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.

7. Valkyria Chronicles

• Based on the hit PS3 game
• Character exposition fleshes out the game’s story
• Tsundere Alicia
• Amazing art

I was expecting better from Valkyria Chronicles. It’s definitely an interesting show, and I love the animation style that mirrors the game’s look, but so far the part of the show I was looking forward to the most, the battles, has been largely missing.

Pretty much every plot arc has been something along the lines of: “Army shmucks charge in and get annihilated. Welkin comes up with some kind of farfetched plan. They activate godmode on their super tank, and Squad 7 rolls right over the enemy with no discernable casualties. Alicia is tsundere. Hilarity ensues.”

Maybe I’m just bitter because I wanted Final Fantasy Tactics the Animation instead.

That said, having recently started playing through the PS3 game, and after reading  tj_han’s review, my opinion of the series has been improved considerably. Looking at it as sort of a companion for the game makes perfect sense. The anime series provides great character development and interaction to fill in the space between missions in the game, and the game’s awesome tactical missions replace the deus ex machina battles the anime depicts.

I still wish they would’ve give the actual battles a bigger role in the animated series, but in the end it accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is flesh out the characters and the world setting in a very entertaining fashion.

8. Shangri-La

• Character and art designs by Range Murata (Last Exile)
• Fascinating post-apocalyptic world
• Most awesome OP ever

Shangri-La has received a fair amount of criticism from various blogs and other reviews, and quite fairly so. While it started off pretty strong, with a very intriguing and unique world setting and an unusual cast of characters, in recent episodes the quality has really dropped off. The plot development has been cryptic at best, a lot of the dialogue sounds contrived or stilted, and then of course there was LOLBALLOON.

Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see whether the story does start to coalesce into something more substantial, but for the mean time I think the mysterious post apocalyptic world setting is intriguing enough on it’s own to carry my interest.

The world of Shangri-La really is its main strength, and the reason why I have it ranked as high as it is. With its classist political structure and fragile carbon based economic system, it reflects some of the problems in modern day first world countries, but on a much more overt, almost exaggerated level. Seeing the world primarily from the perspective of the younger characters lends a certain innocence and naivete to the exploration of how these social systems affect people’s lives that I find interesting.

Oh yeah, and Range Murata’s character designs absolutely rock. Also, the OP song “Kimi Shinitamou Koto Nakare” by May’n is easily the most awesome OP of the season. I’ve had it stuck in my head for weeks now. =D

Ultimately it’s a very “take it or leave it” kind of show that isn’t going to appeal to everyone. Hopefully Gonzo won’t drive it into the ground over the course of remaining episodes.

9. Ristorante Paradiso

• Delicious Italian cuisine
• Old guys being awesome
• Slice-of-life / iyashikei
• Great music

Ristorante Paradiso is a series that initially slipped under my radar. And after all, it’s not a big budget title with all the might of the Akiba moe moe marketing machine behind, so it’s easy to overlook at first.

That would be a big mistake, however, as Ristorante Paradiso is easily the season’s most unique, enjoyable, and relaxing slice-of-life series. The story centers around a young woman named Nicoletta who initially comes to Rome to confront her estranged mother, who abandoned Nicoletta as a young girl and kept her existence secret from her second husband.

Eventually through various circumstances she gives up her mission and ends up working as an assistant chef in the classy Italian restaurant they operate, and through that experience learns how to forgive, how to love, how to mature into her own person, and how to simply enjoy life and the various circumstances it brings.

It’s a very simple, ordinary kind of story, and admittedly depicted from a rather shoujo angle in some ways, but ultimately it’s a brilliant slice-of-life tale. It also includes plenty of fine wines, fine dining, and lots of awesome older guys being suave and awesome. I can only hope to become so awesome when I reach that age.

Honestly the only reason this show isn’t ranked higher is because I recognize its premise and slow pace will not appeal to a lot of people. In many ways it’s similar to Bartender, although still not nearly as badass as that show. That said, if you don’t mind a more mature, somewhat different storytelling approach in your anime, you probably won’t be disappointed by Ristorante Paradiso.

10. Hatuskoi Limited

• Romance comedy blah blah blah
• Less fail than Ichigo 100%

Anata wa koi wo shita koto…arimasu ka?

I wasn’t expecting much from this series initially, since it’s based on a manga from Kawashita Mizuki, the same lady who did Ichigo 100%. After giving it some time, however, I have to say I’ve come around to appreciate the show. There’s some genuinely good comedy and romantic developments, and a distinct lack of the insipid panty-flash fanservice that made Ichigo 100% so mediocre. The characters are much more believable and likeable, that’s for sure.

Kawashita’s character designs are always good, even if some of them tend to look a bit similar, and there’s so many pairings I imagine everyone will be able to find at least one person to root for. Also, nothing beats seeing Ayumi-chan single-handedly untie herself and rock all those chimpira punks who kidnapped her.