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	<title>Guillotine &#187; season</title>
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		<title>2009 Fall Season Anime Review</title>
		<link>http://www.girochin.com/1478/2009-fall-season-anime-review.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.girochin.com/1478/2009-fall-season-anime-review.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:08:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Anime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aoi Hana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[darker than black]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kimi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kimi Ni]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maria Sama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rumiko Takahashi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[season]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[show]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sora]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Than Black]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yin]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Now that the winter season has finally begun it is time to look back on the fall anime season, and [...]]]></description>
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<p>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&#8217;s work it&#8217;s a bit hard to watch even a few more episodes, but I suspect that eventually I&#8217;ll get around to it.</p>
<p>Now let&#8217;s talk about the shows I have followed throughout the season.</p>
<p><strong>Asura Cryin&#8217; 2</strong></p>
<p>Hmmm&#8230; What to say about Asura Cryin&#8217; 2&#8230; 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&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;s moments, and some pretty interesting action scenes. I&#8217;d say that I have one real complaint about the show is the ending&#8230; 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.</p>
<p><strong>Darker Than Black 2</strong></p>
<p>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&#8217;s play list.</p>
<p><strong>Sora no Otoshimono</strong></p>
<p>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&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>Kampfer</strong></p>
<p>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&#8217;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&#8217;s a bit of a let down.</p>
<p><strong>Kimi ni Todoke</strong></p>
<p>Where to even begin with this show??? Amazing is all I can really say. A romantic comedy shouldn&#8217;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&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>Nyan Koi</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza</strong></p>
<p>Hmmmm&#8230; This show&#8230; It was not bad, but it didn&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8230; 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&#8217;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).</p>
<p><strong>Sasameki Koto</strong></p>
<p>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&#8217;t be a yuri show without it, but the totally hilarious characters really have me hoping that they make more of this. Seriously&#8230; This is a classic case of not judging a book by it&#8217;s cover, and I can&#8217;t imagine many who wouldn&#8217;t enjoy this show. If it weren&#8217;t for my being completely taken over by Kimi Ni Todoke then this would have been my pick for best show of last season.</p>
<p><strong>A Certain Scientific Railgun</strong></p>
<p>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&#8217;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&#8230; The show is really good, and while it has some humor I think the best thing the show has is a &#8220;cool&#8221; factor. You always wait for Misaka to use her power, and it so far has not disappointed. Mostly this time it&#8217;s all about the girls with very few male characters, and the few that there are aren&#8217;t on the screen for very long. Some have classified this as a yuri show, and while there are certainly yuri elements they don&#8217;t seem to be the main focus of the show at least not for the first half. As of writing this I&#8217;ve already seen the first 3 episodes of the second half, but I&#8217;m kind of left wondering what happened&#8230; 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&#8217;s just a little break, and most likely they will get back to that story and finish it&#8230; At least I hope.</p>
<p><strong>Needless</strong></p>
<p>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 &#8220;I hope they at least break through a wall into a new room this week.&#8221; 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&#8217;t seem to help in that matter much. I&#8217;ll say it again&#8230; 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.</p>
<p><strong>Seitokai no Ichizon</strong></p>
<p>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&#8217;t get me wrong&#8230; The show does have it&#8217;s moments&#8230; The cat&#8217;s cradle panties in one of the later episodes made me spew soda through my nose, but I think the show just didn&#8217;t have a consistent enough momentum.</p>
<p><strong>11 Eyes</strong></p>
<p>I wasn&#8217;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&#8217;t mean simply the plot. The show itself didn&#8217;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&#8217;t help things much. I would be really surprised if this show gets another season (that said, I&#8217;ve been surprised before). I personally don&#8217;t think I&#8217;d recommend this show, but I&#8217;m sure there are plenty who disagree. You know what the say about opinions&#8230;</p>
<p>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 &#8220;worst anime season ever&#8221; 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 &#8220;worst ever&#8221;. 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&#8217;m running late on this I will get to the winter season first impressions very soon.</p>
<p>
<a href='http://www.girochin.com/1478/2009-fall-season-anime-review.html/dtb2_1' title='dtb2_1'><img width="120" height="120" src="http://www.girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dtb2_1-120x120.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="dtb2_1" title="dtb2_1" /></a>
<a href='http://www.girochin.com/1478/2009-fall-season-anime-review.html/kiminitodoke1' title='kiminitodoke1'><img width="120" height="120" src="http://www.girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/kiminitodoke1-120x120.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="kiminitodoke1" title="kiminitodoke1" /></a>
<a href='http://www.girochin.com/1478/2009-fall-season-anime-review.html/nogizakapurezza1' title='NogizakaPurezza1'><img width="120" height="120" src="http://www.girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/NogizakaPurezza1-120x120.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="NogizakaPurezza1" title="NogizakaPurezza1" /></a>
<a href='http://www.girochin.com/1478/2009-fall-season-anime-review.html/nyankoi1' title='NyanKoi1'><img width="120" height="120" src="http://www.girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/NyanKoi1-120x120.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="NyanKoi1" title="NyanKoi1" /></a>
<a href='http://www.girochin.com/1478/2009-fall-season-anime-review.html/railgun1' title='railgun1'><img width="120" height="120" src="http://www.girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/railgun1-120x120.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="railgun1" title="railgun1" /></a>
<a href='http://www.girochin.com/1478/2009-fall-season-anime-review.html/ikarosnymph1' title='ikarosnymph1'><img width="120" height="120" src="http://www.girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ikarosnymph1-120x120.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="ikarosnymph1" title="ikarosnymph1" /></a>
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		<title>Fall 2009 Anime Lineup Part 2</title>
		<link>http://www.girochin.com/954/fall-2009-anime-lineup-part-2.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.girochin.com/954/fall-2009-anime-lineup-part-2.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:54:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Anime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aoi Hana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fellow classmates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japanese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kimi Ni]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maria Sama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[romance comedy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[season]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[show]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sora]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.girochin.com/?p=954</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Okay&#8230; Now on to part 2 of this season&#8217;s anime lineup. (Part one is here: Fall 2009 Anime Lineup Part [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/sadako.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-955" title="sadako" src="http://girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/sadako.jpg" alt="sadako" width="384" height="263" /></a></p>
<p>Okay&#8230; Now on to part 2 of this season&#8217;s anime lineup. (Part one is here: <a href="http://www.girochin.com/?p=904" target="_self"><em>Fall 2009 Anime Lineup Part 1</em></a>)</p>
<p>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&#8230; At this point it&#8217;s mostly the viewers themselves crying as I haven&#8217;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&#8230; All that aside let&#8217;s get into the rest of the lineup.</p>
<p><strong>Kimi Ni Todoke</strong></p>
<p>This show is probably going to be the Bakemonogatari of this season. I don&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;t like them it&#8217;s still a fun show.</p>
<p><strong>Heaven&#8217;s Lost Property (Sora no Otoshimono)<br />
</strong></p>
<p>Okay, so if an angel suddenly fell from the sky and offered you any wish you desired what would it be? Well&#8230; 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&#8217;s a good show to watch to kill some time.</p>
<p><strong>Sasameki Koto</strong></p>
<p>After saying I wasn&#8217;t watching Aoi Hana last season, and then watching it anyway I figure I won&#8217;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&#8230; 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&#8217;s best friend likes her, but hasn&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>Kaboto</strong></p>
<p>Hmmm&#8230; This show looks like it&#8217;s going to be another magical girl show. Except the lack of the typical magical girl attire. And there&#8217;s another talking stuffed animal. How many is that this season??? I lost count. The show on it&#8217;s surface seems to be a very child oriented show like Shugo Chara, but that&#8217;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&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 2: Purezza</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;d like to say this story starts where the previous season left off, but it kind of doesn&#8217;t. As usual with romantic comedies the second season pretty much assumes everything that happened during the last episode of the first season didn&#8217;t happen. In other words&#8230; The two main characters Haruka and Yuuto are right back to friend status. Oh well&#8230; That&#8217;s typical. The story seems fairly amusing so far, and I&#8217;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&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>11 Eyes</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;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&#8230; 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&#8230; And while there have been several appearances by stuffed animals none of them have spoken&#8230; Yet. If the penguin starts yapping this show instantly loses points.</p>
<p>There are a few shows that I&#8217;m not intending to follow at this point starting with <em>Armed Librarians</em> and The <em>Sacred Blacksmith</em>. I just find the story based on the summaries I&#8217;ve read to be something I wouldn&#8217;t find interesting, but that&#8217;s not to say I won&#8217;t give them a try if I get bored. <em>Fairy Tail</em> is another that I&#8217;m not planning to watch, but if the hype continues regarding this show then I might look into it. <em>Miracle Train</em> is not on my list for what should be obvious reasons&#8230; While I&#8217;m not scared or repulsed by shows about gay men it&#8217;s still not something that interests me enough to follow&#8230; Although gay girls are always fun to watch I&#8217;m discovering. <em>Queen&#8217;s Blade 2</em> is not one I intend to watch as I still haven&#8217;t watched the first season, but if I ever get around to that then I&#8217;ll probably watch the second series too, but it&#8217;s not likely to happen this season. There are a few more show&#8217;s that I don&#8217;t intend to follow, but I can&#8217;t think of them all right now.</p>
<p>At this point I&#8217;m not intending to start <em>Darker Than Black 2</em>, but that&#8217;s only because I&#8217;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 &#8220;needless&#8221; to say that I will be following the second season of <em>Needless</em>. The first episode of which aired last week, and was quite awesome as usual.</p>
<p>There are also some good OVAs scheduled for the fall season. The <em>Negima</em> 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 <em>Kanokon</em> OVA, a <em>Mahoromatic</em> OVA, and also the second episode of the <em>To Heart ADplus</em> OVA that will all be released this fall.</p>
<p>Seriously&#8230; If you can&#8217;t find anything to watch this fall then there&#8217;s just no pleasing you at all. So many shows there&#8217;s got to be something for everyone in the mix.
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		<title>Disappearance Of Haruhi Movie Announced</title>
		<link>http://www.girochin.com/963/the-disappearance-of-haruhi-suzumiya-movie-announced.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.girochin.com/963/the-disappearance-of-haruhi-suzumiya-movie-announced.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:46:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Anime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disappearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Haruhi Suzumiya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japanese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyoto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[length feature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[season]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[And there you have it. After all the speculation and rumors coupled with the shock of Endless 8. It has [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/haruhi2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1416" title="haruhi2" src="http://www.girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/haruhi2.jpg" alt="haruhi2" width="290" height="360" /></a></p>
<p>And there you have it. After all the speculation and rumors coupled with the shock of Endless 8. It has been officially announced that The Disappearance Of Haruhi Suzumiya  will get a full length feature anime film in <strong>spring of 2010.</strong> The news was released as a teaser at the end of the final episode of this season&#8217;s re-air of The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya.</p>
<p>While it has been almost certain for some time that this novel will be animated it was always uncertain as to how. When the re-air began filling story gaps in the first season it became obvious that they were completing the story up to the point that Disappearance would begin, but whether it was getting a full season series or a film was the big question.</p>
<p>Kadokawa/Kyoto Animation may be some of the sneakiest companies around, but you gotta admit they know how to get publicity.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong></p>
<p>And here is the teaser:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="480" height="295" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XrHixglWyZ0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XrHixglWyZ0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object>
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		<title>Spring Anime Season Recap</title>
		<link>http://www.girochin.com/687/spring-anime-season-recap.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.girochin.com/687/spring-anime-season-recap.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:53:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Anime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[animation quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bonus episode]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyoto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marshall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Misao]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[season]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[show]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winter]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[So, now that the spring anime series are starting to wrap up I thought I&#8217;d give my impressions of the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-689" title="k-on04" src="http://girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/k-on041.jpg" alt="k-on04" width="448" height="280" /></p>
<p>So, now that the spring anime series are starting to wrap up I thought I&#8217;d give my impressions of the shows I have followed. Out of  all the great shows this season I have only been following a few, but they did not disappoint.  I&#8217;m kind of sad that this season is ending since the summer anime listings don&#8217;t appear to impress me much at first glance. So far the only thing I am intending to look into is &#8220;<a href="http://mv.avex.jp/ga/" target="_blank">GA: Geijutsuka Art Design  Class&#8221;</a>. But you never know&#8230; Coming into this season I was only looking forward to K-On and Phantom, but it&#8217;s turned out to be quite a good batch of shows. So here we go&#8230; <span id="more-687"></span></p>
<p><strong>K-On </strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;ll begin with the obvious&#8230; This show was so over hyped before the season that I&#8217;m sure many non-anime fans were probably somewhat aware of it&#8217;s presence. At this time there is one episode to go (well not including the 13th bonus episode), and the show has definitely lived up to expectations&#8230; If it hasn&#8217;t altogether surpassed them. If this show hasn&#8217;t made everyone who watched it laugh hysterically then I&#8217;m sorry to inform you that you officially have no sense of humor whatsoever. The animation quality was pretty much the usual Kyoto Animation fare with one notable difference&#8230; It seems for once a company has actually gotten clearance to use actual instrument brand names rather than something made up. I thought it was a nice touch to see Yamaha, Fender, Gibson, Korg, Vox, Marshall, and Peavey all in their proper places on the instruments. The voice acting was really outstanding with the characters really fitting their voices well. The characters themselves are really quite impressive as well. Even with all the character polls going on I&#8217;d really have a hard time nailing down just one as my favorite&#8230; Even the side characters and &#8220;extras&#8221; are rather likable and hard not to enjoy. If I had to say anything was wrong with K-On it is that the  that the story moved too fast&#8230; Aside from a few continuing stories most of the episodes spanned an entire season in the time line making everything feel rushed. It really should have been a 24 episode run crossing into summer as well. It appears that the series is going to end during the second year of the character&#8217;s high school journey, so there is always the third year to look forward to if they run a second series later on. Although I have seen no reports of any plans for another at this time, but by now everyone should be familiar with how Kadokawa seems to love keeping secrets&#8230; Almost to the point of driving one insane. If you haven&#8217;t checked this show out, and like cute comedies then you&#8217;ll definitely enjoy K-On.</p>
<p><strong>Asura Cryin&#8217;</strong></p>
<p>This one I was a bit wary of&#8230; I wasn&#8217;t aware of the light novels that this anime was based on, so I didn&#8217;t know what to expect. And&#8230; After the first episode I was even more confused than before. At the time it seemed to make no sense whatsoever, but I&#8217;m happy to say that by sticking with it for a few episodes it becomes rather apparent just what is going on, and it turns out to be a pretty decent storyline. I really don&#8217;t know what category one could put this in&#8230; It kind of crosses into every genre&#8217;s turf. You have Mech, Magic, Comedy, Drama, Action, Harem&#8230; They are all here&#8230; Except maybe sports, but then the series hasn&#8217;t ended, so they may throw a baseball team in there somewhere. To me the show has a rather intriguing story while at the same time not taking itself too seriously. You can literally have a battle one minute and the characters all laughing and joking the next. The only really confusing bit of the show seems to be that you can never tell who is the bad guy&#8230; Even the enemies are decent folk in this show. The only solution I found was to just root for the main character&#8217;s (Tomoharu, Misao, Kanade, and Shuri), and just assume everyone else deserves to get beat. I think this show would be classified as a &#8220;sleeper&#8221; in the US. A rather good show, but I think it&#8217;s popularity is lacking possibly due to either people not giving it a chance, or the more likely possibility that it simply came on during a season with a lot of heavy hitters and just slipped under the radar. I&#8217;m sure if this show had aired either in Winter or even the upcoming Summer season it would have fared better. Regardless of popularity I have enjoyed the series so far and recommend it to anyone looking for a good show.</p>
<p><strong>Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom</strong></p>
<p>This is one of the shows I had been looking forward to since it was announced, and I will say that so far it has not disappointed me in the least. The only problem I have with the show are the idiots who leaked the 10th episode early, and have at least at this point put everything on hold. Funimation is no longer streaming it, and has even removed all material relating to the show from their site. At the moment it&#8217;s looking like nobody is even fansubbing it although the raw for the latest episode is available. This all happens right during a cliffhanger scene to boot. Anyway&#8230; The show is great. The animation is fantastic, and the characters are quite good. The story has kept me on the edge of my seat so far, and I can&#8217;t wait to see what happens next. This show is 26 episodes and spans into the summer season, so there is quite a bit more to see how it will all turn out. I think if it weren&#8217;t for K-On then this would be my favorite show this season.</p>
<p><strong>Maria Sama Ga Miteru (4th Season)</strong></p>
<p>Now this show is technically from the winter season, but as I&#8217;ve just caught myself up on the entire show I figured I&#8217;d give it a mention. This is really not my type of show&#8230; If I had to compare it to anything I think it would be classified as a soap opera. Of course anything I could complain about the show itself would only be reflecting my personal tastes, and I&#8217;m pretty sure I am not the target audience for this type of show. That said I mostly checked it out because the Anime Network began streaming it (before they fled Comcast) on their OnDemand channel. And I&#8217;ll admit that once I started watching I simply couldn&#8217;t take my eyes off it&#8230; Kinda like a train wreck&#8230; Once it starts you can&#8217;t help but watch. For what it is I think the show is well done. The art reminds me of classic anime from the 60s or 70s, so it has a rather interesting look to it, and the story is pretty captivating. I also have always tended to be fascinated by Catholic symbolism which this show is not lacking in. The only complaint story wise that I can bring myself to address is with the 4th season specifically. You know, or should know the final outcome by the first episode (by the first image in the opening credits for that matter), so I was kind of irritated that it was drug out excruciatingly until the very last moment of the very last episode. I feel that there was plenty more story to be had elsewhere and that one plot point could have been taken care of much earlier freeing up the rest of the season to cover other plot lines that were occurring on the side. All in all I say if you are into chick flicks then you&#8217;ll love this show&#8230; Even if you don&#8217;t it&#8217;s still rather interesting to watch.</p>
<p><strong>The &#8220;Re appearance&#8221; of Haruhi Suzumiya</strong></p>
<p>I don&#8217;t have much to say about this as only one of the new episodes has aired to date, and based on the time line I&#8217;d guess Haruhi S2 will mostly be classified as a summer season show. I will say that Kadokawa has most certainly driven many people past the brink of insanity with their shady public relations regarding this show. Several years and hundreds of rumors, and in the end they decided to release it inline with the original series without even formally announcing it. At least the rumors have finally been laid to rest. The show itself fits right into the original series quite well&#8230; As a matter of fact if it weren&#8217;t for the different opening and ending you could even believe it was created right along with the original series. So all I can really say from first impressions is that if you liked the first season then you should enjoy the second just as much.</p>
<p><strong>Eden of the East</strong></p>
<p>Yup&#8230; I saved the big one for last. This show I actually avoided watching just because of the hype surrounding it. I finally did give in and caught up on it before the last episode airs. Mostly due to the fact that with Funimation&#8217;s video portal down right now I was kinda needing an anime fix, but I was also curious as it&#8217;s rather unusual for an adult anime to break into the top 5 in the Japanese Anime rankings. Really though&#8230; What can you say about a show that starts out with a naked guy waving a gun in front of the White House??? The story is actually pretty impressive, and the animation is rather interesting in itself&#8230; The main animation is nothing spectacular, but the things like blushing and thought clouds appearing above characters reminds me of old cartoons kinda like the 50s era. It really throws you for a loop sometimes to see those things since the story has a fairly serious tone to it. Quite a good show, and I&#8217;m glad I decided to check it out.</p>
<p>So there is my impression of this season&#8217;s anime offerings&#8230; I know there are other shows I probably should have watched (and probably will at some point), but this season gave me about all I could handle at once. All in all the Japanese animation industry gets a standing ovation from me for a great spring season&#8230; On the other hand&#8230; If summer turns out to be how it&#8217;s looking from the initial listing then they need to pull out something amazing in fall to make up for it.
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		<title>Kadokawa Up To Something???</title>
		<link>http://www.girochin.com/589/kadokawa-up-to-something.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.girochin.com/589/kadokawa-up-to-something.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:30:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Anime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brown Books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Churya-san]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[initial disappointment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyoto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[season]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Youtube]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Youtube Channel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.girochin.com/?p=589</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the initial disappointment still in the air that the news of a Haruhi Suzumiya anime being broadcast with this [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-590" title="haruhiroxrs" src="http://girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/haruhiroxrs.jpg" alt="haruhiroxrs" width="271" height="306" /></p>
<p>With the initial disappointment still in the air that the news of a Haruhi Suzumiya anime being broadcast with this spring&#8217;s anime season which we all discovered will  actually be a re-air of the first season rather than the long awaited second season. Followed soon after by the release of the Haruhi-Chan and Churya-san web anime, and now Kadokawa has announced that they will be streaming the original series on their Youtube Channel one episode per week to coincide with the television broadcast.</p>
<p>Something smells of fish to me&#8230; When you consider that the manga will continue it&#8217;s US releases in just a few days with volume 2, and the first translated light novel due this spring&#8230; There is just entirely too much Suzumiya related goings on right now to not think that they are planning something. As with the other hopefuls out there I&#8217;m booking my money on the second series finally making it&#8217;s way out of whatever dusty corner of Kyoto Animation that it has crept away to for all this time, but I would say that I wouldn&#8217;t expect it any sooner than the fall or winter season. With all the time they have had I also would hope for a 24+ episode season. 14 was nice for the first season, but really you can only watch them over and over so many times.</p>
<p>Okay Kadokawa&#8230; I think it&#8217;s safe to say that by now all eyes in the anime community are on you, so it&#8217;s time to make your next move&#8230; No more boats please.</p>
<p>Update: For those waiting for the translated light novels&#8230; According to Little Brown Books website the first volume is scheduled to release July 5, 2009 now rather than the originally expected april date. More delays it seems for anything Haruhi related.
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		<title>Japan&#8217;s Winter Anime Season</title>
		<link>http://www.girochin.com/402/japans-winter-anime-season.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.girochin.com/402/japans-winter-anime-season.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Anime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anne]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brains Base]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gonzo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyoto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Queen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[samurai resurrection]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[season]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Studio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tezuka productions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tokyo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S.

Click]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Z Mazinger]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Well&#8230; If you live in Japan then here are the new Anime show which will be gracing your TVs this [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/winterseason0809chartv1af9.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-403" title="winterseason0809chartv1af9" src="http://girochin.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/winterseason0809chartv1af9-264x300.jpg" alt="" width="264" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>Well&#8230; If you live in Japan then here are the new Anime show which will be gracing your TVs this winter. The rest of us will be patiently waiting for it to be subtitled and uploaded to youtube while even more patiently waiting for the one to two year period it usually takes for the officially licensed and dubbed DVDs to make it to the U.S.</p>
<p>Click on the graphic at the top of the post for a graphic chart created by <a href="http://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=19292" target="_blank">Denizen</a></p>
<p>Still no word as yet about a Suzumiya Haruhi second season, but I also don&#8217;t see an entry for Kyoto Animation in that chart, so there is hope&#8230; Unless it&#8217;s being delayed yet again.</p>
<p>Full list (compiled from the chart) after the jump. Please keep in mind that this list is only what has been announced so far for the Janurary Winter season. There are already announcements for spring that are not included, and most likely a few more winter season announcements to come. <span id="more-402"></span></p>
<ul>
<li>Zoku Natsume Yuujin-chou (Brains Base)</li>
<li>The Tower of Druaga ~The Sword of Uruk~ (Gonzo)</li>
<li>Shikabane Hime &#8211; Gen  (Studio Feel)</li>
<li>Birdy The Mighty &#8211; DECODE:D  (A-1 Pictures)</li>
<li>Slayers &#8211; EVOLUTION-R  (JC Staff)</li>
<li>Major &#8211; 5th Season  (Studio Hibari/Synergy SP)</li>
<li>Hajime no Ippo  (Madhouse)</li>
<li>Konnichiwa Anne  (?)</li>
<li>Z Mazinger  (Palm Studio)</li>
<li>Afro Samurai &#8211; RESURRECTION (Gonzo)</li>
<li>Maria-sama ga Miteru 4  (Studio Deen)</li>
<li>Precure New Series  (Toei)</li>
<li>Kemono no Soja Erin  (Production IG/Trance Arts)</li>
<li>Ride Back  (Madhouse)</li>
<li>Asakiumemishi &#8211; The Tale of Genji  (Tezuka Productions/Tokyo Movie)</li>
<li>Viper&#8217;s Creed  (Sony Pictures)</li>
<li>Chrome Shelled Regios  (ZEXCS)</li>
<li>Kurokami  (Sunrise)</li>
<li>White Album  (Seven Arcs)</li>
<li>Maria + Holic  (Shaft)</li>
<li>Akikan!  (Brains Base)</li>
<li>Queen&#8217;s Blade (?)</li>
<li>Asu no Yoichi  (AIC)</li>
</ul>
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