A cricket bat! Twelve years, and four psychiatrists! Four? I kept biting them! Why? They said you weren't real.
Saturday, March 27
After The Steppe Cat, What?
So three series that I have been enjoying immensely are drawing to a close: Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu, for which I held some misgivings that proved quite unwarranted; Sora no Woto, which I was willing to watch on the basis of it being merely K-On Goes to War, but which quite exceeded my expectations, and Kimi ni Todoke, carried over from last season, which transcends not merely genre but time and space and is in fact the pinnacle of all human achievement past and future.
So...
Next season? We have K-On! 2, which I'll certainly watch; if it's just more moe-blobs making music that's fine with me. And there's... There's... Okay, KimiTodo was a surprise, and there's usually a surprise every season, but I'm just not seeing it at this point.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Saturday, March 27 2010 09:36 AM (mfPs/)
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I'll [probably watch ITXX, but I won't admit to the fact. Oops!
Angel Beats - that's the dead girls in snow one? Given my reaction to every one of the Key's prior outings, I don't hold out much hope for this.
There's Working and Mayoi Neko Overrun, either of which might not be completely terrible, B Gata H Kei, which almost certainly will be completely terrible, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou, which might possibly be watchable, Senko no Night Raid, which promises to be a total train wreck, and a bunch of stuff that I have no interest in at all.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Saturday, March 27 2010 01:09 PM (PiXy!)
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Kiss x sis 01 was at Tenka Seiha and it seems kinda ok, unless you read Aroduc's write-up.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Saturday, March 27 2010 02:17 PM (/ppBw)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Saturday, March 27 2010 05:04 PM (PiXy!)
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Pixy, I hate to waste your comment section again, but it seems that my little read blog has once again exceeded bandwidth usage and been suspended. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by: physics geek at Sunday, March 28 2010 12:37 PM (llWHs)
Now let me see if I can find where all that bandwidth is going...
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sunday, March 28 2010 05:52 PM (PiXy!)
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It looks like it's Google Image Search. I suspected hotlinking, but that doesn't appear to be happening. But you've had 166,000 hits from Google Image Search alone this month.
That's fine. Now that I know, it's not a problem.
I'll be adding a new server in April and another 100TB of bandwidth (we currently have 6) which will mean all the bandwidth limitations will go away.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sunday, March 28 2010 06:02 PM (PiXy!)
What the heck picture has he got which is so damned interesting?
Google can do that kind of thing. For months now the single most read article on my blog is the one about PedoBear, which consistently gets hundreds of refers per week from Google Image Search. But not even remotely 166,000 per month! Nor do any of my ecchi cheesecake posts, not even the ones with nude pictures from Ikki Tousen.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Monday, March 29 2010 10:07 AM (+rSRq)
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Photos of young ladies who have mislaid much of their clothing.
I've had mu.nu blogs become the top hit for popular Google Image searches before, and the traffic it can deliver is enormous.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Monday, March 29 2010 11:01 AM (PiXy!)
I plead guilty on the young ladies, although none of them have big tits AND a flamethrower. Ahem. Anyway, the vast majority of my junk isn't titillating to anyone except nerds, so I'm surprised how many people actually find my blog via search engines. The most searched picture in recent times is one of Alyssa Milano actually wearing clothes; there are photos without.
Posted by: physics geek at Wednesday, March 31 2010 01:57 PM (llWHs)
I don't really have much to add to THAT's excellent review (not as awesome as their KimiTodo reviews, but still very good).
K-On Goes to War certainly broke free from its assigned stereotype, and though it went a little wobbly now and then (including in this final episode), it's a fine little series and well worth watching. Three supernatural schoolgirls out of four.*
* May not contain any actual supernatural schoolgirls.
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Kimi Ni Todoke - Fin?
Perfect ending.
Five supernatural schoolgirls out of four.
...
Wait, there's more? YAY!
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Wednesday, March 24
Kannagi Update
Finally went back and finished watching Kannagi; in fact, it's been so long that I simply started again from the beginning. Caught up on the final episodes last night while baby-sitting a new server.
It went in a different direction from what I was expecting, and was a bit uneven overall, but still earns three supernatural schoolgirls out of four. (By comparison, Shana and Haruhi each get 3.5, and Kamichu! gets 5.)
The ending itself wasn't as strong as it might have been - again, uneven - but the very last bit, with Tsugumi, was perfect.
Well worth a watch. A level 2 teenage angst warning applies.
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Yeah, an uneven show all around. Wacky supernatural hijinks, then wacky otaku-referential comedy, then a hard right into the Pointless Angst zone... Had some good jokes, though.
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Friday, March 26 2010 06:45 AM (pWQz4)
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I wouldn't say pointless angst -
Nagi's angst was meaningful and completely understandable, though
Jin acted like a teenager. Well, okay, he is a teenager. Still...
I enjoyed it, but it failed of greatness due to the uneven directing. Very likeable cast of characters, great OP, great first ep, good exploration of the theme, but too much floundering in the middle.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Friday, March 26 2010 10:30 AM (PiXy!)
If Hidamari were to return for a fourth season, then Sae-san would graduate and have to leave the show.
Nooooooo!
Though... Come to think of it, she was a second-year in season one, and only moved up to third year in season three, so we're safe for now.
If Hidamari were to return for a
fourth fifth season, then Sae-san would graduate and have to leave the show.
Nooooooo!
Oh, and: Kimi ni Todoke continues as the heir apparent to Gurren Lagann in terms of pure awesome, and K-On Goes to WarSora no Woto ain't half bad either, as it turns out.
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I'm glad there's someone else out there who has a deep abiding affection for our glasses-wearing, short-haired authoress. FWIW, the anime just might catch up with Vol 4 of the translated manga, and (at least) one more will be released in Japan.
So unless Hoshimittsu completely tanked in Japan, we'll see another series!
Posted by: Wonderduck at Monday, March 22 2010 06:34 AM (mfPs/)
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I like all the girls, even our new-found soggy biscuit, but yeah, Sae is my favourite. In case you hadn't guessed.
I admit to some initial trepidation with respect to the current season, but they've carried it off with all the charm of the first two, and I'd now welcome a fourth.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Monday, March 22 2010 10:27 AM (PiXy!)
Posted by: Wonderduck at Thursday, March 18 2010 03:45 PM (mfPs/)
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That 40% is just through today, btw. You know TRSI and their fondness for rotating studio sales. They treat themselves just like every other studio...
Posted by: Mitch H. at Friday, March 19 2010 02:33 AM (jwKxK)
by the way:
Yuuno is a shape-changer. His true form is a cute boy about Nanoha's age. She find that out in ep 7 (or 8?), and her reaction is priceless, in part because he's been sleeping in her bedroom in a basket on her desk and she's been changing her clothes in front of him. Not to mention taking him into the girls-side dressing room at an onsen.
It's something of a trope in mahou shoujo (magical girl) shows that there should be a cute talking animal sidekick for the magical girl, who gives the girl a magical gem that she needs in order to become a magical girl. It's not universal but it's quite common. This series uses the trope, and then subverts it. Yuuno does give Raising Heart to Nanoha, but Raising Heart is a product of high tech and doesn't really fit the mold. (For one thing, sometimes she argues with Nanoha. In fact, she can be very stubborn.)
But this show does a lot of that. The first few episodes of the series make it seem like a rip-off of Card Captor Sakura. Then when Chrono shows up, everything changes (and IMHO improves) and it strikes off on an entirely new path.
In A's, the sequel, Yuuno only uses his ferret form briefly, in the last half of episode 3.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Monday, March 15 2010 10:54 AM (+rSRq)
At the start of the first episode, you see his real form, and then he transforms into a ferret.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Monday, March 15 2010 12:13 PM (PiXy!)
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I saw the show name late last night, and was too tired to bother googling it. Sometime around lap 30 of today's race, I finally figured out what you were talking about.
At which point, I choked on my soda. Nicely done!
Posted by: Wonderduck at Monday, March 15 2010 03:49 PM (mfPs/)
Update: I wasn't expecting that (ep 6) but truthfully, it's the only thing in the show so far that survives the refrigerator test. Of course there'd be something like that.
Update: Odd little show, very uneven, but worth a look. What is with that clock, though?
Update: Only two episodes left to go? That might work out just right.
Update: I haven't found the original that they modeled the clock on, but:
Yeah, it's real. Yeesh, the places people choose to live.
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Are you watching anything else this season? I have been watching Durara!!, Katanagatari (coming out monthly, each episode is 50 minutes), and a couple of others.
Posted by: Penfold at Thursday, March 11 2010 07:26 AM (1PeEC)
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So far just Sora no Woto, Hanamaru Kindergarten, and Hidamari Sketch. Oh, and Kimi ni Todoke, continued from last season.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Thursday, March 11 2010 10:54 AM (PiXy!)
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I am watching Kimi ni Todoke as well, I like it, a bit slow paced (which I think is intended), but it is no Toradora! Haven't watched Hanamaru Kindergarten or Hidamari Sketch.
Posted by: Penfold at Friday, March 12 2010 03:03 AM (1PeEC)
4Hanamaru Kindergarten is a nice show; not amazing, but worth a look..
Hidamari Sketch, though, is just wonderful, all three seasons of it. Very highly recommended.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Friday, March 12 2010 09:22 AM (PiXy!)
Update: One of the great things about being caught up with Kimi ni Todoke is that I can also catch up on That's absurdly awesome episode-by-episode reviews. DO NOT READ BEFORE WATCHING RELEVANT EPISODES. If you have watched relevant episodes, start here. If you have not watched relevant episodes, watch relevant episodes, then start
here. The fact that they refer to SPOILER as Vichy-tan is perfection.
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KnT is pretty amazing, but I gave up on it after about 10 episodes. Dunno why.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Sunday, March 07 2010 05:23 PM (/ppBw)
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That's just where I got stuck at first too. The story gets bogged down for a couple of episodes around ep 9/10. But things pick up again just after that.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sunday, March 07 2010 06:29 PM (PiXy!)
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I'm following spoilers at Sea Slugs, which seems better than the real thing.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Monday, March 08 2010 04:11 AM (/ppBw)
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I took a look at the Sea Slugs reviews and didn't think much of them - and I usually like Sea Slugs. That's reviews, on the other hand, are a work of art.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Monday, March 08 2010 09:06 AM (PiXy!)
