Some of you may be wondering whether I still watch anime or if I have become disenchanted with modern anime and started to focus solely on manga, like xxxHolicWing of Chronical Holic. May she find reasons to get excited about anime again, since I have always enjoyed reading her articles–though I admit having to catch up. Fear not, my dear readers! I have a tidy list of shows which I happen to be watching on and off. You may expect some reviews in the near future. Also, a few more for manga: Bartender, Break Blade, Fuyu Hanabi, Guardian Dog, Gunka no Balzer, and Hinekure Shisho no Mikaiketsu Jikenroku have caught my attention in particular. I might have reviewed Break Blade already though. I’ll check later.
My favorite current manga for its dynamic characters, period detail, and political intrigue.
At any rate, Girls und Panzer and Future Diary provided excellent entertainment with the later raising some interesting moral questions. I rather enjoyed both, though I admit to Future Diary being somewhat of an acquired taste. At least, the points where I disagree with it furnish apt material for editorials. Unfortunately, I can’t write anything else about Girls und Panzer besides what people have already written: it’s a unique show which excels at action. Watch it!
Who knew that a show combining high school girls and tanks could be so fantastic?
Having been intrigued by a review of Dusk Maiden of Amnesia written by Marlin-sama of Ashita no Anime, searching for a good comedy yesterday finally led me to watch it. Three episodes into the show, the comedy has remained spectacular, the fanservice not over the top, and the overall tone wonderfully touching. So, you can expect an article from me on the show in the future. On a friend’s recommendation, I have started to watch the Break Blade movies. As a fan of the manga, I was happy to see that they have kept the story faithful to the original story and that the animation is quite stunning. Then, there are a couple of other shows which bloggers’ articles have led me to watch: Charles of Beneath the Tangles recommended Kotoura-san, and John Samuel of Pirates of the Burley Griffin’s series of articles on Bodacious Space Pirates drew me to watching that show.
Another surprisingly good show led by high school girls, the ambassadors of Japanese culture.
Then, there are a few others which I’m currently enjoying: Gintama, Hunter x Hunter, Inuyasha: the Final Act, Psycho-pass, and Ys. Gintama rates highly among comedies, as its six season run attests. It’s a rather frenetic show, going everywhere from high-class, dramatic series of episodes to episodes of low-brow toilet humor. Sometimes I wonder whether a different show has insidiously taken Gintama‘s place. I’m watching the original Hunter x Hunter, and just can’t seem to find the time to finish it. If I did, I’d probably turn to the remake, which has received a lot of good press. Inuyasha: the Final Act shows remarkable improvement from the original show in regard to animation quality, and I can’t wait to see the demise of Naraku in color. Psycho-pass has frequently horrified me by the bloodiness of the crimes, and, in the last episode I watched, outraged me with the scene showing a brutal murder in a crowd with the onlookers merely spectating. Yet, it offers an interesting view of human nature alongside its utopian society. I should pen an article for it pretty soon. Lastly, the fantasy Ys deserves a very harsh, mocking review. It proves that not every anime from the 90’s is as good as I’d like it to be. The characters’ actions are so artificial that it makes me feel like I’m watching video game cut scenes!
Oh, and I have also been watching Shin Sekai Yori. That sums up my anime watching history over the past few months. Look forward to some nice reviews!
Medieval Otaku 