Despite being a recent fan of the light novels this show is based on, I had a lot of reservations about the series going into it. After watching the first episode, however, I’ve been solidly convinced - this show is going to be epic. So sit back, cut yourself a slice of sunshine pie*, and I’ll tell you why.

* For those who haven’t seen the episode, I’ll explain that line in a bit.

First a quick story synopsis. The only thing I hate more than writing episode summaries is reading them, so I’ll keep this brief. Read the rest of this entry »

Meh is indeed my overwhelming reaction to the new season of Gunslinger Girl.

It’s not terrible, certainly, but I expected much better than mediocre from both Gunslinger Girl and from Artland. The art style is noticeably similar to Mushishi (which Artland also animated), particularly the shading style and the way they favor simple, clean lines for the characters. Now, that I don’t necessarily have a problem with, since the GSG manga also uses this style… but WTF happened to the budget for this project??

I know Artland is capable of much, much better, because the consistency and attention to detail in Mushishi was fantastic (episode 20 “Sea of Brushes”, for example). The animation in this first episode of Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- was just terrible, though. Where to start? Read the rest of this entry »

Dekkai ureshii desu~! Oh man, where would we be without Aria?

Well, I suppose we’d probably be in very much the same place, just a lot crankier and more stressed, and our embarrassing remarks would not be prohibited.

While other people have complained that anime prospects for the winter season look pretty grim, for me any season that has Aria is already epic win. Read the rest of this entry »

Steven Den Beste made an interesting comment last week in response to our choice of Lucky Star for OP of the Year in our Best of 2007 Anime Awards, and it really set me thinking. I know which OPs I like and don’t like, of course, but I had never really stopped to consider what criteria I use to judge that.

Steven’s comment help illustrate that while we hold most of the same criteria on what makes a good OP, we disagree on how important each of those criteria are. From his comment:

“I suspect a lot of the difference of opinion is in what we view the purpose of an OP to be.

For a lot of people, it should be an AMV. That’s what the Lucky Star OP is. Myself, I think it should be an advertisement for the series. It needs to be fun to watch, and to have catchy music, but more important than those things is that it needs to introduce me to most of the major characters and give me some idea of what they’re like, and what their relationships are like. (But it shouldn’t give away spoilers, of course.)”

…

The Potemayo OP does show us those kinds of things, too. For instance, it shows Mikan trying to get close to Sunao and being chased away by Potemayo. It shows Guchuko bouncing on top of Potemayo, and Potemayo getting mad. We get to see Guchuko’s laser beams. Lots of relevant stuff packed into there.

The Lucky Star OP doesn’t do any of that. You can’t tell from it that Konata is an otaku, that Tsukasa is a wimp, and Kagami is strong and sane.

(Emphasis mine)

Read the rest of this entry »

As a huge fan of the original Gunslinger Girl anime, as well as the ongoing manga, I’m definitely very excited about seeing how this new season will turn out. The change of studio and cast obviously means the second season will be different from the first, but for the most part I remain pretty optimistic about it. Let me take a moment to examine a few of the different factors involved. Read the rest of this entry »

The Gurren-dan motto of pushing and smashing every obstacle in the way has never seemed more sinister.

But then, sinister and provoking is the kind of storytelling that Kaiji does best.

Kaiji is essentially out of the frying pan and into the furnace. Though he’s escaped with his life from the Espoir, the conditions are pretty dismal. Read the rest of this entry »

Click to see it full-size

So I finally got around to checking out ADV’s new online streaming video service, and I have to say, I’m pretty impressed.

There are some issues with the player itself, as well as the translations, but hey, you can’t complain too much when it’s free. Overall it seems like an excellent first foray into the wild world of digital distribution; one that has huge potential for growing the number of fans who follow newer anime, and thus the industry as a whole.

Detailed breakdown and analysis after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

Hooray, finally an episode in which Satori-chan gets to shine. And shine she does…mmmMmm tasty! =3

OK, so maybe it’s not quite Haruhi caliber costume raping, but Kirino and Saya’s genki/aggressive tactics (it’s like passive/aggressive but a lot happier) in trying to recruit Satori to the kendo club are definitely nothing less than epic.

I couldn’t help but laugh every time the two of them would randomly ambush poor Satori and kidnap her off to the dojo. Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t blogged about Bamboo Blade much since I first reviewed it in our fall rankings post, but that doesn’t mean it’s fallen off my radar.

Without a doubt, Bamboo Blade is still one of the best shows of the season. Along with Minami-ke, it’s one of those rare comedies that manages to stay consistently funny while also keeping the jokes and the story fresh. And unlike many pure comedies, Bamboo Blade has it’s share of awesome action moments to mix things up a bit.

Without a doubt, however, the main selling point of the series is in the characters themselves. Without Kirino’s nekoguchi :3, Tama-chan’s O_O, and Miya-Miya’s yandere the show wouldn’t be half as funny as it is. And half the time when I start laughing, it’s not because of some tsukkomi punchline or obscure otaku joke, it’s just because Tamaki made another funny face.

Visual comedy has always been a very mixed bag, but this year seems to have given us a great selection of series that excel in it. In addition to Bamboo Blade, Potemayo and Lucky Star come readily to mind. Read the rest of this entry »

The last major cast member of Moyashimon is introduced in episode 6, and a hot one at that! Voiced by Noto Mamiko to boot! This show just keeps getting better and better.

(Yes yes, I’m well aware of what happens in episode 8. I have to keep the spoilers to a minimum, however, since Guff has to wait for the subs, as do many of our readers.)

At any rate, I’m highly pleased with the grand debut of the lovely miss Mutou Aoi. She’s the perfect mix of genki and crazy to round out the already hilarious Moyashimon cast and create more of the unique wacky humor that has made this show fantastic. Read the rest of this entry »