Spring 2010 Anime at a Glance

Watching:

1. Senkou no Night Raid [2 episodes]
2. House of Five Leaves [2 episodes]
3. Angel Beats [4 episodes]
4. Arakawa Under the Bridge [3 episodes]
5. Tatami Galaxy [1 episode]
6. Working [3 episode]
7. Rainbow [2 episodes]

Dropped:

8. Heroman [2 episode]
9. Kaichou wa Maid-sama [1 episode]
10. Mayoi Neko Overrun! [2 episodes]
11. Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou
12. Hakuouki [1 episode]
12. B Gata H Kei [1 episode]

Notes:

–Heroman features a standard plot about a put-upon kid who receives a giant robot which he then uses to fight evil invaders. Nothing new there, but the show has enough color and energy to make up for any shortcomings in the plot. I don’t know if I’ll finish the show, but it should be fun for a few episodes at least.

–Despite a premise that made it seem destined for utter failure, Kaichou wa Maid-sama is actually a very earnest shoujo romance. It’s got touches of humor, a strong female lead, and a male lead that’s actually a decent guy. On the flip side, it’s annoyingly generic in its plotting and seems like a ripoff of Kare Kano but without the visual uniqueness and energy.

–B Gata H Kei gets Dropped. DROPPED. Not quickly enough. It’s just so incredibly stupid, with no redeeming values what-so-ever.

–Hakuouki just didn’t catch my interested.

–Arakawa Under the Bridge has that special brand of weirdness that only SHAFT can provide. Some of the humor is stretched a bit too thin, but it had enough humorous moments and interesting quirks to keep me interested through the whole episode. I don’t know if I’ll stick with this one to th end, but I’ll definitely watch at least a few more episodes.

–Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou has a very interesting premise, a student at a magical school is pegged as the second coming of the worst dark lord in history, but it’s all squandered on harem nonsense and a parade of panty shots and other such fanservice foolishness. A pity, but hardly a rare occurrence in today’s anime market.

–Senkou no Night Raid is an action packed thriller about a group of Japanese secret agent in China during the 1930′s. They’ve also got some kind of super powers, one can leap through space and another can performs feats of extreme physical strength and so on. The historical significance of the period and location is pretty dark for Japan, so it’ll be interesting whether they touch on any of the atrocities committed in China or simply leave it as background.

–Working is a show that I should hate, but somehow I don’t. It’s a slice of life comedy about a average guy who falls in with a bunch of wacky characters that work at a local family restaurant. Somehow it manages to be funny without resorting to sexual innuendo and fanservice, which is much appreciated these days.

–Rainbow, about six kids in a Japanese prison in the mid-50’s, is a show that I’d really like to enjoy watching, but it’s oppressive depressing nature makes that very difficult. Everything is very downbeat and dark, even the art is stark and unfriendly. Also, all of the adult characters are perverted sadists with no redeeming factors at all, which makes the show kind of ridiculous even when it’s trying to very serious.

–I haven’t actually watched KissxSix but everything I’ve read and seen about it suggests to me that anyone in their right mind should steer far away from it. I don’t think this show has anything good going for it whatsoever.

–House of Five Leaves a samurai drama, is one of the best shows this season. It’s a slowly-paced series that focuses on the characters and their interactions and what they’re all about rather than action or wacky hijinks. Very, very good show with some rather unique character designs.

-Tatami Galaxy is probably the strangest series this season. It follows a college student who has completely failed at love and so decides to make everyone else fail too. For a while, it works, but then he starts to have feelings for a female student who he has known for a while. It sounds standard enough, but the results are anything but. Utterly wild show in every way.