This wouldn't have happened with Gainsborough or one of those proper painters.

Bokurano

Class 1A vs. the volleyball-hearted mecha-lobster of doom.  I doubt I'll bother with episode two.

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Sola

Another town is struck by the dread pupillae reconditus plague.  Pointy chin alert. Digital photography. Tomato vampires.

I'll give this one another episode or so, but I don't think it's for me.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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El Cazador de la Bruja

Girls with guns.  Guys with guns.  Cats and dogs with guns.  Probably guns with guns.  Spanish architecture* and music, evil corporations, secret projects,  Maxwell's Demon.

Pretty to look at, pretty to listen to.  Could have a winner here.

* I'm guessing the opening episode is set in Arizona or New Mexico.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:24 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Lovely Complex

Russian Caravan with a slice of lemon served in a unglazed earthenware mug.

Or to put it another way, not my cup of tea.

The opening credits are so annoying that I tried to crawl through the wall to escape them, but the show settles down somewhat after that. High-school romantic comedy involving a tall girl, a short boy, and over-the-top animation.

I'll give the creators credit, though: They resolved the first subplot in the first episode, rather than messing about for five or fifteen.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:45 AM | No Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Sisters of Wellber

Beautiful princesses.  Daring thiefs. Murder. Intrigue. Fairies. Talking tanks.

Some amazingly detailed backgrounds and animation, but also some seriously bland CGI.  A very mixed bag, this one, but another show with potential.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:18 AM | No Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann

Neon Genesis Evangelion, only directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga¹ instead of Hideaki Anno.

Shows promise.<sup>2

1</sup> Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi.
² "It's nothing like Evangelion!" "Exactly."

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:03 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Anime Top 25 Flash

Way back when, I posted my anime top 25 list.  (TV shows and OAVs, no movies.) That was about when I was starting to get into fansubs, and I've watched a whole bunch of stuff since then, so I thought it might be interesting to see how that list holds up.

To quickly recap, the list then consisted of:

1. Slayers
2. Dirty Pair
3. Urusei Yatsura
4. Tenchi Muyo
5. El Hazard
6. Azumanga Daioh
7. Fancy Lala
8. Cowboy Bebop
9. Trigun
10. Oh My Goddess
11. Maison Ikkoku
12. Fushigi Yuugi
13. Escaflowne
14. Love Hina
15. Bubblegum Crisis
16. Irresponsible Captain Tylor
17. Dominion/Tank Police
18. Saber Marionette
19. Hellsing
20. Blue Seed
21. Cutey Honey
22. Ranma ½
23. Revolutionary Girl Utena
24. Jungle Guu
25. 3x3 Eyes

This is my personal list, and it is weighted two ways: On how good a show is - how well it tells its story, essentially - and on how much I enjoyed it - how much that story and its delivery appeal to me. So a show is tightly plotted/has great animation/has a compelling story/all of the above may lose out to a show that is simply fun.  It's Pixy's Recommendations for Anime You'll Probably Like, not The Big Serious Guide to Anime You Must Watch.

Before we look at evicting any of these, let's look at what in the past four years or so (based either on release date, or my belated viewing) is worthy of consideration:

• Galaxy Angel (2001-2004)
• Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar (2001)
• Full Moon wo Sagashite (2002)
• Haibane Renmei (2002)
• Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (2002)
• Tenshi na Konamaiki (2002)
• Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)
• Nanaka 6/17 (2003)
• Popotan (2003)
• Aishiteruze Baby (2004)
• Gakuen Alice (2004)
• Midori no Hibi (2004)
• Pretty Cure (2004-2006)
• Kamichu! (2005)
• Shakugan no Shana (2005-2006)
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006)

Of those, three are automatic includes, and two nearly so.  Haibane Renmei, Kamichu!, and Haruhi go straight into the list regardless of who they have to bump.  And Full Moon wo Sagashite and Snow Fairy Sugar aren't far behind.

Aishiteruze Baby is charming, but not quite up there with the rest of the field, and Popotan I'm tempted to add just to annoy people, but I don't think it really makes the grade.

Galaxy Angel I like a great deal, particularly seasons two and three, but the early episodes were weak and so was season four. I'm way behind in watching Pretty Cure - I haven't even finished the first season, and they're into season four (though three and four are different continuities), so I'll hold that one back for now.

Gakuen Alice hasn't yet been fully fansubbed yet, so I'll hold that back too, much as I like Mikan-chan and Hotaru. And I haven't finished watching Fullmetal Alchemist either - it was licensed mid-season.

Abenobashi, Nanaka 6/17, Popotan, and Midori no Hibi share two things in common: They are short (13-episode) shows that use absurd plot contrivances to tackle serious issues, and they are surprisingly charming.  I'm a sucker for that, but I don't know that I can justify placing them all on the list.

Okay, now let's see who we can give the flick:

• Slayers - Slayers earned this position thanks to a great ensemble cast, gripping story, humour, action, and Megumi Hayashibara.  Stays.
  
• Dirty Pair - Stays. 'Nuff said.
  
• Urusei Yatsura - A classic.  Stays.
  
• Tenchi Muyo - The first two OAVs and Pretty Sammy TV are wonderful.  Stays.
  
• El Hazard - Only the first OAV series holds up, but it does hold up.  Stays.
  
• Azumanga Daioh - Charm and absurdity and a real story that sort of slips past you when you weren't expecting it.  Stays.
  
• Fancy Lala - It's been a while.  A likeable enough series, but maybe not top 25 material.
  
• Cowboy Bebop - A classic.  (And features Megumi-san.) Stays.
  
• Trigun - A very good show, if a little uneven.  Probably stays.
  
• Oh My Goddess - The original OAV series and the movie are superb.  The new TV series is meh. Probably stays.
  
• Maison Ikkoku - A classic, stays.
  
• Fushigi Yuugi - Needed to be edited down by at least four episodes, and the OAV sequels suck.  Still, a great show.  Probably stays.
  
• Escaflowne - A decent enough story, buoyed up by big bouncy catgirls and a brilliant Yoko Kanno score.  Probably stays.
  
• Love Hina - Kind of fun, but... Goes.
  
• Bubblegum Crisis - An absolute classic.  Stays.
  
• Irresponsible Captain Tylor - A classic.  Stays.
  
• Dominion/Tank Police - Another classic, again with big bouncy catgirls.  Stays.
  
• Saber Marionette - A lot of fun, and another Hayashibara excursion. But... Probably goes.
  
• Hellsing - Caught my attention at the time, but this one is fading fast.  Goes.
  
• Blue Seed - Another Hayashibara show. But... Goes.
  
• Cutey Honey - Classic, though the various incarnations are uneven.  Stays.
  
• Ranma ½ - Great early episodes, but definitely outstayed its welcome.  Maison Ikkoku is the only Takahashi series that ended satisfactorily.  Probably goes.
  
• Revolutionary Girl Utena - Ehn.  Goes.
  
• Jungle Guu - I need to watch this one again, but it is undeniably brilliant. Stays.
  
• 3x3 Eyes - Short classic horror series... with Megumi Hayashibara. Stays.

So, let's start by saying farewell to Lala and putting Sugar in her place.  Fancy Lala is still a fine show, but Sugar is a better one.

Then... Hellsing, Utena, Blue Seed, and Love Hina bite it.  That gives me four slots, which I'll fill with Haibane Renmei, Kamichu!, Haruhi Suzumiya, and... Midori no Hibi.  I love that show.

So, now we have the following showdown:

Old	vs	New
Trigun		Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Fushigi Yuugi		Full Moon wo Sagashite
Escaflowne		Nanaka 6/17
Saber Marionette		Tenshi na Konamaiki
Ranma ½

Honestly, I can't convince myself that any of those new shows are either definitively better than any of the old ones, or that I found them more enjoyable.

Edit: Changed my mind.

So we have a list, which I shall order according to my whim:

1. Slayers
2. Dirty Pair
3. Kamichu!
   
4. Urusei Yatsura
5. Tenchi Muyo
6. Azumanga Daioh
7. Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar
   
8. Cowboy Bebop
9. Bubblegum Crisis
10. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
11. Irresponsible Captain Tylor
12. Haibane Renmei
    
13. Maison Ikkoku
14. El Hazard
15. Fushigi Yuugi
16. Oh My Goddess (original OAV and movie)
    
17. Dominion/Tank Police
18. A Vision of Escaflowne
19. Nanaka 6/17
    
20. Saber Marionette
21. Cutey Honey
22. Ranma ½
23. Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu
24. 3x3 Eyes
25. Midori no Hibi

Let the flaming commence.

Afterword: Steven Den Beste has his own top five recommendations, and there's only one item in common with my top twenty-five.  Let's see:

1. Haibane Renmei (age 13+) - A superbly crafted show, but not one that I want to watch again.  Still, it makes my list.
   
2. Card Captor Sakura - Better than most of the shows I ditched from the old list, but not - in my opinion - better than the ones I added.
   
3. Angelic Layer - I do not like it, Sam I am.  Tried, and bounced, violently.
   
4. Kaleido Star - I bought this in the Madman 10th Birthday sale, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.
   
5. Someday's Dreamers - I know absolutely nothing about this show.
   

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:12 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Heresy!

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is too the best series of 2006. Shakugan no Shana is the only really close runner-up, and that first aired in 2005.  Magipoka is fun, but too episodic to quite make the grade.  Ouran... Well, I can see why some people might like it, but it's not the real Haruhi.

And Kanon is a pile of poo.  Uguu my ass.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 06:20 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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All Purpose Cultural Shopping Arcade Abenobashi





The music is good too.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:09 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Haruhi-sama!

Steven wrote:

Though it's good, it doesn't strike me as being that outstanding. I suspect that what I'm missing is context. What I suspect I'm missing is that the hooplah was from people who were comparing it to all the other shows that came out at the same time, and by comparison to the normal run-of-the-dreck series from the last year, it really did seem like a lightning strike.

Context is key, in two ways.

First, as Steven says, 2006 was a pretty blah year for anime, and Haruhi is a good show, with a solid story, strong cast, and high production values.

But second, and specific to Haruhi Suzumiya, is the effect of the re-ordering of the episodes. It's effective when you watch the episodes one after the other, but it's crazy-making when you watch them a week apart.

BBCode update one for the morning: You can now add links to the attribution in [quote] tags. Just separate the author name and the link with a pipe character, |.  So in this case, the code was [quote="Steven|http://denbeste.nu"], producing

Steven wrote:

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:17 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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