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Here is a list of new anime which will premiere in Japan this fall season.

A. TV Anime Series

10/01 Rockman.exe Beast / TV Tokyo / Sat.08:30 / XEBEC
10/01 Idaten Jump / TV Tokyo / Sat.09:30 / Trans Art
10/01 Fighting Beauty Wulong / TV Tokyo / Sat.24:55 / TMS Entertainment
10/01 Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's / UHF Local / Sat.25:35 / Seven Arcs
10/02 Canvas2 ~Nijiiro no Sketch~ / UHF Local / Sun.24:00 / Zexcs
10/02 Happy Seven ~The TeleviManga~ / UHF Local / Sun.24:30 / Trinet Entertainment, Studio Hibari
10/03 Angel Heart / Yomiuri TV / Mon.24:58 / TMS Entertainment
10/03 ToHeart2 / UHF Local / Mon.26:15 / OLM Team IGUCHI
10/04 capeta / TV Tokyo / Tue.18:00 / Studio Comet
10/04 Animal Yokochou / TV Tokyo / Tue.18:30 / Studio Gallop
10/04 Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl) / Kids Station, Mainichi / Tue.24:00 / Studio Deen
10/04 Touhai Densetsu Akagi / NTV / Tue.24:50 / Madhouse
10/04 Cluster Edge / TV Tokyo / Tue.25:00 /Sunrise
10/04 Gunparade Orchestra / TV Asahi / Tue.26:40 / Brain's Base
10/05 Shakugan no SHANA / UHF Local / Wed.24:45 / J.C.STAFF
10/05 ARIA The Animation / TV Tokyo / Wed.25:30 / HAL Film Maker
10/05 IGPX -Immortal Grand Prix- / TV Asahi / Wed.26:40 / Production I.G
10/06 Kotenkotenco / TV Tokyo / Thurs.18:00 / IMove
10/06 Beet The Vandel Buster -Excerion- / TV Tokyo / Thurs.18:30 / Toei Animation
10/06 BLACK CAT / TBS / Thurs.25:25 / GONZO
10/06 My-Otome (aka: My-OtoHiME) / TV Tokyo / Thurs.25:30 / Sunrise
10/06 Solty Rei / TV Asahi / Thurs.26:40 / GONZO, AIC
10/08 BLOOD+ / TBS, MBS / Sat.18:00 / Production I.G
10/08 Lamune / UHF Local / Sat.25:00 / Trinet Entertainment, Picture Magic
10/08 Ginban kaleidoscope / TV Tokyo / Sat.26:50 / Karaku
10/11 Noein ~Mou Hitori no Kimi e~ / UHF Local / Tue.25:30 / Satellite
10/13 Paradise Kiss / Fuji TV / Thurs.24:35 / Madhouse
10/19 Manga Nihon Mukashi-banashi / TBS / Wed.18:55 / Group Tac
10/20 Rozen Maiden traumend / TBS / Thurs.25:55 / Normad
10/22 Mushishi / Fuji TV / Sat.27:45 / Art Land
11/03 Karin / WOWOW / Thurs.24:00 / J.C.STAFF
11/12 Gaiking / TV Asahi / Sat.10:50 / Toei Animation
11/-- Ginga Densetsu WEED / Animax / --.-- / Studio Deen
12/-- Papillon Rose / WOWOW / --.-- / ?
12/-- Saint Seiya ~The Hades * Chapter-Inferno~ / SkyPerfect TV PPV / --.-- / Toei Animation
12/-- Rean no Tsubasa (The Wings of Rean) / Bandai Channel / --.-- / Sunrise
--/-- MAJOR (second season) / NHK / --.-- / Studio Hibari
--/-- Soukyuu no Fafner -RIGHT OF LEFT- / TV Tokyo / --.-- / XEBEC

B. OVA

10/02 Kirameki Project - Episode 3 / Kids Station / Sun.25:00 / Studio Fantasia
10/16 Top o Nerae2! - Episode 4 / AT-X / Sun.23:00 / GAINAX
10/21 KARAS - Episode 3 / SkyPerfect TV PPV / Fri.15:10 / Tatsunoko Pro
11/11 Stratos4 Advance CODE:205 / Kids Station / Fri.24:30 / Studio Fantasia
11/23 Papa to Kiss IN THE DARK Vol.1 / TNK
11/24 "Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho" Memorial Bonus BOX / Makoto Shinkai, Comics Wave
11/25 Prayers -Tsumetai Koe- Episode 2 / KSS
12/07 Itsudatte My Santa Vol.1 / TNK
12/09 HELLSING OVA Vol.1 / Satellite
12/09 I"s Pure Vol.1 / ?
12/17 Saint Beast ~Ikusen no Hiru to Yoru~ /
12/22 School Rumble OVA / Studio Comet
12/22 Kaleido Star Legend of phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~ / GONZO
12/22 Tales of Phantasia The Animation Vol.4 / Actus
12/23 Super Robot Wars Original Generation The Animation Vol.3 / Brain's Base

C. Hentai Anime

WARNING: the following linked pages include graphic nudity.

09/30 Shintaiso Shin etude.1 / Discovery
09/30 Tsuma Tsuma Part 2 / Studio Ten
10/14 Chibo - first part / Vanilla
10/21 Yakin Byouto 2 OPE:04 / D3
10/25 Ryojoku Hitozuma Onsen - Episode 1 / Waki Production
10/25 Shin Bible Black Chapter 4 Recollection ~Souki~ (aka: Bible Black La lanza de Longinus) / Studio Jam
10/28 MAID in HEAVEN SuperS Vol.1 / Green Bunny
11/11 Daisshikin Herena - second part / Y.O.U.C
11/25 Innocent Blue Karte.1 / himagin
11/25 Cambrian 1st stage / Milky
11/25 Nikuyome ~Takayanagi-ke no Hitobito~ Vol.2 / Milky
11/25 Nee, Chanto Shiyouyo! Vol.1 / D3
11/25 Yakin Byouto Kranke Nanase Ren / Discovery
12/22 Hininden - Gausu ~Oborozuki no Sho" / ARMS
12/22 Kininaru Kimochi Vol.3 / schoolzone
12/23 True Blue Gaiden / himagin
12/-- Nanase Ren / ?
--/-- Hana to Hebi (Flower and Snake) / Pink Pineapple

D. Anime Movies

10/29 Zeta Gundam II ~Koibito-tachi~ / Sunrise
12/10 Pretty Cure Max Heart2 ~Yukizora no Tomodachi~ / Toei Animation
12/17 The King of Beetle "Mushiking" ~Road to the Greatest Champion~ / TMS Entertainment
12/17 Black Jack ~Futari no Kuroi Ishi~ / Tezuka Production

Looks Like we will have a long list to chose from.

Rockman.exe Beast (aka: Megaman Beast)

This show is the 4th season of Rockman series. Rockman project is a pretty rare case that a great synergistic effect between games and anime was generated. This is why Rockman has been going on for 4 years. As far as watching the first episode, Beast differs little from past three shows. Rockman and his allies stand up against the new challenge of an unknown enemy. Episode 1 is not so bad, but it doesn't have a magnet for me.


Angel Heart

Angel Heart is being aired by Nihon TV (NTV) every Tuesday late-night. Almost all of late-night anime programs are usually targeted at otaku or hardcore anime fans. But there are two notable exceptions, that is, anime programs which has been broadcasting on Tuesday late-night of NTV and Thursday late-night of Fuji TV. The shows in these two time slots are aimed at not only otaku but also casual anime fans and common people in their 20s or older.


Animal Yokochou (Animal Street)

I gave a little giggle to hear Kenta's words. "The reason there are only indoor scenes in this episode is that it's actually only Ami's dream. She's actually not a child but an adult female. She fell asleep at the office because she's so tired from an overtime work". This show is generally lighthearted, but black humors are studded with the story.

Mai-Otome (My-Otome)

Title (English): Mai-Otome (romanization by Hepburn system), My-Otome (notation recommended by the producer)

Staff

Director: Masakazu Kohara
Series Composition: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Character Design: Kazuhiro Hisayuki
Art Director: Shinji Takasuga
Sound Director: Masafumi Mima
Music: Yuki Kajiura
Producer: Hisanori Kunisaki, Naotaka Furusato
Production: Sunrise

Cast

Arika Yumemiya: Mika Kikuchi
Nina Wang (Neena Wang): Ami Koshimizu
Mai Tokiha: Mai Nakahara
Natsuki Kruger: Saeko Chiba
Mikoto: Ai Shimizu
Shizuru Viola: Naomi Shindoh
Yukariko Steinberg: Kikuko Inoue
Shiho Huit: Sakura Nogawa
Mashiro Blan de Windbloom: Yukana
Akane Soir: Junko Iwao
Nagi Dai Arutai: Akira Ishida
Erstin Ho: Minami Kuribayashi
Chie Hallard: Mitsuki Saiga
Juliet Nao Zhang: Yuuka Nanri
Tomoe Marguerite: Rie Tanaka
Sergay Wang: Katsuyuki Konishi

more info

Internet Radio: Arika & Nina no Otome-tic Radio (half-hour program)
Internet TV: Arika & Nina no Otome-tic TV (5 minutes program)

You can hear/watch it on this page.

First impression

Mai-HiME was set in Japan, but Mai-Otome is set in a fictional kingdom in another world. The characters in Mai-HiME appear in the new series, however, their setting and roles have been changed. The girls having supernatural ablilty are called not hime but otome. I think otome should always keep her ears clean, because to activate her special power, she must be kissed on the ear by her master http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/1746/shifty4ar.gif

The new series got off to a great start, I really enjoyed the first episode. OP & ED theme is okay, though I feel like it's a little inferior to 1st season's. Animation quality leaves nothing to be desired, as TV anime go nowadays. Music composed by Yuki Kajirura may as well be gived a passing score.

There are many characters in this show as well 1st season. Only about one-third of characters came into the story in episode one. Nevertheless, you can tell one from the other because of skillful character designs. Shizuru in this series is significantly cooler than in the previous season. Her battle scene is truly eye-grabbing. Yukana's voice acting fairly surprised me, not at all like her performance in Pretty Cure. Another surprising thing is that Mikoto is reincarnated as a cat. She seems to have human form.

As for the story, I think slapstick-school-comedy (and action) is probably going to continue for a while. As the previous season, the new series is not going to be moe anime. One years ago when they're promoting Mai-HiME, the producers boasted that they did outstanding moe anime. But it ended in complete failure. On the next week's episode of Mai-Otome Arika shouts "moe! moe! moe yo!" but Nina says "moe ga chigaun'ja nai?" it means, Mai-Otome is aimed at being moe anime, but somehow, it wouldn't work out. It seems Sunrise has some awareness of lack of aptitude for moe http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/4749/laughinganimated4gy.gif

BLOOD+

STAFF

Director: Junichi fujisaki
Character design: Chizu Hashii
Animation Director: Akiharu Ishii
Production Studio: Production I.G

CAST

Saya Otonashi: Eri Kitamura
Hagi: Katsuyuki Konishi
Kai Miyagusuku: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Riku Miyagusuku: Akiko Yajima
Greorge Miyagusuku: Houchu Ohtsuka
Mao Jahana: Ami Koshimizu
Kaori Kinjo: Mai Kadowaki

BLOOD+ is a new TV series spined off from BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE movie. The setting of characters and the story are changed completely. It will be 52 episodes in total. The story of the new series is set on Okinawa, the southernmost island of Japan, in 2005. The concept of "girl with a sword" in the movie has been carried over into the TV series.

The following quote is parts of an interview with Yutaka Ohmatsu, a producer of BLOOD+.

"As character design is directly connected to the basic direction of the story, so we had to thrash out what to do about it. We faced difficulty finding a character designer for BLOOD+. BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE's characters designed by Katsuya Terada are really attractive, but his design is not suitable for TV series having 50+ episodes. I felt a strong need for the new character design.

In the first stage of BLOOD+ project, we intended to use the original design by an animator. In fact, we invited outside animators to this project and developed ideas for the character design with them, but it didn't work.

I desperately needed the design to boost workplace morale, that is, it's important to give animators the design that they want to draw. Additionally it must be easy for them to draw because BLOOD+ is a year-long program. Finally we reached the conclusion that we should look for a new character designer in a different field, who is not an animator. Then I began to find the designer on the Internet.

...in the end I found Chizu Hashii, a manga creator living in Osaka. Last January he came to Tokyo to attend the party hold by Kadokawa Shoten. I took the opportunity to meet face to face with him at the party. To my joy, he told me he really liked Production I.G's works. I decided to take a chance on him.

His character design was well received by BLOOD+ staff, regardless of male or female. What is character design appealing to a wide viewer? It always turns into a wild goose chase. Honestly I can't be sure that this design will ring the bell with viewers, but I think making choice of Hashii's design is a great success because the production staff like his character designs so much".

Hashii's character design gave me a neat, clean feeling. Saya and Kaori is for males, Kai and Riku is for females. There is an acceptable balance among chracters as early-evening anime that should be primarily targeted at casual anime fans.

As early-evening anime, the first episode contains a fair degree of visual violence. But it will be not going to matter as much. The first episode of Fullmetal Alchemist, which was aired in the same time slot as this show, was not seen as a problem at all. Animation qualty is pretty good. Background art for each scene is beautiful and accurate.

Watching only first several minutes in the first episode, you might mistake this show to be yuri or shoujo-ai anime. Kaori is Saya's best friend, but at lunch scene she picks rice off Saya's cheek and eats it http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3994/blink7sz.gif

Eri Kitamura who is doing Saya is very funny. She's well known as otaku, I was often suprsied at outrageous illustrations drawn by her. Sad to say, recently she has been a littel too good at drawing and her illustrations are not so outrangeous as before.

Battle scenes have excellent sound effects. The design of Yokushu (winged monsters) is rather conventional. In the second half of epi.1 Saya is injured in Yokushu attack. Am I the only one who feels bleeding from a cut on her thigh is erotic?

As for the story, it's hard to say at this stage. The series still has 51 episodes left to go. At any rate, the first episode is considerably satisfying to me.

noein ~mou hitori no kimi e~

STAFF

Director: Kazuki Akane
Charcter Design: Takahiro Kishida
Sub Director: Kenji Andoh
Art Director: Takeshi Sato
Music Director: Hitoshi Aketagawa
Production Studio: Satellite

CAST

Haruka Agenogi: Haruka Kudo
Yuu Goto: Fujiko Takimoto
Karasu: Kazuka Nakai
Isami Fujiwara: Yuki Miyata
Ai Hasebe: Saeko Chiba
Miho Mukai: Kaori Natsuka
Fukurou: Kohei Kiyasu
Kyouko Uchida: Sayaka Ohhara
Yukie Nijo: Mai Nakahara

Wow! The first episode is close to the best in this fall's new anime. The opening battle scene is really dynamic and smooth animation. I scarcely ever felt sense of discomfort in combination of 3D CG and 2D animation. Animation quality of other scenes has as the closest high level as OVA.

The story is set on Hakodate, an atmospheric city in Hokkaido which is northern island of the Japanese Archipelago. As I've been to Hakodate before, I can say the background art is highly accurate without the least difference and beautiful. Music composed by Hitoshi Aketagawa is magnificent, masterly workmanship. With regard to character design, people either like this type of design or don't like it.

Haruka kudo, a female voice actor who is playing the leading character, is a beautiful woman, but her voice acting is a little weak. Meanwhile Kaori Natsuka who is doing Miho showed excellent performance. The plot development in epi.1 has the way of attracting viewers' interest.

This series will be 24 episodes in total. I hope they will keep the current quality in the future episodes.

Kotenkotenco

This series is an airy comedy for little kids. You might enjoy this show if you were empty-headed or 6-year-old child.


Beet The Vandel Buster -Excerion-

Excerion is the sequel to Beet 1st season. It's going to be 50+ episodes in total as well the previous series.

The last several episodes of 1st series were rather crappy, but the first episode of the new series is fairly well done. Animation quality has got better. Most of the Japanese anime fans' attention focused on Rie Kugimiya's voice acting and new character Rion played by her. Kugimiya is one of the most popular voice actor in Japan.

In the beginning of the 1st series it was entirely targeted at male viewers. However, the number of scenes talked from a woman's point of view was gradually increasing in the story as the the series progressed. I don't know why, but maybe it's because there're a number of women in the main production staff. It's clear that the new series is aimed at not only males but also females. New main character Rion who is 12-year-old bishounen (a cute boy) gave a strong impression on both men and women viewers.


Ramune

This show is an anime adaptation of bishoujo game produced by Neko Neko Soft. It will be 12 episodes in total.

It was precisely the fact that I didn't expect this anime at all. Surprisingly, the first episode is not so bad. Animation quality differs from scene to scene. Nanami is a typical "childhood sweetheart" character. Her panty shots are satisfying to the original game's fans. The plot line is really conventional, but it has a leisured, comfortable and sweet atmosphere. I prefer the OP sequence of the original game rather than of the anime.

Although the quality of the show is not very high, some people would be able to enjoy it.

Paradise Kiss

STAFF

Director: Osamu Kobayashi
Art Direction: Asami Shimizu
Art Director: Shinich Uehara
Costume Design: Atsuro Tayama
Color Coordination: Yoshinori Horikawa
Character Design: Nobuteru Yuuki
Production Studio: Madhouse

CAST

Yukari Hayasaka (Caroline): Yu Yamada
Jouji Koizumi (George): Kenji Hamada
Miwako Sakurada: Marika Matsumoto
Arashi Nagase: Shunsuke Mizutani
Isabella: Chiharu Suzuka
Hiroyuki Tokumori (Hiro-kun): Noriyuki Uchino

This series is an anime adaptation of popular shoujo manga created by Ai Yazawa. It's going to be 12 episodes in total. Ai Yazawa is one of the most popular shoujo manga creator of the day, so there are tons of devoted fans in Japan and outside of Japan. The first episode got a viewer rating of 3.5%, which achieved the highest rating among all late-night anime programs last week in Japan. This means that the first episode was watched by not only hardcore anime fans but also casual anime fans who are a follower of Ai Yazawa even though it's late-night anime.

Japanese viewers are split into two clear-cut camps on the first episode. One speak very highly of it, the other tear it into pieces.

cons:

-Their voice acting hardly fit the image of characters in the original manga.
-Yu Yamada's voice acting is really terrible. I can't bear it.
-There are too many cryptic scenes in the show.
-Using deformalized character in many scenes shattered the original manga's image of delicate art.
-I can't stand Kobayashi's directing style.
-Kobayashi just want to satisfy his own ego-trip! He should have made a faithful adaptation of the original.
-A lot of psychological description of characters has been cut. But realistic psychological description is one of the greatest attractions of the original manga.
-I really hate Arashi of the anime version. He's not Arashi. It just sucks.
-It's very different from atmosphere of the original manga. I'll never ever see it again.

pros:

-I'm very surprised at beautiful animation in episode 1.
-brilliant character design, especially Isabella.
-I love the OP theme, and The ED is good.
-The TV series is deeply colored by Kobayashi's style. I'm a big fan of Kobayashi, so I really like it.
-Miwako is so kawaii!!
-This show gave me somethin new and fresh. I'm not an anime fan, but I can watch this.
-I've never read the original manga, however, I think this show is the best in this fall season.
-Cool. Art & design of the show is great, especially costume design.
-Animation quality is really good. I knew Madhouse could do it.

My first impression:

Art design in the show is really elaborate, such as dressy costume designs by Atsuro Tayama, snifty car design, catchy froufrou, artful background and swanky fixtures & gadgets designed by Asami Shimizu. Color Coordination is well done, vivid and beautiful. Animation quality is good enough to satisfy most of anime fans. For better or for worse, this show is heavily tinged with Kobayashi's personality. The OP animation&theme may be the closest to best in this season, and the ED anime&theme is funny.

Yu Yamada is a very popular fashion model, but her voice acting is pretty bad. She read the script exactly as it is in a monotone voice. She should not have been selected as the role of Yukari (Caroline), the leading female character. Miwako is really cute, and her costume is also kawaii.

I could enjoy watching the first episdoe, but I think this show would be one of those "love it or hate it" anime. I want non-Japanese opinion on this show.

Ginban Kaleidoscope

STAFF

Director: Shinji Takamatsu
Character Design & Animation Director: Momoko Makiuchi
Script: Akatsuki Yamatoya, Natsuko Takahashi, Michiko Yokote
Music: kouichiro Kameyama
Production Studion: Karaku

CAST

Tazusa Sakurano: Ayako Kawasumi
Pete (Peet): Hiroyuki Yoshino
Yuji Takashima: Jurota Kosugi
Yoko Sakurano: Chiwa Saito
Kyoko Shidoh: Kazusa Murai
Leah G.J.: Mamiko Noto

This series is an anime adaptation of the popular novel written by Rei Kaibara. The series is going to be 12 episodes. It's very rare that anime deal with figure skating. I saw ep.1 & 2 last week.

The first two episodes emphasize a comical side of the original novel. It has worked out on this approach, so I could enjoy ep.1 even though the animation quality was rather poor. I'm glad to say that the animation quality of ep.2 got better than ep.1. The original novel series is not a comedy but a fairly serious sports drama. The first half of the novel vol.1 is only comical part.

In Japan there is a rumor that says Takamatsu, the show's dierctor, resigned to protest Aniplex's stance on production process of this anime. But the script-writing staff (Yamatoya, Takahashi and Yokote) is strong and well-balanced. Therfore, if the animation quality get worse again in the future episode, the story itself would be still enjoyable.

BTW, they didn't cut the subplot on a fuss over Tazusa's defecation from ep.2. Pete say to Tazusa "Kono Koedame Onna! (You're just a stercorary girl!)". Hilarious! http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/4749/laughinganimated4gy.gif

Shakugan no SHANA

STAFF

Director: Takashi Watanabe
Series Composition: Yasuko Kobayashi
Character Design: Mai Ohtsuka
Music: Kou Ohtani
Production Studio: J.C.STAFF

CAST

Shana: Rie Kugimiya
Yuji Sakai: Satoshi Hino
Kazumi Yoshida: Ayako Kawasumi
Margery Daw: Hitomi Nabatame
Marchosias: Mitsuo Iwata

This series is an anime adaptation of the popular novel written by Yashichiro Takahashi. A lot of unique settings and concepts are built into Shana novel series, so there appears frequently Shana-world-specific terms in the story. Half of ep.2's time is spent for explaining the meaning of the terms. The original novel is serious from a big point of view, but it contains quite a number of moe elements.

The first two episodes were made up into a purely serious story. I could enjoy watching tension-packed scenes in the first episode. I like the music used in the beginning of A part of ep.1, which's composed by Kou Ohtani. The OP song by Mami Kawada is good, and the ED song is okay. Animation quality is better than average, but they're kind of cutting corners in background art. The character design preserves the flavor of Noiji Ito's illustration used in the novel.

Shana, the girl with a sword, is a typical "tsundere" character. Tsundere is an abbreviation of 'tsuntsun deredere'. Tsundere-type character normally has an unaffable attitude, but she/he breaks out behaving like a moonstruck calf for some reason, such as for falling in love. A lot of bishoujo/bishounen games usually contain one or two tsundere character, because some people love such a character. The term 'tsudere' spreaded rapidly into Japanese game/anime/manga/novel fan community in recent years. Lately tsudere became an indispensable term for otaku, such as moe, yaoi, yuri and shota.

Shana performed by Kugimiya is one of my favorite character. This show doesn't have outstanding quality, but it's enjoyable enough to encourage me to follow it. My concern for this anime is that Takashi Watanabe is a director of the series.

1) capeta

STAFF

Director: Shin Misawa
Production Studio: Studio Comet

The TV series is based on popular shounen manga created by Masahito Soda. It's the story of a boy who aims for the cart race champion. I watched first three episodes. The first ten-odd episodes would be spent for the elementary school arc of the manga counterpart. During elementary schoo arc, real children are used as a voice actor for three main characters in childhood. It's a pretty rare (one thing to keep in mind is that they're a child but a professional actor).

Animation quality is not bad and the story is not very boring, but I feel that something is missing. The character design in the elementary school arc is a bit annoying. In the original manga the junior high school arc is interesting and it has good character design, so the anime counterpart may be going to get better in the future episode. But I'm not really sure I can wait until the junior high school arc starts.


2) ToHeart2

STAFF

Director: Norihiko Sudo
Serise Composition: Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Production Studio: OLM team IGUCHI

CAST

Konomi Yuzuhara: Yukari Ochiai
Tamaki Kousaka: Shizuka Ito
Manaka Komaki: Noriko Rikimaru
Mayu Tonami: Hitomi Nabatame

This show is an anime adaptation of the bishoujo game produced by Aquaplus. It will be 13 episodes in total.

It's obvious that this anime primarily aims for the people who played the original game. For this reason, the plot of some episode will be reset in the future episode and go back in time, as is the way with the game. The viewers are not given any explaining the situation. There is little consideration for viewers who have never played the original game before. But if you blame them on this matter, you are barking up the wrong tree. This anime is entirely for a fan of ToHeart game series, thinking nothing of the other people in the first place. The original is the best-selling game series, which have many enthusiastic fans in Japan. And so there is a business opportunity for game-fan-only anime as this.

Konomi in ep.1 is really cute, and her plot line is okay. In ep.2 Tamaki of the anime version is not good in both character design and the depiction of her face compared with the game counterparts. I sensed a slight discomfort at Tamaki's personality of the anime version. The OP theme is okay, but its animation is not good enough. The plot is progressing in a low-keyed way. Some people would like this show, but I don't feel so much like watching the next episode.

Solty Rei

STAFF

Director: Yoshimasa Hiraike
Sub Director: Hirotaka Endo
Character Design: Suzilow.HA
Conceptual Design: Kenichi Sonoda, Renji Murata
Music: Toshiyuki Ohmori
Production Studio: GONZO, AIC

CAST

Solty: Momoko Saito
Roy: Joji Nakata
Rose: Masumi Asano
Miranda: Sayaka Ouhara
Kasha: Natsuko Kuwatani
Celica: Yukari Tamura
Andy: Tatsu Suzuki

After watching episode 3, I've realized that Solty Rei is what is called serious baka anime (baka means idiot or stupid). If you see only episode 1, you might misconstrue this as a hard-boiled story. Solty reminds me of Arare-chan from Dr. Slump. Roy is a middle-aged tough guy, but he's of small use because he's too weak compared with Solty. In fact Solty is ridiculously ultra-strong. If she had not been in Roy's side, he would have been dead at least three times.

Just as expected of a joint project between GONZO and AIC, this show seems to be made from mix of Bakuretsu Tenshi (Burst Angel) and Gun Sword or Burn-UP Scramble. I gave a giggle to see the action scene in ep.3 the robber trio raided the transport truck (These three robbers are regular, secondary characters). They look cool, but are just baka after all.

The OP sequence is nice, Rose looks cool. The ED song is okay. The first three episodes have good quality in animation. If you can just think of this as serious baka anime, Solty Rei might be enjoyable enough for you.

Mushishi

STAFF

Director: Hiroshi Nagahama
Character design & Animation Director: Yoshihiko Umakoshi
Art Director: Takeshi Waki
Music: Toshiro Masuda
Production Studio: Art Land

CAST

Ginko: Yuto Nakano
Adashino: Yuji Ueda
Renzu: Mariya Ise
Shinra Ioroi: Yukiko Sampei

Synopsis

"Mushi" is neither an animal nor a plant nor a microorganism, they're shapeless entities are closer to essence of life than the other beings. Only a very few people can see them. Ginko, the leading character of the series, is one of those people. Drifting from one place to another, he's always studying the reality of mushi and tries to solve bizarre problems caused by them.

This series is an anime adaptation of popular seinen (=for young adults) manga created by Yuki Urushihara. The manga series is still going on Monthly Afternoon magazine. The TV series is going to be 24 or more episodes in total.

First Impression

The first episode is very well done. I was really impressed by the background art and the bueaty of green, for example, a green sake cup and a mountain greenery. I like the charcter design of Renzu taking the shape of a girl. Animation quality is strikingly good.

The first episode sticks very closely to the original manga. After watching ep.1, I read the manga counterpart over again, and it was surprising to me when I realized that even the screen layout of anime and manga was almost identical.

Ep.1 is one of the most tranquil tales among Mushishi's stories, and so Ginko could bring about a peaceful solution of the issues in both of Shinra and Renzu. Half of Mushishi's tales don't have a happy ending. Even "Midori no Za" (ep.1's story) doesn't have a simple happy-ending, because Shinra and Renzu paid a high price for it. There are not a few sad or grotesque tales in the series. Every tale in Mushishi is bizarre, cruel, beautiful and nostalgic, making us bask in the afterglow.

Mushi are the entities beyond good and evil, which transcend the limits of human knowledge. Human and mushi making a overcommitment to each other often causes tragedies (or sometimes miracles coming with a price). Despite this, Ginko is always facing off againt those entities. Mushishi is a mature story of considerable depth.

I felt satisfaction with ep.1 in both the animation and the story. I've decided to follow this series until the last episode.

Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi (Manga Japanese Folk Tales)

STAFF

Production Studio: Group Tac

CAST

Etsuko Ichihara
Fujio Tokita

This is not a new anime series, to be exact. Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi (MNMB) was aired for 20 years between 1975 and 1994, and the total number of episodes reached 1467. It enjoyed an enormous popularity in those days. MNMB is an anime adaptation of Japanese folk tales or literary lores which are handed down from ancient times.

1) Production staff differs from episode to episode.
2) Therefore, viewers can enjoy watching various animation styles in each episode.
3) A lot of the masters of the genre in anime worked on this series, such as Tsutomu Shibayama, Rintaro and Gisaburo Sugii.
4) Each episode is created by elaborate, unique producing techniques.
5) There appear only two voice actors, Etsuko Ichihara and Fujio Tokita, in every episode throughout the series.
6) MNMB registered the highest viewer rating of 33.6%. It's a monster.
7) MNMB is one of the landmark works in anime history.

The new program is a digital-remastered version of MNMB. The episodes scheduled to be broadcasted are selected from among early MNMB series. The first episode achieved the highest rating of 12.1% among this fall's new anime TV programs. It ranked 3th in all anime programs of the week. The remastered version showed overwhelming strength as was widely predicted. Incidentally, Eyeshield21 is a counterprogram of remastered MNMB (both anime programs are aired on a same time slot in Japan), but MNMB had no influence on the viewer rating of Eyeshield21. This fact indicates that MNMB's viewer group is totally different than that of Eyeshield21.

I got more like a fresh impression than nostalgic feeling from the first two episodes. MNMB was already unique among anime programs of the time, today all the more so. Most of episodes are based on folk tales, the story itself is generally simple and earthy. I recognized anew MNMB had many different types of animation from an orthodox style to an experimental one.

I don't think MNMB is the type of anime that become popular outside of Japan. The non-Japanese people who are interested in this title would be very few, probably only ultra-hardcore anime fans or students specializing in Japanese culture. At any rate, this is an interesting work.

Ginban Kaleidoscope ep.3, ep.4

Ep.3: The animation in the scene where Tazusa makes a performance at figure skating competition is very poor, even if it's a climactic scene of ep.3. The script writer did a fairly good job, the story is still enjoyable.

Ep.4: The animation quality in a figure skating scene has improved drastically. And ep.4's plot development made me feel exhilarating. Good episode.


Fighting Beauty Wulong ep.5

Ep.1 was awful. Ep.2, 3 and 4 were below average. The show finally reached a average level at ep.5.


Akagi ep.4

Wow! Akaigi is really, really enjoyable! There are wonderful tension-packed scenes in every episode, which are created by skillful screen directing and penetrating scripts. I can't wait the next episode.


Canvas2 ep.4

This week's heroine always puts the next week's one down with snide wisecracks in every next-episode-preview. It's fun.


Mahou Shoujo Lryrical Nanoha A's ep.4

Nanoha A's is still very popular with active anime fans in Japan. Nanoha is a good show, but I have to point out an extraordinary similarity in appearance between the characters.


IGPX ep.4

Most of animation staff of IGPX is made up of younger animators of Production I.G. It seems like to me this series is a kind of a study for them.


Shakugan no SHANA ep.4

I'm interested in this show in a lot of ways. The original novel is emblematic of the third generation of otaku culture (at least, one of them). Do you have any idea what makes up the foundation for adding sense of reality on the worlds/characters created by the third generation of otaku culture?


Mushishi ep.2 ep.2

Ep.2 has high quality in almost everything. I definitely think Mushishi is ranked in the top 3 of all this fall season's new anime.


Animal Yokocho (Animal Street) ep.4

There appear many rabbit characters in currently ongoing shows; Iyo (Animal Yokocho), Meso-Usa (Pani Poni Dash!), Mymelody and Kuromi (Onegai My Melody), Shaggy (Beet The Vandel Buster) and Laplace (Rozen Maiden). Iyo might be the most enigmatic rabbit among them.


Rozen Maiden traumend ep.2

I'm a fan of Rozen Maiden, both manga and anime. I'm content to just watch the Rozen dolls in anime.


Solty Rei ep.4

The fans who have a moe feeling for the middle guy Roy are now increasing rapidly in number http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/4749/laughinganimated4gy.gif Solty Rei might end up an unexpected winner.


Gunparade Orchestra ep.4

The second TV series is better than the first season so far. But there is undeniable sense that GPO is the TV program to promote the new Gunparade game.


Mai-Otome ep.4

The quality of the show is stable enough to satisfy most of viewers. Arika gave us some fan service scenes, but Arika is so healty that I couldn't have an ecchi feeling for her fan-servicing


BLOOD+ ep.4

Ep.3 and 4 didn't have massive flaw. The scenes Saya fights against Yokushu (winged monsters) are rather anticlimactic. As it's been only 4 episodes since the series started, that's just the way of it? (BLOOD+ will be 50+ episodes...)


ARIA The Animation ep.4

The first three episodes are well done. Both plot and animation in ep.4 are a little weak, but it still has a warm atmosphere.

Cluster Edge ep.3, 4 and 5

What the hell is that?! Agate, You're nuts! I feel kind of dizzy. I can't help thinking this show is gag anime. The plotline/script written by Ikeda is truly insane, but it's fun in a way. Hey, Ikeda & Sunries, why don't you change all bishounens appearing in the show into biking-shorts-clad boys?


Animal Yokocho ep.9 and 10

Kenta said "Hey Ami, are you really 5 years old?" I totally agree with him. Ami is a super kindergartener who has highschool-level judgment. Watching ep.10, I bet Iyo is a deathless rabbit.


capeta ep.4 and 5

Honestly first two episodes were a bit boring to me, but the show is getting more interesting. They keep good animation quality so far.


Mushishi

Fantastic! Episode 2 is entirely satisfactory in both the story and the animation quality. I'm surprised to know the animation of mushi fluid gushing from Sui's eyes is drawn by hand, not using CG. Though some people see a problem with Yuto Nakano's voice acting, it doesn't bother me. This episode is worth watching twice, as with episode 1.


Angel Heart ep.5

Episode 5 is not very good nor very bad. I'm not so attracted to Glass Heart. We can no longer see Roy's mokkori (bulge)?

Karin

STAFF

Director: Shinichiro Kimura
Series Composition: Yashunori Yamada
Art Director: Rie Oda
Sound Director: Miwa Iwanami
Production Studio: J.C.STAFF

CAST

Karin Maaka: Sayuri Yahagi
Kenta Ushui: Katsuuki Konishi
Anju Maaka: Yuka Inokuchi
Ren Maaka: Junichi Suwabe

Synopsis

There is a certain vampire family who settled down in a certain town in Japan. They lead a sheltered life as they suck humans' blood sometimes. But Karin, their daughter, has a secret never to speak to anyone. She's not a normal vampire who sucks human's blood, but is abnormal one who produces her own blood. Yes, she's a 'blood-making vampire'! Blood building up in her body too much, she has a large amount of nose bleeds. To avoid such situation as this, she has to give blood to anyone by administering nips to the neck. Nonetheless she is a shy, ordinary highschool girl in the course of day-to-day activities. But her school life has drastically changed by Kenta Ushui's appearance.

This show is an anime adaptation of popular manga created by Yuna Kagesaki. He has now injured his health by continual overwork. The TV series will be 24 episodes in total.

First Impression

The last scene of the first episode is really striking. Karin gets too much nosebleed and crouchs in a pool of blood. Animation in ep.1 is crispy, and they use a lot of character's movement like watching a video on fast-forward. Ep.1 doesn't contain the OP song and animation, because Shinichiro Kimura, the director of this show, sticks to his principle the OP is never used in the first episode. The ED theme is okay. Though the character design of the manga is better than of the anime, I don't mind so much. I predict that some viewers will say Kenta Ushui resembles Ueki in The Law of Ueki or Sawamura in Midori no Hibi. There is no panty shot in ep.1, but Karin's bleeding scene gives us more ecchi feelings than conventional fan services. The story of ep.1 is fairly enjoyable. I don't think this anime is going to be a great show, however, it might become a good school-romance-comedy. Kimura's work is usually either pretty good or rather poor.

ARIA The Animation ep.5

The swimsuit episode is one of fixtures in bishoujo anime. But ARIA is not a typical bishoujo anime, so their swimsuits aren't seductive. This episode also warms the cockles of our hearts.


Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's ep.4 and 5

Watching the first five episodes, this is more like a fighting girl show than a magical girl one. The battle scenes are exciting and appeal strongly. Fate's new transforming sequence in ep.4 is really cool. Raging Heart in the second season speaks more often than in the first season.


Akagi ep.6

Akagi is engaging in a fierce clash with Ichikawa. The struggle between a young genius and an inordinately sly old fox is truly impressive. The excitement of this anime is tough to beat. I can't wait the next episode!


Shakugan no SHANA ep.5

Episode 5 is the most well-done in the first five episodes. They merged two story arcs of the original novel into one, developing two plotlines simultaneously. They added some new plots to the story of the anime version for this reason. They succeeded in heightening more oppressive feeling in the anime than in the original novel. I wouldn't have guessed that I could see the fight scene between Friagne and Margery Daw. I'm looking forward to ep.6 because I might enjoy watching a different plot development from that of the original novel.


Ginban Kaleidoscope ep.5

In the anime version they changed cause of Pete's death to an airplane crash. It would be safe to say they took a suitable arrangement. This show should have aired in not a late-night time slot but early evening or morning time slot because this show is shoujo sports anime for casual anime fans.


capeta ep.6

Team Capeta is formed with the backing of Cappeita's father and his friend. Animation quality is as good as always. His team is to enter the junior cart racing league. This is going to be fun.


Gunparade Orchestra ep.6

The writer who drew up ep.6's scenario should hang himself. Though the first five episodes were not so bad, I'm disappointed at ep.6. GPO is relatively realistic military action anime (at least partly), isn't it? The scramble for military supply among corps is not so uncommon in history, but such a robbery as this is too unrealistic.


Animal Yokocho ep.11 and 12

Ami is really something. She is crossing swords with unspeakable rabbit Iyo as equals! They didn't leave their house again in these two episodes.

Canvas2 ep.6

This is a swimsuit episode, the traditional pleasures of bishoujo anime. I'm surprised to know there is no Kyonyu (big boobs) character in this show, though the other stereotyped bishoujo characters mentioned below already appeared in it.

Imouto (a little sister)
Osana Najimi (a childhood sweetheart)
Loli (lolita)
Ojou-sama (a preppy)
Meganekko (a girl with glasses)
Tsundere (icy manner -> squishy manner)
Fushigi-chan (a flabbergasting girl)


Beet The Vandel Buster -Excerion- ep.6

Beet is no match for his 'wife' Poala. She does seem to be his true wife, his ball and chain http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/4749/laughinganimated4gy.gif Milufa is flirty with Kiss again in ep.6, but her effort dosen't bear fruit. This show is basically shounen adventure, however, the second season contains some shoujo-anime-like elements.


Karin ep.2

Ep.2 is as enjoyable as ep.1. Sayuri Yahagi is showing a good performance of her voice acting as Karin, though she made her debut as seiyuu in this anime.

The OP sequence appeared in the show. It contains some ecchi things. I think I can understand why animation staff did it. There are very few fan services in the original manga, and so they can't draw explicit ecchi stuff in the body of the show.

Almost all of animators have strong instincts that they want to draw anything they can draw. If animators aren't controled by the director or producers, they will run out of control and every expression drawn by them will escalate to a dangerous level. Take a panty shot, for example. First they draw panties simply, then add some pattern to it, then draw wrinkles in panties, then elaborately do the patterned indented surface of it and finally they begin to draw no panties version. Much the same is true on violent scenes. It appears to be a reality that most of directors/producers are having a hard time placing a restraint on animators' overdoing.


Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's ep.6

It's revealed the true intent for the Knights of Wolkenritter to fight against Nanoha and Adminstrative Bureau. The truth is considerably surprising, the script writer did a good job for the show. I think we can look forward to the dramatic plot development in the future episodes.

Gaiking ~Legend of Daiku-Maryu~

STAFF

Series Director: Masahiro Hosoda
Series Composition: Riku Sanjo
Mecha Design: Ken Ohtsuka
Character Design: Takeshi Yamazaki & Noriyoshi Yamazaki
Art Drector: Mitsuki Nakamura
Production Studio: Toei Animation

CAST

Daiya Tsuwabuki: Mayumi Tanaka
Ruru: Tomoko Kawakami
Pyuria: Reiko Kiuchi
Captain Garis: Toru Ohkawa
Naoto Hayami: Naomi Shindo

What is Gaiking?

Maginger Z that began in 1972 was an epoch-making work in the history of robot anime. A new, great trend was created by enormous popularity of both Maginger Z and its Chogoukin (superalloy) toy series released by Popy (Bandai's subsidiary). Under the influence of this trend, it was followed by many others along similar lines, for example, Getter Robo, Getter Robo G, Great Maginger, Rydeen, Grendaizer, Koutetsu Jeeg, Daiapolon, Combattler V, Gowapper 5 Godam, Guroizer X, Machine Bluster, Ga Keen, Mechander Robo, Gingaizer, Baratac, Voltes V, Zambot 3, Daimos, Daitaan and Danguard Ace. The mid-70s was the golden age of super robot anime. Daiku-Maryu Gaiking (1976) was also one of the same kind of shows in the golden age. Gaiking was the first robot anime produced by Toei Douga (Toei Animatino) on their own. It had some characteristics, such as the sci-fi-style story setting, the character design getting influenced by gekiga manga and the bold scenario backed by Uehara-ism. To put it simply, Gaiking was very powerful and very sloppy.

Impression

This TV series is the remake of classic Gaiking. The OP song has a very 70s super-robotic feel. I don't feel a sense of incongruity about the mecha design of new Gaiking and Daiku-Maryu. The protagonist is changed from a 18-year-old baseball player to a 13-year-old junior highschool boy. The character design is refined to contemporary style. I'd say Ruru is a moe character. Robot battle scene is dynamic and well-done. It's made to imitate 70s' giant-robot style as much as possible. Gattai (combine) sequence of the Gaiking robot is drawn by Masami Ohbari, the foremost expert on robot animation.

The story of ep.1 is simple and straightforward. That's a really typical plot development of the super robot genre, it's pretty rare nowadays though. I laughed at a segment on fortune-telling at the end of the show. The animation of the segment must have been drawn by Gen Sato (Crasher Joe, Ojamajo Doremi, Pretty Cure, Futago Hime). At any rate, ep.1 is enjoyable enough for me.

noein ~mou hitori no kimi e~ ep.5

Haruka's transcendental power as "Ryu no Toruku" (Dragon's Torque) begings to blossom. She shows a special power to restore the status of the area just like Flame Haze from Shakugan no Shana

The structure of ep.5's plots is complex and well-constructed. The script and storyborad of ep.5 is really solid and skillful enough to become textbook examples of how to make anime. For example;

1) it should be noted in ep.5 that Haruka is forcibly teleported from one place to another three times. Why did they do it three times? The reason is that 'Haruka's disappearance' is the strongest theme of ep.5. And further, it's an introduction into ep.6, because the place where the story is set in would be changed in the next episode.

2) The last scene of Haruka's ribbon falling to the ground is also used with a clear purpose. If they didn't use her ribbon in this scene, the connotation of the scene would be totally different. It emphasizes a sad feeling of a separation between Haruka and Yuu.


Canvas2 ep.7

Ellice is engaged in a war against Kiri at present. But the series still has 19 episodes, so the other heroines have a chance to win Hiroki's heart. I hard to understand why Kiri refused to kiss Hiroki. Showing one brief flashback scene, it doesn't make any sense.


Mushishi ep.4

The scene of a very large flock of Mushi flying across a vast reed bed in Yume no Kayoiji (a path linking dreamworld and real world) is really beautiful and horrifying. The viewers are going to observe developments of the disastrous incident. Ep.4 has high levels of the story, animation quality, music, screen-directing, background art and color design.

Ginko ends up failing to save the blade-sharpener. After the incident he's falling gradually into madness, and finally he kills himself with a sword. People say he was always scared of sleeping.


capeta ep.7

The character design of elementary school arc is a positive disadvantage in popularity competition, but it seems they intend to adapt most of elementary school arc of the original manga into anime. Setting it aside, it was fun to watch ep.7. Cappeita and his friend give us the impression that they're a ture elementary shool child, as contrasted with Nanoha from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha or Ami from Animal Yokocho.


Ginban Kaleidoscope ep.6

The script of ep.6 is well written. Though the animation of skating scene is a little poor, the show is still enjoyable. I can't help giggling at Tazusa wearing figure skating suit exactly similar to a maid costume.

Akagi ep.7

Akagi puts an end to the draining duel with Ichikawa. It's really worth seeing that there is the fierce exchange of dangerous exploits are extremely intellectual and strategic between the two. Akagi is more than just a gambler, he is a demonic genius. To me this show is fantastically interesting, and truly awesome!


Lamune ep.6

Ken-chan and Nanami have a so deep bond of love that there is no chance that other heroine will steal Nanami's boyfriend. This kind of plot development is fairly rare in bishoujo anime based on bishoujo PC game. This show has an easygoing and peaceful atmosphere for that reason. They laugh at the drop of a pin, cry at the drop of a pin, rejoice at the dorp of a pin and anger at the dorp of a pin. It might sound silly, but this is good.


Rozen Maiden traumend ep.4

What I like best about ep.4 is the scene where Jun reads the math textbook to Suiseiseki. Suiseiseki usually plays the bear, but she is actually quite fragile. She is incredibly cute at this scene.


Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's ep.7

I'm sure the second season is more exciting than the first season. This show is getting more interesting since episode 4. In ep.7 Nanoha tells Veeta "I think I could be of assistance to you", then in the same breath she fires shattering Divine Buster at Veeta unmercifully http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/9901/laughinganimated7kg.gif What she does has little correspondence with what she says.

Probably the identity of the mysterious mask man would be Crono's father.


ARIA The Animation ep.7

ARIA is a so-called iyashi-kei anime (healing anime), there is no fan service in the show. And so I couldn't take my eyes off Aika's stockingless leg protruding from Undine costume to kick the wall in order to pilot a gondola Ironically this scene is far more titillating than a conventional fan service.

Animal Yokocho ep.13 and 14

Kenta never takes off his muffler, even if he stays in a heated room. Why does he always wear his muffler? Iyo answers such a question that Ami is harboring. She tells Ami a long, touching anecdote about his muffler. Hey! Wait a minute. Her story is true? I'm really curious to know whether it is true or not.


Solty Rei ep.7

The title of ep.7 is "Koakuma no Houmon" (The Visit of The Selfish Chick). But I want to change the title to "Roy's Most Unlucky Day." Roy has a run of bad luck all day in this episode. Furthermore Solty causes major economic losses to the city purse by just making a dash on the road. Poor Roy. I have a little moe feeling for Roy lately.


Beet The Vandel Buster -Excerion- ep.7

Beet just has to get tridaily sleep to go about his normal daily activities. If he were a man of today, he would be the best person for the job of a long-haul truck driver. Beet and Rion have a public lovers' spat in the forest at late-night (well, this is one-sided interpretation from a yaoi-tic perspective).

BTW, Kugimiya, popular Japanese seiyuu, is currently doing the voice acting of both Rion and Shana from Shakugan no SHANA. And so he sometimes looks like to me Shakugan no Rion, especially when he activates his special power.

Gaiking ep.2

I enjoyed watching epsode 2. This anime makes me feel exhilarating. I laughed at Gaiking's rocket punch. Once his arm is launched, it can't come back.

Ruru: You shouldn't have launched it without my advice on how to use the rocket punch.
Daiya: What?! The launched arm is supposed to buzz back, isn't it?

As Pyuria, the pilot of Stinger that is the large mainstay fighter of Daiku-Maryu, can't stand by and watch any longer, so she picks his arm up off the ground with operating her fighter and brings it to Gaiking.


Jigoku Shoujo ep.7

The script of episode 7 is well-written. The story line in the first half of the episode reminds me of Glass Mask, the biggest-selling shoujo manga of all time. Ep.7 has some unexpected twists. It's fun to see Enma Ai hanging head down from a branch of a tree. The ending leaves a bit bad taste as usual.


Rockman.exe Beast (Megaman Beast) ep.8

Yami-taro still need more training, though he performed cold water ablutions by a fall. There is very little hope that he will break a bad habit (of course, his peeping Tomism). The mysterious green-eyed girl emerges as a disquieting presence in this episode. I don't get the slightest idea who she is.


Idaten Jump ep.8

There are three shows dealing with a sports race in this fall--Idaten Jump (mountain bicycle race), IGPX (robot race) and capeta (cart race). I find Idten Jump is more like shounen adventure anime than MTB race one. Makoto finally gets her own MTB. She shows off her prowess as a MTB rider.

Happy Seven ep.6

Probably very few people would say Happy Seven is a great show. That's true, but this series is good enough to create a joyous mood. I like the ED animation, chibi characters look lively and cute. 'Happy Seven' are seven persons who have inherited the properties of seven deities of good fortune, nonetheless, they're rather poor. I can't help wondering it. In ep.6 Nami&Mina twins are spotlighted on. The twins clone emerges from the monster of the mirror. It's really confusing.


Mushishi ep.5

Wow, very impressive! Episode 5 is well constructed, well written, well drawn and well done. Dr. Adashino debuts in the anime series, who is one of a few regular members of Mushishi. Ginko comes upon the living lake has a mysterious atmosphere in the deep mountain. He finds Io who is living with the 'lake' at the shore. Her wet, green hair is really beautiful.

Mushi is a superrational entity, beyond demarcation of good and evil. Some of them live longer than several tens of thousands years. It's interesting to hear Ginko talk about Suiko (literal translation: Water Mushi) that way at near the last scene.


Cluster Edge ep.7

This is a recap episode. Maybe animation staff took measures to cool down the feelings of viewers who are dizzy after seeing an outrageous plot development up to the first sex episodes http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/9901/laughinganimated7kg.gif I felt anew there appeared lots of pretty boys/awesome-looking guys in the show. The story of the next episode would be set in the Cluster E.A. again.


Gunparade Orchestra ep.7

Episode 7 is neither very good nor very bad. Almost all of the 4th Company members go to work on a holiday voluntarily. They made a quick change from a robber team of ep.6 into an exemplary troops

Ginban Kaleidoscope ep.7

As I mentioned before, this anime project has some production problems, especially the budget shortfall. The fault lies with Hakuhodo, the second biggest ad agency in Japan. They failed to acquire morning/evening airtime for this anime because of their serious mistakes. The majority of prospective sponsors/investors called off participating in the project for this reason. The production condition got worse. Shinji Takamatsu, the director of the show, virtually resigned as director in protest of it. Take notice of his name on the title credit of the show, it's written in not kanji but katakana. I have a bit sympathy with animation staff because I know their situation.

As is always the case, ep.7 also has a little poor animation quality and well-written script. The scene of Tazusa's performance in Japan Figure Skating championships is highlight of the original novel vol.1, but that of the anime version looks like a comical scene. Yoko (Tazusa's younger sister) in a miniskirt is really cute, and has a good personality as opposed to her older sister.


Jigoku Shoujo ep.7

All I can say about it is that Enma Ai and her members seem to have some flexibility to meet their client's request, because they're a little more mischievous than I thought. At near an end of ep.7 Enma Ai exhibited her showmanship in the scene of her entrance on stage.


noein ~mou hitori no kimi e~ ep.6

This is a really substantial episode. Changing the setting for the story, the plot develops rapidly. I was intrigued by Hakodate's situation of the future world. The animation of characters' movements is well drawn. The background art has elaborate details. Haruka shows an outstanding ability to adapt to a new environment.

Haruka is abducted by Karasu and transferred to Lacrima. She eats up caterpillars meal without any hesitation. Cheating Lacrima's guardian of the crystal key, she succeeds in escaping from the underground facility.

This time I'd like to talk about not only 2005 fall's new anime but also all ongoing TV anime series in Japan.

What is the most popular anime that is the currently ongoing TV series in Japan? For answering this question, it's necessary to categorize people into three types (otaku, casual anime fans and common people). These three groups of people have completely different likes and tastes in anime, and have totally different stances towards anime. The rankings of the following list are determined on the basis of my own information and judgment, and so you don't need to take it too seriously.

Top 6 anime for popularity (among currently ongoing TV series in Japan)

Group A. Otaku or Hardcore anime fans

1. Pani Poni Dash!
2. Rozen Maiden traumend
3. Mai-Otome
4. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's
5. Gun Sword
6. Eureka Seven

Group B. Casual anime fans

1. ONE PIECE
2. Pretty Cure
3. Naruto
4. BLEACH
5. Konjiki no Gashbell!
6. Eyeshield21

Group C. Common people

1. Sazae-san
2. Chibi Maruko-chan
3. Crayon Shin-chan
4. Detective Conan
5. Doraemon
6. Black Jack

Needless to say, there is a difference between popularity of shows and value of those.

Akagi ep.8

This show always gives me a high degree of satisfaction. The mah-jong game in every episode keeps us in breathless suspense, and contains a lot of innovative ideas in it. I'm struck by the anime's tremendous originality (by the original manga, to be more exact). Episode 8 is a prelude to the next big duel. Akagi showed a truly dominating presence, even though he didn't have a match in this episode. I'm really looking forward to epsode 9.


Angel Heart ep.7

Epsode 7 is okay. To me Glass Heart looked a little attractive for the first time since the start of the series. Maybe AH finally is getting more interesting.


capeta ep.8

Ep.8's storytelling style is rather redundant, though the story is not so bad in itself. The animation quality is good as usual. They've often emphasized that Team Capeta had an empty purse since the first episode, but it's surprising there is no money for painting their cart.


Canvas2 ep.8

This is a rather serious episode. Ellice is tormented by jealousy and is steeped in suspicions. She definitely comes into conflict with Kiri. She's gradually pushed to the wall. Ep.8 has a cliff hanger ending.


Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's ep.8

Administrative Bureau is fairly shrewd and calculating. They usually dispatch a mercenary (Nanoha) and subcontract soldiers (Fate and Aluf) to the front lines of battle, and they retain their war potential Anyway, Nanoha has the highest level of fighting capability on the all-time magical girl list.

Fate was injured by the masked man's surprise attack, but there was no threat to her life. Hayate is being rapidly eroded by Yami no Sho (The Book of Darkness). Black Hayate would be getting close to appearing in the show.

Gaiking ep.3

Daiya bids good-bye to his mother and his friend, but he faces stiff opposition from them. He goes against the opposition of them and he makes choice of becoming a member of the Daiku-Maryu team.

At the risk of oversimplification, it can be generalized that most of super robot anime in the 1970s had hot-blooded protagonists who joined the fight on their will and responsibility. As contrasted to that, most of real robot anime in 80s or later have younger protagonists who were involved in the battle by accident or outside factors irrelevant to their will. In the new Gaiking TV series they emphasize that Daiya took part in the fight in accordance with his own will. He's the 70s-super-robot-anime type of protagonist.


ARIA The Animation ep.8

The protagonist of ep.8 is Aria-shacho, the president cat of Aria Company. Akari and Alicia are busy with the year-end cleaning all day. Aria-shacho tries to help them, but his effort doesn't bear fruit. He goes for a long walk dispiritedly... This anime is always about a minor affair and a little happiness in every episode. The soothing anime like Aria helps us relax.


Cluster Edge ep.8

The miracle done by Agete can exert a positive impact on anything? He has created miracles for the plane crash, concentrated gunfire, gambling, motorboat race, Cluster E.A. Student Council President Election and walking on water. If he were a real person, I would definitely want to make friends with him http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/9901/laughinganimated7kg.gif


Animal Yokocho ep.15 and 16

Ep.15 is hilarious. How many special powers does Iyo have? I have never seen the rabbit like her since my birth. Kenta tried to bite back his tongue, but to no avail. In ep.16 they play 'Aniyoko last and first' game. The game is really outrageous. I'd say it's miraculous that everyone survived the game events.


Beet The Vandel Buster -Excerion- ep.8

Harden vs Beet team. There appear a number of eccentric vandels in the second season, Harden is also one of them. He ranks as the very poweful, elite vandel having Six Stars, but I'm surprised at his extraordinary rational thinking. Another surprising thing I found in ep.8 was Beet refuted Grifus's argument in a logical way. I never thought Beet had such a capacity to think logically.

Lamune ep.7

Misora, the girl who loves to drive a motorbike, appears in the show. Her motorbike suddenly breaks down while it's moving on the road near the country town Nanami and Kenji live in. She has no alternative but to try rolling her bike to the town. It's a boiling hot day, so she feels very thirsty...

I gave a loud laugh at the scene where Misora asks for a glass of water from Nanami in her vegetable garden.

Misora: Mi, mizu... (Give me a glass of water...)

Nanami: Eh? Aa! (Okay!)

Nanami is headed to somewhere.

Misora: Mizu, mizu... (Water, water...)

Namami is back.

Nanami: Hai. (Here you are)

Nanami holds out mimizu (an earthworm) to Misora.

It's like this every episode in Lamune http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/9901/laughinganimated7kg.gif


Paradise Kiss ep.7

Ai Yazawa, the author of the original manga, is good at portraying a bit old-fashioned character like Yukari in the manga. In episode 7 I liked the scene where Yukari was interviewed by Shimamoto who is the female president of the fashion model agency. I can't help but be amused at Yukari's bewildered look. You see not a few businesswomen like Shimamoto in the entertainment industry. Anyway, I still can't believe Mikako is 36 years old.


noein ~mou hitori no kimi e~ ep.7

They also did fruitful work in episode 7. I admire the animation staff's efforts. The quality of the show is still kept at the high level. As a matter of course, this series has some flaws too, but nothing is ever perfect. If you look for high quality anime, noein and Mushishi would be worth trying.


Ginban Kaleidoscope ep.8

Tazusa is the target of a barrage of malicious questions from the press. They accuse severely her of committing a wrongful act, disgracefully dragging in her domestic issue irrelevant to her performance at figure skating. Tazusa is very tough at other times, but she becomes discouraged this time.

Episode 8 is fairly good. It's impressive that Tazusa gets together with Pete to overcome adverse conditions. They're becoming a good combination. Yoko is still really cute. How about the animation quality? Don't ask me that.

Akagi ep.9

Akagi is provoked by fake Akagi. Fake Akagi has amazing mahjong skills, but he didn't realize true Akagi is an unimaginable monster... This episode is worth watching any number of times until you understand perfectly what Akagi was doing. If you understand it completely, you would realize how great this anime is. The original manga created by Fukumoto is truly outstanding, it's one of my most favorite seinen manga (manga for young adults). The anime version is also awesome. It would be safe to say Akagi is the most enjoyable show among all new anime programs in the autumn of 2005.


Happy Seven ep.9

Episode 9 gave me a little different impression from the previous ones. Amano challenged Happy Seven members' opinion in unusually strong language, reacted rather sharply against even Kikunosuke's words. She had been always overwhelmed by the surrounding circumstances until recently, but she clearly expressed her own opinion in ep.9. The rift between Amano and Happy Seven would be growing increasingly in the future episodes (We know she's the "Key to open the Gate". Nevertheless, this series probably wouldn't end up to be a tragic ending, because the title of the show is Happy Seven


BLOOD+ ep.8

The Okinawa arc ended, now the Vietnam arc has begun. Saya wearing ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) is pretty charming. The animation of the fight scene in episode 8 is better than that of former episodes, though it's fairly short. To be frank, I didn't find much amusement in the first seven episodes except for epi.1, but I could enjoy ep.8. Aya and her side had been standing on the defensive throughout the entire Okinawa arc. They finally got off the defensive near the end of ep.7, then changed to the offensive for the first time at the beginning of the new arc.

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's ep.9

This has been the most eventful episode of the series so far. The problems are urgent and already in a time of crisis. Nanoha is becoming fit for the role of villain. Let me give you an example of that from epsode 9.

Veeta: Akuma me! (You're the devil!)

Nanoha receives a direct hit from the lethal blasting-hammer-attack by Veeta, but she emerges intact from the flames (Shakugan no Nanoha?).

Nanoha: Akuma de iiyo... (You may call me the devil...)
Nanoha: Akuma rashii yarikata de hanashi o kiite morau kara! (I'm going to make you mark my words in a devil-like way!)

She uses menacing language, so she doesn't look that much like a knight in shining armor http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/9901/laughinganimated7kg.gif

All Wolkenritters (Veeta, Cygnum, Shamal and Zapheera) are wiped out by two masked men. Yami no Sho (The Book of Darkness) finally gets put together. Hayate is completely eroded by Yami no Chikara (the cumulative dark force), then she mutates into Black Hayate. Black Hayate is a silver-haired girl having red eyes and black wings. She reminds me of Suigintou from Rozen Maiden.


Shakugan no SHANA ep.6, 7 and 8.

Episode 6

I was really disappointed at episode 6. That ruined everything they have done so far. Since the first five episodes were well-done and the script was well-written, I was expecting ep.6 a lot.

The decisive battle between Friagne and Shana & Yuji is one of the high-light of the novel series. In the novel Friagne makes full use of a diverse range of clever tactics and powerful Hougu (treasure tools), it's really exciting. But I didn't find any clever tactics in the battle of episode 6. To my utter surprise, they didn't give the viewers any explanation about the special power of Trigger Happy, one of Hougu owned by Friagne. Trigger Happy is a key component of his battle plan against Shana. If the viewers don't know the ability of Trigger Happy, the fight between them makes no sense. And the top of that, I can't figure out why they plunged Margery Daw into direct involvement in the battle between Friagne and Shana. That made this battle seem pointless.

Episode 7 and 8

Fortunately ep.7 and 8 are fairly good. Shana with an iron will is really cool. There is little problem in the plot development as compared with the novel version. The fight scene is neither very good nor very bad. The background music sounds nice.


Gunparade Orchestra ep.9

Episode 9 is okey. It has a modestly decent script. The 4th Company looked like relatively normal troops to me for the first time since the start of the series. The White arc was concluded in ep.9. The Green arc is going to start at the next episode, The 10th Company (dragoons) will appear in the show. The Green arc seems to be more interesting than the White arc.

capeta ep.9

Nice episode. I want to change the title of episode 9 from "Course record" into "How to turn a corner at speed". Cappeita tremendously advances in driving skill without instruction in an incredibly short time. I got a lot of fun to see it.


Karin ep.5

In the original manga the story was going to be interesting since Kenta learned Karin's secret. They're going to share the secret about her identity as a form of bonding. Probably the same can be said for the anime version, because TV series is fairly faithful to the original manga. I hope they will adapt the manga vol.7 into anime, it's pretty touching.


Gaiking ep.4

Episode 4 is enjoyable. Daiku-Maryu tries entering the DCP (Death Cross Point) from over the Indian Ocean. DCP is a very dangerous different-dimension-corridor linking between the earth and the entrance into Darius Universe in the earth interior. Just in case you didn't know, there is not Darius Universe in the earth interior, but there's only the entrance into DU in it. The part of DU's space and the earth interior overlap each other. Big four generals of Garius troops fully appear in the show. Sasupeiji (aka. Suspage) the Southern General is really wacky.


ARIA The Animation ep.9

To learn the secret of becoming a topnotch undine, Akari, Aika and Alice visit the legendary gondola pilot who is called Grandmother by all undines in a remote village. The landscape is hilly and very beautiful. They meet Grandmother and ask for her instructions, but she's going to have them do what they never thought... As always, episode 9 is also heartwarming and peaceful. I would very much like to ride a gondola piloted by Akari or Alicia.

The King of Fighters: Another Day ep.1

STAFF

Director: Masaki Tachibana
Script: Fumio Asanuma
Character Design: Hajime Simomura
Art Director: Yusuke Takeda
Sound Director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
Special Effect: Masahiro Murakami
Production Studio: Production I.G

CAST

Athena Asamiya: Haruna Ikezawa
Kyo Kusanagi: Masahiro Nonaka
Iori Yagami: Kunihiko Yasui
Mai Shiranui: Akoya Sogi
Maxima: Katsuyuki Konishi
Ash Crimson: Sounosuke Nagayo
Billy Kane: Seijiro
Rock Howard: Hideshi Takemoto
Terry Bogard: Satoshi Hashimoto
Ralf: Monster Maezuka
Clark: Yoshinori Shima
K': Yuki Matsuda
Alba Mailer: Yuki Sato

This show is an anime adaption of The King of Fighters (KOF), the bestselling game released by SNK. Old and new characters in each version of KOF is goint to appear in the show. The story is set on the South Town where is familiar to KOF fans. This short series will be 4 episodes in total, each one has roughly 10 minutes. The animation quality is okay, music is average. The character design is neither very good nor very bad. As for the story, it's too short to make a judgment about it. All I can say is that I recognized anew Mai Shiranui has really big, bouncy boobs

Animal Yokocho ep.17 and 20

Ep.17: Yamanami-san is mortally injured O_o; Kenta keeps losing card games, finally he's sucked into a card and goes missing. Ami has survived, she's an iron little girl.

Ep.20: Wow, it's very hilarious! Iyo stumbles across Yamanami's dead body right beside Ami's bed in her room. Her ears grows upright in horror and crashes through a ceiling. The Yamanami Murder Case has occurred! Ami, Kenta, Issha and Iyo determine to find the person who killed Yamanami. They draw some unbelievable deductions, so things get a bit out of control. Ep.20 has a volley of brisk jokes, a lot of unexpected twists, pretty good animation quality and an unlikely surprise ending. It's really awesome.


Shakugan no SHANA ep.9

'Cute girls in a swimsuit' episode is the traditional pleasures of bishoujo anime. Shakugan no SHANA isn't typical bishoujo one, but it still contains considerable moe elements in both the novel and anime. When it comes to a poolside episode, I much prefer to see anime rather than to read the novel counterpart (That reason goes without saying ). Kazumi has a better figure than I expected. Shana is really flat-chested...but she's cute.


Ginban Kaleidoscope ep.9

The original of Ginban Kaleidoscope is a real sports novel series aimed at both males and females, but the anime version targets girls as its primary audience. Episode 9 is the most shoujo-anime-tic one so far.

Tazusa's winning Olympic berth turns her into a magnet for gossip columnists. She is assailed with groundless gossip. At last the stories about her having an affair with Nitta are reported sensationally in the media. Futhermore her figure skating coach, Takashima, confesses the unexpected to her.

Gunparade Orchestra ep.10

It's the first episode of the Green arc. Shibamura, the 7th Company commander, is an interesting character. Watching him, I noticed a thing that was lacking the White arc. There appeared no character like Shibamura who made his presence felt in the previous arc. Does GPO's army have a tradition of each company's having some soldiers who ignore the order? Even so, the 7th Company is better than the 4th Company. Because Shibamura is an enigmatic, tough commander, and dragoons look cool.

MAJOR (the 2nd season)

STAFF

Director: Kenichi Kasai
Series Composition: Michihiro Tsuchiya
Character Design: Kenichi Ohnuki, Kouichi Usami
Art Director: Toshiyuki Tokuda
Music: Noriyuki Asakura
Sound Director: Hajime Takakuwa
Production Studio: Studio Hibari

CAST

Goro Shigeno: Shotaro Morikubo
Toshiya Sato: Seiichi Morita
Momoko Shigeno: Junko Noda
Kaoru Shimizu: Yuko Sasamoto
Daisuke Komori: Kouki Miyata
Ryota Sawamura: Hiroshi Nojima
Yamane: Hideki Hagiwara

Synopsis

Goro lost his mother when he was a little boy. He brought up by his father who was a professional baseball player. He had strong aspirations to be a pro baseball player in the majors because he adored his father a lot.

Unfortunately, his father dropped dead from the unintentional damage during the game. Momoko, a kindergarten teacher whom Goro was attached to, adopted him as her son. He was losing his dream, but he got back on his feet with Momoko's help. He joined the little league team Mifune Little and developed his exceptional talent for baseball, and then he became a leading player of the team. His team enters the national little league tournament for a crowning victory.

Impression

The first TV series of MAJOR was based on the Elementary School arc of the populer manga series created by Takuya Mitsuda. The second TV series is an anime adaptation of the High School arc (and a part of Junior High School arc). In original manga series, the High School arc is far more interesting than the Elementary School arc. The same thing might be going to happen in the anime series. I watched all 26 episodes of the first season. To put it simply, it's a good shounen sports anime and I could enjoy it, but it was a bit short of punch in baseball game scenes because the characters were elementaly shool children. Probably this wrinkle will be pressed out in the second season.

I prefer the character design of the 2nd season rather than that of the 1st season. Episode 1 has a good pace in plot progression. The beginning of the story starts off with Goro coming back to Mifune Town after an absence of four years. Shimizu is still cute, and furthermore, her chest has decently swelled http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/9901/laughinganimated7kg.gif Komori has not changed a bit, he looks like an elementary school boy. If you already finished watching the first season, you could enjoy episode 1 of the 2nd season. I think the 2nd TV series is considerably promising.

There appeared many new characters in this season again. For better or for worse, the following characters are impressive for me.

Female characters

1. Suigintou (Rozen Maiden traumend): Hurrah for the resurrection of Suigintou!

2. Nanoha Takamachi (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's): the strongest magical girl ever. Must see ep.11

3. Shana (Shakugan no SHANA): I like her Enpatsu Shakugan (flaming hair and burning eyes)

4. Akari (ARIA The Animaton): the best healing heroine in this season

5. Iyo (Animal Yokocho): This can't be happening! But Iyo can do it...

Next mark: Elis (Canvas2), Tazusa and Yoko (Ginban Kaleidoscope), Renzu (Mushishi), Shinku and other Rozen dolls (Rozen Maiden traumend), Karin (Karin), Enma Ai (Jigoku Shoujo), Tomoe (Mai-Otome)

Male characters

1. Akagi (Touhai Densetsu Akagi): The best of the best. He has an overwhelming presence.

2. Ginko (Mushishi): cool and collected

3. Shibamura (Gunparede Orchestra: Green arc): He's the most enigmatic person among all characters in this fall's new shows.

4. Beryl Jasper (Cluster Edge): ice bishounen having a heart of gold

5. Roy (Solty Rei): brusque, lovable middle-aged guy

Next mark: Beet (Beet The Vandel Buster Excerion), Ryo Saeba (Angel Heart), Kenta (Animal Yokocho), Akame (Ginga Densetsu WEED), Daiya (Gaiking)

Itsudatte My Santa!

STAFF

Director: Noriyoshi Nakamura
Script Writer: Kouichi Taki, Katsuichi Sato
Character Design: Masahide Yanagisawa
Conceptual Character Design: Ran Ayanaga
Animation Director: Takashi Shiokawa
Art Director: Toshihiro Kohama
Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka
Production Studio: TNK

CAST

Mai: Aya Hirano
Santa: Jun Kamei
Maimai: Yukari Tamura
Sharrie: Yuu Kobayashi
Noel: Tomo Sakurai

Synopsis:

He was given the name of Santa after his birthday on Christmas Eve, and for that reason he really hates Christmas. His parents are away on business trip every year, he has always spent joyless Christmas in solitude. On Christmas Eve night this year he meets Mai, the girl who declares herself Santa Claus. She tells him, "you will be happy if you go out with me through the night." but...

Impression:

This OVA comes in two volumes. Vol.1 is based on Ken Akamatsu's one-shot manga that appeared in the Weekly Shounen Magazine in 1998. Vol.2 is a new story, which is the sequel to the original. Itsudatte My Santa! (which loosely translates to "You're My Santa Claus, Now and Forever" is the only one-shot story Akamatsu has ever created. He's one of the most popular manga creator of the day, so an anime adaptation of this short manga has been wanted by a legion of his fans for a long time.

I was a bit disappointed at vol.1. They failed to re-create the atmosphere of the original manga, it's more lighthearted and has more tender affection than the anime version. The animation quality is average for OVA. The character design is a matter of personal preference, however, the anime's characters have a rather different feel from the manga's ones. They added some new scenes to the anime, but it definitely doesn't work so well. Maybe Akamatsu's fans will find vol.1 unsatisfactory, though non-Akamatsu's fans might think it's enjoyable if they never read the original manga.

There is a bigger problem in vol.2. I can't get the creators' intention behind the work. Is it a gag episode or a lighthearted romance or both? Either way, it's neither fish nor flesh. Mai, the heroine of the show, has been overshadowed by the appearance of new characters, Sharrie and Maimai. Most of show's time is devoted to the depiction of Sharrie's action, there is a little delineation of Mai's feelings in it. And so the climactic scene didn't strike a chord with me at all. The animation quality of last few scenes is good. I might think it's okay if it were a TV episode, but it's not enough to satisfy me, as OVAs go nowadays.

Mahou Shoujo Lryrical Nanoha A's the final episode (ep.13)

Basically the main plot was concluded in episode 12. Episode 13 is a post-fin story. I could enjoyed watching the second season as a fighting magical girl show. The storytelling and animaiton quality have been improved since the first season. My favorite Armed Device is Graaf Eisen owned by Veeta. The Gigant form of Graaf Eisen reminds me of Gordion Hammer from GaoGaiGar. The following spoiler contains information on characters in six years from "The Book of Darkness" case.

Six years after the "The Book of Darkness" case:
The list of catching up on what characters are into lately

Rindy Haraown
Administrative Bureau / admiral

Leaving the post of Arcanshell captain, she's advanced to the flag officer of Admiralty House. She adopted Fate as her daughter.

Fate Haraown
Seisho University-affiliated junior high school / 9th grader
Administrative Bureau / enforcement officer

She's active in the front lines with her familiar spirit Aluf. She's living with Rindy in the earth. She looks very cute in school uniform.

Chrono Haraown
Administrative Bureau / commander of Asura

His voice has broken before we know it.

Aimee Limieta
Administrative Bureau / chief control officer of Asura

Aimee and Chrono are really good combination.

Yuno Scriar
Administrative Bureau / chief librarian of supergiant database "Mugen Shoko"

He publishes a lot of his papers on ancient history, while working in Mugen Shoko. He's building his career as a historian.

Nanoha Takamachi
Seisho University-affiliated junior high school / 9th grader
Administrative Bureau / Armed Forces / combat skill drill instructor

While she's drilling recruits strictly, she's also acting as an armed investigator. Her chest decently swells, she's still cute. I really want to watch her work as a drill instructor.

Ghil Graham
retired admiral of Administrative Bureau

After resigning the post of admiral, he spends the rest of his life with his familiar spirits (Riese twins) in his home country England. His hair has gone gray and his face has been lined with deep wrinkles, so he suddenly looks very old.

Hayate Yagami
Seisho University-affiliated junior high school / 9th grader
Administrative Bureau / special investigator

She has become an excellent magic knight leading the Knights of Wolkenritter (Cygnum, Veeta, Shamal and Zafeera) and Re-enforce. She displays her brilliant talents in investigation of many Lostlogia-related cases. If she engages in single combat against Nanoha, she'll probably lose to her. But the Hayate team may be several orders of magnitude more powerful than the others.

I'd say Hayate is a true protagonist of the second season. If the third season is produced, maybe it will be given the title of "Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Hayate", which is a spin-off series from Lyrical Nanoha A's. http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/9901/laughinganimated7kg.gif

Re-enforce
AI personality to controll Yami no Sho (aka. Yaten no Sho, The Book of Darkness)

Completely separated from the uncontrollable Defense Program six years ago, her function was restored properly. However, she wanted her body to cease to exist because the Program would begin to go out of controll again after a period of time. Getting her wish, her body was vanished by Nanoha and Fate. And then, her AI personality was reincarnated as the spirit of Hayate's Armed Device. Now, new Re-enforce is really moe character.

ARIA The Animation the final episode (ep.13)

This series made a favorable impression on me and a lot of viewers. I guess we could call ARIA the best healing anime of the year. It's not eventful, most episodes are slice of life stories being sometimes amusing and sometimes touching. I really like a relaxed atmosphere in the series. The director Junichi Sato and the production staff did a good job.

http://bolten36.hp.infoseek.co.jp/zsoko/pic/aria13-ai01.jpg

In the final episode Ai-chan appears in the show for the first time since she made her first appearance in episode 1.

http://bolten36.hp.infoseek.co.jp/zsoko/pic/aria13-ai02.jpg

Ai-chan is really cute. She stole the show with her appearance in the last episode http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/9901/laughinganimated7kg.gif

Aru-kun

Surrounded by a lot of cute ARIA girls, Aru looks like Negima.

http://bolten36.hp.infoseek.co.jp/zsoko/pic/aria13-akari-alicia.jpg

Akari and Alicia are healing heroines that most fans take as the symbol of this anime.

http://bolten36.hp.infoseek.co.jp/zsoko/pic/aria13-daidanen.jpg

All main characters get together for the final episode.

They made an official announcement about ARIA The Animation 2nd season a few days ago. Internet radio program of ARIA will also begin next January. I'm looking forward to the new series.

Pani Poni Dash! the final episode (ep.26)

I believe Pani Poni Dash! is an indispensable work for talking about Japanese anime scene in 2005.

At the risk of oversimplification, it can be generalized that Japanese anime viewers divide into three different types of people, such as common people, casual anime fans and otaku/hardcore anime fans. Most of common people usually see Sazae-san, Crayon Shin-chan, Chibi Maruko-chan or Black Jack, they never watch other shows except for Miyazaki movies. Casual anime fans prefer to see Bleach, Naruto, Pretty Cure or Mushiking. They occasionally watch other anime series when if the fit is on them. Otaku/hardcore fans basically see any types of anime, but their personal preferences are biased toward certain types of anime, for example, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Noein, Rozen Maiden, Kamichu!, Shuffle!, Da Capo, AIR, Akagi, ARIA, Mahoraba, Zettai Shounen, Loveless, Harunaru Toki no Naka de, Mari-sama ga Miteru and so on. Pani Poni Dash! is also an otaku-oriented show like this.

Pani Poni Dash! is one of the most appealing shows taken up very frequently by a lot of Japanese fans in otaku-dominated anime forums and blogs in 2005, they're constantly posting a large number of messages about this series. It's to be noted that most of them were not so excited about Pani Poni. They found entertainment in talking about the details of each episode because this show was packed with new wrinkles and attention-getting gimmicks appealing to otaku. Attracting otaku is about a sense of anime, not simply about the number of parodies or references to other anime, manga, games, novels and old/new trendy things. For otaku viewers, seeing this show is like eating a snack or an ice cream, not having dinner. And so whether or not Pani Poni is a great show is a trivial matter to most fans.

Sometimes they made a mock of the anime staff who were using their energy for unimportant details with affection, somethimes they talked up a storm about trivial things that were important for them, for example, moe stuff and materials stirring the ridiculous imagination of them. Akiyuki Shinbo, the director of the series, showed a spirit of very good service in this series. The animation quality was generally good throughout the series. It would be safe to say Pani Poni Dash! became his best work (another remarkable show done by him is Yamamoto Yoko TV series).

Pani Poni Dash! DVDs are worthy of attention. A lot of redrawn scenes and newly-made details have been added to the show. The episodes on DVDs went through so many minor changes I've never seen ever. That is a good attitude to have.

The final episode was constructed more elaborately than usual. It contains a tremendous amount of references to different types of subcultural things and scrawls that are posted in several places around the screen. I tried to count the number of them, but I got fed up of doing when it reached thirty and gave up. Appropriately for the finale, all main characters appeared in the show one after the other.

BTW, there is no otaku-oriented anime that is aimed at everyone, and Pani Poni is no exception. Whether your're going to like this series or not depends on your taste.