Because you all care so much… (I’m not really drunk, my typing would be much worse, although this is proofreading free so forgive any grammatical/spelling errors )

I’ll be honest, I stopped watching Toradora after episode 13. When I got the scent that this show was moving towards a Taiga x Ryujii ending, I stopped watching. I held on, hoping that the show would surprise me with what I felt was some common sense, and continued to follow the show, reading up on summaries and whatnot. But based on what I read about episode 24, I realized it reached a point where I couldn’t bother to go back, catch up on the show, and most importantly, enjoy it. This isn’t a minor decision for me, as I like to stick things through until the very end. The only exceptions so far being Nabari no Ou which was godawfully boring (I like Rie Kugimya, but what is it with some of her shows), and Clannad ~After Story, which I dropped after the first story, when I realized I couldn’t put myself through another season of Kanon (and having also followed the Clannad summaries, I’m so glad I decided what I did.)

Initially I knocked Taiga as a mere Louise Valliere knock-off, and I’ve since read that there’s been significant character development, and it would be wrong to consider her a Louise clone. Duly noted. But here’s why I still couldn’t bring myself to continue following Toradora.

Toradora is a comedy. First and foremost. That’s what it established it’s identity as, and that’s how I accepted the reality of the story. I mean, it was a “smarter” comedy, not like some throwaway fanservice harem comedy with an abusive female lead, like Zero no Tsukaima, Love Hina or Asu no Yoichi, for example, but it was still a show that didn’t take itself terribly seriously. Because of this, I could accept the reality of otherwise unrealistic scenarios. Like Ryuuji taking the time to cook a social failure like Taiga, breakfast every morning. I mean, it’s a comedy. I don’t have to agree with why. Things just happen, you know? And then… the show moved to a more dramatic, character-driven route. And not in the same way like typical comedies like Kannagi, where it’s lulz for the first 11 eps, and random melodrama for the last 2, but it actually became a really central part of the show’s DNA.

Ok, fair enough. But this requires a shift in understanding. And this is where the show lost me.

The foundational premise of the show is that we’re expected to believe that a normal guy, Ryuuji, is not only going to befriend a social failure like Taiga, who in the beginning of the season had only displayed her complete inability to empathize or connect with anyone that wasn’t Minorin, but also that he’d invite her over every morning and night and cook every meal for her. Including making bentos! Ok, this requires us to take a look at who Taiga was when the show began.

She was:

• A social malcontent, with a terrible personality. Unable to connect with anyone and everyone not named Minorin. Only capable of displaying fits of anger. And generally striking fear, if not disgust, through her overall unlikeability.
• Verbally and physically abusive. Admittedly, she never reaches Louise or Naru levels of physical abuse, but there was very little of the initial Ryuuji x Taiga interactions that didn’t end up with her berating or complaining to Ryuuji about one thing or another.
• A general leech. Not only a social malcontent, she had no personal skills whatsoever. God knows, how she survived in that apartment room all alone, but she couldn’t cook, she couldn’t clean – and I’m really trying not to sound sexist – but she offered no utility at all.

Ok, so that makes her extremely similar to Louise Valliere, and somewhat similar to Love Hina’s Naru or Asu no Yoichi’s Ibuki. I loved Louise. And although I don’t really like Naru or Ibuki, you’re probably thinking what’s the big deal right? The difference is Zero no Tsukaima, Love Hina and Asu no Yoichi are clearly fanservice-filled harem comedies and requires a certain level of accepting suspended reality versus a show that decides it wants to be taken seriously like Toradora. I can accept that Saito might fall for Louise, despite the abuse, because she’s the only person he can truly confide in. in a completely foreign world of magic. I can accept that Keitaro might go for Naru, despite the abuse,m because of some random childhood memory, and because he’s an otherwise failure at life. I can accept that Yoichi might go for Ibuki, despite the abuse, because he’s been a sheltered samurai, and because otherwise, she’s a pretty damn good samurai herself.

Notice that the keyword there is “despite the abuse.”

I’m not a fan of abusive female harem leads. In the same way that I’m not a fan of useless male harem leads. Because, let’s be real here. What self-respecting girl’s gonna fall for a completely useless dude like Keitaro. Similarly, what self-respecting guy, is gonna put up with either verbal or physical abuse just to be with a girl? Answer. None. But that’s the type of reality I’m willing to suspend disbelief for, because I’ve accepted that a show like Love Hina or Zero no Tsukaima, isn’t supposed to be taken seriously.

So that brings us back to Toradora. What self-respecting guy is going to put up with a girl like Taiga, and end up serving her by hand and foot? Again. Answer: none. The only benefits that Taiga offers Ryuuji, initially (and remember, I’m focusing on the beginning of the show), is that she has a close friendship with Minorin, who Ryuuji has a crush on. So I’m supposed to believe that a normal guy like Ryuuji’s going to do all that for Taiga, without even knowing whether it’ll get him the ins with Minorin? Uh uh. No. You’ve just suspended my disbelief. I’m not even getting to whether Ryuuji could possibly fall for Taiga. But I am rejecting the very foundation of that relationship outright, up front. In a self-respecting drama, that relationship never even begins, because Taiga is such a complete useless human being at the start of the show (again, before objecting, remember I’m referring to the Taiga that she was vs. the Taiga that she became, which I get the impression is considerably more mature and personable than the Taiga at the start of the show).

This is compounded by the fact that for Ryuuji, Minorin and Ami are much more realistic targets. Whether it’s because she’s a longtime crush (in Minorin’s case), or because she has an uncanny similarity in thought process to Ryuuji (in Ami’s case), there are two other major characters that are more realistic end games, in the case of a drama. But to then ignore that and divert the relationship to a Ryuuji x Taiga ending (I’m assuming this will happen in the last two episodes), is then pandering to a fanbase and shifting the show to a forced and unnatural resolution.

So in Toradora’s case, what is a more realistic foundation for a Ryuuji x Taiga relationship? For me, it’s brother/sisterhood. I may fight with my sister all the time. I may think she’s a complete spoiled brat. But if my dad was dead and my mother wasn’t much of a mother, I’d support my sister in any way possible. Whether it’s cooking meals, whether it’s giving her encouragement, or helping her out in whatever way possible. I would feel that would be my familial responsibility. And this is what Ryuuji initially provides: a feeling of family for a girl who doesn’t have one, and encouragement to pursue the things and people she wants. And I know that there’s this imouto-con thing that exists in Japan (I’m sure, a small fetish thing), but as someone who’s more familiar with US (and Korean) culture, I shudder viciously at the thought of a sister figure turning into a love interest.

And this is where the show loses me. If it’s to be considered primarily a drama, the premise of a Ryuuji x Taiga relationship is galling to me. If it’s to be considered primarily a comedy, the show does too good a job at developing Minorin and Ami, especially, as realistic alternatives for me to consider Ryuuji x Taiga a satisfying ending (For example, can you imagine Saito not being with Louise, Keitaro not being with Naru or Yoichi not ending up with Ibuki? The only alternative possibility I can fathom is Yoichi, but the other shows clearly go out of their way in establish the contender, and the pretenders).

Which isn’t to say that Toradora’s not a good show. It is. I really enjoyed it while I watched it. It’s just that I feel a show has got to set realistic expectations from the beginning. To switch it dramatically part way through is an open invitation for criticism. And I feel like the show is copping out (and I’m ignoring the manga) and is delivering an ending that gives the large contingent of Kugumiya and Taiga fans what they want, at the cost of a more realistic resolution that I feel the show deserves.

(Spoiler free through the songs section.)

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve watched an action/drama with a solid story, good characters and bombastic action, that had me voraciously inhaling episode after episode. I’d held off on picking Macross Frontier up last spring when it came out, because I wanted to watch some of the earlier Macrosses first… So much for that plan.

Several months later, I still hadn’t watched any of them. And I kept hearing good stuff about MF, so I figured I’d take the plunge anyway.

It was definitely worth it. From the spectacular battle animations in the first episode (even though later episodes would feature some laughably bad animation), to Ranka’s living hairmuffs, it sucked me in from start. In retrospect, I wished I’d at least watched the Do You Remember Love? movie first, because I never quite understood what deculture and protoculture were, and I know some winks to past events flew over my head (Bird Human, Watashi no Kare wa Pilot, Lynn Minmay’s pic, the original Macross, etc.), but I still had a lot of fun watching it.

Favorite songs

MF is the only show in which I’ve heard more about the music than the story, characters or the animation. So I ended up checking out some of the songs before watching the show (Diamond Crevasse, Northern Cross, Lion, Seikan Hikou, all the singles basically), and I thought they were pretty good, but not great, and I couldn’t quite understand the acclaim (and sales). But after watching the show and how all the songs fit in. I get it. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a show in which the music was so well intertwined with the plot. The scenes build up the power of the songs, and the songs build up the power of the scenes. It all works so perfectly (well, except for the Northern Cross ED which looked more like it belonged in a bad Bond movie).

What ‘bout my Star

A little too much nonsensical engrish, but I love the dueling voices and the great prechorus/chorus. Oh, and this scene was so cheesy, but incredibly awesome because it was cheesy. The two biggest idols in the universe are singing for Alto and the big pansy ends up with nothing to show for it. *shakes head in abject dejection*

Anata no Oto

Dokun, dokun, dokun! If hope, happiness and love were all wrapped up into a neat, moe ball, I think it’d sound like Anata no Oto.

This was Ranka’s love song to Alto, who was too dense to notice until Michel spelled it out for him. I swear I’m not picking Ranka songs because I was a Ranka-fan. At least that’s not my main reason. I generally liked Megumi Nakajima’s vocals better than Aya Endo’s May’n's (Sheryl), because they sound cleaner and fuller. Aya’s singing voice is solid too, and actually she had the tougher songs to sing, but her voice sounds a bit more processed and a little more strained.

Ao no Ether

A slower, sad song that Ranka sings towards the end of the show as one of the EDs.

Lion

The second (real) OP, and my favorite of the bunch. I love the keyboard and chimes(?) intro, and it’s one of Sheryl’s song that tones down on the vocal effects. The video provides some nice foreshadowing of the hectic, seizure-friendly, fanservice-tastic final battle, and also features Sheryl’s “hopes and dreams” falling out of her dress.

Triangler

Loved the duo version that Ranka and Sheryl did at the close of the show, the lyrics sum up the love triangle aspect perfectly.

Ninjiin Loves You Yeah!

This song/video just cracks me up. It’s so catchy in a quirky way and highlights Ranka at her Ranka-best. Do you think the weight on that carrot helmet is balanced? I’m sort of amazed she can keep her head up.

Ranka vs. Sheryl

Honestly, I liked both of the girls. I just liked Ranka more.

Sheryl was the mature woman, independent and realistic, while arguably even more insecure than Ranka was. Sheryl challenged Alto to grow, but it was always within her shadow.

Ranka was the idealistic, cute, upbeat, girl next door (a nice counterbalance to Alto’s broodiness), who was confused and lacking self-confidence about who she was (sort of reminded me of a more genki Eureka). She challenged Alto to grow, but it she who stayed within his shadow.

The writers definitely did a better job developing Sheryl (rise > fall > resurrection gives you a more fertile ground for character development vs. nobody > becomes somebody > becomes queen of alien species), and they sort of botched opportunities to build up Ranka’s character towards the end. But ultimately, I rooted for Ranka, because for Ranka, Alto was her end. Ranka needed Alto more. While for Sheryl, Alto was a means to her end (which I think was self-confidence/self-sufficiency). She was more or less a self-made woman – done by herself, for herself – while everything Ranka did and became was more or less for Alto. I can’t picture Ranka living without Alto (unless she’s sacrificing him to save him, like she does when she visits the Vajra homeland); I can picture Sheryl moving beyond him.

Alto vs. Michel

Michel would’ve been the better lead character than Alto. I didn’t dislike Alto. Actually I liked him for the most part, and he wasn’t a bad lead, but he wasn’t as good as Michel. Alto wasn’t dynamic, his character didn’t change much. He came in as an indecisive hardhead, and he left an indecisive hardhead. Meanwhile, Michel had some character growth and generally was just about as badass as Alto.

I also can’t believe they didn’t resolve the love triangle. I know, I know, they’ll do that in the movie. But Michel went out of his way to tell Alto to make a decision and not be a coward and Alto had several episodes after that to make a decision and he still didn’t. Peh. Weak. I hope Kawamori screws Alto over and goes down the Sheryl x Ranka route. Opportunity only knocks for so long.

I’ve mentioned this before. I don’t know why decided to pick up R+V 2, considering how bad the first one was. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. And not surprisingly, the second was just as terrible. I’m pretty sure I lost several IQ points over the last couple days trying to finish it and get it off my list. But after several weeks of delay, I finally stuck it out and wrapped this one up.

Bikes, no. Spanking, yes?

What’s there to say about R+V 2? Well, if season 1 was really IN YOUR FACE with unnecessary pantsu shots, at least you could credit them for showing it all. In season 2, there was a bizarre amount of totally random censoring. Big bat and bear prints taking over the full screen over incidental fanservice. While other more “obscene” fanservice were left in their full ecchi glory. Either have the fanservice and show it, or otherwise, don’t put it there. The bears and bats just looked incredibly stupid. Also, the animation also took a hit this season (or maybe I just didn’t notice it in season 1). So it was an ecchi series that failed the ecchi. Great.

That might’ve been alright if the show had a decent story, but it’s no different from season 1 – godawful. Except for one good episode – when everyone visited Tsukune’s house in the real world, which was actually quite funny – it was the same lame jokes, same lame one-shot villains, “battles” that last for 12 seconds, over and over again. Speaking of Tsukune. As far as totally loser characters that somehow end up leading harems go, Tsukune’s is the absolute bottom of the barrel. A typically indecisive eunuch, who loses major points for trying to trap real Moka for illusion Moka, just because he misses her.

The only reason to persevere? Delicious Ruby-san. Just hearing “Many many things happened…” gave me the strength to make it through and finish this steaming pile of crap.

Oh, and I guess Mizore’s pretty cool too. Stalker girls are pretty rare and always amusing. Especially when they’re snowboarding in a yukata or dancing in a maid uniform. Plus, a non-loli Rie Kugimya character is a cause célèbre.

Oh, and I guess Kokoa in a wedding dress too. But otherwise, I swear IT SUCKS!

Anyway, if this writeup sucks, it’s because the show sucked. Sorry. I don’t mind ecchi shows. I actually like them, because I can turn my brain off and just enjoy the scenery. But R+V is offensively bad. If they announce a season 3, I’m totally not watching it. Except… damn it! I know they’re gonna pull me in with Ruby-san. But I will resist!

You said it, lame villain #2

I finally finished YQ, marathoning the last seven episodes in the last couple days. Man, what a disappointment. It was not unlike sitting in for a long operation at the dentist. You know it’s going to be unpleasant going in, and during it, it’s just as unpleasant as you expected, and afterward you leave with a bad taste in your mouth. The only reason I marathoned it was because it was getting to the point of no return. After putting it off for so long, I had to either watch it all at once, or I’d lose complete interest forever (what little interest there was). And I’m loathe to drop a series, no matter how bad. Especially when it’s only 12 episodes long.

Turns out some solid character designs, a good OP and ED, a pretty good soundtrack and a fine first episode is no match for a mediocre story, sub-par writing, lame villains, awful monster designs, and unremarkable characters.

Now it’s onto the awfulness that is Rosario+Vampire Capu2, although I have no one to blame except myself for that choice.

Seriously, I could’ve drew this chumpy. Seriously.

Just a quick follow-up to the fall 2008 preview that kicked this blog off.

ChäoS;HEAd

I was hoping it’d be Higurashi-esque. In the end it didn’t even come close. The first few episodes started off promisingly. Mysteries were compelling, atmosphere was tense, hallucinations were mind boggling. Then about halfway through it devolved into this utterly incomprehensible pseudo-science shounen. It was like matrix2^10 x clonewars^40 = chaos;head. Easily the most disappointing show of the season, considering my expectations for it.

Ga-Rei Zero

I think I’ve written enough about GRZ. But in contrast to CH, it was the biggest surprise of the season. I loved, loved, loved this show.

Kannagi

Same deal as with GRZ, I’ve probably written enough about Kannagi. I didn’t have a whole lot of background on the manga coming in, but I was pretty optimistic, and it ended up exceeding my expectations. Funniest show of the season.

Kuroshitsuji

I wasn’t sure whether I was going to pick it up, and ten episodes through (I’m a few behind), I’m still unsure what to make of it. It’s dark moments can be really compelling. It’s comedic moments can be pretty funny. But they mix it in a weird way. Sometimes it works, a lot of times it doesn’t. I’m still waiting for them to dive deeper into the main story, and see Sebastien go completely GAR and face a tough challenge.

Gundam 00

They’ve stayed away from the politics, and made the show pretty action driven, so every episode’s been exciting to watch. But they’re still stuck with pretty blah characters, so it’s hard to get emotionally invested in it. But I thought they wrapped up the first half of the season well, and it should be a good run down the stretch.

Rosario + Vampire Capu2

Temporarily dropped. I knew what I was getting into when I picked this back up, having suffered through the first season, so I have no one to blame besides myself. But it totally sucks. The pantsu shots are still as prevalent (and annoying). I wrote before that “I don’t even know why the girls bother wearing skirts” and having just watched Strike Witches in which it was basically girls flying around in their underwear, I stand by that statement. Oddly enough, I think R+V flaunts its ecchiness more than SW did. Anyway, I’ll finish this one day all while gritting my teeth.

Shikabane Hime: Aka

I put this on hold when all the fansub groups dropped it. It is on Joost, however, so I plan to pick it back up soon. Can’t say that the first two episodes I watched were that great, however.

To Aru Majutsu no Index

I started off writing about this, then stopped because it was so boring. I’m a few episodes behind on this one, but here’s my summation:

• Pluses: Index. Character design. Animation.
• Minuses: Almost everything else.

Toradora!

I started off liking this, then it started to get boring, then they introduced Ami (one of my fave characters of the season), and it got interesting again, then they started moving towards a Taiga x Ryuji + harem type feel, so now I’m back on the sour train. It’s a legitimately well written and funny show. I just hate Taiga. I like Rie Kugumiya a lot, but here’s my ranking of her tsundere characters over the years:

• Louise Valliere > Shana > Nagi > anyone else she’s ever done > Taiga

I hate Taiga. Everything she does, I’ve seen Louise do ten times better. So any episode that focuses on Taiga x Ryuji just bores me to tears. On the contrary, any episode that focuses on Ami (deliciously devious and surprisingly deep) or Minorin (crazy in a funny way, and also surprisingly deep), I love. This probably means I’m not going to like this show very much once that inevitable coupling happens. Ryuji, you are a frick-ing moron.

Yozakura Quartet

Put on hold, because the story is wicked boring. I do like the characters, but the plotline is just really mundane. I’ll eventually get around to finishing this though.

Other Stuff I Watched

I did get around to watching several other shows this past season, including:

Strike Witches

This is ecchi done right. It’s light-hearted, fluffy, humorous with a touch of heart. And a bunch of repressed yuri, teenage witches, who grow ears and tales, flying around fighting evil in their underwear. If you’re the type of person who’s going to obsess over why they don’t wear pants (answer: who cares), you’ll hate this show. Otherwise, you might find it to be an amusing romp.

Shigofumi

I really liked this show, it had some very powerful scenes and a compelling story throughout. Oddly enough, I thought the show was either 4 episodes too long (could’ve ended after a certain showdown), or was about 4 episodes too short (could’ve provided more background info about shigofumis and shigofumi carriers). Highly recommended though.

Spice and Wolf

I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch an anime on economics, but much thanks to Zilch for recommending it. It’s a smart, very well-written showing featuring Jun Fukuyama (Lelouch) and Ami Koshimizu (Kallen), but mostly it’s a great show because of Horo. The most lovable character ever. Period.

Eureka Seven

I marathoned all 50 episodes over Thanksgiving weekend. It’s not great. There are flaws with pacing, wasted episodes and undeveloped major characters (unforgivable in such a long series). But it is very good. And they do such a good job of developing the relationship between Renton and Eureka, it’s hard not to like.

Seto no Hanayome OVA

If you loved the series, you’ll love the OVA. Additional kudos to them for not resetting the story either. But it’s off the wall, it’s outrageous, it’s the SNH you’ve come to expect and love. I hope they release a box set of the series in the US one day.

I’m pretty psyched about the new fall season. It seems like there’s a lot more shows than the spring season had, which was basically Code Geass… and more Code Geass.

Of course, there’s nothing in the fall season that’s going to have me checking every minute for the fan sub release like CG did, there are a bunch of shows that I think are interesting.

If I start a show, I’ll pretty much watch it straight to the end, no matter how bad it is. If I’m unsure about picking up a show, I’ll read around for some impressions and wait a few weeks to see how it rates, before giving it a shot. But with no further ado, I give you my first impressions of the fall season.

ChäoS;HEAd 

Put aside the bizarre and obnoxiously-difficult-to-type title, this was probably the new series I was anticipating the most, even though I heard very little about the story. But the buzz was that it could be the Higurashi of this season, and as a huge Higurashi fan, it fit like a glove. It’s too early to give it the Higurashi thumbs up, but I really liked the first episode. It moved between the horror, drama and comedic parts really well. Off the bat, it sort of reminds me of a psychotic version of Welcome to the NHK. It’s got promise.

Ga-Rei Zero

I was unsure about picking this up, because the plot description didn’t sound that interesting. And I have to admit that as I was skimming for impressions, I accidentally spoiled myself about what happens in the first episode. But I watched it anyway and still came away somewhat shocked. It’s a very dark series, that takes itself very seriously, has some great action scenes, and incorporates some heart-pumping music as well as any anime I’ve seen.  But the plot doesn’t seem especially unique, so I don’t know if I’ll like this series in the end as much as I do now, but two episodes in, I’ll definitely stick with it.

Kannagi

I adore Haruka Tomatsu. Even though 90% of To Love-Ru wasn’t funny, she made LaLa worth watching. Similarly, her performance as Nagi makes this show go. Of course, it also helps that the storyline seems pretty interesting, even though it seems like it’ll be sort of harem-esque. But Nagi is the star.

Kuroshitsuji 

The designs are Clamp-esque, although a bit more bishonen. And while I typically like Clamp designs, combined with the whole master-butler relationship made me reluctant to pick this up. I only picked it up after making sure it wasn’t a yaoi in disguise, but one episode through it seems pretty interesting. It’s another dark show for the new season, but it mixes in some silly comedic parts, unlike Ga-Rei Zero or Shikabane Hime. Also, I’m a big fan of Daisuke Ono so it’s good to see him have a starring role. If he wasn’t the star, I probably would’ve passed on it.

Gundam 00

What can I say about this show that hasn’t been said. While it’s no Code Geass, I consider it CG-Lite for the fall season. Season one started off slow, but finished with a bang. Really, the only major knock I have on the series is that none of the characters are all that interesting. There’s no Lelouch, no Kallen, no C.C. Heck not even a Schneizel. But despite that, the action scenes are obviously fantastic, and the overall story’s very interesting, when they stay from the politics. If there’s one show I’ll scramble to get fansubs for, it’s this one.

Rosario + Vampire Capu2

Honestly, I don’t know why I picked this back up. I didn’t really want to, but I watched it last year, and I felt obligated. I don’t mind ecchi, but this is just silly ecchi. The pantsu shots are so blatant, I don’t even know why the girls bother wearing skirts. Plus the story’s boring and the comedy weak to boot. I’m hoping for some development between Tsukune and inner Moka. That’s the only reason why I’m watching this show.

Shikabane Hime: Aka

I was pretty psyched for this only because it was a Gainax production and I’ve typically really liked Gainax’s stuff. The action’s good and the story seems interesting enough, but the ep2 was a considerable notch below ep1 (too much stupid character behavior), so I hope it turns itself around. I’ve also been pretty underwhelmed by the characters and their seiyus performances. But it’s Gainax, so it’ll turn itself around soon, right?

To Aru Majutsu no Index

This show reminds a lot of Shakugan no Shana, right down to the Mami Kawada OP. But it’s got great animation, has an interesting story, mixes in comedy well with the dramatic/action parts and has interesting characters – a good combo. Index, a.k.a., Irukukwu is also super adorable… although that loli teacher is a bit freaky. I’m high on this show and looking forward to it.

Toradora!

It’s JC Staff. It’s tsundere Rie Kugumiya. It’s genki Yui Horie. It’s a love triangle (or square). I swear it’s not Zero no Tsukaima. Although if Taiga had pink hair and a magic wand, it might as well be.  I really do like Rie Kugumiya, but going from Louise to Shana to Nagi to Taiga, I think I may be wearing out on her tsundere characters. But with that said, the show’s enjoyable enough, I do like the main guy Ryuuji and Yui Horie’s character, Kushieda. I know they wont end up together, but I can dream.

Yozakura Quartet

I finally got around to watching the first ep and liked what I saw. I like the character designs and the OP/ED’s are great. The story so far wasn’t mindblowing, but it was interesting enough. To be fair, it’s rare to be blown away one episode in. I think this’ll be one of those consistent animes that’s just enjoyable to watch straight through. I do hope they mix in a bit more comedy in the future eps, as I don’t see it as a type of show that should be too dark or take itself too seriously.

And there you go. My belated intro to the fall 2008 season. I may pick up a couple more shows along the way, but these are what I plan on focusing on. Actually, I’m also looking forward to checking out Tales of the Abyss, but coincidentally enough, I just started playing the game, so rather than ruin the story, I figured I’d finish the game before watching the anime.