The Big Anime Post
I watch so much anime, I decided last year to start posting anime reviews to my blog. Well, I never got around to it, but with the new year starting, I kept track of what I was watching. Here are the shows I've watched so far in 2010 and some brief thoughts.
Antique Bakery
I watched this for the second time when Rich visited for New Year's. It's a neat show, with a good balance of serious funny moments. I think it's notable for probably the most realistic depiction of homosexuality I've seen in a mainstream anime. It also compelled us to check out the local Korean bakeries, because the desserts shown in the show look really good.
Trapeze
This show is so weird that I almost stopped watching in the middle of the first episode. I'm not a big fan of the modern style of mixing live-action photos, etc., with animation. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because it turned out to be pretty interesting. Like Antique Bakery, this was a noitaminA show, and all of those shows are worth watching.
Toradora!
This was a really cool show. I like romantic comedies where the romance is taken seriously. By that, I mean it's nice to see a relationship develop, rather than the typical scenario where a guy chases after a girl (or vice versa) but nothing happens until he finally confesses his feelings in the last episode. However, they don't forget the comedy either, and this show is really entertaining. I can't remember how I discovered this show.
The Prince of Tennis
This was a lot of anime to watch (yeah, the whole TV show and the rest, except for the movie). I like tennis, so even though this was a fairly typical sports anime, it kept my interest. I thought it was nice that there were lots of unique and fairly well-rounded characters, since a show that focused only on the main character wouldn't have been as good.
You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle
YUA is a long-time favorite and I've seen all the previous anime. I thought Full Throttle was a nice series that brought it back to its roots, without the silliness (mostly) that infected some of the previous series. It's still a slice-of-life show so nothing really happens, but it's nice to spend time with these characters.
Michiko to Hatchin
This was a pretty good show, similar to Samurai Champloo (by the same studio, manglobe) and reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop. The characters were deep and fully realized, but there wasn't too much plot. The setting in South America was pretty unique. I discovered this because the opening theme is by Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, who I've been listening to lately.
Himitsu – Top Secret
This seemed like it was going to be a relatively straightforward police drama with sci-fi elements, but there was something strange about it. Then I saw it was based on a josei manga, and it all made sense. Some really twisted stuff happens in this anime, even more so because of the inherent realism of the show. It's the best kind of sci-fi in that it posits some new technology and then uses that to tell a good story, rather than focusing on the technology itself. I watch this because the animation was by Madhouse, one of my favorite studios.
Valkyria Chronicles
This anime is based on a PS3 game of the same name. The game looked good but I avoid RPGs because they take so much time to play. (By contrast, I watched the 26-episode anime series in two days.) The anime apparently follows the same plot as the game. I thought it was pretty good, but the anime focuses on a few characters and the rest of the characters from the game remain in the background. The characters they do focus on are handled well, though. Also, the plot is interesting enough to serve as the backdrop for the game's battles, but by itself it's pretty average.
So that's this year so far. I'm also watching the following ongoing shows on Hulu: Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto Shippuden, and Inuyasha: The Final Act. Plus, Nodame Cantabile: Finale just started in Japan so I've watched a few episodes of that. Hulu is a fantastic source for anime, and lately they've been adding a lot more subbed shows. I noticed tonight that they've added some new stuff, so I'm about to watch the first episode of Nabari no Ou.
Antique Bakery
I watched this for the second time when Rich visited for New Year's. It's a neat show, with a good balance of serious funny moments. I think it's notable for probably the most realistic depiction of homosexuality I've seen in a mainstream anime. It also compelled us to check out the local Korean bakeries, because the desserts shown in the show look really good.
Trapeze
This show is so weird that I almost stopped watching in the middle of the first episode. I'm not a big fan of the modern style of mixing live-action photos, etc., with animation. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because it turned out to be pretty interesting. Like Antique Bakery, this was a noitaminA show, and all of those shows are worth watching.
Toradora!
This was a really cool show. I like romantic comedies where the romance is taken seriously. By that, I mean it's nice to see a relationship develop, rather than the typical scenario where a guy chases after a girl (or vice versa) but nothing happens until he finally confesses his feelings in the last episode. However, they don't forget the comedy either, and this show is really entertaining. I can't remember how I discovered this show.
The Prince of Tennis
This was a lot of anime to watch (yeah, the whole TV show and the rest, except for the movie). I like tennis, so even though this was a fairly typical sports anime, it kept my interest. I thought it was nice that there were lots of unique and fairly well-rounded characters, since a show that focused only on the main character wouldn't have been as good.
You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle
YUA is a long-time favorite and I've seen all the previous anime. I thought Full Throttle was a nice series that brought it back to its roots, without the silliness (mostly) that infected some of the previous series. It's still a slice-of-life show so nothing really happens, but it's nice to spend time with these characters.
Michiko to Hatchin
This was a pretty good show, similar to Samurai Champloo (by the same studio, manglobe) and reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop. The characters were deep and fully realized, but there wasn't too much plot. The setting in South America was pretty unique. I discovered this because the opening theme is by Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, who I've been listening to lately.
Himitsu – Top Secret
This seemed like it was going to be a relatively straightforward police drama with sci-fi elements, but there was something strange about it. Then I saw it was based on a josei manga, and it all made sense. Some really twisted stuff happens in this anime, even more so because of the inherent realism of the show. It's the best kind of sci-fi in that it posits some new technology and then uses that to tell a good story, rather than focusing on the technology itself. I watch this because the animation was by Madhouse, one of my favorite studios.
Valkyria Chronicles
This anime is based on a PS3 game of the same name. The game looked good but I avoid RPGs because they take so much time to play. (By contrast, I watched the 26-episode anime series in two days.) The anime apparently follows the same plot as the game. I thought it was pretty good, but the anime focuses on a few characters and the rest of the characters from the game remain in the background. The characters they do focus on are handled well, though. Also, the plot is interesting enough to serve as the backdrop for the game's battles, but by itself it's pretty average.
So that's this year so far. I'm also watching the following ongoing shows on Hulu: Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto Shippuden, and Inuyasha: The Final Act. Plus, Nodame Cantabile: Finale just started in Japan so I've watched a few episodes of that. Hulu is a fantastic source for anime, and lately they've been adding a lot more subbed shows. I noticed tonight that they've added some new stuff, so I'm about to watch the first episode of Nabari no Ou.
posted by David at
9:55 PM
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