Posted inFirst Impressions Series Introduction Yumekui Merry

Yumekui Merry – 01

(Yume Utsutsu)
"Half Asleep & Half Awake"

Hello ladies and gents. Look at Madoka, now back to Merry, now back to Madoka, now back to Merry. Sadly, it isn't Merry, but if you ignore the Shinbou and SHAFT and purely look at the story, it could be like Merry. In all seriousness, they're obviously both completely different shows. However, one thing does link them, and that is the theme of dreams. Dreams can make interesting concepts, and if you've never imagined such a thing, a certain movie proved it can be quite the plot device. Yumekui's spin on it might not be as mind bending, but dreams becoming reality can be a scary thing.

Posted inFirst Impressions Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Series Introduction

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica – 01

(Yume no Naka de Atta, You na......)
"As If I Met Her in My Dreams......"

From the great people at SHAFT comes an original work that looks like its going to blow my mind away. After being pleasantly surprised with their work with Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru last season, I was ecstatic to see that SHAFT was going to put out their own original series. While it is a Mahou Shoujo or magical girl show, I dove in head first, ready for anything.

Posted inFirst Impressions Infinite Stratos Series Introduction

IS Infinite Stratos – 01

(Kurasumeito wa Zenin Onna)
"The Classmates Are All Girls"

As with most premieres, the start of Infinite Stratos was primarily about character introductions and establishing the plot, most of which I already mentioned in the Winter 2011 Preview. What was nice though was the cold opening of some IS training that helped offset the lack of any scrimmages for the rest of the episode.

Posted inBest of Anime Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2010


Now that 2010 is over, heres a look back at some of the best series the year had to offer. Due to the subjective nature of it all and the fact that I'm constrained to what I've seen, I'm not trying to pick series that the vast majority finds agreeable. Instead, I'm here to convey my personal favorites for 2010, after which you're more than welcome to chime in with your respective choices. Carrying over from last year, there's an increased number of categories separated into corresponding areas, namely Production, Miscellaneous (fun stuff), Genre, and Notable Others. Also included at the end are the final results to the Readers Choice Poll.

 

Disclaimer: These are purely my personal opinions based on the shows that we've seen in the past year. While I've watched a lot of series (56 this past year), please keep in mind that I haven't watched everything. For a show to even qualify for consideration, it had to have met the requirements outlined in the Readers Choice Poll. For OVAs/movies, the additional requirement is that it's been either released on DVD/BD so that viewers outside of Japan have had a chance to watch it.

Posted inFirst Impressions Gundam OVA/Movie

Gundam 00 – A wakening of the Trailblazer

A wakening of the Trailblazer

Back in May when I posted about a couple of the trailers for the theatrical conclusion to the Gundam 00 story, there wasn't a whole lot revealed about what Celestial Being would be getting into in this final installment. The official site only makes brief mention that it takes two years later in A.D. 2314, when a 130-year-old scrapped research vessel in Jupiter's orbit makes its way towards Earth with a new crisis, so I really wasn't too sure what to expect.

Posted inFinal Impressions First Impressions Kuragehime

Kuragehime – 11 (END)

(Jerfisshu obu Dormusu)
"Jellyfish of Dreams"

Well what an incredibly anticlimactic solution to last weeks cliffhanger huh? To be honest, I didnt give it much thought, and sadly, I dont spend every waking moment wondering what the next episode of Kuragehime will reveal, but I seriously expected the Amamizu-kan to be a plot milestone this time. That said, the episode managed to tie up the series rather nicely, faithful to the manga or not (I wouldnt know).

Posted inSeason Schedule Series Introduction

Winter 2011 Schedule

SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
Beelzebub07:00 NTV (1/9)Dragon Crisis!25:30 CTC (1/10)Bleach18:00 TXStarrySky16:00 animate.tv (12/23)Wolverine22:00 ANIMAX (1/7)Cardfight!! Vanguard08:00 TX (1/8)
Suite PreCure 08:30 EX (2/6)Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?25:30 TVS (1/10)Rio -RainbowGate!-23:00 MX (1/4)Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica25:25 MBS (1/6)To Aru Majutsu no Index II23:30 AT-X (10/8)FREEZING09:30 AT-X (1/8)
STAR DRIVER Kagayaki no Takuto17:00 MBS/TBS (10/3)LEVEL E25:45 TX (1/10)Kimi ni Todoke 2ND SEASON24:59 NTV (1/4)IS Infinite Stratos25:25 TBS (1/6)GOSICK25:23 TX (1/7)Bakuman.18:00 NHK E (10/2)
Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector22:00 MX (10/3)Moshidora22:55 NHK (3/14-18, 3/21-25)Yumekui Merry25:55 TBS (1/6)Tegami Bachi REVERSE23:55 TX (10/2)
FRACTALE24:45 CX (1/13)Onii-chan no Koto ga Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!24:30 tvk (1/8)
Hourou Musuko25:15 CX (1/13)Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!26:58 MBS (1/8)

* Others: SUPERNATURAL THE ANIMATION, Houkago no Pleiades

Legend: 7Divine3Kiiragi4Takaii2ProoofNot covering

The start of the winter 2011 season is only days away, so here's the quick rundown on what me and the writers will be covering. As I mentioned in the Winter 2011 Preview, I'm reducing my personal load to about half of what it was last season by only picking up a couple more series -- Infinite Stratos and FRACTALE. To help compensate, both Kiiragi and Takaii have offered to pick up an additional series to cover, adding GOSICK and Kore wa Zombie Desu ka respectively to the ones they decided on in the preview. Prooof on the other hand is still too busy to pick up new shows, but will continue being the resident Bleach specialist like he's always been.

* More after the jump on some plans for the new season.

Posted inMiscellaneous Poll

Reader’s Choice – Favorite Anime 2010 Poll

It's... TIME! Time to look back at 2010 that is, so I'd like to present the Fifth Annual Reader's Choice Poll.

Similar to last year, there are two polls for you to vote on -- one for regularly broadcast series and another for OVA/movies. The subtle change is the number of votes has increased from three to five for series and one to three for OVA/movies to further diversify results so they aren't heavily skewed. With 98 series and 71 OVA/movies to choose from, we're now asking for your top five and top three of 2010 respectively.

The criteria for a regular broadcast anime to be included is that it had to have been a TV series that finished airing in 2010. The general idea here is that you can't really judge a series until it's over, so shows such as STAR DRIVER and To Aru Majutsu no Index II will appear in next year's poll. For OVA/movies, it has to have been released on DVD/BD in 2010 to qualify, ensuring that viewers outside of Japan have had a chance to watch it. This mostly pertains to theatrical offerings. I've loosened the requirement on being complete though, which is why you see Gundam Unicorn episodes one/two and Break Blade movies one/two included in the list as single entries.

As far as I'm aware, the anime series list is complete. The OVA/movie is purposely less so since there are a lot of really niche OVAs that aren't really worth considering. However, if you feel there's something the deserves consideration, please send me an e-mail and I'll add it. Otherwise, you are welcome to vote for it in the Others option. Let the voting begin!

Note: The polls will close on Sunday, January 2nd at 8:00 AM GMT. Results will be posted in the upcoming Best of Anime 2010 post.

The Reader's Choice Polls are after the jump.

Polls are now closed. Thank you for taking the time to vote.