MORE THOUGHTS

COMPLETED SERIES THOUGHTS:

Air Gear: 8/10
Not bad. The animation had a consistent quazi-crappy quality to it but the show kept me interested. I really liked the music and the fan service, though oddly placed, was welcome. The ending was OK though they never really resolved the whole Sleeping Forest thing.

Blade of the Phantom Master: 9/10
I really liked this movie although it kinda felt like 2 OVA's back to back. The action scenes were well done and I liked the two main characters. The design for the kickass girl was really good and her long hair was well animated where if she was in a TV series they'd either cheap out and not animate it or give her a bob cut.

INCOMPLETE SERIES THOUGHTS:

Hellsing Ultimate Vol. 3: 8/10
All good again. A lot more Alucard than the TV series and not enough Seras. Quite a bot of splatter. Oh who will release the further adventures of our heroes not that Geneon is kaputsky?

Step Up Love Story: 7/10
Looks OK after the first 2 episodes, if a little dated. Odd subject matter with all the cock sucking lessons and cunnilingus. This isn't X rated but it's pretty R rated. Funny at times. I hope the final two volumes don't get too freaky.

The Story of Saiunkoku: 8/10
I really liked the first 10 episodes of this show. It's a little like Fushigi Yugi but it looks better and the main character girl is worth rooting for in her battle against chauvinism. Another good series perhaps taken from us too soon after the departure of Geneon.

Fate Stay/Night: 10/10
I just finished episode 16 and I must say, Archer's final battle was pretty cool as was the battle between Saber and Berzerker right afterwards. I'll watch the rest this week.

More Random Thoughts

COMPLETED SERIES THOUGHTS:

Peach Girl: 5/10
This show looked like hell most of the time and was like a bad season of 90210. How the main characters can be so stupid I'll never understand. The ending was irritating because the main characters were as stupid as they were in the first episode right up until the end. BAH!

Karas: 9/10
6 part OVA with some pretty amazing visuals. Explosions, violent deaths, and a robo-ninja that not only kicks ass but TRANSFORMS INTO A CAR AND A JET! It's pretty cool. It's as good an OVA I've seen in the past few years.

Tide-Line Blue: 6/10
Nice art but irritating characters and a poorly executed story sink this submarine adventure. AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Seriously, when the U.N. fleet is looking for the sub and it's like 5km away in a floating dock with no cover and they don't see it I have a hard time taking this show seriously. The ending was also kinda dumb. None of the main characters get together and the sub just disappears into the sea for new adventures with no explanation. BAH AGAIN! Hell, they never explain who got the pregnant girl pregnant! It's like they get her to have a baby just so it can be in constant danger. BAAAAAH!

INCOMPLETE SERIES THOUGHTS:

Ah! My Goddess: 8/10
Watched up to episode 16 or so. A couple of Skuld and Urd episodes are a good change but I'm not seeing a story arc developing for the final batch of episodes.

Witchblade: 8/10
Cool fights between busty ladies with almost no clothes. Can this show go wrong? I've only seen up to episode 8 so it's a little early to tell.

Xenosaga: 7/10
I really like this show, more because I've finished Xenosaga (people who know me know this is a rare event, finishing ANY game) so I can forgive the odd pacing and crappy art in the first 8 episodes. There's a nice looking show here but it seems to suffer from a small budget.

My Otome: 9/10
I'm scoring this show a little high since I really liked My Hime. Not that this show isn't really good. Nice art, good music, and lots of comedy and drama in a good mix. My only real complaint is that we still haven't seen Mai from the first series and I'm at episode 12.

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle: 5/10
Why does everyone have such long arms? Why does the show seem to lack focus? It's like watching Quantum Leap but boring. At least by episode 22 Sakura isn't the invalid she's been throughout most of the series.

Random thoughts

I'm just too busy to watch much anime let alone write reviews but here are a few things I've been watching and some thoughts.

COMPLETED SERIES THOUGHTS:

Noein: 10/10
Holy crap! This was sitting on my shelf for quite awhile and I only just got to it. Great show with only a few odd character design choices. Reminded me a little of Shingu - The Secret of the Stellar Wars which I would give a 9/10. Had a REALLY cool final couple of episodes. Nothing is better than a bunch of characters fighting in different dimensions and timelines trying to save the world from disaster.

Space Pirate Mito Season 2: 8/10
Read a lot of negative reviews but I liked the first series and the second was a lot better so it gets a good score. If you can look past the cheap character designs and animation there's a pretty good story here about saving the world.

Air: 9/10
A little convoluted but it looks nice and is one of the saddest shows I've ever seen. *sniff*. I felt so bad for the aunt, first you think she's a bitch, then you learn she's really nice, and she doesn't deserve to ending she gets.

Gankutsuou: 9/10
Really cool look and a very engaging story. It takes awhile to really get going but well worth the time. No wonder it won awards.

Burst Angel  OVA: 4/10
Looks good but for a show with more nipple prints than in any other in recent memory WHERE'S THE FAN SERVICE!? This was a waste of an OVA. Ask the creators of Ikki Tousen. THEY know how to create an OVA the fans want.

Coyote Ragtime Show: 6/10
Looks great but that's it. Kind of a poor man's Cowboy Bebop. The characters are uninteresting and the show spends so much time in action sequences that you never really get to know any of them. The whole bank robbery thing was kinda cool but not well implemented. This show felt rushed, it should have had another 5-6 episodes.

Black Cat: 7/10
I liked this show though the whole final arc felt tacked on. It was like the final batch of Macross episodes. Good but why? The ending felt a little dumb too. I hate it when the hero fucks off at the end and doesn't tell anyone.

Best Student Council: 8/10
I enjoyed this one. It looked OK and all the characters were pretty funny and different enough from one another so I didn't get confused. A pretty unexpected ending with a bit of an odd twist but it wasn't bad at all.

INCOMPLETE SERIES THOUGHTS:

Le Chevalier d'Eon: 6/10
Looks great but the story seems to be drifting all over. A little like how Trinity Blood constantly moved around and never let you really get to know the characters. The only problem is that d'Eon doesn't have a cute red-haired nun girl. I've seen up to episode 20 so I'm not likely to change my score unless something really interesting happens in the final 4 episodes. Gankutsuou, while not quite the same type of show, is FAR superior.

Fate/Stay Night: 9/10
I'm only halfway through (I'm waiting for the final DVD due in the mail any day to watch the remainder) and I LOVE the look of the show. The story details aren't really explained well but it's likely the creators assume you've played the game and once I researched more on what the game explains I found I liked the story a lot more.

Eureka Seven: 7/10
I'm nearing the end (8 episodes left?) and the only reason the score is as low as it is is that the show took WAY too long to get into the actual plot. You could reorganize the episodes and spread the main plot out over more episodes and the show would be a lot more watchable in the beginning. The score should go up before the end of the series.

Black Lagoon: 6/10
Watched the first 4 episodes and this show REALLY feels like it's going down the same road as Coyote Ragtime Show. A bunch of unlikable leads in a series of ever more spectacular action sequences.

Air Gear: 8/10
Fan service, comedy, some over the top action. It's all good. I've got the final 5 episodes to see and I'm anxious to see them so that has to be a good sign.

Ah! My Goddess Season 2: 8/10
I'm halfway through and since I've always liked AMG I've got a bit of a bias but it's all good so far. I hope there's somewhat of an arc in the final few episodes.

Pumpkin Scissors: 7/10
Watched first 4 episodes. The main dude uses his powers too often.

The Third: 9/10
Looks good and it's interesting but let the main plot begin! It's been 8 episodes already!

Xenosaga: 7/10
Played the game? First 4 episodes are pretty close.

More in my next post.