Aznchau4ever's Animextravaganza

[Ridder]

So.







I watched a ♥♥♥♥ ton of on-e-meh since my departure.



Xam'd The Lost Memory: actiony, Adventurous, Dissapointing ending, by Bones, go watch it. About how a high school islander boy's life changes forever when he becomes a Xam'd, a humanoid superbeing, and he has to travel with a bunch of aero-postal pepol in order to control his new power, confusing, but an enjoyable watch.

Oreimo: Ore no Imouto Kawaii..... Sumthin sumthin. It's a long title. It's a modernish anime about how a brother discovers how his sister with whom he's had a detached relationship is really a fujioshi, or a female otaku, which is actually looked down upon in Japans society. Good humerous show, Op by ClariS , watch it.

[Chaukai]

Rhythm'd!

The Idolm@ster - ED5 - MOONY

Oh hello, good day to all of you 3 people reading this. Now, recently I watched The Idolm@ster and OH GOD IT WAS GREAT. Definitely not the right anime for a lot of people, I can see that, but the style is a lot like K-On, but gets some intense drama in the second half of the season. Anyways, Idolm@ster is awesome because every episode has a different ED. Now, not all of them are fantastic, but this one was so damn catchy and great, I'd like to share with all of you. So, this is Moony, by a bunch of the seiyuus.



Also: I'm sorry for not being active with this, but I really would like some replies if I'm going to continue this. Feedback and such. Especially with the Fall season ending, I'm debating whether or not I want to do a review on all of it. So please, comment.

[Ridder]

Dear Chau,

Review all the anime, worst ones first and gradually leading up to the best.



So I think you could start with Phi Brain.


Sincerely,
Article Reader #1.

[brandoprojectm]

Dear Riddah,

No.

Sincerely, Not Chau.

[Ridder]

Un-Go OP and ED, dunno how to link with phone, The names are "How To Go" by School Food Punishment, who I think did EDs for [C] and Eden of the East, and FANTASY by LAMA.

Xam'ds songs are in english,

Also, Oreimo's OP and multiple EDs are worth a listen. find All songs on YouTube.

[Ridder]

What do you like a lot about Phi Brain, Bradnos?

[Chaukai]

Herro. Good day. Let's do this!

Season Parade! - Wrap up
Now that the Fall Anime is over, it's time for me to give my little two cents on everything that I watched. Before I start, I have to point out one thing.

Even though I do rank things in an order, remember that there's no definite good or bad. It's just my personal opinion. The top five that I liked could be extremely horrible, and vice versa.

A lot of animes are still going on, but I will still put them on the list based on how I like them so far. So, here we go.

THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. BE WARNED.

15. Maken-Ki!

Remember when ecchi was good in anime? It rarely is. And in this case, it destroys any chance of it being good. Not only was the main character unbearable, the storyline was pretty boring. There were ideas that just were never fully formed, and there wasn't really any lasting conflict. There were a few funny parts, and I think the idea of the Makens is fairly interesting, but I don't think it makes up for the rest of the show. Overall, I just couldn't get into it, it left me a bit bitter with the anime world in general.

14. Mashiro-Iro Symphony

I find this attempting to do a sort of Clannad style of adaptation, with the canon couple making all the other girls tearful and sad. Honestly though, the canon couple is so boring and badly developed that I honestly did not think that it was going to last. Sorry, you were a very boring show, and your characters weren't really all that original. The one who was, the sister, had no developing at all, which was quite depressing.

13. Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere

From other sources, I've heard that this show will have a ton of merchandise, which will probably lead to this anime making the most profit. Honestly, I have to say.... Why? The characters were interesting. Cool. Too bad I only see them every other episode, and only 5 out of the cast of 20+ are focused on, and honestly, it's very hard to follow. I'll honestly admit that I still have no idea what exactly the plot of the show was. They tried to tell the story with bits and pieces at a time, but by the time the last piece was told, I had already forgotten what happened in the beginning. Maybe if I were to watch this in one sitting, it would make more sense, but anime should have to do that. It was fairly disappointing. I was expecting an atleast good climax but that didn't happen. I will have to say one thing about the action though. The action was probably the most epic thing ever. I feel if this anime was a video game, it would do very well. Not in terms of story, no, but definitely because of the characters and the variations in fighting styles.

12. Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai

I'll give you a brief summary of the entire anime. First Action. Then Sex. Then more action. In that order. Literally. The first episode you see is this awesome epic war between classes in school. Oh hey, remember that first episode where they did all that in school? Yeah. Not important. The school is barely mentioned ever again after that. Afterwards, for about 5-6 episodes, it becomes this wacky show full of a ton of sexual innuendos and in-your-out-dos and whatever else you can think of. Then, suddenly, epic action sequences again. Personally, I think it as not exactly a bad show to watch, but it's definitely not that great at all. There's not enough focus on any of the plot, and only some focus on the characters, but definitely not enough.

11. Guilty Crown - Ongoing

When I first started this. All I could think of was a knock off version of Code Geass. In some ways, it's not too far off, but Guilty Crown does give its own identity with the Voids. Now, I think that there is still some potential to this anime. There's a lot going on and I think it's not bad, but as it is right now, there's no much going on that is really easy to follow. The characters aren't extremely original but they do have some perks, although I would like to see more of some of the side characters. Now that the first half is over, I'm thinking that there will be some sort of more epic scenes. Hopefully.

10. Kimi to Boku - Ongoing

I found this show to have an interesting cast of characters. The only reason why this is so low on the list was because I did prefer some of the other shows in this season. I thought that all the characters were quirky and had their fair show of screen time. For anyone who prefers a more relaxed show, I would suggest this one. It has good humor and cool characters, as well as a relaxed atmosphere with a slight hint of drama. Very sweet and feel good, I feel I shall enjoy the rest of this show.

9. Persona 4: The Animation - Ongoing

I have no idea when this show will end, so don't ask me. Honestly, with how the show was progressing, I thought that it would be done, and perhaps it'll finish by the next episode, but I'm not sure. From what I've seen, I enjoy the action and characters of this show. The problem is this show goes through a sort of single path, without really looking back on the characters in the past. What I'm saying is, there's character development, but it's only once in the anime, then after that it kinda pushes that character aside. I get a very video game feel from the entire show, which is good of course, but the animation is a bit messy, probably to relate to the video game, but in this case, it doesn't really make it look better, in fact sometimes the characters look a bit stiff. It's very interesting and the action is great, the storyline is also interesting. I have no real complaints with this show.

8. Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle - Ongoing

While this show didn't start out well, I've found that it did get better as it went along. While still having some of its flaws that I complained about in the beginning, the show has gotten better, especially during the circus tent with the logic puzzle. Kaito explained every single step out, which really gave me the feel that he was actually this genius. I have a bit of the problem with the artstyle, but that's just a personal taste. This show has definitely progressed so that it's not complete crap, but I feel now that they have to really extend on the puzzles and give it more of a solveable feel. I was actually shocked that this show is 24 episodes, but that means that there will be a chance for it to get better... Or worse.

7. Un-Go

Honestly, midway through watching this, I just had this random thought in my head. If there are hipster in Japan, for some reason, this is the show that I feel like they would watch. Very surreal and interesting, I found that this was a very good mystery. I think some of the solutions were a bit hard to follow, as in, the Defeated Detective's thought process wasn't well explained, but overall, I found that the characters were very interesting and original, and I had a good time with this show. As Ridder said before, the OP and ED are pretty good too. Also, I loved Kazamori. This show gave a more well developed insight to the post-apocalyptic world, with a very realistic view on the abuses of technology and power, as well as the need for those abuses. I do think some of the characters were a bit confusing, the daughter of the detective and the other girl who I don't remember but I remember exists. So yeah, I think this is a great and interesting anime, for anybody who does enjoy a good mystery.

6. C³: Cubed x Cursed x Curious

Personally, I loved this show. I could understand a lot of reasons why this was disliked by a lot of people though. At some points, this anime is very difficult to follow. Like before, I've said that this anime has a very insane mood. The only real predictable pattern is the fact that there is no real pattern. The mood can change from extremely dark to extremely light within a few seconds. The characters were very fun though, with a very original premises, although could have been better done in terms of plot. There are hints of a second season and I hope so. If you're looking for something different, I would suggest this. I enjoy all of the main characters, they are very fun and different.

5. Ben-to

Still probably the most epic premise of any show. Who could go wrong with half-priced bento boxes? I'll be honest that it got a bit weak in the middle, but I found the beginning and end to be satisfying. The characters were interesting and this show was hilarious. I wanted a little bit more of a point to the Muscle Cop, (I find it easier to remember their Nom de Guerre lol) as well as some of the other characters, but, ah well. This anime definitely could have went better if it had focused more as an action show, but it strayed from that for a more character focused, which didn't go well for it. I enjoyed this show in general though, and it was a fun show. I'm pretty sad that it ended, but this is a very interesting and fun show to watch.

4. Haganai

Best comedy of the season, hands down. Full of hilarious and fun characters, I loved this show so much, and every week I looked forward to the next episode. With gratuitous fanservice, it did get bogged down a bit, but the characters were amazing and hilarious. A good show for laughs, with an actually very satisfying ending that gave me a good feel. If you want a good laugh, this is definitely a fantastic show to do it with.

3. Fate/Zero - Ongoing This Spring

For those who have watched Fate/Stay Night, I apologize sincerely. While Fate/Stay Night had its moments, as well as a great premises, it just wasn't executed well. Fate/Zero definitely surpassed its original show, (from what I've heard the VN for Stay Night is great,) with great characters as well as returns of awesome characters. There has been a lot of focus on the characters, and I think that it may be a tad bit slow, I personally can stand it and it still has enough to show off that there can be that slow pace in storyline. The action was very smooth and good, (no surprise there,) and I think this has much more realistic characters than the ones that were found in Stay Night. If you have watched Stay Night, I highly recommend you watch this.

2. Mirai Nikki - Ongoing

Yandere. That is all.

No but seriously, half of this forum is already watching this so I don't even think I need to talk about how epic this one is going. Despite the fact that the main character is still the most annoying crybaby on the face of the planet, I think the show balances that with epic characters like Yuno. I especially enjoyed the scene within the big building surrounded by dogs, as that really showed the exploitations of the diaries. Personally, I think that the future diaries are actually really weak, with how easily manipulated they are, but hey man I don't judge. There have been some pretty insane scenes in this show, cringeworthy, definitely, the premises and characters are very interesting. We're only half way there guys, and I hope it only gets better from here.

1. Chihayafuru - Ongoing

Surprised? I haven't mentioned much about this show to the forums, but so far from the Fall line-up, this is my one favorite show. Now, with all the shows still ongoing, it could be possible that it changes, but right now, this is definitely my favorite. With a round and interesting main character, and a cast built around that character, I love how this show has played out and how it has been going. With a few tear jerkers here and there, a goal that's just within their grasps, and this mentality of teamwork and working hard, I feel like this is one of those inspirational movies. The shoujo art is something that compliments the style of the show, to show the beauty of the game as well as the characters themselves. If you feel reluctant to see this show, I would say that you shouldn't, it's very well done and has great moments in every single episode.

[Chaukai]

Season Parade!
First Glance at the Winter 2012!

Ano Natsu de Matteru (Waiting in the Summer)

Genre?: Sudden Girlfriend Appearance, Romance, Aliens
Summary (As far as I've seen.): I'd say it's very similar to Onegai Teacher. Of course, this isn't a bad thing, but whenever I watch an episode, that's all I can really think of, and it's to be expected since the makers of Onegai Teacher made this. The story follows a new female who arrives at school and then the students all plan to make a video. Something happened in the beginning that caused Kaito, the MC, to faint, which is where Ichika, the new student, comes in, and apparently she's an alien and the explosion in the beginning is somehow linked to her. I don't know.
I'd Suggest it to: It's not too bad of an anime if you want something relaxed, but I haven't found it to be all that intriguing. Very sweet but nothing fantastic.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: People who hate generic love stories. The characters don't seem to interesting except for Lemon, (I'm a sucker for mischevious characters,) and it seems like the ending was set before the show even started.

Another

Genre?: Horror, Expecting to be a bit Psychological
Summary (As far as I've seen.): Basically there's this class. Right? And there's this girl, who's this superstar student, right? Well she dies, right? But after the funeral, all the of students in that class are just like, "No, she's not dead, she's right here," and points to the empty seat. So for the entire 3 years of High School, the act like the dead girl is still alive, right? That happened 20 some years before the story, in which it's about a new guy that moves in and is like, "wtf," because nobody will talk about that story. But then suddenly the new guy sees a girl with the exact same descript as the dead girl from before. And that's... Pretty much it. Intense ♥♥♥♥ happens.
I'd Suggest it to: Any Horror lover. So far it's not too bad, and it's still intriguing, although I would say it's pacing is a bit slow, (except for the end of episode 3,) but anyone who enjoys those dark and strange stories.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: People who can't handle their horror, or slow paced shows.

Area no Kishi (Knight of the Area)

Genre?: Sports, Drama
Summary (As far as I've seen.): Basically this kid plays soccer and then his brother is a soccer prodigy so the kid stops playing soccer, but then something happens a couple episodes in that are spoilers and the kid has to play soccer again. The characters are okay, not that interesting, but there's some good dramaing that happens. Or maybe it's just teen angst. Eh, either or.
I'd Suggest it to: Sports fans. It's one of THOSE animes, where the main character is just superb at the sport and shows everyone off for sucking.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: Anybody who detests sports animes? It's not too bad, honestly, it's fairly interesting.

Baby, Please Kill Me!

Genre?: Slice of Life? Comedy? I think?
Summary (As far as I've seen.): Basically it's about two loli girls going to school, one is a secret agent and the other is a complete idiot. So they do shenanigans. Mostly it's a series of jokes, there's no real story. The jokes aren't extremely great but it has a sparse few moments.
I'd Suggest it to: People who are bored and want to watch cute lolis doing random things.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: People who don't like shows that don't have a point.

Brave 10

Genre?: Action, Fantasy
Summary (As far as I've seen.): I really don't know. Basically this priestess had her temple place burned down so she ran to some chief of some village or something and then ran into a ninja who was actually one of the Ten Braves, and he's like, "meh" and he's actually chivalrous and a good guy at heart so he helps the girl. A lot of sword action and energy attacks and schtuff like that. I don't really know. What I do know is that whenever I watch it I want to read Chronicle of the Cursed Swords again.
I'd Suggest it to:People who like action of the sorts. Rurouni Kenshin and such like that.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: A lot of people.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (Daily Life of High School Boys)

Genre?: Slice of Life, Comedy
Summary (As far as I've seen.): Exactly as the title says. The story just follows three guys as they screw around and do whatever the hell they want. Think Kimi to Boku with less drama and more random. This show is pretty freaking hilarious, (especially the scene at the river at the end of episode 1,) and very entertaining, with interesting characters not necessarily getting into wacky situations, but creating those situations themselves. Also, I WANT MORE OF THE LITERARY GIRL.
I'd Suggest it to: Anyone who wants a good laugh.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: Anybody who doesn't like a show about guys.

High School DxD

Genre?: Action, Ecchi, Comedy, Fantasy
Summary (As far as I've seen.): Basically, Rias Gremory is a devil and leader of the Gremory clan. The Gremory clan is different from most devils in that they pretty much protect regular humans, but since they are devils, they are still targetted by Angels and Fallen Angels. The main character, Issei, is saved by Rias after being attacked by a Fallen Angel, and thus begins to serve Rias as a Devil.
I'd Suggest it to: Ecchi lovers. People who like magic fights and such.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: Non-Ecchi lovers.

Inu x Boku SS

Genre?: Fantasy... Romance...? Comedy, Action
Summary (As far as I've seen.): Who likes flat chested girls who can transform into Scythe wielding miko youkais? I do! Who likes white haired butlers who have different colored eyes, are sexy as ♥♥♥♥, and can turn into a fox? I do! Inu x Boku is about Ririchiyo, a girl who has a habit of talking down on people. She dislikes communicating with people so she moves into this manor by herself, thinking she'll be in solitary bliss there. But this manor is a special one, and each person who lives there is assigned their own Secret Service Agent in order to protect them. In comes Souchi, Ririchiyo's secret service agent, and oh is he interesting. Oh, and also, everyone can transform into their demon forms in this manor. That's something to mention.
I'd Suggest it to: Anybody who likes interesting character designs and great characters.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: I don't know. Lol

Mouretsu Pirates (Bodacious Pirates)

Genre?: Space, Action
Summary (As far as I've seen.): With a title like Bodacious Pirates, I expected to enjoy this a lot less than I am right now. Mouretsu Pirates is about Marika, who doesn't know that she is the daughter of a space pirate. Two actually, her mother and father were famous space pirates, but she recently found out her father died. And the only one to inherit the Pirate Ship is her. So far, the pacing is very different from what's expected. I expected they'd jump right to Space Pirate battles, but they are instead taking their time and making sure that we understand the world of the spaceships before even setting foot on Pirates. I think it's a very interesting show, and has a fair amount of potential.
I'd Suggest it to: Space lovers.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: Space haters?

Nisemonogatari (Impostory)

Genre?: Comedy, Ecchi, Slow-paced, Supernatural
Summary (As far as I've seen.): It's the sequel to Bakemonogatari. That should pretty much sum everything up to a nutshell. So far, Nisemonogatari has caterred to my every whim, which was extremely well played trade-offs between every single character. Now, Araragi has met a strange man who speaks of very paranoic things, enough to give Araragi the creeps. After talking with Senjougahara about it, she goes as far as to kidnap Araragi to protect him. The comedy is just as great as before. The OP isn't as strong, but the ED is sung by ClariS and composed by Ryo. There's no greater combination in the world.
I'd Suggest it to: Anyone who loved Bakemonogatari
I wouldn't Suggest it to: People who haven't watched Bakemonogatari

Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai! (Listen to Me Girls, I'm Your Father!)

Genre?: Slice of Life, Drama
Summary (As far as I've seen.): So this College Guy has an older sister who already is already married and has three adorable little girls. So the college guy, Yuuta, goes over to visit and baby-sit them for a few days while his sister and husband go off to hell if I remember what. But then something happens, and yeah. Basically the guy has to take care of the girls for a while longer. I think this can be pulled off in either two directions. Extremely creepy or extremely serious. Either way, I don't see it ending really well.
I'd Suggest it to: People who like watching cute little girls.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: People who are scared of incest, because it may happen.

Rinne no Lagrange (Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne)

Genre?: Mecha, Futuristic
Summary (As far as I've seen.): Madoka is this girl who just sort of helps everyone, and then she is asked by this girl who she had saved in her childhood to fight in a mecha. From what I've seen this will pretty much be a mecha power puff girls, because there's three girls in green, red, and blue, in the OP, with giant mechas.
I'd Suggest it to: People who feel like a Mecha.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: People who don't feel like a mecha.

Senki Zesshou Symphogear (Swansong of the Valkyries Symphogear)

Genre?: Action, Futuristic, Divas
Summary (As far as I've seen.): There were these two girls who fought these monsters called the Noise. They fought them by like, singing at the same time as fighting them. But when the Noise attacks during one of their concerts, (they're divas too,) a girl named Hibiki gets freaking destroyed by flying debris. So one of the girls sacrifices herself to save Hibiki, and in so, Hibiki gains the power of the Symphogear, the weapon used to fight the Noise. So far, the very beginning of the first episode told me that it's not going to end well with Hibiki. I don't know, but it's fairly interesting.
I'd Suggest it to: Action and Diva lovers.
I wouldn't Suggest it to: People who don't like helpless MCs.

[Chaukai]

Season Parade! - Wrap up
Hello~! Today I'm here to give you my Wrap up on the Winter 2012 season of Anime! As I said before, remember that this is ranked by magnitude. The lowest ranked anime is not technically the worst anime in the world! Anyways with that, let's begin!


14. Brave 10

Overall: So let's start kick this off like always from the worst to best. Now... Brave 10... There are a lot of things I can say about this anime, but just beforehand, I'd like to say that this is probably the only show that I just didn't like at all. The so called plot is anything but, with no focus it loses any idea of an antagonist as well as a goal. The man who is assembling the Braves seems to be doing this for nothing more than the fact that he was bored as ♥♥♥♥ one day. The main character is a prick, (which I can deal with,) who chases after a useless girl, (who I can't deal with,) with a variety of zany, oh wait, sorry, wrong word, shallow characters who nobody gives a ♥♥♥♥ about because there are so many of them that they are all disposable. Honestly, even the action was just awful. Not even mentioning the fact that the MC can't see how pathetic he is, (oops, I just did,) the rest of the characters' strengths seem to just randomly increase and decrease, so that they are either really pathetic or really overpowered.
Strengths: No.
Weaknesses: Flat characters, vague plot, bad ending.

13. Senki Zesshou Symphogear (Swan Song of the Valkyries: Symphogear)

Overall: While the ideas that Symphogear introduced sounded attractive at first, I have to question what genre this anime is. I believe it's as if you took the Magical Girl genre and the Mecha genre and you smashed them together, then replaced those characters with idols. That'd pretty much get a decent overview of the entire show. With an okay character line-up followed with fun and over the top action, it was a fine ride as I watched this show.

The biggest problem I had was with the main character, who seems to think that the best way to solve things is to ♥♥♥♥♥ and moan about it, even though she seems perfectly capable of punching the ♥♥♥♥ out of anything in her way. The antagonist's ploy was the one thing I just didn't get, I mean, I get what the antagonist did, but there was no real idea as to the intent. Which brings me to the point of what this show was really about. Was it about the main whatever artifacts and such? Yes, to an extent. But I saw this more as a show about angst in flashy explosions form.
Strengths: Good Action, Good Music
Weaknesses: Annoying Characters, Cliche Story

12. Black Rock Shooter TV

Overall: I've got a certain bone to pick with the Black Rock Shooter franchise. I respect it. I wholeheartedly like what the Black Rock Shooter anime represents as an idea. The fact that a song can have so much influence as to made its own anime is saying something fantastic in itself. That's about as far as I can go. There are various problems I found with Black Rock Shooter, one main point is the focus on the main character. The problem is, Kuroi had a good potential of a character, and retrospectively thinking what I could see Kuroi is is the color which she is meant to symbolize, black. She is indeed that great mix of learning from all the other characters who she meets. The problem I have is that because of this, Kuroi has no real developing in herself.

The real big point I would like to focus on though, is the Black Rock Shooter world. I had the same problem with this in the OVA, which was that this entire opposite world they created had no real significant explanation as to what it exactly was and why. The only idea was that they characters in there carried the burdens of the characters of the real world. Good. Cool. Wait. If that's the case then why was it that when that one girl in the wheelchair lost her representation, she suddenly became sane? Isn't that a good thing? That's the crux of it. The problem isn't that it's inconsistent, (although that's a result of the problem,) the problem is that there is no real explanation as to anything that goes on within the world, leaving a lot of flaws and clashing concepts. The same is said with Black Rock Shooter herself. Seriously, what the ♥♥♥♥ is she?

Now I thought to myself, maybe I'm thinking of it too symbolically. Perhaps if I just think of the representation at face value and nothing more, it will make more sense. I did. Honestly, I'd say I enjoyed it a lot more. But the problem is that this shouldn't have to be like that. If the anime is going to have this effort in creating this surreal world where people beat the ♥♥♥♥ out of each other, there needs to be a why. Why.
Strengths: Good Animation, Good music
Weaknesses: Weak attempt at symbolism, pointless action

11. Inu x Boku SS (Dog x I SS)

Overall: There's only one thing that keeps this anime from dropping from 11 to 13 and that is the characters. I'll say it now, Inu x Boku SS sometimes made me slightly angry. I'll say this. It was an enjoyable show. I'd be lying if I said I just didn't enjoy it. Inu x Boku was a very weakly developed show with great and interesting characters. It's a shame actually, to see such a show introduce so much potential and then just kinda drag everything to the ground. I won't really say much about this show except for that while the characters were strong, they never really developed as people, nor did the plot develop at all. It was only in the end that it had even a hint of life. It completely ignores potential plots points such as the fact that all of them are ♥♥♥♥ DEMONS. I mean, yeah, cool, you want to do an anime like a slice of life, fine. What the hell was the point of making them demons?
Strengths: Character designs, moeness everywhere, good humor
Weaknesses: Little plot, little character development

10. Area no Kishi (Knight of the Area)

Overall: Area no Kishi, it's not you, it's me. While I try to keep as open of a mind as possible, I can't get out the fact that you are indeed a sports anime. This is, of course, a personal bias, as there are people who enjoy sports animes a lot. As I am not one of them, I can't really give a reccomendation either way, but let's put that aside, I'm acting as if this anime was just horrible.

It's not, Area no Kishi has a strange story pattern in that it will focus on football and then sometimes just diverge from that path to get a relaxing pace. Problem? I can see that as a sports anime, it's just filler. But for me, I prefer that honestly. It's those episodes about the side characters, (in particular, Seven,) that I enjoy. It has a fairly enjoyable cast of characters, but some of them do fall to cliches, and most of them are only focused on for the span of a minutes, but if you enjoy sports, try giving this anime a shot. (Haha, get it, because it's an anime about football.)
Strengths: Good flow, interesting plot twist in the beginning
Weaknesses: Too many characters

9. Kill Me Baby

Overall: I'm actually kind of sad that I can't put Kill Me Baby as a higher number, but honestly there were definitely other animes that I enjoyed more than this one. Kill Me Baby is the typical slice of life that I love, (I'm just a whore for slices of life though,) and I think my favorite thing about this anime was Yasuna's seiyuu. Her seiyuu seems to have a talent in making the weirdest sounds, because Yasuna seems to just be this character that is just everywhere, it's really quite enjoyable. This anime is one of those that you shouldn't take seriously, in fact, it's definitely one to laze about. While a lot of its humor isn't strong, they have their moments where they are just completely hilarious.
Strengths: Fun character
Weaknesses: Boring at times

8. Rinne no Lagrange (Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne)

Overall: What I liked the most about this anime was the MC. Madoka has this sort of character that is just independent and sociable, something that I just enjoy out of any MC. She's a reliable and entertaining to watch person, and she develops decently well as a character. The major problems with this anime come in the last few episodes, when the antagonist seems to be... Wait I don't even know. That's the problem, which is that there's really no mention of the main bad guys until they actually appear, and even then, they're kinda just in the background as the main three girls are still talking to each other and developing.
Strengths: Good MC, good supporting characters
Weaknesses: Ending, every other character to an extent

7. High School DxD

Overall: The thing I'd like to say is that there aren't many good ecchis around the block. I hardly really count Bakemonogatari as ecchi, but High School DxD seems to be able to do pretty well in the genre. Of course it's no diamond in the rough, it still has a good value to it, in the focus of the characters as well as the premise. The idea behind the chess pieces was fun, what I enjoyed the most was probably how badass Akeno was. Like seriously, her ara-ara's were just the sexiest things ever. But switching from that, I surprisingly did enjoy the MC more and more as the show progressed. At first he was a wimp that I just wanted to smack in the face, but he recognized that he was, which was something that I can say doesn't happen as much in shows. The plot itself was okay, with very little looking back, especially the whole ordeal with the fallen angels, which was completely forgotten in the second half. While I really don't care that much, I think the fact that they didn't use what they had as well was a problem.
Strengths: Boobs. I mean, seriously Boobs. Good action, fun characters
Weaknesses: Meh plot, and gratuitous fanservice

6. Ano Natsu de Matteru (Waiting in the Summer)

Overall: The love dodecahedron that was formed within the anime was absolved, and there was closure. What more could you ask for. Personally, I dislike romances that feature a lot of UST, simply because it means that nothing really happened and that characters will still be ♥♥♥♥♥. So I enjoyed this show. It was a good show. The only real thing I have a problem is is with the production company's obsession with aliens. I mean I get it, and there was a reference to Onegai Teacher, but I just don't get why it was necessary.
Strengths: Good build up to satisfying end
Weaknesses: I don't have any real problems, although I'm sure some can be found.

5. Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai! (Listen to me Girls, I'm your Father!)

Overall: I have a lot of mixed emotions for this show. If anybody were to just read the title and premise, they might get the wrong idea. The thing is, it's only slightly wrong, which is what is my problem. Papa no Iu is a show that, for anyone who has seen any show about non-blood related family living together, can give really bad ideas as to what the show possibly intends.

What I enjoyed about the show was that it wasn't about that. There was a push for something more serious, a subversion of the ideas of semi-incestual animes imply. I liked it. The characters were smart, they weren't idiots. The star player of the show was definitely Raika, a character voiced by the fantastic Horie Yui and the one who just steals any scene she's in. What depressed me is that she wasn't in enough.

And that sums up what the show is, really. It isn't enough. When the anime loses its drive, it goes back to the generic clothes change flash and blushed cries of girls. The problem is that it didn't try hard enough to break out of the barrier that separated a serious anime from a generic comedy. And that was my major disappointment with this show. The fact that I didn't expect it gave me hope in the show, but the fact that it withdrew and went back to the normal underwear shots was disheartening. While it still had its moments, if it had just tried a bit more, I think this could have been an amazing show.
Strengths: Raika. Raika. More Raika. Slight subversions.
Weaknesses: Still falls back to usual anime.

4. Mouretsu Pirates (Miniskirt Pirates)

Overall: While #5 had an attempted subversion of a generic premise, Mouretsu Pirates had a completely new approach to a generic premise. (Atleast as far as I know. There's probably other titles that can boast even more.) Mouretsu Pirates for me was this sort of strange experience that I never had before. Take it as that. Whether really that good or actually bad, that's up to you, but Mouretsu Pirates gave me this unexpected feeling of excitement everytime I watched an episode. I'm not sure what. Maybe it's something to do with the epic OP or the fantastic animations. Maybe it's because Marika is just this girl who seems to know exactly what to do when the situation arises.

The reason Mouretsu Pirates is #4 is because I enjoy watching the show far more than any others. The fact that it doesn't take the approach of swashbuckling pirates that fly around in sailboats is just a complete relief for me. Instead, these are as modernized as pirates can get, and then some. Many times it almost mocks us for the time period we live in, to be able to understand what the word "pirate" means but not understand their meaning of pirate. Yet it tells the ideas of these pirates in a very calm and subtle way, without blatantly stating that THIS IS WHAT OUR SPACE PIRATES DO.

The political aspects of the show are a bit more weak so far as I've seen. The problem is that while the Serenity bloodline is explained, it doesn't focus too much on the impact of it througout the universe, thus confusing how significant the task was.

I love the spacial wars though. The electronic warfare in the beginning of the series was just fun and interesting. A new look at a seemingly old idea. The fact that there were very few explosions or even contact fights is actually one thing I enjoy. If anything, action has for the most part bored me to no end. So when they talk about the laser being significant not as death beams but as wavelengths that can disrupt electronics, it becomes much more focused on the technical aspect of it.

Honestly if it was in terms of how GOOD, Mouretsu Pirates would actually probably be my #2. But Mouretsu Pirates is still ongoing and I'm still expecting much more from the show.
Strengths: Excellent Ideas and Concepts played well. MC is fairly good. Great music.
Weaknesses: Cast of characters becomes a bit large

3. Another

Overall: Another was no real groundbreaking thing like Mouretsu Pirates felt like to me. But that doesn't mean Another was worse than Mouretsu Pirates. Another was good because it was solid. While this was classified as a Horror, and in some aspects it was, there was really not that much played into the horror. For me, horror should be something that terrifies, that gives fears in the back of the mind, that keeps you awake. Another would never do that to me, but that's not why Another was good. Another was good because of the plot. For this show, I enjoyed how the idea and the puzzle was explained and dealt with. It was actually very cleverly done, and in such a way that if I tried really hard, would have possibly had figured out.

But I'm not going to spoil anything (significantly), but I'll say that Another has an excellent pacing with how the story is told. Misaki is a great character, and every episode feels as if something moves along, they aim for a goal and they slowly struggle their way to find the truth. The only few problems I found with this were Misaki being close-mouthed at the best of times. Specifically near the end. The logical reasoning just doesn't seem to work with how Misaki acted.

One thing I REALLY loved though was the hint of the past. For any of you who have seen it, there's one mystery that is never solved and definitely open for interpretations. While it's not a "cliffhanger" per se, it is an interesting image that they put in your head that leaves you hanging with that question.

Well, I'll try not to just sit here and be too vague. Another was a solid show, and very well done. Definitely worth a go.
Strengths: Good storyline, Good mystery
Weaknesses: Lack of character focus on most other classmates

2. Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou )Daily Life of Highschool Boys)

Overall: If you haven't watched this, GO WATCH THIS. It's hilarious. It's awesome. It's great. Honestly, I'm not going to say that every single scene is hilarious, but a good majority are laughworthy, and some are just plain amazing. Really, as a comedy, I can't say much more except for that it's a great show with qwerky characters and fantastic scenes.
Strengths: Hilarious!
Weaknesses: It IS a comedy so if you're looking for something serious it won't ever do.

1. Nisemonogatari

Overall: I understand that by this point it's probably mostly hype that makes me blind to any failing aspect of the show. Not that I didn't see them, it's just that I enjoyed the show so freaking much that I didn't care about them. So I'll give you the run down.

If you don't like fanservice, avoid this show, because this one was more prominent than in Bakemonogatari. If you don't like slow moving plots, you'd probably want to avoid this show too. If you don't like change in character, you may want to avoid this show as well.

Now on the plus side. OH MY GOD THIS SHOW IS SO GREAT. What really just blew me away was the character that was newly introduced. One names: Kaiki. I loved everything about his character. He was very different from other characters in any show. Very difficult to understand, his mind worked at a level that was definitely more than just abnormal. Kaiki has some extremely strong lines in this show, as well as one that he is quoted for, at the very end of the show.

Now, as to looking at Nisemonogatari as a whole, the reason why I love the series in general is the characters within the show. That's solely it. Everytime I see Hachikuji, I would squee in preparation, I would squee during the scene, and I would squee after the scene. Hachikuji to me has changed significanly from Bakemonogatari, into this extremely witty and fun character. Out of all the back-and-forth dialogues, Hachikuji's was definitely the best of the show.

Not to set aside the other characters, The most prominient one would be Karen, who has some awesome dialogue, (as well as one very interesting toothbrushing scene,) and a pretty zany personality. I think what was great was Araragi's Big Bro speeches towards the two, and also how they incorporated the Imposter idea in different ways with the two sisters.

The one thing I'm fairly sad about is the lack of Senjougahara. The one part that made up for it was her monologue at the end of the first arc, which I found to be another very good reinforcement as to why she is probably the most perfect girl out there. I'd love to get more detail into it but that'd be a bit too much spoiling. I'd just like to say that SenjougaharaxAraragi is my favorite pairing, (although I ship RingoxShouma harder,) and I think that there should have been more development between the two, just because, honestly, there can never be enough Gahara-san.
Strengths: Dialogue, as always, very witty. Excellent new characters, (including the Fire Sisters, since they were only brief in Bakemono.)
Weaknesses: Some characters got demoted to minorer.

Well that's it guys! If you read through all this, thank you, I really appreciate it. Like seriously you don't know how much I appreciate it. Leave any comments or critiques you have below, have a nice day!

[brandoprojectm]

Why would they make us unable to thumb up posts in the Artwork forums and sub forums. Why.