One thing I’ve always liked about KyoAni is that they never skimp when it comes to outfits. In fact, this episode alone has Haruhi & crew sporting a total of 12 different outfits, which is more clothing variation than you get over the course of some entire series. Except for Yuki, that is, who wears her normal school uniform in every single scene except the Obon festival.

And of course, every single one of Itsuki’s outfits is either completely flaming or totally preppy. Yes sir, par for the course with this show.

Speaking of which, it really seemed like Itsuki stepped up his game in this episode. Whatever that “game” might be. I’m trying not to think about it too hard.

I believe the “game” in question is officially referred to as “extreme feminizing”, in which the practitioner in question makes unnecessarily girly hand gestures in everyday speech while moving uncomfortably close to other males. Points are awarded for awkwardness, style, and flamboyant dancing.

/facepalm Read the rest of this entry »

After a few weeks of re-run action, now we’re finally back to new Haruhi animation! And according to the broadcast schedule, we’re going to get mostly fresh material from here on out.

Of course the first notable thing in this episode is the new OP. Perhaps I’ve just been spoiled by all the amazing OPs Kyoto Animation has put together over the years, but I was a bit disappointed by this one. While the animation is a lot of fun, the song itself is decidedly meh.

And what’s KyoAni’s sudden obsession now with group running? Did they suddenly get tired of making dancing animus and decide to switch to something a little easier on the animators?

Have to concur with your observations; the OP is decidedly underwhelming.

Actually I kind of enjoyed the whole SOS-Dan roster introduction in that it captured some of that Cowboy Bebop kind of flavor, with the glaring exception that “Tank!” is one of my favorite OPs of all time, and the current Haruhi OP is an entirely generic J-rock anthem. Oh well… Read the rest of this entry »

Part 2, the continuation of the Spring Anime Rankings post I started last week. Delayed on account of Valkyria Chronicles is as addicting as crack cocaine. orz

Honestly, there are quite a few very good shows this season, so even though these series didn’t make it into my top 5, they’re all still highly enjoyable and come with the 0rion seal of approval.

6. Hayate no Gotoku

• Hinagiku
• Wacky romantic comedy
• Parodies everything under the sun
• Hinagiku

If you’ve never watched any of Hayate no Gotoku, you probably should just stop reading now and go get some of the first season. If you have, then you already know exactly what to expect from this series.

And really, that’s one of the strengths of this series. For over a year now Hayate no Gotoku has been the dependable, consistent weekly comedy that always brings the laughs without fail. Admittedly, it started to drag a bit through the middle of last season, and it does tend to recycle the same gags a lot. Nevertheless, it’s pretty much always worth a watch when you need some good old fashioned silliness with a few hints of romantic developments sprinkled on top.

Oh yeah, it also has lots of Hinagiku, and that’s never a bad thing. Read the rest of this entry »

How many references can you identify?

Incoming Dekkai Huge Post of Long.

Yes, that’s right, I’ve decided to satisfy my penchant for attaching meaningless numbers to things by putting together yet another Anime Season Ranking Post. Haven’t done this for a couple years now, come to think of it. Lazy me.

A couple quick notes:

• I’m ranking them from best to worst this time around. Sure, it takes out some of the “dramatic suspense”, but I figure most  people will get TL;DR Syndrome after about 4 or 5 anyway. Feel free to just read the convenient bullet points and save yourself time if you’re that guy. I’m also splitting this post up into several segments, which you’ll see going up on the site over the course of the next couple days.

• Haruhi Suzumiya won’t be on this list for 2 reasons. First, only one episode so far has been new material, since after episode 8 the series is back to old first season stuff for a while. Second, I’m so biased toward the show it would still be #1 even if it was horrible. Of course, the rest of the rankings are going to be completely biased as well, so that doesn’t really change anything. =P

• All these are based completely on my own judgment, so obviously your preferences may differ. If you feel a certain show doesn’t to deserve to be so high / so low, by all means feel free to make a comment or blog post with your counter perspective.

Your mileage may vary, etc. etc. Read the rest of this entry »