Guillotine

So even though the summer anime season started out looking rather poor it actually had quite a few surprises, and some impressive titles. I won’t get into Haruhi Suzumiya since that pretty much got it’s own article, but I will say I’m happy they decided to do “Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya” this season rather than “Disappearance”.

There were a few shows I was looking forward to that somewhat disappointed… Or maybe didn’t live up to expectations, but we also got some big surprises like Needless which was announced pretty much last minute, but turned out to be probably the best show this season.  So… Let’s get into it after the jump…

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom

Continuing from the spring season Phantom did not disappoint. The story takes an interesting turn of events at the end of the first season that definitely keeps you waiting for the next episode. The addition of the character Cal definitely added a nice twist to the story. The last few episodes have been kind of weird, but the final episodes are proving to be quite riveting. If you still haven’t watched this show then hand in your anime card. You should be banned from everything except Pokemon.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

This show was not quite what one would expect. From the title and previews I was expecting a sort of Towering Inferno/disaster movie type story, but it was more of a slice of life in the aftermath of a disaster situation. Usually the stuff that you imagine happening after a movie’s credits start rolling. It’s got a slow pace and some very likable characters. Quite a bit of drama with a nasty surprise at the end. The animation looks very similar to last season’s Eden of the East, and it’s only eleven episodes, so there’s no good reason for you not to watch this.

Canaan

This was one that got a lot of hype before the season started, and maybe that’s why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have. My expectations were much higher. Not to say it’s a bad show. It’s actually pretty good. Some of the characters are incredible, and with one episode left in the season I’m finding myself on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens. I’d say the only thing that bothered me about the show was that it starts off rather hard to follow, and I found myself nodding off quite a bit. That said the second half of the season made up for it. The things that were confusing in the beginning have all for the most part been cleared up, and the final act is quite a ride.

Sora no Manimani

This show I had my doubts about… I mean astronomy??? I have dabbled in astronomy myself a bit, but it’s not something I would particularly watch on TV. That said the show is a bit more of a slice of life comedy. The characters are really great, and if anything Hime’s facial expressions are worth watching the show for if nothing else. It has some great visual jokes, and plenty of all around goofiness. If I had to fault the show for anything it would be that the astronomy club president who seems to cough up blood constantly is a bit creepy. Otherwise this is a great show, and I can see at least another season or some OVAs in this series’ future.

Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou

This one was… Pretty okay, but not what I was hoping for. From the previews it looked more dark and sinister and Harry Potterish, but it was actually quite lighthearted. There is some comedy, but I’d say rather than belly laughs it’s one of those shows that tends to make you grin from time to time. The story is also a bit difficult in the beginning because they took a page out of Haruhi Suzumiya by showing things out of order at first. Even at the second to last episode there are still quite a few questions that have not been answered. Good, but not great. There is a bit of fan service here and there, so a warning to those with an aversion to panties (or even lack of them on one occasion).

Princess Lover

Hmmm… I knew going in that this show was mostly about the fan service. The preview had more panties showing than a Victoria’s Secret catalog, so I wasn’t expecting much story wise. And I was correct… The story is rather lacking, but the bad thing was that all the fan service this show promised was lacking as well. Every shot seemed to have something edited, blurred, steamed, or shadowed. I mean… I don’t consider myself an ecchi addict by any means, but when it’s all the show has going for it in the first place… Well… We did get paid back a bit with a “leaked” very low resolution uncensored version of episode 10. That alone means I will be giving this a rewatch once the uncensored DVDs are released, but for now… The show lacks in just about every department. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but it easily could have been better.

Aoi Hana

I know… I said I wasn’t going to watch this, but with the season winding down waiting for the new shows to air you gotta get your anime fix somehow. This show I likened to Maria Sama when I last mentioned it, and it is… Except in Maria Sama Ga Miteru everything was implied while in Aoi Hana you get everything laid right out there. These girls proudly flaunt their gayness. The animation is okay. The characters are rather interesting. One thing I found amusing was that like Maria Sama there was a nosy brother and a spurned fiance making up the male members of the cast. Although they did manage to toss a male teacher in as well to give it a little Marmalade Boy vibe. I dunno… I may just become a closet yuri fan yet (although if so I just outed myself there didn’t I?) The show was rather fun to watch just to see who was gonna get with who, and who would end up crying. It even looked like there might be a psycho in the mix, but alas they didn’t want to go all School Days on us.

Fight Ippatsu!! Juuden-Chan

The Charger Girls were quite amusing. The story was kind of non-existent in the beginning, but really… Is that why you would watch this show??? It definitely lived up to it’s “R” rating, and then some. If anything this show probably gained almost as much attention as Endless 8 simply for the violence and bodily fluid accidents. In other words the girls tend to wet themselves quite a bit, and if this isn’t something you can laugh at then you’d probably be better to steer clear. I also believe there are feminist groups mobilizing as I write due to the show’s main male character’s hobby of hitting females with a baseball bat. The most amusing aspect of this show to me was the fact that as dirty as the main show was it contained a second show within it that was even more twisted and dirty. The second show was an anime that the main character always seemed to be watching whenever a TV was present, and it was just all kinds of wrong.  Apart from the perverted humor and rather extreme fan service near the end of the season this show actually began to develop a storyline. A rather interesting one at that. Most questions were left hanging by the final episode, and while an OVA is announced it seems they have left plenty of openings for another season. We’ll see. In the mean time I will await the DVD release as the show was broadcast on a non-HD cable network in Japan in 4:3 aspect. It’s easy to tell by the way things are framed that the show was originally widescreen, so the DVDs will most likely be 16:9.

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class

I would really like to say more about this show, but due to the fact that only one group is subbing it, and  have yet to even get to the halfway point I can only base my opinion on the first 5 episodes that have been subbed and the raws of the rest (which I can barely understand). The show seems almost like a cross between Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star. The visual aspect is the Azumanga Daioh part while the story is mostly pointless conversation similar to Lucky Star. The characters are fun to watch, and the show is fairly amusing along with the occasional laugh out loud moments. While it’s not on par with either of the aforementioned shows it is pretty good in it’s own right, and is what you would expect from a 4 panel comic adaptation. This one also has an OVA scheduled for this fall, and hopefully all the episodes will have been subbed by that time.

Bakemonogatari

The show that’s kept everyone scratching their heads this season. Fantastic show, but so much weirdness thrown in that it’s hard to figure out just what is going on at times, but that’s part of this show’s charm. The show itself is a supernatural – comedy with a bit of harem action thrown in. The basic gist is that Araragi is a part vampire who keeps running into girls possessed by spirits (or who are spirits themselves), and takes it upon himself to help them with their problems. One of the stranger aspects of this show are the insert screens. Either black or red screens sometimes with text pertaining to the scene, and some with frame number information pop up every few minutes. A lot have speculated that some of these are edited scenes. If so then there is quite a bit of this show that has not been seen yet. We’ll have to wait for DVD to find out I guess. The characters in this show are excellent, and while people keep arguing that the show is not “harem” you have one main male character and I count 7 females he’s gathered so far, so while the main theme of the show is supernatural it’s hard to deny that there is  just a bit of harem tossed in as well.

Needless

Oh my… This show literally came out of nowhere. I don’t think the previews even got to the torrent sites in time to actually be watched before the show aired. By all descriptions I wasn’t even intending to watch, but of course sitting around bored the night the first episode showed up it was unavoidable to at least check it out. I still don’t know how to express exactly what this show is like in mere words. Imagine jamming every single anime, manga, and video game stereotype there ever was into an action-comedy. If you can imagine that you may be close.  From over the top action to gut busting humor this show is just a romp. Plenty of fan service, and characters that are so outrageous you can’t help but love them all. “Needless” to say I think this is the best show of the summer season, and the fact that it has already been green-lit for a second season this fall backs that up. This show is a must watch.