaction, so I can see if it holds together better for people who haven't read the novels.  Not that I'm really, really complaining because since it doesn't look like any more of the novels will see print in English, it was sort of nice to find out what happened down the road, right?  Then again, I may be lying to myself because I've never liked Cliff's Notes or abridged versions because they tend to take out all the really important words in trade for a clearer/cleaner plot.  Not that the novels need help since their plots are pretty straightforward . . . 

The dub for the first half was pretty serviceable, though I wasn't too fond of Istavan's voice for some reason I couldn't pin down even though I usually like David Matranga's work, and then . . .?!?!  WTH?!  The dub for the second half is increasingly awful.  It got selected for worst dub on Anime News Network, but I thought that was for the songs.  (Which were pretty bad in English.  Just leave 'em in Japanese, guys; it's okay.)  What bothered me more is that it's like they stopped caring!  They started adding all these ad-libs and going for comedy readings (this approach worked in Wedding Peach because it wasn't straight drama and was pretty ridiculous).  This ill-considered and executed humor served to destroy any integrity remaining in this 100% serious dramatic action fantasy.  So many of the shows Sentai releases don't have dubs, so it seems inexcusable to spend the money to produce one that's so sub-par.  Usually I don't take this kind of thing personally, but I'm a tad offended.  The next time through, I'll watch it all in Japanese, and maybe I won't have this bitter taste in my mouth.  And I will probably listen to/watch the ending theme song every time again.  : )

What I watched in July: Digest Version

TRSI licensed Rose of Versailles.  Sentai licensed Mawaru Penguindrum.  Signs of the Apocalypse?  Excellent!

b Best Student Council:  My initial thought was, "What is with the puppet?"  I was having puppet flashbacks to Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.  Eventually, I realized, "This is just the kind of show where someone walks around with a puppet all the time; just deal with it or stop watching.  "You're with the Best Student Council now.  You shouldn't be hanging around with a no-good puppet like me."  The puppet does end up being more than just a gag, but you have to put up with all the general wacky hijinks until then.  Your call.  This one was a lot of fun to watch/listen to in the background while doing other things.  I don't know if I would have liked it as much if I had to concentrate hard on every minute of it.

b Cosmo Warrior Zero: Oh, Leiji Matsumoto and your MANime.  It's ridiculous, and I really like it.  Lest you think I'm talking about a comedy, Zero is actually supposed to be a manly space drama, I think, and it does take itself pretty seriously most of the time.  There are some moments where you'll have to just abandon your brain, but it's a fun ride.  Except for the bits about genocide, which aren't fun at all.

What about the survivors?  There's a whole world that needs you out there.. . . You're not the only one who lost a family.
---
We have to do this.  That's the only way to mourn for the people who have died in the war.
---
Poor fool.  Why do you have to blame it all on yourself?

b Mariaholic: Your mileage will very wildly.  If you can't stand bullying, especially when it seems completely misogynistic, then you shouldn't even try this one.  If you have a fairly thick skin about these things where your comedy is concerned, and you are a longtime anime fan who is knowledgeable about jpop culture, you might have an enjoyable time.  You will, of course, be offended sometimes because that's part of what this show is all about, but you might also be amused.

b Tatami Galaxy: How good are you with crazy?  If you don't mind the out-there art, the bonkers premise, and the wild execution, you might appreciate this one.  By the last episode, you feel like the ending is earned, gosh darn it, even if it doesn't, you know, totally make perfect sense.  This is the story of a loser guy who goes to college and keeps falling in with the wrong crowd and then calling do-over and trying different choices to see if his life turns out more the way he wanted it to be.

b Windy Tales: If you can deal with the sketchy animation and you don't hate slice of life and aren't completely against a bit of magical realism, you might enjoy this odd-looking little show that peripherally deals with some people and cats who can control the wind but mostly just deals with life and growing up.

b Young Animator Training Project: This series of shorts by different young creators is kind of fascinating, especially if you like random things and short stories and variety in your anime viewing.  The result vary in quality, but that sort of adds to its charm for me.

What I watched in June: part 2 of 2

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: I liked it.

But first, the bad.  The beginning really suffered from pacing issues.  They decided not to cover much of the ground they had covered in the earlier series while also trying to cover some of the important highlights.   (Example: important character death in other series - episode 25; same point in this series - episode 10.  Not as much time to see and grow to love the character.) The result is that they built little emotional momentum, so the payoffs in the first 25% of the show were, well, not powerful at all, especially for those who hadn't seen the first series.  I would thus recommend watching the other version first to get more mileage out of this one.  The problem is that if you see the other version first, you are probably going to compare the two, and there are some unfavorable comparisons.

• The music is 96% crap compared to the brilliance of the other series' music.  This may not be very fair.  The first series set the bar incredibly high.  This score is certainly adequate.  But I wanted brilliant again.  My expectations were wrong.
• Scar's new VA in English.  He's just too smooth and urbane and high-class sounding.  Again, the bar was set pretty high in the other series, so my expectations were probably impossible for any other actor to fulfill.
• The weaknesses of the manga are here, too.  The switches between humorous bits and serious bits can be kind of jarring in anime (I had this problem with D.Gray-Man, too).  Some fights are cooler in manga panels.

Some things that I was impressed by in the manga are here in living, moving color, and that can be a good thing.  Roy vs. Lust and Roy vs. Envy are particular powerful.  Hawkeye and Roy are a hoot together.  Al's mind-body problems are harrowing.  Ling is a complex character, and so is Greed (in all incarnations).  Gluttony is just scary sometimes.  The Briggs folks are great.  Oh, Jean . . .  Scar and Fuhrer Bradley's fight is pretty good, too.  And Wrath, well, some of that is creepy.  The body count is a lot higher in this series, too.  Bad Dwarf in the Flask, no, no!

The returning voice cast was great.  In Japanese, they ticked lots of folks off by switching around a bunch of the actors.  Funimation, the company who dubbed and released this in English, didn't make that mistake.  They really went above and beyond to get back everyone they could.  The end result was pretty amazing and made for some good commentaries.  My favorite was the one with Aaron in episode 40.  He played Al in the other series, but then puberty interfered.  I was really set up to sulk about that, especially after I saw the newer movie (Sacred Star of Milos) and really was not into Al's different, obviously voiced by a female voice.  After hearing Scar's new voice in the series, though, I found myself counting my blessings.  I also learned that Ed Blaylock (Fuhrer Bradley) is actually an area DJ, which makes sense.

The themes were still there.  Changed in trajectory a bit, but questions about whether to stay still or move ahead were answered in word and deed.  "Stand up and walk.  Move forward on your own two feet!"  The desire for power to protect and the desire for power itself, as well as the limits of power, were explored.  All sorts of relationships were portrayed.  Sin, brokenness, punishment, and redemption: it's all there.

I liked it and am glad it happened, unlikely as it was for a series that had already been made to be remade in the image of the manga.  I will watch it again.  Maybe after I read the manga.  Or maybe alongside it.  Maybe I'll patch together something that lets me watch earlier episodes of the other series mixed in with this one to get a less Cliff's Notes picture at the beginning.  That ought to be interesting . . .

What I watched in June: Digest Version, part 1 of 2

b Darker than Black season 1:  I do kind of wish they maybe hadn't rushed the last few episodes, and I sort of wish the bonus episode wasn't the last one I'd watched (though it is hilarious . . .).

What more do you have to take from me?
 ---
 "I made the stars fall tonight.  Lots of them . . ."  Heartbreaking when you consider the flashback about falling stars in their childhood before this all started.
 ---
Nothing but confusion awaits you if you choose both.
---
So you've chosen a third path, have you?

Some of the commentaries had their moments, too.  One of my favorites: "There are winners and losers in the naked teleportation game."

b Rurouni Kenshin, season 2: Well, the animation isn't great, and I totally forgot about the biting, but this is still some powerful stuff, even after all these years.  The internal struggle of a man trying to decide if his principles are worth clinging to if they prevent him from saving his country is compelling.

I find it is much harder to build a new era than to break one.
---
I am a wanderer.  I must begin wandering again.
---
Humans are work against the terror of violence.
---
You truly are a man who never shows any mercy.
---
That was a paper-thin margin, it was. That was . . . a thick piece of paper.

b Lucky Star: Hands down best part is the extra The Adventures of Minoru Shiraishi (and the random endings).  They are utterly ridiculous . . .  And the tourists in them!  Bwaha!  And the karate kid references . . .  And, well, the show is amusing in a low-key, allusion-filled way.  Those stupid caricature store clerks: their English VAs are having an awesome amount of fun with this . . .  Bwaha!  G Gundam reference?!  (Behold, the Eastern skies are burning red!)  And Lagoon Engine!?!  If you love these reference heavy comedies, you will probably get a kick out of Lucky Star.

I feel like I've lost if people can keep up. ---
Who was that?
A telemarketer?
Didn't you see the caller ID?
I was bored.
---
If you really love Gundam, you have a duty to watch it.
---
"I'm already two years older than Amuro.  And in two years, I'll be as old as Mr. Bright."

Not that I have ever found myself comparing my age to a fictional character's . . .

What I watched in April: Digest Version, part 1 of 2

b Arakawa Under the Bridge 2: Possibly the funniest moment yet was the "Justin Beaver" conversation.  I love how this story walks the line between these people are just insane and this is a fantasy.  It doesn't really walk it; it stomps decisively on either side of it repeatedly.  Oh, anime that can only be anime, you are entertaining.

b Blassreiter first half:  Holy cow, this CGI is terrible AND poorly integrated.  I didn't think this show was that old . . .  The first disc is terrible.  I hate the main character, and I'm glad he died.  (Yes, I still cried when it happened.)

"I would do it again and again and again if I thought it would make them stop picking on me." "Why aren't the ones who bullied Johann being punished?"  The good stuff is the drama about outsiders and bullying and the poor and the outcasts.  "Power has finally come to the just." Power corrupts.  "Nobody ever came for Johann or I when we needed help."  "I won't let anyone bully the weak anymore."

"Is that justice for the wicked?  All I see is someone suffering in pain."  "So do you really feel satisfied now?"  "There wasn't a single life it was right for you to take."  "I really hated killing them even though they bullied Johan.  At first it felt good, but then I suddenly hated it.  My hands were covered in blood.  And I couldn't help Joseph either.  I guess I am a weakling after all."  We are actually quickly running out of living cast members.  I wonder how that's going to work out for the second half . . .  The first commentary was kind of a hoot.

b Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below: Makoto Shinkai strikes again.  This was a lovely movie.  It wasn't, you know, totally coherent or emotionally complex and brilliant, but it was quite beautiful for a road trip/coming of age movie.

b Mobile Fighter G Gundam: Oh, man.  Bring your silly hats and leave your pretentious, serious Gundam notions far behind you.  This was ridiculous and awesome and did I mention ridiculous?  Men spoke with their fists (and also a lot with their mouths)!  People died so many times.  There was a Gundam with a Windmill!  There was a  huge, cheating-filled martial arts tournament!  There were twists and turns!  There was even a (naked person) romantic conclusion. (?!)  I love self-aware directors who are just having a ball and are fully aware of their own weaknesses.  The G-Giles extra is actually pretty great.  It's a simple text transcription of an interview, but it's amusing and insightful and plainly silly.  And the English voice acting was delightfully overwrought.  It wasn't quite original Knights of the Zodiac dub quality, but by the end, the voice actors had stopped trying to understand it and were just letting fly no matter how leaden or ridiculous the dialogue was.  I laughed, I cried, sometimes at the same time . . .  Good stuff to play in the background while you clean, copy down book quotes, update your budget, or write.  Shining Finger forever, dudes!

What I watched in March: Digest Version

b Black Butler:  Dog training with Sebastian.  Holy cow.  I do love the sometimes vicious interplay between Ciel and Sebastian.  "I'm far past being afraid of shattering."  Oh, Ciel.  When he shows he's an adult by teaming up with Grelle to save Lizzie instead of seeking immediate revenge for Madame Red, it kind of breaks my heart.  And "I don't want time to heal my wounds."  So therapy is not an option, then, and living is not the best revenge as far as Ciel is concerned. 

b Cyborg 009: I really like this show; it's just good, angsty, superpowered fun.  I have now had two chances to experience this work, and I have been prevented from seeing it through to completion both times, once by TV cancellation and the second time by DVD release cancellation.  (And the manga got cancelled early, too, in case you wondered.)  But, but, fun things!  Ooo, new character designs!  I hope this movie is good, but trying to cram all that and all those characters into a movie while doing them all justice without having time for character development will be tricky.

b Kaze No Stigma: Really?  Was there really a need for that many panty shots all the time?  The voice acting, especially of the main characters, tries its best to make up for the panty shots, and it's pretty darn good, but sometimes they don't have much to work with.  A fun, adrenalin-soaked tsundere good time.  The extras were kind of fun, too, in a ridiculous way.

b Maison Ikkoku box 4: Oh, romantic comedy; sometimes I just want to slap you.  However, the frustration of people being obnoxious and miscommunicating constantly is finite in this show, so I find it bearable.  Or I would if I could ever get ahold of a cheap copy of the last set.  (Don't worry; I've read it, and I saw the whole thing on Netflix, so I'm not in agony about how it ends.)

b Salaryman Kintaro 5 of 5: No matter how many times I watch this, it's still just totally ridiculous.  And incomprehensible.  Seriously, what's with the ending?  Sigh.  Did I mention how much I love this testosterone-laden, salaryMANtastic MANime-fest?  It makes me laugh so hard.

What I watched in February: Digest Version, Part 1 of 2

b Black Butler: Huge props to Brina Palencia.  I was not a huge fan of her whatshisface in Nabari, but she managed to not only pull off a more convincing boy this time but also to present me with the only time I have ever heard a woman playing a boy cross-dressing as a girl and managing to really sound like a boy pretending to talk like a girl.  Seriously in awe.  There was some really great voice acting in this one (and some enthusiastic but not-so-great).  Some of the commentaries are pretty great, too.  My title for the series: "His Butler, Smirking."  I will probably do a comparison review of the anime to the manga at some point, since I was reading and watching them sort of at the same time. 

b Broken Blade: Oh, this splendid scenery demands to be seen on a huge HD screen.  It was impressive enough on my old regular TV.  "If I crush that gun, Zess can be saved."  Too many smoking guns, and I don't care.  Or I wouldn't care if I thought I'd ever get to read the rest of it.  (I think there's a sequel series, and I hope it deals with some of engaging dangling plot threads . . .)  What we have is beautiful but brutal and somewhat self-contained but ultimately painfully incomplete.  Definitely worth a watch.  Also a great show to have on in the background when you're trying to sort and gather resources for an OWCP report you want to pretend you don't have to write.

b Ghost Hound: What's with the butt cheeks?  Seriously?  This was a quirky little series with a sort-of psychological/mystical hybrid bent.  Have no expectations, and things will go better for you.  And try to ignore the butt cheeks; though they are something to giggle at when things get serious or creepy.

Hope and Rainbows

In January, I watched Rainbow episodes 9-26.  It was kind of stunning.  Still no DVD release, but I bit the bullet and watched this all from Funimation.com (which was more than a little awkward) but the show was amazing and brilliant and powerful and sometimes very much like falling on the ice and hitting your head or getting punched in the gut.  I cried frequently.  I thought about episodes for weeks after I watched them, arguing with myself about whether this or that was going overboard and being melodramatic or just being harsh and realistic or whether something was supposed to be a happy ending or not (the fate of a certain female character in particular).  What a soul-crushing and gloriously inspiring show.

It's almost relentlessly dark.  It goes places nothing else I've read or seen has gone.  Somehow, it's also still hopeful (with a few exceptions), and it manages to be so without being the least bit saccharine about it.  All (relatively) happy endings are EARNED, and none of them feels fake.  Thank you, again, Milo, for bringing this show to my attention.  I liked this interview for explaining that the author named it Rainbow because he wanted people to be focused on the hope, the beauty after the rain storm.

Funimation, I want to give you money for taking a chance on this show.  I want to own it and watch it every few years like some of the other gut-punch anime I've seen (like Grave of the Fireflies and Now & Then, Here & There).  I want to tell other people to watch it, and I want to re-watch it at the same time, so we can talk about it.  I want it to remind me that other times and other places are different from my comfortable life and that people have and have had hard, hard lives, and I need to meet people where they are and not pass judgment before I get to know them, and I want to rejoice in the fact that people can still have hope if someone shows them how.

In short, I liked it.  :)