...what are you watching...

Sakamichi no Apollon 12! the end. Almost a love story between a priest and doctor with very odd Sound of Music vibes. This was a sweet friendship story which ended in a separation and warm reunion. I think it was pretty faithful to the manga though squeezing 9 volumes into 12 episodes did leave a few scenes on the cutting room floor. Yoko Kanno's music was fun to listen to as usual. ~8/10 rating~ I did expect more jazz bgm, but did like what was included. The late 1960's feel to the anime was unique and well-presented. (Reminds me to write a blurb on From Up on Poppy Hill...coincidentally, also set in the 60's)


Tsuritama 12! the end. With its lessons in fishing and aliens and duck worship, this was the most original anime this season. Haru, Yuki, Natsuki and Akira are able to catch Haru's co-alien. All is well. ~7/10 rating~Though ridiculously happy and colorful, the absurdity got tedious at times.

Big 5-6! These episodes spend plenty of time on parental misunderstanding and meddling. Plus, the evil third wheel woman...ugh, kdramas; the side characters hardly ever vary from the norm.The 1-year time jump was a decent way to get the 18 year old to a mature 19 (who isn't wearing weird teen shirts and pants anymore). It would be nice if the teen body woke up, but I suppose there are still many episodes left. Ma-ri the stalker continues to be a nice twist. Unbelievable that a house that expensive doesn't have a security system and has cheap glass doors.

Big 3-4! Aw, the cute romanance factor increased in these episodes. Ma-Ri (played by Suzy) comes in as Gyung-joon's stalker from LA. Her bossy character is fun. And the flashback with Yoon-jae has me hoping that the teacher doesn't end up with the student. I keep noticing the characters' phones which must be some new LG phone model. They look a little large when the actresses hold them up to their ear. In these episodes, Da-ran finds out the Yoon-jae has a key to his coworker's place.

Kimi to Boku S2 12! is about Kaname's crush on the older girl next door.

Jormungand 11! Valmet goes off on her own, Jonah follows, and then assassins target Koko's group. The series succeeds when it focuses on the crazy people and their guns. When the dialogue leans towards the serious and business, the show is incredibly boring. This final arc has promise, but I don't think I'll be sticking around for season 2.

Zetman 12! Jin turns into the red Zetman, Kouga goes a little crazy, and Jin's girlfriend turns into the sand monster. zzz...

Sakamichi no Apollon 11! an accident and Sentaro leaves. Ritsuko singing 'My Favorite Things' was sweet. The rooftop scene was so sweet. Everything was sweet. Lovely episode. *weep, weep*

Tsuritama 11! I enjoy the duck driving the boat. Yuki fails at fishing.

Kimi to Boku S2 11! was a fun episode featuring sports day at the beginning of a new school year. The boys notice that Mary doesn't seem to have any friends in her class...but then in this episode, she inadvertantly makes some friends.

Sakamichi no Apollon 10! cute, awkward confession.

Zetman 11! Should have quit this show after viewing the first episode. Kouga gets all but one girl killed. He then killed Hayami and the two random bad guys. Random other deaths...blah, blah. Terrible, but only 2 episodes left...I think.

Tsuritama 10! The Yuki and the others find Haru and vow to help him. The Duck suits are cute.

Jormungand 10! Part 2 of the something-something plot. The strength of the show is all the firearm action and decent production, but the weakness is that after 10 episodes, they haven't developed any of the characters. There's been little to no background story to Koko's gang.

Fate/Zero S2 11/24! Badass epic fighting! Ya! and ugh, Kiritsugu finding out that the Grail does not do miracles? Haha, excellent. His response to Kirei...so funny. Archer's speech was also pretty hilarious. There are some similarities to the Grail testing Kiritsugu to how Kouga is being tested in Zetman; saving humanity, being a hero, etc. There should have been more to the Lancelot fight, but Saber's close-up was nice...anyway, Shiro speaking at the end makes me sad that the series is almost over.

Hunter x Hunter 2012 35! Naked Hisoka! Turned-on Hisoka...Huncyclopedia...Gon, Killua, what are you doing?. Nice production on the fight.

Summer season starts already?



Kingdom 1-2! the most awkward CGI this season, but somewhat absorbing.

- CGI animation that you will either hate or get used to
- No eye-candy here
+ Hyper characters

Quick impression~ Two orphan slaves enthusiastically dream of joining the army, making a name for themselves, and not being slaves anymore. One day, a nobleman comes by and picks the 'pretty' one to take to serve at the palace; oddly enough, it didn't reek of pervertedness. The next day...or so, the boy returns being chased by some hunters along with rumors of dissention at the palace. He asks one thing of the not-pretty boy before dying. The not-pretty one goes off...and finds a boy who looks exactly like his bff. I was surprised that the evil-looking owners of the two boys were only slightly mean and fairly encouraging. Have to admit that the clunky CGI animation was distracting.

Hunter x Hunter 2012 34! Gon and Killua dispose of the annoying trio. No episode this and next week? weep, weep.

Kimi to Boku S2 10! graduation time for their sempai, Mary angst...zzz...

Zetman 10! Kouga falls into another trap. Haitani lets the players/Evol loose on the city. The manga-to-anime rewrite is pretty terrible.

Jormungand 9! Another arms deal which made me sleepy...more action pleez

Sakamichi no Apollon 9! almost thought Junichi would leave Yurika until the parents showed up at the station, and then the choice was obvious. Glad to see Ritsuko coming to terms with her feelings. Are they going to leave Sentaro all by his lonesome?

Fate/Zero S2 23! Disappointed how one-sided Rider and Archer's fight was. Berserker's identity was a nice twist. :)

Tsuritama 9! Haru and his sister try to attack the triangle, but Haru loses his sister in the process. The duck people try to protect the citizens being affected by the water.

Kimi to Boku S2 9! is about Yuuki's first parttime job. The boys come to cheer him on, but his lack of enthusiasm causes trouble. When the episodes are only about the boys antics, the show is definitely funny.

Jormungand 8! We see how Koko manipulates a business transaction into going her way. Pseudo-Lays and Kettle chips are eaten. No action...zzz...

Zetman 9! Konoha gets into trouble...again. Jin and Hanako have fade to black moment.

Sakamichi no Apollon 8! love problems all around...zzz...

Tsuritama 8! is building up to some sort of climax.

Sakamichi no Apollon 7! Beautiful episode! It's time for the school festival and Kaoru and Sentaro still haven't made up. No problem, it's true love via 'My Favorite Things' duet...<3

Tsuritama 7! Yuuki learns how to catch sea bass. The Indian guy and his duck, Tapioca, are even more friendly with the others. I admire anime that tries to teach the audience something. I also think Tapioca is a pretty cool name for a pet.

Sakamichi no Apollon 5! Kaoru angsts about Ritsuko for a little, but then visits his mother. Very cute episode. Listened to the first OST and appreciate the variety of bgm and pretty trumpet solos.


Tsuritama 5! Yuuki gets a parttime job to buy his own fishing pole. He learns to catch mahi-mahi and gains some self-confidence. This is turning out to be more of a slice-of-life anime than a fantasy one.

Fate/Zero S2 4! Saber + motorcycle = cute. Well, Kirei and Tohsaka's relationship was leading up to this episode; the betrayal played out textbook style...graduated student, leaving his daughter in his care, a special knife....thud. The writers are taking special care to make each character's death perfect for that character.

Jormungand 2-3! Episode 2 informs us that Koko isn't totally insane and knows how to read wars. The next episode features an assasin duo after Koko. For the most part these episodes lacked the 'coolness' that the first episode had, but were mildly entertaining.

Tsuritama 3! Yuki's grandmother admits herself to the hospital. Yuki is depressed, but learns to cast his fishing pole properly with a bit of coaxing from Haru and Natsuki.

Sakamichi no Apollon 3! Unfortunately the BL overtones have gotten overshadowed by the shoujo love rectangle. Let's get back to the jazz.

Hunter x Hunter 2012 29! Gon and Killua learn Ten. Gon jumps right into his first fight on floor 200 with the spinning top guy.

Zetman 3-4! the more I watch of this show, the less interesting I find it. The writers are doing a pretty sloppy job of developing the characters and putting the episodes together. Jin cooperates with the Amagi corp and uses chewing gum to turn into Zet. Zzz...

Kimi to Boku S2 3-4! The guys run across their sensei and his childhood friend during Christmas Eve. And episode 4 was a refreshing episode that featured the twins. It was nice having an episode that didn't focus on the noisy Chizuru.

Hunter x Hunter 2012 28! Hisoka blocks Gon and Killua's path to the registration desk on floor 200. Wing agrees to teach them nen. I'm sad that in this version Gon and Killua don't harrass the elevator ladies.

Sakamichi no Apollon 2! Kaoru plays a impromptu session with Sentarou, Ritsuko's father and the older boy next door, Junichi. Kaoru asks Ritsuko out on a sort of date, but ends up playing with her and Sentaro at the beach; to fulfill the BL quota. Tis interesting that Kaoru finds Ritsuko and Sentarou's Christianity interesting.

Fate/Zero 2 3/16! Probably the crappiest end for Kayneth and Lancer that they could ever imagine. Both get a smidge of hope before dying. Kiritsugu is certainly trying to win this war by any means necessary. You understand why Saber says in Fate/Stay Night that she never understood him. It's kinda awesome that you know he'll win by this method...though he'll lose his tru luv in the process...which he already knows will happen.

Tsuritama 2! Haru and his sister are looking for a certain fish to save the world. The indian character with the duck transfers into Yuki's class. 

Sakamichi no Apollon 1! The fight music reminds me of the Code Geass: Akito the Exile PV...Yoko Kanno strikes again.

+++ BL factor (yes, i'm a dork)
+ Great production
+ Interesting characters

Quick impression~ Nishimi, a small geeky boy, transfers into a new school. He immediately gets picked on, but then befriends the class thug, Sentaro, through jazz, and befriends the class president, Ritsuko. Yoko Kanno and Shinichiro Watanabe can sell anything and I'll bite.

Tsuritama 1! The most colorful anime this season has to be this.

+ Happy-looking animation production
+ Interesting characters
+ Smattering of humor

Quick impression~ A young boy moves to the coast with his hipster grandmother. He is very awkward in front of his classmates since he moves quite a lot. Another boy who claims to be an alien transfers to his class the same day. His antics cut the tension. Both befriend a boy who is the prince of fishing. Weird, weird, weird premise, but so bright and colorful.


Jormungand 1! the stylish, cool anime this season

+ Solid production
+ Interesting characters
+ Interspersed humor

Quick impression~ a young male assassin, Jonah, is hired by an arms dealer, Koko. She's happy-go-lucky. He's mostly emotionless and while good at shooting, hates firearms. Plenty of action and style make for decent entertainment.

Hunter x Hunter 2012 26! flashback...zzz. 27! starts the training arc at Heaven's Arena. New op/ed visuals and songs. I still think Wing's untucked shirt makes him look like a pervert.

Kimi to Boku 2 2! Chizuru uses the old wet dog look to win 'Mary' over.

Fate/Zero S2 2! Why is this so good? Berserker and Caster fall in this episode. Not sure what Kotomine was doing to Kariya, but Kariya needs some lovin' after being burnt to a crisp.

Zetman 2! Didn't comment on the opening, but it's rather too laidback for this style of anime; one of those ear-gouging heavy metal bands seems more appropriate. In this episode, the kids are high school age now, Kouga and Jin both working for justice in their own way. There's a retro-feel to this anime which has to do in part with the quality of animation which has been downgraded, the character design and the over-the-top portrayal of the characters.