Now that the winter season has finally begun it is time to look back on the fall anime season, and give my impressions of the shows that I was following, and how they turned out. As always I am only going over the shows I actually watched. There were many that for various reasons I chose not to follow, and some that I might have dropped or misplaced along the way. One such show being Inuyasha: The Final Act. This one I started out looking forward to, but I lost interest after about 5 episodes. This may have been due to the fact that I had myself a Ranma 1/2 marathon around Thanksgiving, and after 161 episodes of Rumiko Takahashi’s work it’s a bit hard to watch even a few more episodes, but I suspect that eventually I’ll get around to it.

Now let’s talk about the shows I have followed throughout the season.

Asura Cryin’ 2

Hmmm… What to say about Asura Cryin’ 2… It starts out right about where the first season left off, but things immediately get weird kind of like the beginning of the first season. It’s a bit hard to follow, but as with the first show after about half the episodes you start to figure things out, and by the end you pretty much understand what is going on. I think the show wasn’t quite as strong as the first season as it becomes obvious that they are rushing to wrap the entire story up, but that said it does have it’s moments, and some pretty interesting action scenes. I’d say that I have one real complaint about the show is the ending… Amazingly every character manages to show up all at once in a parallel world to join in on the final fight with no explanation of how they got there in the first place. Pretty hokey, but I guess they just wanted everyone involved at the end.

Darker Than Black 2

This show was done rather well, and the new character Suou was quite fun to watch, but the show itself was a bit short and rushed. It really should have gotten a 24 episode run. I also found the lack of Yin to leave me a bit unfulfilled. Although the story was short and somewhat predictable there was a definite hint to a possible 3rd season (or even a movie) at the end, so it is obvious that the story is not finished yet, and from the hint it might get even more interesting by introducing a new type of character. The OP and ED singles were also quite good and now reside on my ipod’s play list.

Sora no Otoshimono

This show was a real roller coaster. In the beginning it appeared that it was going to be another goofy show with no real point (which is not always a bad thing), but a rather interesting storyline does develop towards the end, and the looney-ness of getting to that story was quite fun to watch. Very good character development, and design in this show. Of course everyone is aware by now of the infamous panty migration ED from episode 2, but if that alone wasn’t enough to make this show epic then the rest of the EDs were. A different ED was used for each episode, and honestly there were some really great ones in there. If I were to fault this show it would be for the excessive use of chibi characters (Especially Tomoki who sometimes spent entire episodes in chibi form), and the shows sometimes overuse of anime stereotypes.

Kampfer

I have mixed feelings about this show to be honest. The show itself had a really great story, and some amazing characters, but the entire thing kind of fell through at the end. It seems almost like they had planned this to run for 24 episodes, but that for some reason it was changed to 12. I say this because it seems really odd that they got into a really rather complex plot near the last few episodes, and then just sort of ended the show without any true resolution. It seemed to me that they worked up to a big fight at the end which ended with the bad guys pretty much giving up without much of a fight. It really seems like there was a longer story planned out, but the studio just cobbled together a half assed ending when they maybe found out they weren’t getting more episodes. So in my opinion if this show was to continue it has potential to be good, but as it stands currently it’s a bit of a let down.

Kimi ni Todoke

Where to even begin with this show??? Amazing is all I can really say. A romantic comedy shouldn’t have such a compelling story. It really draws you in, and keeps you waiting on the edge of your seat to see what will happen next. The characters in this story are fantastic, and quite fun to watch. From gut busting humor to tear jerking moments this show runs the entire spectrum. The only downfall of the show is that it’s main drive is developing the characters, so at some point the show will become pointless. A simple matter of too much of a good thing can be bad. The show will continue through the winter season, and my hope is that they end it well. If it ends properly then this show has potential to become a masterpiece, but if the studios decide to try and drag it on forever to glean extra profit then there is the possibility of ruining a great show.

Nyan Koi

After the first episode of this show I was thinking that all my hopes for Nyan Koi were going down the drain. Thankfully after a couple more episodes the show became what I was hoping for. It turned out to be a really hilarious anime with an actual story underneath all the craziness. The characters are awesome, and I really hope this one comes back for another season seeing as how Junpei is nowhere near that 100 cat mark set in the beginning. If you are into comedies with a bit of ecchi then definitely check this one out, but give it a few episodes to start getting fun.

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza

Hmmmm… This show… It was not bad, but it didn’t exactly stand out either. It had some great humor, and a few really great episodes including the only episode of any show that I actually watched several times (and no it wasn’t either of the hot springs episodes). The thing about this series is that it really had no cohesive storyline. It was more like an episodic sitcom in which there is something completely different every week rather than a continuing story. They did manage to cover a whole lot of ground though… From Christmas, to New Years, pop idols, school plays, maid parties, comicon, and not one but 2 hot spring episodes. I think they pretty much got everything they possibly could in there. They also managed to get a little more screen time for some of the side characters that were introduced in season one. If you just want to watch a fun show, and don’t mind the lack of a real plot then definitely check this one out, and be sure if you do to keep an eye out for the Ranma 1/2 cosplay in episode 3 (I told you they got everything in there).

Sasameki Koto

This show was a really nice surprise. I was expecting the typical yuri drama like Aoi Hana or Maria Sama, but this show brings some fantastic characters, and some really amazing humor. I think this show came the closest to actually making me fall out of my chair several times (yes it really is that funny). Of course there is some drama because it wouldn’t be a yuri show without it, but the totally hilarious characters really have me hoping that they make more of this. Seriously… This is a classic case of not judging a book by it’s cover, and I can’t imagine many who wouldn’t enjoy this show. If it weren’t for my being completely taken over by Kimi Ni Todoke then this would have been my pick for best show of last season.

A Certain Scientific Railgun

Of course this is another show that is continuing through the winter season so I can only talk about what happened during the first half. For those expecting a sequel to Index you definitely didn’t get one. Aside from taking place in the same location, and having a few of the same characters (as well as some cameos here and there) this story is almost nothing like Index. That said… The show is really good, and while it has some humor I think the best thing the show has is a “cool” factor. You always wait for Misaka to use her power, and it so far has not disappointed. Mostly this time it’s all about the girls with very few male characters, and the few that there are aren’t on the screen for very long. Some have classified this as a yuri show, and while there are certainly yuri elements they don’t seem to be the main focus of the show at least not for the first half. As of writing this I’ve already seen the first 3 episodes of the second half, but I’m kind of left wondering what happened… They seem to have left a big chunk of the story behind that started really picking up during the last few episodes of the first half. I suspect it’s just a little break, and most likely they will get back to that story and finish it… At least I hope.

Needless

I hate to say anything negative about this show because I loved the first half during the summer season so much, but I have to say that it kind of let me down a bit. The show overall I still consider awesome, but the second half pretty much spent a whole season that encompassed one single fight that never seemed to end. Granted I understand that the manga was considered a fighting manga, but they literally stayed in one room fighting the whole time. As a person on one forum stated “I hope they at least break through a wall into a new room this week.” I felt the same way. Just anything to break up the monotony of that battle would have been great. The few flashback episodes unfortunately didn’t seem to help in that matter much. I’ll say it again… A great show overall, and possibly on a marathon viewing of the whole series would flow much better, but waiting for a new episode each week only to see the same fight continue started leaving me with an Endless 8 feeling.

Seitokai no Ichizon

I had extremely high expectations for this show thinking it would be way funnier than it actually turned out. The first episode was really great, but then the next few kind of dropped off. The constant stream of anime reference jokes gave way to an actual story, but a story about a group of people that sit in a room every day kind of leaves something to be desired. The show did pick back up a bit, and carried on fairly well through out the season, but it never got the magic of the first episode back it seemed to me. Not bad, but it could have been so much better. Now don’t get me wrong… The show does have it’s moments… The cat’s cradle panties in one of the later episodes made me spew soda through my nose, but I think the show just didn’t have a consistent enough momentum.

11 Eyes

I wasn’t actually expecting to keep watching the whole season of this show, but it managed to keep my attention long enough to make it through. A bit confusing overall, and I don’t mean simply the plot. The show itself didn’t seem to know exactly what it wanted to be. It started out as a mix of action, comedy, and ecchi. Then it became a way too serious almost mystery story. I never quite knew what this show was trying to accomplish. The story made some sense, but the way it was carried out just seemed to be a big weird fest. Not only that but I think the fact that there were a couple of characters I felt the overwhelming desire to slap senseless didn’t help things much. I would be really surprised if this show gets another season (that said, I’ve been surprised before). I personally don’t think I’d recommend this show, but I’m sure there are plenty who disagree. You know what the say about opinions…

All in all it was a really big season. A lot of really neat shows came out, and kept me completely from participating in anything that could even be considered a life. Someone actually complained that this was the “worst anime season ever” but in my opinion it was one of the best. Even the just starting winter season which I consider fairly sparse is not even the “worst ever”. I just wonder what some folks are thinking sometimes, or even if they are thinking when they say some of these goofy things. I guess that wraps up the fall season, and since I’m running late on this I will get to the winter season first impressions very soon.

Okay… Now on to part 2 of this season’s anime lineup. (Part one is here: Fall 2009 Anime Lineup Part 1)

For better or worse it seems CrunchyRoll pretty much owns this season. They have licensed at least half the shows that are being broadcast and simulcasting them from their site, and the anime download community is crying murder. Although… At this point it’s mostly the viewers themselves crying as I haven’t heard much complaining from the fansub groups. Possibly they are seeing this as a break, since during the summer season some of them had so many shows they were trying to sub that many were dropped, and several that have yet to be completed. Well… All that aside let’s get into the rest of the lineup.

Kimi Ni Todoke

This show is probably going to be the Bakemonogatari of this season. I don’t think many had high expectations from a romance comedy, but this show definitely makes it interesting. The main character Sawako is a high school girl plagued by the fact the she resembles the character Sadako from the film The Ring, so you can imagine how she is treated by fellow classmates. The most amusing part is that Sawako rather than always being upset by this coincidence uses her appearance to purposely scare her classmates, and she feels that if she doesn’t live up to their expectations then everyone will be disappointed. Kind of along the lines that being the most unpopular person in school carries it’s own type of fame. The main storyline of course revolves around the one boy who is not afraid of her, and how their relationship develops. The animation goes from being a very pastel kind of like Maria Sama or Aoi Hana, but switches to a very chibi style kinda like Fruits Basket throughout. It can throw you off a bit at first, but once you get used to it the show’s appearance is actually quite cool. This story though funny at times makes you wonder if you should be laughing or crying at the day to day events that make up Sawako’s life. Maybe a little of both? Fantastic show. If you like romantic comedies you have to check this one out. Even if you don’t like them it’s still a fun show.

Heaven’s Lost Property (Sora no Otoshimono)

Okay, so if an angel suddenly fell from the sky and offered you any wish you desired what would it be? Well… From the first episode we learn that world domination is not the best choice. This show is rather funny, but the ecchi content is far more interesting. The idea of a pet angel while not a new concept is handled in a slightly different way. Usually you would expect a character in a show like this to be pure and innocent, but in this case they made her out to be more like an airhead prostitute. Storyline is kinda so-so after the first  episode, but it’s a good show to watch to kill some time.

Sasameki Koto

After saying I wasn’t watching Aoi Hana last season, and then watching it anyway I figure I won’t try to fight it this time. I would say the show is typical yuri, but there is a twist in the fact that rather than the usual all-girl school setting this one occurs in a regular co-ed school. So the gist from the first episode… One girl likes another girl, but the other girl likes a boy, and the boy happens to like the first girl thus creating tension and misunderstandings. All the while the first girl’s best friend likes her, but hasn’t admitted that she does, or even that she is into girls in the first place. The potential for misunderstandings and strained relationships is high on this one. It also seems a bit less refined than similar shows which makes the story a bit more believable rather than forced at least so far. The chances for confrontations between the characters alone will be enough to keep me watching this.

Kaboto

Hmmm… This show looks like it’s going to be another magical girl show. Except the lack of the typical magical girl attire. And there’s another talking stuffed animal. How many is that this season??? I lost count. The show on it’s surface seems to be a very child oriented show like Shugo Chara, but that’s only on the surface. It is definitely not a show for kids. The stuffed dog has quite a foul mouth on him, and most of the storyline would be way too mature for children. It’s not a dirty show by any means, but more of an adult comedy spin on the magical girl genre. The jury is still out on whether the show is good or not, but it at least deserves a couple more episodes to see how things develop.

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 2: Purezza

I’d like to say this story starts where the previous season left off, but it kind of doesn’t. As usual with romantic comedies the second season pretty much assumes everything that happened during the last episode of the first season didn’t happen. In other words… The two main characters Haruka and Yuuto are right back to friend status. Oh well… That’s typical. The story seems fairly amusing so far, and I’m assuming at this point that it will get better as the season goes on since the first season was kind of slow to get going as well. There is a new maid character though, so that might be interesting. The one bothersome thing about the episode was the excessive censoring. I don’t mind if they cover up the naughty bits for broadcast, but when half the screen is whited out it kind of gets annoying. Hopefully this turns out to be as fun as the first season was.

11 Eyes

I’m still trying to figure this show out. It will probably take a few episodes to get what is going on, but so far there are parallel worlds, magic, blood, demons, swords, fighting, and… Pantsu. The characters are interesting although they could easily have been brought together from several existing animes just judging by appearance. As I mentioned the storyline is still somewhat vague after one episode, but could turn out to be quite a good show. Oh… And while there have been several appearances by stuffed animals none of them have spoken… Yet. If the penguin starts yapping this show instantly loses points.

There are a few shows that I’m not intending to follow at this point starting with Armed Librarians and The Sacred Blacksmith. I just find the story based on the summaries I’ve read to be something I wouldn’t find interesting, but that’s not to say I won’t give them a try if I get bored. Fairy Tail is another that I’m not planning to watch, but if the hype continues regarding this show then I might look into it. Miracle Train is not on my list for what should be obvious reasons… While I’m not scared or repulsed by shows about gay men it’s still not something that interests me enough to follow… Although gay girls are always fun to watch I’m discovering. Queen’s Blade 2 is not one I intend to watch as I still haven’t watched the first season, but if I ever get around to that then I’ll probably watch the second series too, but it’s not likely to happen this season. There are a few more show’s that I don’t intend to follow, but I can’t think of them all right now.

At this point I’m not intending to start Darker Than Black 2, but that’s only because I’m still watching the first season. Once I get finished with the last few episodes then I intend to pick this up. And it is probably “needless” to say that I will be following the second season of Needless. The first episode of which aired last week, and was quite awesome as usual.

There are also some good OVAs scheduled for the fall season. The Negima OVA has already been subbed and released, and one thing I can say is that it is much darker and more serious than any Negima anime that has been released to date. There is a Kanokon OVA, a Mahoromatic OVA, and also the second episode of the To Heart ADplus OVA that will all be released this fall.

Seriously… If you can’t find anything to watch this fall then there’s just no pleasing you at all. So many shows there’s got to be something for everyone in the mix.

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.