For lack of a better post today, I decided to try something new and pick my current five favorites amongst the seasonal anime I’m watching (with inspiration from kevo’s ongoing “Anime Power Rankings” project)…
Just to note, I’m only counting anime that started airing in summer ’11 or are still continuing from the spring ’11 season. And naturally, my opinions of these shows may change upon their completion.
5. No.6
(episodes seen: 5/11)
No.6 is thus far a solid and intriguing sci-fi story. The setting is interesting and the plot is full of suspense and mystery. Why people are griping about the unanticipated yaoi relationship between Shion and Nezumi, I don’t know. I personally just accept it as part of the story and it doesn’t take away from the sci-fi goodness. I can’t predict the fate of our two heroes, the world of No.6, nor anything in the show for that matter, and that’s what’s keeping it enjoyable for me =)
4. Steins;Gate
(episodes seen: 19/24)
As those of us who have been following Steins;Gate have seen, what started off as a mystery-laden yet comical and surprisingly light series that hardly ever left the safety of the lab that the main characters occupy, took a drastic turn at the end of episode 12. Since then, it’s become “darker” and more fast-paced, suspenseful, and plot heavy. Many will agree, myself included, that this has actually made Steins;Gate better. Though I found the slow-paced antics of the early episodes entertaining, the series has since become quite the complex sci-fi/mystery show. Unfortunately I have trouble following all the details, but that doesn’t stop me from ranking it highly. It has likable characters, witty humor (in the early episodes), a very suspenseful story (in the later episodes), and a fascinating take on time-travel.
3. Hanasaku Iroha
(episodes seen: 19/26)
I’ve grown to enjoy visiting Kissuiso every week these past few months ^_^ Being the very character-driven rather than plot-driven series that it is, Hanasaku Iroha does indeed have a cast of fun characters with a good balance of drama, angst, comedy, and slice-of-life. It especially has a very appealing protagonist in our plucky heroine Ohana. The episodes, composed mostly of stand-alone stories or short 2-3 episode arcs, range from average to fantastic, with only a couple of the nineteen I’ve seen that I didn’t particularly like. The handful of what I felt were truly great episodes helped rank Iroha so highly for me (it also has one of the best first episodes I’ve seen for any anime).
2. Usagi Drop
(episodes seen: 5/11)
So far Usagi Drop has been one of the most well written relationship-centered (non-romantic) anime I’ve seen in a while. I don’t have much else to say about it that I haven’t already said in my first impressions post. It’s just a cute, sweet, slice-of-life series. There’s a little drama here, some comedy there, but mostly it’s about our satisfaction at seeing Daikichi and Rin’s relationship develop, which it does very well.
1. Ikoku Meiro no Croisée
(episodes seen: 6/12)
I didn’t think that Ikoku Meiro would become my favorite of the seasonal anime I’m watching, but I can’t deny that it is. I can’t explain why exactly other than it gives me this uplifting “feel good” feeling. It’s a kind of warm, fuzzy feeling like I’m smiling inside – a feeling that one of my oldest favorites, Cardcaptor Sakura, gives me and not many other anime do (and I personally find Yune’s moe similar to Sakura’s). Although one is contemporary and one is historical, its genre is similar to Usagi Drop in that they’re both cute, beautiful, slice-of-life anime that have drama and comedy, but aren’t excessive in either. I’ve just found that I like the characters, animation, and overall atmosphere of Ikoku Meiro a bit more.
———-
I now realize that all of my top 5 here will be ending in 5-7 weeks. I may write full reviews of all of them if I can get around to it. Mawaru Penguindrum and Baka Test season 2 have potential to become season favorites depending on how much I like their future episodes =)
And just a bit of news before I go, I’ll only have time for one new post next week due to another heavy work week. It’ll most likely be on Wednesday. See you all then~
Since I am only watching like only a few shows (about four shows) currently, I decided not to make a midseason impressions post. But I have to say I enjoy the shows that are currently airing for the Summer, especially Ikoku since Yune is so adorable.
When I first started my blog I did midway reviews in addition to full reviews and first impressions. But I eventually lost interest in doing them since most series have become so short (11-13 episodes) and I’d rather save my thoughts for a full review.
Yune is adorable, yes~
Strange, there aren’t many two-cour shows airing this season (compared to last seasons – and all of the two cour shows of last season are surprisingly good).
It’s funny that I like Tiger & Bunny as much as Steins;Gate now – whereas everybody’s praising Steins;Gate’s brilliant, non-linear plot, Steins;Gate’s plot is actually surprisingly linear – everything goes along one straight line, tackling one plot point at a time. Although many different things are happening at one moment in ‘time’, in the timeline that Rintarou’s travelling on, only one thing is happening at any given instant. It does form a more cohesive story of the ‘time’ at which the events happened, but if time travelling wasn’t a plot element, Steins;Gate would really be woefully linear.
Compare that to Tiger & Bunny, whose plot goes on so many different tangents simultaneously – Kotetsu has to deal with his own, and his daughter’s powers, while Barnaby has to deal with Ouroboros and Mr. Maverick. Then, there’s a whole host of moral issues of advertising and television agencies and Yuri’s crime-murdering – making it a whole lot thicker and denser than Steins;Gate. Indeed, I may like Steins;Gate just that bit more because its plot is so light and easy to follow – Tiger & Bunny’s plot is the true confusing one.
This comment seems like it doesn’t really relate to your post, but I guess those two are my two favourite anime of this season.
A final note: does the amount of episodes that have passed influence our rating of shows? I like Steins;Gate and Tiger & Bunny more than, say, Usagi Drop or Croisée because the characters of SG and TB have already been developed for almost 7 running hours now. Yet, if a one-cour show wraps up really nicely (AnoHana), the time doesn’t matter at the end…
I have to agree with you on the plot to Stein’s:Gate
I do not see how anyone can assume that this plot is non-linear, because time travel does not a non-linear plot make.
I have yet to see Tiger and Bunny, but it sounds interesting
I never thought about whether Steins;Gate’s plot is linear or not. All I know is that the time traveling stuff is interesting even though I have trouble following all the details XD
I watched the first episode of Tiger & Bunny and didn’t like it much. But I may give it another chance at a later time.
I’d think people would favor two-cour shows because we’ve been watching them longer and feel more attached to them. But it depends on the person and the series =)
” Why people are griping about the unanticipated yaoi relationship between Shion and Nezumi, I don’t know.”
Truer words never spoken. It’s very unfortunate, because No.6 has been great for me. I hope it stays that way (and for you too!)
I really should try and catch up to Steins: Gate. But I might wait until it finishes. I have no other problems with the list. Well…except your #1 show^^
Upon the first hint of yaoi in No.6 I was just like, “Oh, okay, that’s the kind of relationship they’re gonna have. Whatever, it’s not an incredible interruption to the sci-fi plot or anything.” My guess as to why people hate it, especially male viewers, is because they don’t want to feel like they’re watching some fan-girly yaoi anime instead of a masculine sci-fi anime. Pretty silly reason if you ask me =P
Oh, you’re counting the carry overs from spring?
I ended up dropping Ikoku as NOTHING HAPPENED, in addition to the fact that I’m not a fan of the way that the people are drawn in contrast to those gorgeous backgrounds.
Hanasaku Iroha would be on my list if it wasn’t so damn inconsistent. Its episodes are very hit or miss for me. But at least, for once, it’s a slice of life that’s better at drama than comedy.
Usagi Drop, No. 6 and Steins;Gate are all excellent shows that I’m thoroughly enjoying.
My top 5 of the season, including carry overs, would be (not necessarily in order):
1. Mawaru Penguin Drum – FABULOUS. Utterly fabulous. Stunning visuals, entertaining characters, and just plain exciting. Ikuhara is a god.
2. Natsume Yuujinchou San – this might end up being the best season of Natsume yet. Each episode has been consistently great, and I still like how it alternates between anime original and manga material. Plus, they’ve gotten up to the main antagonist’s debut and it makes it even better. God, I love this series.
3. Steins;Gate – It’s gotten much better since it started to turn to the darker side of things. The past couple of episodes with Feyris and Ruka weren’t so special, but the Moeka one redeemed it. I’m really looking forward to see how this anime plays out, and if Suzuha’s warning about Kurisu turns out to be true in the end.
4. Tiger & Bunny – Oh man. This sounded so silly, and yet it’s turning out to be one of the best shows of the year. A fun cast, good plot twists, and consistent episodes. I really hope you decide to pick this up again in the future.
5. Usagi Drop – Sweetest show of the year. Beats the hell out of Ikoku for me. It’s well written, has realistic situations and dialogue, and Rin and Daikichi are just adorable! It’s been a great year for male characters so far, and Daikichi is no exception. What a nice guy. And I love Rin because she’s a cute girl who doesn’t moe pander her way to cuteness.
I just wanted to comment here about your Stein’s:Gate comments
In my opinion, both the Feyris and Ruka episodes suffered from the same flaw. That flaw being that they were sort of pushed to the side after their introductions in the anime, and so we do not get to see much of them until it is time to undo the D-mails. Because they have not been present throughout, it is hard to identify with their particular problems. It is also not helped by the fact that both Suzuha’s and Moeka’s stories are “soul-shattering” type stories on opposite extremes. Suzuha with her failure to get the PC, and Moeka’s lack of grounding in her life besides “FB.” It sort of makes the other two seem smaller by comparison (although I am not sure that is the case).
That being said, there is plenty of the sadness in both Feryis and Ruka stories. Feryis living with the guilt of the last thing she said to her father before he died was not so nice (although typical of most children at some point in their lives), and Ruka having to live with his gender issues/feelings for Okabe. All of these things are getting resolved, but at the consequence of a tremendous amount of sacrifice. Stein’s:Gate is very good at showing that most of the endings have some negative effect.
I feel like both Feryis and Ruka could have done with another episode each, but that is my opinion.
If you haven’t read or played the VN, I would suggest it, as it gives all of the characters a little more depth than the episodes have. Plus you get to see the other side of the coin.
I was actually more touched my Feyris’ story than Moeka’s. I found Moeka’s vague because we don’t know who FB is and why she’s so obsessed with him/her. We see that she is but we don’t know what led her to such a life. That lack made it harder for me to sympathize with her.
I agree that Feyris and Ruka could have used more screentime before their “undo D-mail” episodes, for the reason you mentioned. What I find surprising is we get to know the backstories of these side characters, but we don’t have much background on main characters like Mayuri and even Rintarou…not yet at least ;)
Feyris’ wasn’t too bad, it was way better than Ruka’s. But the tone of Moeka’s was just plain scary, and I really like that Steins;Gate has the ability to do that sort of thing. Even if it is a harem.
I know you don’t like “plot-less” slice-of-life anime so I’m not surprised you dropped Ikoku Meiro. Usagi Drop may be of a similar cute, pretty, gentle tone, but it has more story structure.
Mawaru Penguindrum is certainly unique and fun to watch, but as of now I’m not invested enough in the characters, and the story hasn’t developed enough for me to rank it that high. I’m glad it’s going to be 24 episodes instead of something shorter.
Natsume Yuujinchou has been on my “Plan to Watch” list =)
Natsume Yuujinchou is a lovely and amazing anime and I think you should watch it as soon as you get the chance to.
“unanticipated yaoi relationship”. Is it really? I looked at the chart when it was first released, read the tiny description and immediately said, “Well, there’s gayness going on here.” But maybe I just have a brilliant gaydar when it comes to anime, who knows.
I’m not sure what my top five would be, but I’ll just throw 5 out there that I know I like. In no particular order.
No. 6: The yaoi-ness + plot pleases me greatly.
Dantalian no Shoka: Anime about books. We were made for each other.
Mawaru Penguin Drum: Dem penguins. So. Effing. Cute.
Usagi Drop: It’s adorable! I want to steal Rin and just take her home with me.
Kamisama Dolls: I couldn’t say what makes me like this one, really. Sucker for the cuteness that is Alice, maybe.
LOL, I did kind of think there would be yaoi when I saw the first promo pic for No.6 but I wasn’t sure ;) Watching the OP for the first time helped confirm it though XD
The Mawaru Penguindrum penguins are funny. And Rin is one of the best child characters I’ve ever seen. She’s cute without being hyper and overly moe.
I took your suggestion and watched the first episode of Ikoku, and it was wonderful! Leaving aside the fact that Yune is very cute and endearing by herself, I think it’ll be an anime that works through subtle nuances of beauty and pathos, much like ARIA. Of course, being from another country myself, I’m also curious about the “culture shock” elements that develop. I probably won’t be following anything else on your list, but I’ll be quite happy with Ikoku. =)
Glad you liked Ikoku Meiro. I knew you would ^_^ If you liked the first episode you’re sure to like the rest as I feel they’ve been getting better and better.
I like your list. Those are all shows I’m watching right now, and they are really good.
You were right about No. 6, it’s pretty interesting. 1st episode was pretty slow, but it’s picking up ok. The 2 main protagonist relationship is not really a problem. It seems somewhat natural, not forced. So it’s fine. Do some people really have a problem with that? I actually like series that try to be a little different, and not follow the same path 1000 other series have done before…
I was also very surprised with Steins Gate. I agree with everything you said, the anime changed pretty quick into something quite serious. But I like that, and there is a very good lesson there. Many actions that they thought were pretty harmless and just for fun, ended up being quite dangerous and far reaching. It’s like a whole “fun trip goes wrong” kind of thing, which is pretty different too. I like it.
Hanasaku Iroha is simply great! Ohanas character is just so perky that just watching her puts me in a good mood. The other characters also fit in pretty nicely, and are being developed pretty slowly, but very surely. It’s a really fun show in general.
Usagi Drop is probably my favorite this season. I really do not know how they do it, but they can take very serious situations, every-day situations, all kind of situations, and still build a good show around it that ends up being fun. I mean, not many shows can take something like peeing in bed, which for Rin has some pretty serious causes behind it, and still make it light-hearted enough to be kind of fun? Their relationship also feels really, really natural. It’s simply incredibly surprising. I have to name that one my favorite for this season :)
And Yune of course :) her cuteness is simply off the chart, but again, in a way that does not feel forced. It just fits. Soo good times.
I’m also watching Kamisama Dolls, which is pretty good as well. Has fun moments, other serious ones, and still plenty of mistery. Blood C is just too slow… There is some character development, but lots of what seems like senseless fighting so far. So I’m not sure on how good that one is. I’m also watching YuriYuri which is simply funny as funny can be. As the name says, it is a bit Yuri, but that does not bother me and the show is simply fun.
I hope all the shows keep holding up, and we get to read and discuss your positive reviews at the end of the season :)
Agree with all you’ve said about these shows! =D What you said about Steins;Gate in particular reminded me of a short story by Ray Bradbury called “A Sound of Thunder.” It’s also about how changing one little minor thing in the past can greatly alter the future.
I never expect that Ikoku Meiro will be your top 1. Maybe I’ll give it a try. Usagi Drop is indeed an awesome anime. The story and the art really give a heart-warming feeling every time I watch it.
Mawaru Penguindrum and Steins;Gate are my top favorite in this season. Honestly, I never expect Steins;Gate to be this good in the first five episodes.
The color scheme and art style of Usagi Drop really do make it oh so heart-warming =)
Penguindrum does have potential. It just needs more episodes for the story and characters to develop, for me at least ;)
Good to know Usagi Drop made your top 5 of the season too! The relation between Rin and Daikichi is very heartwarming and rare to see in a anime (well, from what I’ve seen). Having read the manga, it worries me about how they’ll be able to interpret the rest of the story in the remaining five episodes.
I’ve heard people who have read the Usagi Drop manga say the same thing – even from just the first episode they didn’t want to watch the anime or were worried about how it would turn out. I would ask why but I have a feeling I would be totally spoiled about the ending if I did ;)
Good choices! I would have just added Penguindrum and Natsume Yuujinchou in there x) I’m actually not liking the newest developments in Steins;Gate, it all seems to be making other stories pointless by going back and preventing things from happening (sorry, I’m trying to sound vague to not let other be spoiled).
Ikoku Meiro truly was an underdog this season, reading the premise it didn’t show too much promise, but ever since the first episode I’ve been very impressed by what I got instead.
The vagueness is appreciated, as it doesn’t ruin the experience for those that don’t already know, or have a good guess as to what is about to take place.
I definitely see how you could say that about Stein’s:Gate. I even formulated my post in the format of “undoing” the previous stuff. If that view is taken, then yes it does sort of make each of the stories pointless, as it “never happened.”
I want to take a different approach and say that it isn’t that those stories “never happened,” but that they are all happening simultaneously all the time, and due to Okabe’s Reading Steiner, he can remember it all (at least world lines that he has been involved in). So in that sense, he is both one of the most blessed and cursed individuals ever (as he can see how the butterfly effect spins out of control as he tries to break the 1% divergence)
Of course, I have no real evidence for this, but it is something to consider. Just because something “didn’t happen,” doesn’t mean that it was all pointless and for nothing.
:O Yeah, this summer has a lot of good shows :O But I don’t really like having to wait for a show to come out… especially since anime episodes only come out once a week, and are only 20 mins long (approx I think…) I seem to get really sad when every episode ends.