So, what am I still (now?) watching this season?

- Nanoha StrikerS: In good news, the second half is picking up considerably. The pacing just isn't anywhere near the extremely good level of A's. Okay, they swapped to a 26-episode format, and it's tougher to pace those than 13-episode shows, I can live with some filler. But honestly, the first few episodes of the show could have been cut down considerably without really costing much in the way of plot or character development. Now that we've been introduced to the whole gamut of antagonists, I'm wishing they spent more time developing -them- (another thing that A's did exceptionally well). Seven episodes from the end of the show, there's still a lot in the way of motivations that is totally obscure. Not a lot if you consider that the first two seasons had less time than this when they moved to wrap up, but percentage-wise? I think we could have done with a little less training of new protagonists and a little more time with the Numbers...

(I'm also knocking it because only in this season does it become clear what a ding-bat, jury-rigged idea of the military they have, putting this show together... For someone who's supposedly as good a training officer as Nanoha, she sure as hell never had the opportunity to crack open a special forces training manual.)

- Claymore: The shounen manga influence is starting to come through - too much emphasis on everybody's rankings, yadda yadda. But since they spend practically every other moment of the series fighting in bloody carnage, I can probably forgive it. Big kudos for having a freakishly huge cast of characters, all with the same approximate hair and eye color, and still keeping them visually distinct. Still not as good as Berserk, but mostly because it wears its hopelessness too far out on the sleeve - Berserk hid the funky evil supernatural elements under the cover of a fairly standard medieval setting, whereas Claymore constantly reminds you that practically all of the characters are walking time-bombs (except not when it's convenient for the plot!)

- Lucky Star. Expanded cast at mid-season. Helps to keep it fresh - only so many times they can run the same set of jokes with just Konata, Tsukasa, and Kagami - but it loses a bit when you compare it to Azumanga. There's not a whole lot of sense of growth, in that the main cast is basically who they are, and we don't see them developing any... and when they start to get stale, out comes the new characters who also aren't developing so much as getting introduced. That's probably a little harsher than the show deserves, as it's still weapons-grade funny from time to time, and some of the references are just flat-out hilarious. Biggest downside is the ED... swapping the girls' karaoke night (which was great) for live-action shots of Shiraishi singing various songs really badly was funny for a week or two, but not this long.

- Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei: Good and improving. Was worried that they were going to fixate too much on the teacher's abject suicidal misery, then that they were just going to fill the class with weirdos. The second happened, more or less, but it's quite entertainingly done so far. The real challenge is to then do something with them, since the current format isn't really oriented to getting around to a plot. Also, don't watch it around anyone else who's not already hopelessly addicted to anime. It's not quite as NSFW as Umisho, which is just naked girls without a nose, but what's there will probably make people worry about your mental health. (The opening, featuring shots of schoolgirls in bondage, is probably a good example...)

- Potemayo: Gaaaaah, too cute. I want a Guchuko.

- Murder Princess: Too short. This should have been a thirteen-episode TV series, not a six-episode monthly release. I feel that every time they leave the castle, they just end up turning around and going back immediately anyway. Still, bonus for homicidal robot lolis.

- Denno Coil: Really, really good SF, for all that it's a show about grade schoolers. They've done an excellent job of taking the computing aspect of computing and rolling it forward to the point that the user doesn't think about it as a device - it merely becomes more things with which to interact in the world around them. More hopeful than a Gibson, not as fascinated with its own message as a Lain. Definitely watching this one to the end.

- Hayate the Combat Butler: Still hit-or-miss. The show's trying to stay in a middle zone between advancing a plot (snort) and pure fan-service pandering. When it's in that zone, it's a great show. But there's both episodes which are too plot-heavy (for a show with practically no plot) and which are purely fan-service vehicles (beach episode, we're looking at you). Maybe I'm happier with the show lately because it's focused on some of the better secondary characters (Isumi and especially Maria) and less on the annoying ones (trio, Katsura-sensei, maybe Sakuya in here). Still not quite as good as the manga, though possibly my opinion is warped by the shot of Hayate in vol. 4 with an MG42...

- Seto: Been on the back burner a little. Co-worker isn't really enjoying it, so I'm watching it a bit at a time during the week. Not the kind of thing I'd want to marathon...

I'm intentionally holding off on some of the new shows (Zero's Familiar 2, Higurashi 2) and haven't gotten around to some of the others (Nagasarete is on the list). But that's my watchin' list. If there's something good and not on there, poke me!

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at 04:39 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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