Since when did a bittersweet ending make an anime great?

The post contains major spoilers for multiple anime; you have been warned.

Anime Blog Carnival! - What makes a 10/10 anime?

Welcome to a blog carnival! What is it about, you ask? Well, the exact definition is subjective to the participants, but generally a blog carnival is an event where several bloggers get together to write and discuss about the same subject. It's a fairly simple concept that allow bloggers within the same blogosphere to talk about a particular topic, and although the idea that has been used in other blogging circles for a while now, strangely enough it is almost unheard of in the anime blogging community.

And so, I've got several fellow bloggers interested to join in this round of the carnival. Marina, Sam, Marow, Nopy, Draggle, Mira, AceRailgun, Leap250, Yumeka, SnippetTee, Ephemeral Dreamer, Hoshiko and Yi would all be publishing their post sometime today (or tomorrow, depending on their timezone), so be sure to check out their opinions on the subject too.

12 Moments of Anime #2: The Past of Akemi Homura

You know which episode I'm talking about.

I've blogged this episode before, so I won't really go into it. But here's some of the reasons why this episode stood out.

1. It was climax after climax. We already have an idea on how it would turn out, but each of the climax ended differently, developed the next, and made sense chronologically. Basically, it's like multiple org-

2. The shocking personality change of Homura. From a weak, timid and humble girl, the episode perfectly portrayed how the events shaped her into a cold, ruthless and intimidating person.

3. Mystery unveiled. Specifically, Homura's raison d'être. I'm a pretty impatient guy, and normally I'll be pretty annoyed if they left an important story element untouched for like 3/4 of the series. But in this case, we see that the longer the suspense, the bigger the shock value.

4. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, how the world should have been if Kyuubei wasn't such a troll.
Not really his fault, but fcuk Kyuubei

I'm still sore about Homura not even attempting to explain the truth of the world to Madoka.

Why is Saimoe 2011 dominated by PM3?

For those who did not follow the tournament, it's already at the semi-finals. It's a fight between Madoka, Kyouko, Mami and Erica Hartmann from Strike Witches and frankly, I don't see how Erica could stand a chance beating a Puella Magi. She made it this far only because her Group B was really weak, except Kanade from Angel Beats whom she defeated in the group finals. And Lotte is a mistake. I figure that she had the support of KugiRiefags right until Shana 3 came out.

And believe it, the only reason Homerun-chan didn't make it is because the Puella Magi Madoka Magica spammers failed to plan ahead. Had they started what they did for the other Puella Magis earlier, there's no doubt we'll see Homerun vs Kyouko vs Madoka vs Mami right now. I mean, she did go against a very strong Biribiri right off the bat, but cheating has always been rampant in Saimoe so it's really about how many of these guys you got supporting a character. Oh, Biribiri has also been accused of inflated results...

FYI, Sayaka made it till the Quarter-finals which finished yesterday, only to be defeated by Madoka. So yeah, these girls are totally owning the tournament.

No, I'm not making a post to complain about the results, and I know well that the however it may seem, there's still a large degree of legitimacy. My favourites didn't make it very far, but I wasn't exactly "supporting" them anyway; I've long since accepted that the tourney is really about spammers that got away with it, and no, I'm not saying this as my opinion; it's a pretty well accepted fact. Watching the tourney is fun, and I'm not going to complain about the nature of the competition or the results, but the current standing of the characters makes me question something that has been nagging at me for a while: What's so moé about PM3 characters?

I've always had a problem understanding the appeal of some popular characters, namely Fate Testarossa, Hitagi Senjougahara, and most recently, Shiraume Ume from Ben-to. Granted, my favourites characters like Akiyama Mio and Misaka Mikoto usually display very common traits that appeals to the majority of the market, and I like them for the same reason as the other guy. I figured my tastes are fairly simple, which is why I questioned the appeal of the girls from PM3. I don't question Mami's awesomeness (or Homura's gap moé), but come on, Kyouko? She's been a bitch for as long as I can remember, even if she did have a tragic past people can sympathize with. And Sayaka? She's been so selfish that I thought her character was meant to be hated. And Madoka has only been angst-ing and crying for almost the entire series.

The story of PM3 is awesome, and I even gave it a perfect score. But none of the 10 points was moé points. The awesome story was brought forth by awesome characters, but not necessarily moé characters and to me, and that is definitely not the case for PM3.

What does the moé here means to you?

edit: As expected, Erica lost to Kyouko.

Series Review: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

I think I should say first that despite how I see the ending, I couldn't bring myself to hate the show. In fact, I still enjoyed it more than any other series in the season.

Many people has labeled the show as "legendary" or "epic", and I can't say I disagree with that. Not many series out there had achieve status and approval of fans like this one. I could name Evangelion, Gurren-Lagann or Cowboy Bebop, but it's not my place to compare because I haven't seen any of these shows yet. But none of them had achieve what PM3 had in just 12 episodes.

Simply put, the show really does everything right. They had an excellent concept, which is the reason for Puella Magi to exist, the reason for Kyubei to exist, the wish of a Puella Magi-to-be, her eventual fate, the witches, the taint of the soul, etc. The animation was unique and fantastic. Everything from the Aoki Ume character designs, the backgrounds, the bizarre witch world and witch designs, the mood lightings, actions scenes and Shaft being Shaft has been carefully engineered to keep your eyes glued to the screen. "Connect" and "Magia" are both gorgeous songs, especially "Magia", which have a lot of emotional impact if you actually took time to check out the lyrics.

But what truly brought the series to epic heights is the directing, or the story style. In the beginning, we were charmed by the high production values, how cool the magic is, how cool the witches and witch world are, and how our first Puella Magi Mami is so awesome. Then comes the shocker at the end of episode 3. It tells us smack in the face that they're not going to give us the light and fluffy magical girl show we've come to expect from the preview. From that point, it's like we're watching a different show altogether. Shocking revelation after shocking revelation greets us, and as the series grew darker and more depressed, the questions piles up. Half the people we cared about met a tragic end. The atmosphere hits rock bottom, but they brought it back up with the phenomenal finale everyone has anticipated.

In short, it was hell of an emotional roller coaster. The technique isn't all that uncommon and we've seen it work well on series like Mai-Hime and Eureka Seven, but it has never been so effective. Perhaps it's because no other anime is as depressing as PM3 tried to be.

I guess my beef with the show is how it all works out in the end. While I could accept that the wish Madoka made might be the best possible choice (thanks to random Anons), I'm just not a fan of "bittersweet" endings, and it was something I feared would happen as early as episode 3. Perhaps a part of me still wished for a happily-ever-after ending, which was something I expected out of the Magical Girl genre, the Aoki Ume characters, and the initial impressions. Thus, I can't say that I'm satisfied with how it all turns out.

Nevertheless, Shaft brought us on an incredible ride with lots of creativity, ingenuity and effort. I may not get the satisfaction, but I sure had the enjoyment. It is something beyond what you think an anime can achieve, and everyone should give it a try.

Although now I'm going to try to forget all about it. ARRRGGHH WHY MADOKA WHY

Plot/Concept: Excellent!
Story Style: Phenomenal!
Audio/Visual: Excellent!
Value: 10

How I see the Madoka Magica ending

My reaction to the ending. (spoilers ahoy)

In the end, I think I don't quite agree with the ending. I don't have any problems with "sacrifice endings", as long as the story proved that there's value in it. You know, in 300, King Leonidas died holding back the enemy horde, and his sacrifice gave the Greeks the reason and time to be able to stand against the enemy. There are many more examples of a good sacrifice, but I just can't see Madoka as one of them.

Why do I say that? Well, first of all, since there's no real limit on the wish Madoka can make (due to her imba threads of fate or something) she wouldn't have to make a sacrifice in the first place. The wish could had been like, you know, that the energy never accumulate in the soul gems at all. Or such that Puella Magi would never turn into Witches. Or better yet, erase the whole entropy problem. That last one might be far-fetched, but it's not like it's proven unworkable, since her wish is suppose to be able to bend laws and shit.

Secondly, I see very little value in her sacrifice. Puella magi are still reanimated bodies with souls trapped inside little gems (if that's actually a problem at all). Monsters still exists, and they're still risking their lives to fight them. They still accumulate despair, which means they are still going to die young. And since there's not a shread of humanity left inside a witch, and its past life have little influence of what she would do... if you look at it realistically, does it really matter how a witch is born?

So in summary, this is how I see the ending: Madoka used up her huge assload of power to achieve absolutely nothing other than getting herself trapped in eternal limbo.

I'd really like to look on the bright side but... can anyone really prove me wrong?

Puella Magi Modoka Magica Ep 12

Or rather, I want to erase every witch from being born, personally.

Well, I need some time to decide whether I agree with the ending or not, and if I like how it all turns out... so, this is just about what's going on in the episode.

So... this is how it turns out. Madoka ends up being god AND time-traveller, erasing every witch before they are born. The question is, so do the girls survive after that? If they do, it doesn't explain how Sayaka died. If they don't that kinda sucks, it means Madoka's some kind of Mahou Shoujo Grim Reaper.

You know what I think? I can't help thinking that she's trying to convince Homura that everything's alright so that she won't activate her time-reversing ability.

So... you're still fucked in the end? You're still trapped in small little gemstones, you still die by expending energy?

I thought Madoka screw Kyubei's energy plan as well, but looks like they found another method of gathering despair/energy.

You... forgot why you're called "Incubator" in the first place, right?

If you ask me... that looks really witch-like. Homura in her final moments? I really do hope they add in a part where they explain that the girls will see Madoka right before they "die" though.

Btw...

That was really lame.

Puella Magi Modoka Magica Ep 11

Damn Kyubei, attacking Homura's confidence at this crutial time.

Even without me having to rewatch the last few episode, this one really helps bring me up to speed on what has happened. And it's a very good build-up episode to the finale as well. This episode tells us a lot about how Homura's been feeling the whole time, all the stress she's been building up the previous timelines (seems like there were more than 5), and what she thinks of her ultimate mission after so long.

Homura comes clean.

When Homura finally comes clean with Madoka, I think I nearly cried. I totally feel the despair Homura's been feeling, all the emotion she's holding on inside and all the thing she know but has lost the ability to convey them. I don't blame her for not explaining everything anymore, because now I really understand. I got excited too, because this marks the point here that the guessing and debating and quarreling is over, and it's time for Madoka to take the main stage.

Strings of Fate wut?...

...but I totally understand how the timelessness can distort your thinking. Well, the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Inception (and many others) taught me that much.

I guess we all see this coming anyway, but it's a good setup to the next and final episode. I really wonder what Homura is thinking at this point. "Omg no"? or "Wtf, not again".

So it's really up to Madoka's wish to save everything after all.

I'm writing this right after watching this episode and before the next. No need to feel sorry Madoka, but you better make a goddamn awesome wish.

How every Winter 2010 shows I watch becomes shiiiitttttt

Two season ago, it was Otome Youkai Zakuro and Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru. That was 50% of the shows I was following that season. And these two shows isn't that bad, it's just that they got off a great start but didn't manage to carry on the momentum all the way to the end.

Last season, it was every damn show I watched. They got off a great start and had generally positive reviews over the span of the season, on the blogosphere and amongst the Japanese audience as well. To me, endings makes a lot of difference in the overall experience of the show, but somehow none of these show delivered what I wanted.

Ranked from bad to worst are:

5. Fractale

Two of the main characters are in the pic. What do you mean you can only see one?

Okay, unlike many people out there, I don't think Fractale is a total crap. But it's no doubt a disappointment and definitely doesn't deliver what it has promised, or what it could have achieved with the story settings. Too many questions had been left unanswered until the last episode, too much needless drama at the end, and the twists at the end feels like it's being pulled out of Yamakan's ass at the last moment. The writing wasn't there, too many pointless stuff happens and any build-up towards the finale didn't work with all these distractions. The animation could have been a LOT better to, seeing how much Yamakan gambled with this project. I wanted to see a Last Exile.  I got a Allison & Lillia.




4. Kore wa Zombie desu ka?

Best thing in the ending.

I'll touch my heart and say that despite the pretty awesome first episode, I'm expecting this series to suck anyway, because of the people involved (read: DEEN). When I first got into the show, I liked the way they do things, like giving a dead guy magical girl powers, and making a chainsaw their primary weapon. That was fun in being random. But they went overboard with it, to the point where things doesn't even make sense anymore. Their attempt at serious storytelling is a joke. Anti-demonic music out of nowhere? And how did Eu suddenly decide that it's ok to kill off the bad guy in the end after all? And, well, I love epilogue episodes like ep12, but it turns out to be a pain to sit through. The 15 minute of concert stuff was beyond randomness... it was bullshit. And the ability to drain Eu's magical powers become a giant plot hole if you think about it.




3. Infinite Stratos

Getting in touch with inner Ichika.

Everything was going alright until they're done with the character introductions and started getting an actual plot at ep10. Ichika suddenly becames retarded and reduced himself way below a typical harem lead stereotype. The dialogue was so bad I feel like I'm watching a high-school orientation skit. Ichika's dream sequence and Gundam-styled nekkid talk was so hilariously bad, I feel that they weren't trying anymore. With the amount of CG and suit designs they had, the fight was nowhere was awesome as it could have been. And where did that rogue IS come from? Was Tabane behind everything after all? I could hire my niece to write something better. I expected it to be the next Macross Frontier, but all I got is a good harem.




2. Yumekui Merry

CHECK OUT MY HAX TRUMPET SKILLZ

I ranted in the recent post so I won't be explaining it here. But when I got the feeling that the other series are going down south, I expected this to be the most enjoyable show this season. I was wrong.




1. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Homerun traveled one and a half month into the future, bringing the last two episodes with her.

Well, it wasn't the show that sucked, it was the viewing experience. What's more, I can only blame mother nature to put a one-month break right before the (supposedly) epic ending of the greatest show for a long long time. I'm not even anticipating the last two episode airing this Thursday anymore, I'm just dreading that I might forget critical parts of the show.

New Season of Hidamari Sketch? But after Madoka, I can never see Hidamari the same way again

I can barely read japanese, so here's my sauce.

I love Hidamari Sketch. It's one of the first series I came to love after entering the world of anime, and it still remains as one of the best series I've ever watched. It's also the show that got me into the slice-of-life genre and got me to watch stuff like Aria, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Sketchbook. And despite being an incredibly low-budget production in the first season, it also got me to love the way Shaft and Shinbo animate things, and got me to love everything Shaft produces. Well, most of them.

Then Shaft make Madoka. I don't know about you, but Aoki Ume's characters are so instantly recognizable, I can't help relating to Hidamari when I see Madoka. I don't think I can help picturing the Hidamari girls being in misery, crying every episode, with one character dying every other. Ugh, I think I'm expecting Kyubei to pop up at the Hidamari apartments asking Yuno to become a Puella Magi. (Hey, Puella Magi Yuno Magica might be pretty cool)

Hey, this might be what Kyubei looked like in another world:

Then again, Shinbo DID mention that he wants to put the Madoka girls in a slice-of-life series. That definitely gets my vote.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Ep10: Endless Eight

There's no doubt that this episode is awesome, and it's not just that it's visually stunning. To finally see Madoka as a Puella Magi was extremely satisfying by itself. To see the gradual change of Homura from a timid introverted girl to the cold merciless girl she is now moves me. And seeing how the girls behaves so differently in the different timelines, each knowing and experiencing different things, is extremely thought-provoking.

But what made this episode so amazing is not what has happened in the episode itself; although I must say the action was pretty damn awesome. What's so amazing about this episode is how all the pieces fits together. The show had build up way to many questions in the past few episodes (to my annoyance) but the way it all comes together while giving the story so much depth and intrigue, is something I have not managed to see after the movie Inception.

Though, I still think that Horuma could have solved a lot of problems by revealing everything to everyone, but if only a teeny bit, I can see why she would take the hard approach without even considering to talk about it.

So this is what actually had happened, from Horuma's perspective:

(including the top pic)
Sayaka and Kyoko wasn't introduced as Puella Magi. Mami and Madoka saved Homura from a witch, but both dies fighting Walpurgis Night. Homura becomes Puella Magi, and her wish is to redo her meeting (go back in time) with Madoka, hence her time-stopping powers.

(edit: Like how Kurogane says, Her wish is to redo her meeting with Homura UNTIL she can get it right.)

Same as above, no sign of Sayaka or Kyoko. Madoka doesn't die with Homura's help, but turns into a witch (the hideous thing above).

Since she failed, she goes back in time again.

Sayaka and Kyoko are also Puella Magi now. Homura tries to tell them about their fate as witches, but Sayaka thinks it's all BS.

Sayaka turns into witch (after she lost her boy, I guess?) Homura kills Witch-Sayaka, but Mami goes crazy after knowing the truth and kills Kyoko. She tries to kill Homura as well but Madoka kills Mami first.

Homura and Madoka manage to kill Walpurgis Night, but their Soul Gems got so tainted they're close to become witches (see above). Madoka use her last Grief Seed to cleanse Homura's soul gem, so that Homura can kill her, go back in time and prevent her from being a Puella Magi in the first place. (kinda selfish, huh?)

Homura did so and goes back in time again.

This is the timeline in the preview of episode 1. Homura's personality turns stone cold, cures her short sightedness and stopped tying up her hair.

No sign of Mami, Kyoko and Sayaka.

She becomes very aggressive in preventing Kyubei's contact with Madoka, and fights the witches alone, but she cannot handle Walpurgis Night. To save Homura, Madoka becomes a Puella Magi and 1-hit KO Walpurgis Night, but turns into a witch herself. Homura says fuck it and goes back in time again.

...to the current timeline.

Madoka Magica Ep8: Screw you Homura! (no, not you QB)

Yeah right, all you do is use force and try to make everything go your way.

Long rant (and spoilers) after jump -->

While I'm all ready for another mindfuck this week, I'm still a bit surprised to see Sayaka "die" the way she did. Given the number of surprises the show has delivered the past few weeks, I should have expected the studio to go all the way and kill Sayaka. Still, that was a bit of shock.

I don't actually blame Kyubei... that much... for all that has happened. After all, what he is and what are his origins are never explicitly explain or look like it's ever going to be explained in the story. What we know that he obviously isn't human, he's an alien or whatever, and his actions cannot be justified by human emotions and thinking. Let's just say that fully loaded Grief Seeds are part of his required vitamin intake, so you can't blame him for that. And lets just say he "breeds" (incubates?) witches to get his food so we can't blame him for that either. Humans breed animals for food too. Being "humane" in his actions is something humans adhere to, not white fluffy space aliens. We can all hate him, but we can't blame him.

I blame Homura for all the shit that is going on. Even if she's not a time traveler, she know a ton and probably everything there is to know about Kyubei, witches and the contract, yet she doesn't say anything for one fricking lame excuse.

"I've tried before. No one believed me."

Either you're doing it wrong, or it's a problem with the plot that we all blatantly ignore. I still blame Homura for all the shit anyway. Not only that being so distressed would make people believe stuff more easily, but we're experiencing a paradigm shift and almost everything that has happened up to now doesn't make any fucking sense, from a human's perspective. I would have believe that witches are actually born from zombie cosplaying unicorns that ate too much strawberry donuts in an alternate dimension 3000 years ago where there are five genders, if Homura actually said it seriously. Heck, I would have at least gave it some thought, which would have been useful in so many situations we've seen until now. Way to go for not trying, now everyone's fucked.

Now that we've established that Madoka would have god-like powers if she actually became a Magical Girl, I wonder what's the point of the wish in the story now. Or maybe it's just more bullshit from Kyubei, but technically Kyubei never lied... so far. Well, I still hope that her wish would be to bring back all her dead friends, but from what I'm seeing I don't think it would be so simple. Since that would most likely be the conclusion for the whole story.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica 7: Eep, I don't get it

Short summary: Sayaka cracks, after realising that she's going to lose Kyousuke to Hitomi, after practically giving up her life for him. Sayaka thinks that she has no chance to be with Kyousuke because she is a walking corpse and the real her is trapped in a little shell forever.

The problem I have with is episode is that, well, although I see a lot of people rage over the truth of the soul gems, I don't get why they are so traumatised by the fact that their souls are taken out and put into little containers. Sure, it's not right that a person arbitrary separates another person's soul and body without telling them, but what are the consequences? Mami lived on properly without knowing that fact at all, and could probably kept on living as a normal girl if she didn't have to constantly fight witches. It's not like the body is any different from a normal human's; they still breathe, move, blink, eat and I don't see how it can prevent Sayaka from having a relationship with the violin dude. After all, it's not like anyone can take over her body and use it as they wish; it still belongs to her and her alone, unless Kyubei still has something they don't want us to know.

She might commit suicide if she really killed her best friend is such a stupid manner.

So, I guess the direction of the last two episodes didn't really work on me since I don't feel the kind of mindfuck the girls are getting from Kyubei. I do have an issue on how easily Sayaka gave up on her violin guy, though that might be because I don't "get" how she feels.

Still, Madoka Magica sure is an intense thought-provoking (read: mindfuck) series we haven't seen in a while. It didn't quite reached the level of Lain or NGE, but since episode three the series went on the downward spiral which looked like it will continue till near end of the series. The story became more and more depressing with each episode and although it seemed like all the problems would be solved when Madoka became a Puella Magi, I don't see it happening anytime soon, even after the series has crossed the halfway mark. I'm interested to see how the series will progress and what the next episode will bring, but I can't safely say I would enjoy the series overall unless the series conclude with one big happy ending >.>

And bring back Mami <.<

An overview of Winter 2011 (and rankings)

A summary of what I've came to watch, what I've dropped and what I might catch in the near future.

The Keepers

1. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (5 episodes)
It's the most searched and most discussed topic on the blogosphere for  a while now so I do not think I have to discuss this much further, so I will just say this: Puella Magi Madoka Magica totally changed the way one would look at the Magical Girl genre that includes big names like Nanoha, PreCure, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor, etc because beyond its cute and fluffy appearance and designs, there is the very real element of death, trauma and tragedy affecting the main characters, that was non-existent in this genre until now. Combined with great writing and story direction, you can tell they weren't kidding then they said this anime would be a breakthrough.

Outlook: Awesome!

2. Fractale (4 episodes)
Despite Yamakan's ramblings, Fractale is a pretty decent piece of work. I do not know why everyone keeps talking about the adventure that did not happen, but I think they are making headway now that all the main cast is gathered... well except Nessa, but I guess her exact location is not an issue.

I must admit Nessa's the core reason I came to really enjoy Fractale, because her unlimited energy and cheerful character with a mysterious tinge makes her extremely likable. Besides Nessa's overwhelming cuteness, the other thing that really draws me in is the setting the story of Fractale is set in. It is not the most original and it might feel too Ghibli for it's own good, but I am waiting to see how the Fractale system allows the series as a whole to stand out.
Outlook: Fantastic!

3. Infinite Stratos (5 episodes)
From the looks of it, I guess I was wrong after all (and everyone else is right). It does seems like it would turn out to be a pretty mindless harem. But that doesn't mean I cannot enjoy the anime, I just need to adjust my expectations a little. The little rooftop lunch thing in episode five was pretty cliche, but I cannot wipe away the stupid smile on my face, which usually only happens with stuff like K-ON. I do not quite appreciate how fast they tried to squeeze in the last two supporting characters into the story, and how they seem to dumb down Rin's presence (RAGE!!), but if it's done to push forward the story I think its better to at least inject the series with more substance than carry on with more of the character relationship development. While I think that the core of the story will have to be the relationship among the key figures of the battle (Macross Frontier) rather than a chimerical battle (Strike Witches? Gundam?), I do not think many will appreciate it unless it has the kind of potential Macross Frontier has.

Outlook: Very Good

4. Kore wa Zombie desu ka? (4 episodes)
The series is pushing the boundaries of being random and extreme, using absurd combos that you do not people dared to use: A magical girl that is actually a guy? And a zombie at the same time? That uses chainsaw as its main weapon? A ninja that is also a vampire? A flying whale wearing a school uniform? It's like a harem version of Cromatie High School, plus fighting scenes.

But what makes Kore wa Zombie desu ka really shines beyond its comedic elements... is the unexpected touching scenes in episode four. Eu's own back story changes the way you look at this series, but not in a bad way; you will see it more than just a comedy action series. I may be expecting a lot, but I am hoping that the series might outshine something like Seto no Hanayome.
Outlook: Very Good

5. Yumekui Merry (5 episodes)
Yumekui Merry never did impress me as much as it did for others, because putting it bluntly, I just do not see much beyond a girl from another dimension fighting fantasy monsters. The animation in the dream world does make it pretty unique, but not enough to make it stand out. Still, it was watchable enough and I hoped the story would take a more drastic turn to spice things up a little... Luckily for me, the latest episode (5) did just that. With the revealment of a difficult truth for Merry and the critical injury of Yumeji, it looks like we will see a lot progress in the storyline and character development of Merry for the coming episodes.

Outlook: It feels like things are getting a lot more interesting.






Dropped

6. GOSICK (2 episodes)
The main selling point (and only one for me) of the series is Victorica and not detective work that is going on in the story. And the show seems to want to keep it that way. I find it hard to follow the series when a seemingly simple plot can only be solved chibi girl who would otherwise only make snide remarks. It would have been more realistic if she is been drugged by APTX 4869, which might have explained why would such a young girl possesses the kind of knowledge needed to solve "complex" crimes. Despite some of the good stuff I heard about the series, I cannot see how GOSICK would sell without the Victorica moe and I should not consider giving it another chance... though pics like that above makes a lot of room for consideration =P

Another chance?: If any other part of the series besides Victorica receives enough praises and can convince me that it's worth it.

7. FREEZING (2 episodes)
I am sure a lot would like an all-girl shounen-style action series with plenty of fanservice, but aside from the crappy animation, the show has plenty of issues. First, the show suffers from the Queen's Blade disease; the clothing around the important parts always gets ripped off for no good reason, and the girls never seems to mind. Second, by following closely to the manga (which should deserve some praise), the series is battle after battle and that leaves little room for any story; which is also a problem for the manga. Thirdly, the story suffers from the typical shouen symdrome where the main character never loses. She just need to be wounded thoroughly and angry enough to hax her power level to 9001. There is a few other issues (i.e. the male lead is a pussy) but I will not go there...

Another chance?: If the characters actually develops more (which I don't think would).

8. Dragon Crisis (4 episodes)
I don't care how good Kugimiya Rie is supposed to be voicing underdeveloped flat-chested tsundere lolis, but Rose is the main reason why the series is as irritating as hell. And it's largely due to her limited vocabulary and devotion to main character Ryuji. Eriko and Hocchan allowed me to last as far as the 4th episode but even they could not soothe the pain in my ears that is Rose.

Another chance?: Only if the heterochromia girl becomes interesting enough, Eriko become irresistible or I become desperate for more Hocchan.

9. Onii-chan wa something something (half episode)
It did not occur to me that watching an incest comedy could be so... disturbing until the first minute of the first episode of this series. The manga was ok; but when it translates into the anime medium, I just cannot ignore the incest sexual innuendo that was implied so strongly throughout the series. I cannot ignore that fact that they are pretty much real siblings even if in fact they are not blood-related; they've been knowing and treating each other like so since young whether or not they actually share the same blood now doesn't really comes into question. Though I must say I am not giving this a fair review because I am not giving it a fair chance; it's just something that I just cannot find interesting.

Another chance?: Only if I'm stuck in a nuclear bunker for a week and this is the only form of entertainment I've got.




What I might catch in the near future

#1. Level E
Due to the sore lacking of females in this series I've never thought of giving this a chance, until psgels hailed it as the best show this season. It wasn't just him (or her), but a couple of bloggers at Random Curiosity also thought so. I wasn't ready for a character like Prince but... who knows? Maybe one day...

#2. Hourou Musuko
I've already expected it from the preview, but the super light colors used in the show stopped me from even seeing the first episode. Look at the picture up there; I've darken half the image, doesn't that make it a lot livelier? Sure, it might lose the feel of the show but cannot help but me bothered by their style of animation.