AniMaybe

The 2011 Anime Encyclopedia: A to G

2012-01-28T16:11:00.000-05:00

Wikipedia has pretty much destroyed the encyclopedia. Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger killed it in the library with a letter opener and a plug.

That's not necessarily a form of praise of the web-based compilation, but I wouldn't say Wiki's completely useless. Look, Wikipedia's great for getting trivia and overall factoids about shows, events, and public figures, but such a conglomeration of dozens upon dozens of edits and reviews will be bound to get things wrong. The days of going to a library and leafing through volumes of time-weathered information are over, and the costs of printing outweigh the benefits of digitizing everything.

But if I were to create an encyclopedia for my favorite things—namely anime, natch—I'd have to build from each letter organically. I'd likely grow my entries for each year, assigning one essential title for each letter, then building around them with other terms. While it would be easier to do it using Japanese kana, using the English alphabet is always a fun challenge. Good luck with the entries for L, Q, X or V!

So I challenge fans to construct their own listings for 2011, focusing on one entry for each letter of the alphabet. I present my own 2011 Anime Encyclopedia, complete with my favorite shows, actors, groups, songs, and random terminology from the past year. It's pretty easy to do, really. Just get a listing of the past year's shows from Wik...

Dammit.

A is for...AnoHana.

Among all the studios that produced shows this year, I liked the production that came from A-1 Pictures. Granted, Fractale was a disaster to start the year, but there was still consistent creativity coming from the studio. Blue Exorcist, Working'!! and their idol-group productions The iDOLM@STER and Uta no Prince-Sama gathered some solid fan bases, but I still insist that their best work came from Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai.

AnoHana does live in infamy as being the only noitaminA show that wasn't picked up for online streaming by Crunchyroll or Funimation this year. This was perhaps one of the biggest debacles of 2011, as I felt the show had the emotional difficulties of growing up that followed other noitaminA dramas such as Wandering Son. There was also a rather palpable realism to the show, despite the fact the show was about a ghost. The settings were borrowed from real locales in Saitama Prefecture, while the characters actually changed their outfits from episode to episode, something that I really appreciate in anime shows. No one wears the same clothes every day!

Some may shoot the show down for turning into a tearjerker by the end, but a story about a child ghost unable to pass on was bound to be one, wasn't it? But if you want a realistic noitaminA story that you can see on Crunchyroll, how about...

B is for...Bunny Drop.

Disclaimer: I have not finished all of Bunny Drop. However, I do commend it here for being one of the more discussed shows from the summer and one of the more popular noitaminA shows. Granted, some of that talk revolved around the final chapters in the manga (NO SPOILERS!), but a lot covered the idea that the show resembled a plausible scenario that could realistically happen amongst the current familial structure in Japan. A single hard-working male such as Daikichi in no sort of relationship raising a young child like the adorable outspoken Rin is not exactly common, especially in a society that has traditionally burdened the mother with the responsibilities of homemaking and child rearing, but because of its rarity, it forced many viewers to reassess how a family works in Japan.

It was good to see Bunny Drop resemble the manga's light-lined style, and I'm thankful the producers and the original creator Yumi Unita did their best to make this show feel like one that had social and ethical weight. Too many shows focus on the offspring as a member of society while dismissing the hassles that may come from the single-parent (or in some cases NO-parent) family. Not enough of them focus on the love between parent and child, especially in the case of an adoption.

The big question will be whether the show gets an animated adaption of the later manga chapters, where Rin ultimately grows up from a preschooler into a high-school student. Until those social concerns kick in, we'll gladly like more noitaminA shows, especially those like...

C is for...[C]: The Money and Soul of Possibility.

The name itself ultimately turned into just [C] over time, but this show was one of the few from Funimation that grabbed attention. Considering all of the global frustration with jittery stock markets and fragile economies, [C] came just at the right time to put a spin on "ownership" and the influence that competitive capitalism has on humanity.

[C] was one of those awkward shows that didn't exactly dazzle with artistry, as the cel animation and CG occasionally exhibited friction, but the idea of money being used as more than a fuel for barter systems intrigued me. While some compared the challenges between "Entrepreneurs" and their pet-like "Assets" to a fusion of Monopoly and Pokemon, I liked the general "Rumpelstiltskin" effect that the show demonstrated—present-day risks and bad decisions do have influence on the future. Pay Peter by robbing Paul of his future happiness.

Will we see a show like [C] that shows the ugly underbelly of wealth ever again? Probably not as its major selling point. The days of swimming through gold coins like Scrooge McDuck are over, so it wouldn't surprise me if stories of financial ruin replace those of simple science-fiction apocalypses. You also likely won't see sequels to shows like...

D is for...Double-J.

Yeah, this blip on the radar from writer Eiji Nonaka (Cromartie High School) and artist Maru Asakura (090 Eko to Issho) likely won't appear on any DVD in the US, due to the fact all eleven episodes could barely fill a forty-five-minute reel. However, as far as short vignettes go, this show outperformed other short-attention-span flash-animation efforts from this year (Nyanpire, Morita-san wa Mukuchi, Tono to Issho).

In a way, the shorts about a school's "traditional arts preservation club" resemble Nonaka's previous efforts in Cromartie High School, the comic stylings constructed to create a quick end to the humor by episode's end. Much like Cromartie, the assembly of the animation leaves movement mostly for the hands and mouths, each character looking off at the same 45-degree angle, but that leaves more attention to be left for the content of the humor.

While the Double-J shorts were meant to be appreciated with the rest of the Yuruani? experimental anime block, there wasn't a lot to appreciate from the rest of the vignettes. Realistically speaking, many might also see the show as being worth as much attention as the crafts being done (i.e. toothpick carving, omikuji crafting), but in the same way that main character Hajime sees the world in the end of the show (from space!), perhaps we should appreciate the minor traditions out there, as they help the world go around.

Of course, from space, maybe Hajime also saw...

E is for...the Earthquake.

This is a horrible transition, I know, and its entry into this article shouldn't be misconstrued as some sort of good that came from the past year, but the March 11th earthquake and the resulting tsunami off of the Pacific coast should never be forgotten. If anything, it might have thrown a harsher sense of introspection into the anime industry.

The massive tragedy produced aftershocks in the shows that ran in Spring of 2011, as some shows were delayed due to production disruptions, while others suffered from the subject matter itself. Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara Ne!! had one episode (thankfully) pulled from re-runs due to its inclusion of a giant metaphorical wave that washes the characters away, while shows and movies that involved actual disaster scenes such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Precure All-Stars and Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 had to be rewritten or displaced for a better time. Even scenes for the second season of Kaiji had to be reanimated and revoiced to soothe any possible allusions to the disaster. Let's also not forget that the much-anticipated Anime Contents Expo and the Tokyo International Anime Fair events were canceled in the shadow of the emergencies happening in Fukushima and Tohoku.

The March 11th earthquake should never be forgotten and will likely serve as a reminder that there are bigger things in life than anime. It's quite possible that such effects from the natural disaster will bring more sensible titles in manga, especially those that question the safety of the Japanese people and corruption in government regulatory systems. Will we perhaps see another Giant Robo, where energy crises led discussions between characters, or a Ghibli film that covers the instability of nuclear power?

Perhaps we may even see more stories of multifaceted wars from various sides, much like the one we've seen in...

F is for...Fate/zero.

The Fate/stay night show is definitely one I would like to revisit after watching Fate/zero's story unfold, and perhaps that's giving me a different perception of the overall vibe the light novel series provides. I had first dismissed Fate/stay night as just another drama, but now that I'm able to get the background that surrounds the "Holy Grail War" together, I want to explore what follows Fate/zero, especially in the analysis of the characters.

The intersection of nobility and military from different times and locations brings together an intriguing cast of historical characters, and the seven roles for the "Servants" allows for flexibility, as each "war" requires a reset of the Servants. Ergo, the only returning Servants—Saber and Gilgamesh—are well-known, but their backgrounds require some revealing, and stories can be fixed to the five new Servants. The art and soundtrack are incredibly solid aspects of the show, but a Nihongo-lover like myself was actually ultimately drawn by the incredible acting. Perhaps this is a result of many of the teenagers from Fate/stay night being replaced by their older parents and relatives, leading to deep-voiced assaults on the philosophies and stratagems of war.

Although I won't say Fate/zero is the best overall show from 2011, I dare say that it could be the best drama. If you're looking for the best comedy of the year, burn all of your ballots, for the hands-down winner is...

G is for...Gintama'.

I still cannot believe that I missed the window on this manga and anime. If I had stayed an extra year in Japan, perhaps I would have been chained to Shônen Jump long enough to have been exposed to this hidden gem. That doesn't mean I'm not going to jump on this runaway rickshaw and enjoy the ride before the spectacular crash.

Yes, there are jokes about d*cks, sh*t, t*ts, vom*t, kn*ckers, and everything else that you would expect to come out of the Kabuk* D*str*ct. Yes, the show tends to have its dramatic episodes that drive it out of "parody" designations, only for a non-sequitur to force it back into its place. However, I'd argue that the show knows its limits and bounds, while the producers know exactly where the lines are drawn to give it both a comedic and dramatic edge. The show has edges like South Park, in the sense that it explores both current events and celebrity with reckless abandon, but the targets are mostly social tropes (i.e. sim girlfriends, Japanese rap fans, host club attendants, other Shônen Jump shows).

I've watched many comedies over the years, and I find it exhilarating that one has embraced manzai comedy to the level that Gintama' has. Some might dismiss the yelling of obvious observations coming from some of the straight-man characters as annoying, but to me over-the-top reactions are the sign of a good manzai act. To put it simply, I don't think I've come across an enjoyable comedy like this since the likes of Excel Saga, and it's going to take another comedy that tests the borderline between taste and vulgarity before it can top Gintama'.

When such a comedy does make its presence felt, the theme song will likely be sung by...the entry for H in the next installment of the 2011 Anime Encyclopedia.

Year in Review: The 12 Returns of Christmas

2012-01-02T15:58:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, folks! I just came back from the first line of Christmas present returns—that "P90X Workout" package was a horrible idea—but unfortunately I will never ever have the receipts required to get back the precious time I wasted on a bunch of anime shows the past year. I suppose it's blood payment for attempting to brave the elements and watch shows that were as bad as Yosuga no Sora, Asobi ni Ikuyo!, and KissxSis. Hopefully you all won't make the same mistakes I made with these 12 Shows A-Sucking.

12. Fractale

Remember the big stink about Fractale and its online distribution? What were we thinking? It felt like Yutaka Yamamoto was trying to make some sort of Ghibli movie with this noitaminA entry, then felt like sprinkling a bit of The Secret of Blue Water into the recipe. Kaboom! The result was a stew of regurgitated villains and unpalatable scenarios served over a bed of messages about social deterioration. I hate to be so severe, but perhaps a less annoying character than Nessa would have helped.

11. Mayo Chiki!

A girl masquerading as another girl's butler has her identity exposed (in an implausible explosion of clothing from just a slight push) by a gynophobic high-school boy, only for the butler's sadistic mistress to tease the two of them to death by putting them both through the wringer with embarrassing situations. I wouldn't be so mad about this sort of harem show except that IT'S OBVIOUS SUBARU'S A GIRL. We're not dense, anime writers.

10. Majikoi ~ Oh! Samurai Girls

In reality, this show is as much a samurai drama as Dog Days was a show about war. While it could have been viewed as a harmless harem show, there's no real way that an anime adaption of an eroge could ever be viewed as a good show, could it? The comedy was, at times, horrendously childish and perverted, but the big strike against it is that it took a ton of shine off of Hiroshi Kamiya's acting career. Huge step back, my man.

9. R-15

The vicious circle continues with yet another harem show, and I'm surprised I didn't put this as the worst. I mean, a borderline pornographic story about a genius pornography-writing kid? Is this some sort of biography for 20% of the anime producers out there? The situations always ended up with some perverted twist, making me wonder if all of these students at "Inspiration Academy" are geniuses to the point of being social morons.

8. Twin Angel: Twinkle Paradise

I'm willing to say it if others cannot—the "magical-girl" genre is dead. Sailor Moon set the bar, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica destroyed the only measuring device left. Twin Angel thought it could sneak in an appeal to viewers as a clone of the former, but there's so much sugar (and milk—I'm looking at you, Blue Angel) in the characters that there is zero appeal. It doesn't help that this is all for selling pachislot machines.

7. Dragon Crisis!

Dragon Crisis! could have done so much better with its gimmick of relics and secret organizations, but instead turned into some "Episode X is the Beach Episode!" series where the weak male lead somehow grows a spine amongst all of the females that gather about him, leading to his (not all that) impressive upset of the alpha male. I'm convinced this was made just so people could hear Rie Kugimiya yell out "Ryûji!" again.

6. Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Ja Nai'n Dakara Ne!
(I Don't Like You At All, Big Brother!)

Hard to say if this show was green-lighted due to OreImo's modest success in Japan, but Onii-chan no Koto should never see the light of day over here. (Luckily, it looks like no one will get to see Episode 10 again.) Incest comedy aside, the show flirted with too much porn humor to really justify watching, and the designs left the characters scarily thin. Incest comedy included, it just plain sucked.

5. Freezing

The main character is a tall blonde woman with a heavy rack and glasses who is cold and ruthless in battle, often getting her clothes shredded in the process, yet who is terribly afraid of being touched and ends up falling in love with the "Shinji" of the series. If that doesn't scream "patrilineality", then I'm not sure what does. If you want a show with males commanding females to fight like scantily-clad Pokemon, be my guest.

4. Manyû Hiken-chô

I'll give Manyû Hiken-chô a lower ranking due to its abnormal amount of over-the-top ridiculousness (probably the same reason Rio: Rainbow Gate! isn't in this listing) and its head-shaking obsession with breasts, but that doesn't excuse it for being a bad anime. Yes, the show tries to sell us the moral of "Size isn't everything", but must we go through 12 episodes of breast growth and blinding censor beams just to learn it?

3. Hen Zemi

I could have easily added the utterly inane 30-sai no Hoken Taiiku (Health & P.E. for 30-Year-Olds) to this entry, but Hen Zemi takes the cake for managing to gross me out completely. Yeah, plenty of shows out there have penis and poop jokes, but not many have shows devoted to raising fruit flies in one's ear canal, fart sniffing, urination into beer bottles, and watching one's girlfriend get willingly violated by another. Now, who's up for tea?

2. The Qwaser of Stigmata II

Remember that Russian warrior-boy Sasha who got all his energy by sucking on a nubile maiden's oppai in the first series? Well, he gets to do it again, but this time he's cross-dressing and masquerading as a student in an Eastern orthodox academy! Big difference! Who the hell cares why he's doing it and what "soma" and "Qwaser" mean—behind those censor bars, it's a transvestite sucking on boobies! Oh, AND HE'S 13 YEARS OLD. Sickos.

1. We, Without Wings

All that needs to be said about Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai is on its Wikipedia page. Of course, reading the page you may notice that about 75% of the page is devoid of detail. No episode reviews, no detailed character descriptions, nothing. That's how excruciatingly painful this series was—no one really cares whether or not this show gets preserves for posterity, not even the show's biggest fans.

From what we can pick out of the show, the three main protagonists all jump between their Earth-bound bodies and some far-off land where they are knights battling an unknown force. That might be entertaining in some way, if you wanted to envision this story as a clone of Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but that would mean that the underlying story actually had content.

What went wrong with the show?

Too many characters. At last count, 54 named characters appeared in this 11-episode show, and all had to be given names when they were introduced, like some episode of Case Closed. Really, guys, there's no need to give the minor characters names, unless you want us to forget about them even faster.
That damned television set. What the hell is the first three minutes of the show about? This boom-voiced television announcer welcomes us to the show each week by putting the main heroines in some erotic game or segment that would normally run at 3AM with D-list celebrity actors goggling at gravure idols. Is this really how low you want to stoop to get attention?
That annoying overweight rapper guy. Seriously, rap isn't cool in anime. In fact, just about all of the acting in this show sucks.
The quality problem when it comes to animation. Uninspired and stooping to the use of police tape for censoring.
A song about "d()cks" in Episode 7 while the male cast has a cake fight. And no, I don't mean "ducks".
The idea that both Crunchyroll and Funimation thought this show was good enough for online screening, while actual good shows like AnoHana were left off the list.

Of note, I actually listed this behind a few shows back when I ranked the worst shows of Spring, but after a few more screenings, I got even sicker from the content. At least companies were wise not to include bad shows like Qwaser of Stigmata and Hen Zemi on their listings. We, Without Wings deserves to be ignored by its initial Wikipedia page creators, and hopefully time will bury this pathetic show.

Best Ending Themes of Fall 2011

2012-01-02T09:54:00.001-05:00

Eh, I probably could have gotten away with a much shorter list of ending themes for Autumn 2011's anime season, even though there were a ton of new songs submitted for approval. While some shows could probably use the creative juices to draw more attention to themselves, it felt that a lot were content to shrug their shoulders and scrimp on the ED budget. Have a character walk across the screen, slap down a bunch of photos, get the latest debut artist's first single, and go out for a smoke.

The good news about lesser displays of talent in the EDs is that it makes picking the best (and worst) that much easier. Here are my entries into the rankings for Autumn 2011's ending themes (pictures as always courtesy of CD Japan).

Last Place. "Kimi no Shinken wo Choudai" ("Give Me Your Seriousness") - Momoyo Kawakami, Kazuko Kawakami, Miyako Shiina, Yukie Mayuzumi, and Christiane Friedrich
(Majikoi ~ Oh! Samurai Girls ED)

This ending theme was so terribly lazy that I started to feel bad for it. Low-grade animation (if you can call it that). Inconsistent melodies. Karaoke-style singing from the main seiyû cast. Slow panning shots of the heroines in bikini tops (and later without them!) Majikoi manages to take everything I don't want to see in an ending sequence and put them all into an ending sequence. Of course, what else would I have expected from an anime that tries to get away with the ol' "hand vagina" trick?

25. "Papepipu Papipepu Papepipupo" - Nozomi Sasaki
(Beelzebub ED4)

I'm not exactly sure what the objective of this ending animation is, but I can say that it would be immensely better if Sasaki put a little more energy into her singing. It sounds like she's trying to motivate a lethargic crowd with a song that would be more suited for toddlers with its directional dance instructions and the perplexing "Don't touch me!" chant. The animation plays up the silliness of the series, but the lyrics, coupled with an unexciting melody and bored singer, make the effort fall flat.

24. "I'll Believe" - Altima
(Shakugan no Shana Final ED)

Wait, isn't para-para dead? Once the main throb of this song's melody hit my speakers, I ducked out of instinct, expecting a T-shirt cannon to be fired at me by a squad of cheerleaders. The C&C Music Factory prototype manages to dissolve into dance music instantly and is okay for an anime, managing just an average close with its still-shot animation.

23. "Departure" - Katate Size
(Nura: Rise of the Yôkai Clan ED2)

Not to be confused with the Hunter X Hunter OP song of the same name. There's not much to the animation, save for some changes to the picture over time, but the song itself is practically shimmying on velvet couch. The R&B number is pretty reminiscent of the likes of SWV and En Vogue from the 90s here in the U.S., the slow tempo accompanying the sultry singing style. I do like the harmony in the song—it gives the opening animation's rock number a good book-end—but that's about it.

22. "Milk and Chocolate" - ChocoLe
(Sket Dance ED3)

It's good for a little change of pace for Sket Dance to pay a little attention to the female cast members in this ending, but I'm not exactly sure if I would have gone for the "skin-show" angle. The song's innocent enough, but it seems a little risque to have Hime and her friends listening to music in white bikinis and slips while spatters of chocolate hit them. At least it's good to see them including Yabazawa-san as a legitimate cast member.

Note: Not soundtrack cover.

21. "Beauty of Destine" - Shihoko Hirata feat. Lotus Juice
(Persona 4 the Animation ED)

Okay, okay. We get it. Hirata's cool English lyrics and the bubbly-champagne urban-R&B rhythm worked well for the Persona 4 game and the opening sequences to the animation, but it's too much of a decent thing to overuse Hirata for the ending. There's not much of a closing animation, and while featured rapper Lotus Juice adds a better English accent to the lyrics, it exposes Hirata's rougher English tongue in comparison. I would have liked a song in Japanese, perhaps one that didn't resemble the opener.

20. "Egao no Hôsoku" ("The Rules for Smiling") - Mariya Ise
(Ben-Tô ED)

At first, I had put the ending for Ben-Tô in my Top 10—it was uncomplicated and easy to process with a smooth ballad from Ise—but the more I thought about the overall presentation, the more I started to pull its ranking down. There was an illogical sore spot that nagged in my head. Considering that Sen is such a warrior in the supermarkets and gifted with athletic skill, it didn't make much sense that she was helpless when it came to putting a "half-off" sticker onto a wall full of them. Jump, for crying out loud! That's likely how the stickers put at a higher height got there!

19. "Pieces" - AiRI / "Stardust Melodia" - Ceui
(Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere ED)

Maybe I'm ranking this high by comparing the songs to the series itself, but despite the immense cast making this show a little cumbersome to appreciate, the endings were relatively simple and clean. "Pieces" is a high-spirited song accompanied by superdeformed mascots, while "Stardust Melodia" returns the focus to our rain-soaked heroine and ONLY our rain-soaked heroine. If there ever was a set of ending themes where I was thankful for it's simplicity, it's these two.

18. "Monochrome Rainbow" - tommy heavenly6
(Bakuman. ED3)

I'm a big fan of The Brilliant Green's performances from the early 2000s, especially their work from the Los Angeles album, but I also like how lead singer Tomoko Kawase has opted for different personalities as a soloist. Granted, her "tommy february6" and "tommy heavenly6" personas aren't overly complex, but it's good for marketing. "Monochrome Rainbow" is a placid rock song with a firmer edge than the bubble-pop flair her other persona exhibits, but I'm not exactly sure if that "rock" vibe fits with a cafe-side scene and a walk in the park with an umbrella. It definitely feels better than the previous songs used for Bakuman.

17. "Just Awake" - Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas
(Hunter X Hunter ED)

I'm still ensure how to approach the idea of FaLiLV's digital punk being set to Hunter X Hunter, a show that doesn't exactly scream in the same manner as either of the band's lead singers. Don't get me wrong—I thought the band was a brilliant choice for the OP to the second season of Kaiji, but somehow the keyboard sizzle and Autotune misses the spot, especially for an ending animation that feels like it's more similar to other Shônen Jump ending animations (One Piece, Dragonball, Toriko). Good song for a show that was better than the original, but it just feels out of place for the series.

16. "Aikotoba" ("Password") - Sakura Merry-Men
(Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi ED2)

While the Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi series hasn't really been a draw for my personal interests, the ending theme for the second season does have its melodic charm. Sakura Merry Men have a distinct pop-rock sound, but lead singer Tohta Konishi's higher register definitely rounds the rock band's sound into a mellower tone. The ending focuses more on the tender moments between the show's yaoi couplings, but ends with just the bunny mascot dancing about the screen, something that doesn't quite mesh with the first half of the animation. (Hey, that's my globe pencil sharpener from 6th grade! - Ed.)

15. "Re:Pray" - Aimer
(Bleach ED29)

Regularly, I don't find anything overly impressive with the Bleach endings, but I suppose the openings and the show's content itself are enough to spark my interest in watching the occasional episode or two. I do like the darker side of the show, so the grayer colors for this ending animation are a welcome contrast to the brighter shades and sounds from SCANDAL's opener "Harukaze". Aimer's first single "Rokutôsei no Yoru", in my opinion, was an underrated song with plenty of emotion to it, but I believe much of that comes from Aimer's repression of her melodic voice until just the right time. Hard to envision her singing anything more upbeat than this.

14. "Watashi no Ki-mo-chi" ("My Feelings") - Marina Inoue
(Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai ED)

While the Haganai (yes, that's what they call it when all the Chinese characters are removed from the title—Haganai) opening felt stitched together out of odd pieces of musical fabric, the ending sounds a lot crisper and looks much less suggestive. A good deal of praise should be required for Marina Inoue's singing style—considering Inoue has played characters a tad lower in vocal tone with a curt sharpness to their voices (Matsurika, Maria Holic; Chiri, Sayonara Zetsubô-sensei), she fits the bill for a demanding rock number to end the show. Even better, the animation thankfully avoids lewd skirt angles and "come-hither" poses. See? Now was it so hard to ask for a modest display?

13. "Place to Try" - TOTALFAT
(Naruto Shippuden ED19)

I found it interesting that the quartet TOTALFAT started as a NOFX cover band, and that already puts points on their scoreboard with me. I like their punk roots, their edge translating into two parts headbanging, one part singing towards the sky. While the animation is partially borrowed from past scenes between Sasuke and Naruto, the song itself is the main rocket booster and is meant to be the center of attention.

12. "Starboard" - Hitomi Kuroishi
(Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing ED)

If there ever was a song that threatened to snap apart like a fragile butterfly's wing or a filmsy spider web, it's this delicate gem from Hitomi Kuroishi. Slow and warm, but as regal as a procession for a Chinese emperor, the song is peppered with moving photography in an ode to the main heroines. This portion of the show itself is one part of the original Last Exile series I'm glad to see return, as Kuroishi's voice really gave the first show (and the second, as well) an earthy feel to it.

11. "Departures ~ Anata ni Okuru Ai no Uta" ("A Love Song I Send to You") - EGOIST feat. Chelly
(Guilty Crown ED)

I'll give Guilty Crown the benefit of the doubt—the staff did the right thing by hiring Supercell to play the role of the the fictional band EGOIST. While I thought the band did too much in the opening theme ("My Dearest") with their sound, Supercell does have the potential for some great songs. Their "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" ending song for Bakemonogatari was quite a charge, even if the creative animation was removed, so it's a pleasant surprise to hear them produce a ballad for a change. The animation isn't dazzling in terms of originality, but the song certainly carries weight from Chelly's soulful voice.

Note: Not soundtrack cover.

10. "Itsumo No You Ni LOVE & PEACE!!" ("Just Like Always, LOVE & PEACE!!") - Sota Takanashi, Jun Sato, and Hiroomi Soma
(Wagnaria'!! ED)

I like the idea that Wagnaria!! is content with splitting its cast into two divisions, leaving the opening for the main female trio and the ending for the male cast. I wasn't terribly impressed with the 50's-rock number they did in the first season's ED ("Go to Heart Edge"), but the disco number for the second season's ED is bit better for including the entire cast in a tambourine jam session. Again, I may be ranking this a bit high, but considering the ending and the series itself had no real bumps in the road, I'm content with putting it where it is.

9. "Nakimushi" ("Crybaby") - Miku Sawai
(You & Me ED)

While the characters for You & Me don't quite impress me with their quibbling (occasionally bringing to mind the nonsense that came from Akari and her friends in Yurayuri), they do present an innocence to high-school life that we don't see from boring "everyman" leads in harem shows. I suppose that's what draws me to the ending sequence, a variety of sketches from creator Kiichi Hotta that reflect the group's ability to stay whole during disagreements. I'm not sure what the medium is that Hotta uses in the end, but it fits the reminiscing brand of song Sawai sings for it.

8. "Blood Teller" - Faylan
(Future Diary ED)

It's not Faylan's fault that she's sung some good songs for some bad shows (Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, Seikon no Qwaser, Hyakka Ryôran Samurai Girls), but I like her choice for the ending theme to Future Diary. While the OP was meant to haunt the dickens out of the viewer, the techno number from Faylan, accompanied by shots of the supporting cast vanishing into television snow, does provide more of a sense of mystery to go with the show. The only bad thing is that it pretty much spoils the end of the show—the main character is the only one who doesn't vanish.

7. "Kimi wo Shiru Koto" ("Knowing About You") - Squid Girl (Hisako Kanemoto)
(Squid Girl ED2)

Some shows are wise enough to know that changing the animation in ending themes tends to work if those changes are minor and relevant to the episodes. Gintama' made it work with the "Balance Doll" ED by incorporating more memorable elements from the show, and the first Squid Girl season did the same with the "Metamerism" ED. This time, the night sky is replaced with a sunset, as Squid Girl strolls the beaches and passes a single element that appeared on the show before. It's not as hilarious as the effort from Gintama', but it does the job to bring a smile in the end.

6. "Haiiro no Suiyôbi" ("Gray Wednesday") / "Bad News Kuroi Yôkan" ("Bad News Black Premonition") / "Ikarechimattaze!!" / "Hide and Seek" / "Private Girl" / "Tamashii Kogarashite" ("Scorching Soul") / "Asa no Kageri no Naka De" ("Among the Morning Clouds") / "Heroes" - Triple H
(Mawaru-Penguindrum ED2)

Yes, those are all the songs that are used for the second half of Mawaru-Penguindrum's episode list, all of them linked to the "Rock Over Japan" insert song during Himari's outfit transformation. All are cover songs originally performed by ARB (Alexander's Ragtime Band) and were adapted by Yukari Hashimoto to be performed by Triple H (the voice actresses for Himari and her two childhood friends Hikari and Hibari). It's interesting to see the animation basically the same with tweaks to the background color and some of the foreground designs, and each variation in color helps the songs fit the general animation. However, there's still part of me that envisions this all coming from Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Makes me shudder.

5. "Hologram" - Natsumi Kiyoura
(Phi Brain: Puzzle of God ED)

Phi Brain certainly has been one of the surprises for the autumn season, and I suppose the soundtrack has played an integral part of its appeal. The OP from May'n was technologically vibrant, leading to this appreciative ballad framed with an acoustic guitar, guided with an upbeat piano, and punctuated with horns. I also found it clever, albeit not unexpected, that the ending animation incorporates a puzzle that features pictures of the various backgrounds used in the show, and a fade into a full profile of the cast is a fitting device.

4. "Memoria" - Eir Aoi
(Fate/Zero ED)

As each episode has gotten more and more intriguing from the battles between each soldier in the Holy Grail War, I've been more and more interested in the stories each Servant likely has buried in their pasts. The video that accompanies Aoi's soaring production—a lofty yet majestic debut—gives us a slight hint towards their motivations and past accomplishments. Considering that their stories are likely to be explained later in the series, I don't mind the slow pan of each Servant's past, and each shot actually has a hint of a three-dimensional approach with slight movement in the foreground. I'll bet that the ending would look pretty good with 3D technology.

3. "Suisai Candy" ("Watercolor Candies") - Marble
(Mashiro-iro Symphony ED)

I have not been a fan of Mashiro-iro Symphony as a series, but there have been aspects of the show that have had their charm. In particular, the ending theme struck me with a certain chord, as I was prepared for the staff to capitalize on the harem show by putting the girls in revealing outfits or titillating scenarios for the end. I mean, isn't that what the show is all about in the first place?

I'm surprised to see the animation staff focus more on the fluffball cat mascot Pannya than the actual human characters, but I think that's the best alternative they had for the ending theme. Granted, Pannya's not necessarily an original entity (see: Momo-neko from Tamayura, the legless cat from Lucky Star), but the watercolor-like ending animation with Pannya cavorting about and dreaming about fish is enough to get a "D'aaaaaaaw!" out of me. The song, for the most part, works too, sweet without syrup and popping like a bubble at the end.

2. "Anagura" ("Cellular") - Kuroneko Chelsea
(Gintama' ED3)

Rock 'n roll will never die, but this season I worried that it might be on life support.

There seemed to be an excess of songs that depended more on orchestral direction and electronic soul this time around, while the guitar was abandoned for pianos and keyboards. I suppose it's due to a larger amount of shows that lacked the sort of razor's-edge comedy that Gintama' has, so I'm glad to see the series christen a new rock band in their ending theme.

The animations for many of the ending themes this season have also been quite static and unmoving, but I don't mind Gintama's approach. The characters are dressed in outfits appropriate for a night out in the city, hakama pants and kimonos exchanged for host-club pinstripe suits and propped collars, giving the show additional bravado as a cool show. Overlay those character portraits with the out-of-control, no-brakes guitar-rock and the singing styles of Kuroneko Chelsea's lead singer Daichi Watanabe, and I swear that the Gintama' production staff managed to reunite the Blue Hearts. Damned good rock, boys.

1. "Fantasy" - Lama
(Un-Go ED)

The Wikipedia entry for LAMA suggests that the two-woman, two-man unit is a rock band, but after hearing their first two debut efforts, I tend to doubt that term. It's true that, if you checked out the influences that shaped each member's musical experience, you'd come across bands such as Sonic Youth, Rocket from the Crypt, Triceratops, and Kraftwerk, but the ultimate mix seems to have produced a smooth electronica version of pop music. Considering I haven't heard the music from any of the members' original bands (SUPERCAR, Denki Groove, Number Girl), I'm tempted to hear how each fits into LAMA's style.

The ending animation is probably the most successful this season at catching the eye, combining moving portraits of the characters with their alter-egos or better half. The middle ten seconds alone really get my attention, Inga's dual personas playing around in a spectral cloud of spacedust. Studio Bones really plays to the unique character designs, perhaps adding that layer of intrigue to the ending animation.

This is, essentially, a whole product that kept me interested in continuing onto the next episode, the teasers at the very end wittingly recited by Inga's seiyû Aki Toyosaki. (Wait, that Aki Toyosaki, the seiyû for Yui Hirasawa in K-On!? - Ed.) While I may not have gotten the entire gist of Un-Go and its essential message to the audience, the ending is composed brilliantly with the perfect mix of animation and mystery coming from LAMA's piano-based fusion pop.

Why did this have to be the noitaminA show that only lasted one season? I would have adored a second soundtrack to Un-Go.

Best Opening Themes of Fall 2011

2011-12-21T23:41:00.000-05:00

Suffice to say, it's been hard to read the surface of the past Autumn 2011 anime season. Die-hard fans will admit that the summer usually brings lazier titles, while the winter is more of a hibernation, leaving the equinox seasons to be the ones to carry the load. Considering the restraints usually come off in the fall, the load certainly appeared hefty this season.

The same ideas of renewal and competition tend to go with the animation and music for the opening sequences--I'd say that only Mawaru-Penguindrum, Gintama', and Nichijô impressed me with their opening numbers last season, while the other shows struggled for a unique display. Fall seasons usually are meant to be more impressive, although the lack of a Shaft animation again made me a little hesitant to rip through the fifty-plus opening songs from anime shows this season.

The general consensus? Better! Less fluff, more stuff! J-Rock seemed to dominate the airwaves a lot more than last year, perhaps in an effort to wake up fans before the winter slumber. Here's my personal rankings for the latest anime trimester—hopefully we won't be singing in baby-talk next winter.

(Pictures, once again, provided by the awesome folks at CD Japan.)

Last Place. "Nya Nya Kibun" ("Meow Meow Feelings") - Fuwawaka
(Morita-san wa Mukuchi OP2)

It's probably unfair to give a three-minute show's twenty-something-second opening theme last place, but there's just something grating about the out-of-tune cat-calls and animated reminders of the main characters that we already know from the first season's opener. While the show had a little heart in its first season, it lost what little momentum it had this season, its lackluster musical blip just fatty filler to pump the "show" to three minutes.

25. "Live for Life ~ Ookamitachi no Yoru" ("Live for Life ~ Night of the Wolves") - Aimi
(Ben-To OP)

The show itself has a slight pulse to it—the whole idea of people fighting over half-priced box lunches isn't so far-fetched—but the rock number from Aimi is drab. There's a fake sense of edginess to it, especially with hijinks going on in the background. The fight scenes are a bit dizzying, and the use of those digital print-out fonts used on bento lunches don't work for presenting the staff. A subtle reminder—save for the Dirty Pair bathing in giant martini glasses, characters and giant food containers don't mix.

24. "Zannenkei Rinjinbu Hoshi Futatsu Han" ("The Regrettable Neighbors' Club, Two and a Half Stars") - Tomodachi Tsukuri-Tai
(Boku wa Tomogachi ga Sukunai OP)

The theme to Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai ("I Don't Have Many Friends") starts out likable with its 8-bit upward climb and, by itself, is a catchy number that keeps the right key to make its wavering musical style fit together. However, the animation betrays it, wasted for cheesecake shots of the supporting characters. Girls in swimsuits up against wet glass, in maid dresses wrapped in ribbons, sitting on the main character's lap—this isn't pretending to be something it's not. The honesty is appreciated, but it turns the show into a mockery of "friendship".

23. "Terminated" - Minori Chihara
(Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere OP)

I've had the privilege of speaking with Chihara-san (who also voices Yuki Nagato in the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise) at New York Comic Con, and I had dismissed her as a soft-voiced singer before I had met her. She shows a much broader vocal range in this violin-strewn techno number, some of the notes actually a pleasure to listen to. Once again, though, the little things ruin the animation—too many big-breasted and nonsensical character designs drown out the action in the opening. Hard to button down what the show's about.

22. "Graffiti" - Gackt
(Sket Dance OP3)

Would one really consider Sket Dance hardcore? That's the sense I get by listening to Gackt's headbanger of a song without watching the animation. Look, Gackt was pretty funny as "Dante", the misunderstood Visual-K student, but it seems to me that a lighthearted comedy like Sket Dance doesn't require an edge to it. More and more, I'm starting to feel that the show's trying to grab a different audience with its openings when it really doesn't need to.

21. "Baby U!" - MBLAQ
(Beelzebub OP4)

Considering the solid debut of the Korean boy-band 2PM and their feature on the Blue Exorcist soundtrack, it was a matter of time before JYP Entertainment introduced another band to anime fans. This time it's MBLAQ, short for "Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality" (another absurd acronym—take that, SMAP!). While the song has snap to it with its dance-hall vibe, the opening animation just doesn't click with its static introduction of the Beelzebub characters. Perhaps someone might want to set Japan straight by telling them that the "baby" in the song in this case isn't the toddler type.

20. "Change!!!!" - 765Pro All-Stars
(The iDOLM@STER OP2)

Eh, nothing much different than what you'd expect for an anime about idol singers, nor much different than the first season's opener.. That still makes it better than half of the opening themes this autumn.

19. "Okaerinasai" ("Welcome Home") - Maaya Sakamoto
(Tamayura ~hitotose~ OP)

It's quite possible that Maaya Sakamoto may go down in Japanese lore as one of the more resilient seiyû out there. She's appeared in dozens of shows since 1992, but her vocal prowess is finally being recognized—her 7th studio album You Can't Catch Me was her first to hit #1 on the Oricon charts in 2011, 15 years after her debut.

A little longer than the typical opening theme, "Okaerinasai" does a pretty good job of capturing Tamayura's attempt to reintroduce Japan to classical photography. The song is slow and reminiscent of a gentle breeze, peppered with stills from the show. It'd be interesting to see what this show does for tourism in the real town of Takehara.

18. "My Dearest" - Supercell
(Guilty Crown OP)

Compared to its erratic animation, "My Dearest" comes out like a philharmonic, an incredible boom to its soundtrack. The song's composition starts quite well, especially when the slow piano is joined with the chatter of synthesizer chops in the background, but the song bursts too far out of its box, a bit too grandiosely as the orchestral tones force lead soloist Koeda to stretch her vocal boundaries and sing too loudly. Points for effort, but I have a feeling it's bound to be carved up by critics for being too big.

17. "Light My Fire" - KOTOKO
(Shakugan no Shana III OP)

Something—no, make that two things—bother me about the opening to the final Shakugan no Shana anime. Aside from the woman with three eyes, one with an eyepatch(!), the animation does the job to summarize the show, but the music doesn't sit well. The Autotuning in the middle of the song doesn't help, yet it's the off-rhythm key-change that rubs me the wrong way. It feels like the TV size of the original was spliced together from two sections of the song that weren't meant to be taped together. As difficult as the middle is, the song does end with a solid sequence.

16. "Shonen yo, Ware ni Kaere" ("Boys, Come Back to Me") - Etsuko Yakushimaru Metro Orchestra
(Mawaru-Penguindrum OP2)

Oh, Etsuko-chan. You can sing music-box lullabies and toy-soldier marches to me any day of the week. I fell in love with "Nornir", the first opening theme to Mawaru-Penguindrum, but I suppose the transition to the second season left the staff scratching their heads over better ideas for the animation. The dreamy production of the song number brings back thoughts of Broadway mixed with Ikuhara's continued appreciation for Takarazuka theater, but I'm disheartened that the animation resembles the first half's OP too much, almost to the point that it appears some shots are recycled from the show. Would straying from the show's unique perspectives in the opening have hurt the show itself?

Hard to say if that question was rhetorical. Etsuko-chan could still sing me "This Is The Song That Doesn't End", and I would still be happy.

15. "The Love Song" - LM.C
(Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan - Demon Capital OP)

Perhaps it was distraction from other shows, but I wish I had gotten into Nura a little earlier. The animation sequence is slicker in its presentation than its actual animation, teasing the viewer with side-shots and close-ups of the characters before hitting us with an alla-breve tempo change and action sequence in the middle. The song from LM.C—no stranger to Shônen Jump anime shows, as they did the first OP, as well as two Katekyô Hitman Reborn! OPs—lodged in my mind, as I swore I heard it before. Compare "The Love Song" to My Chemical Romance's "Helena", and you be the judge.

(Note: not the actual CD single cover)

14. "Harukaze" ("Spring Wind") - SCANDAL
(Bleach OP15)

I tend to appreciate the Bleach openings when the animation staff decides to be a little random about the sequences. Fonts vary as much as the action and the character personalities do. I liked that sort of artistic mindset when it came to the manga's title pages, and I appreciate it when the animation reflects it. In particular, the latest OP for Bleach focuses more on the everyday and pulls away from any Soul Society scenes, a refreshing approach with a breezy melody and nice use of past screen captures in a chronological screen meld. You can only do so many darkly-themed openings for a series, I suppose.

13. "Departure" - Masatoshi Ono
(Hunter x Hunter OP)

I did a side-by-side comparison of the opening themes for the first episodes of the two Hunter x Hunter shows—the current one and the original from 1999—and got a real sense that Madhouse is trying to give the remake a new energy. The original series started with "Ohayo" ("Good Morning") and gave us only a sleepy glimpse of the show's foursome, but Masatoshi Ono's opening is sunnier and more vibrant, surprising considering that he's a member of Galneryus, a neo-classical metal band known more for harsher melodies. It appears that the choice to include as many of the secondary characters was a nice change, but the opening could end up doing some harm to the show if people start viewing the remake as an attempt to remodel Hunter x Hunter into the current One Piece / Toriko styles.

12. "Asu e" ("To Tomorrow") - Galileo Galilei
(Mobile Suit Gundam AGE OP)

I encourage a lot of people to listen to the full versions of songs used in OPs and EDs. If possible, get the single. There are some groups that totally deserve the business, and Galileo Galilei is one of them. Their "Aoi Shiori" ("Blue Bookmark") song for the AnoHana OP was one of the selling points that convinced me the show needed watching, and after listening to their space-venture of a contribution to Gundam AGE, I may start watching that show when I get the opportunity, too.

11. "Sky's The Limit" - Shihoko Hirata
(Persona 4 The Animation OP)

There aren't many examples of smooth blend of hip-hop and R&B in anime if you step away from bigger J-pop acts, but every now and then you get a sultry number that does the genre-mix right. Shihoko Hirata is one of the carry-overs from the Persona 4 video game, so it's good to feel the champagne fizz from the game starting off the show. It might be a little misleading for the funky number to be used for a show that's a little more haunting than your average sci-fi school drama, but the beat is rather slick, even with the rambling lyrics that tend to lose a little of their English meaning after a while. A pretty good display of animation as well, even though the reasons behind the use of newspaper clips and television fuzz aren't yet clear to me. One on the positive side of creative in my book.

10. "Bye Bye" - 7!!
(You & Me OP)

I could have placed this easy-listener from 7!! (pronounced "seven-oops!") higher for its creative use of the everyday items you see in school and fun transitions in animation, but I could have easily placed it lower for its lack of punctuation. I have a feeling the show's laid-back personality probably held the opening back a little bit. Don't get me wrong; the group adds a great melody to the song, and I could listen to it over and over again, but the song might have qualified too well for the "easy-listening" and lowered my motivation to the point of disconnect, much like some of the characters in the show.

9. "Oath Sign" - LiSA
(Fate/Zero OP)

Normally, I'm not the one to appreciate the opening sequence that decides to go right into battle-mode and pit the characters in random fights, but there's something artistic about the way they're shown in the Fate/Zero OP. If anything, it's a good bullet-point analysis of the seven forces interacting in the holy war, a notable display of their motivations and knights without any actual confrontation between the seven armies. The song itself—the debut single for LiSA, one of the two lead singers for Angel Beats!'s "fictional" band Girls Dead Monster—turns out to be a better listen in its longer, non-TV-sized form, but for the opening it has the right amount of electricity to indicate a storm on the horizon.

8. "High Powered" - Sphere
(Squid Girl OP2)

Let's face it; ever since Ultra-Prism dropped that SHINRYAKU SHINRYAKU SHINRYAKU SHINRYAKU pipebomb on your brain last year, you were dying for a second Squid Girl (Shinryaku?! IkaMusume) anime and the opening song that came with it. While the first opening wasn't bad, the second theme soothes the stress from that squeaky mallet to the noggin. Sphere (the idol unit, not the jazz-band ode to Thelonious Monk) have had some peppy songs ("Now Loading...SKY!" from Asobi ni Ikuyo!, for example), but none really seemed to fit the animation style. It feels as refreshing as a summer breeze to hear their music finally accompany the fun that comes with every episode of a show like Squid Girl.

7. "Buddy" - Maaya Sakamoto
(Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing OP)

Perhaps my ear for music is getting a little better, but the accompanying melodies to Maaya Sakamoto's "Buddy" sounded familiar. Why, yes, it's been composed partly by School Food Punishment, the quartet that composed the ending theme to last spring's [C], as well as the opening to Un-Go. The animation itself is ripe with Range Murata's soft character designs, dueling with computer graphics that could use a little more integration with hand-drawn art, but the song is a marvel with rigid strings, and Sakamoto demonstrates a bluesy style that goes with the panic in SFP's music.

6. "Youthful" - 99RadioService
(Chihayafuru OP)

Has guitar rock in Japan been molded by the likes of Weezer and Green Day? Perhaps, but some of the influences are more direct than that. The band 99RadioService actually cite Paul McCartney, Buddy Holly, and Jackson Browne amongst their influences (as well as AC/DC!), which might be why their song "Youthful" has such a cheerful tone. Twiddling keyboards, warbling lyrics, and strong melody provide a different perspective to the animation, perhaps to slow down the split-second action that goes with Chihayafuru's subject of competitive karuta. Either way, it leaves the mind feeling good after listening to this opening, and the CD cover might be the coolest one of the season.

5. "COOLISH WALK" - Working!! Girls
(Wagnaria'!! OP)

If you haven't seen the multiple parodies of the opening animations to Working!! (Wagnaria!! to we, the lawsuit-happy Americans), your YouTubes must be clogged. After all, "Someone Else" from the first season was enough to make everyone drop what they were doing, put on their old Converse sneakers, and bug out like a Bosstone. The ska-punk-based riff was one of the catchier sounds from 2010, one so addictive that it may have driven someone ONE ONE SOMEONE ONE ONE insane.

There's no doubt this song is as noxious or as obnoxious (PANPANPAN! PAN! PAN!) as the first, the horns joined with accordions, xylophones and organs in a buzzy mash this time around. Still, there's just no way one can resist the dancing, carefree cast, and that's probably why the staff knew not to mess with a good thing, the animation almost an exact replica of the first sequence. It's a little disappointing to see a lack of originality, but if it's not broken, why break it?

4. "Brain Diver" - May'n
(Phi Brain: Puzzle of God OP)

Hard to say why "Brain Diver" grabbed my attention as one of the better openings. Perhaps it was the synthesizer power behind the song itself dissolving into a sense of subterfuge. Perhaps it was the animation not trying to overdo itself. Perhaps it was either or both of these, or maybe it comes from the intrigue that life-or-death gaming has brought the anime industry (Future Diary, Liar Game, Kaiji, the early stages of Yu-Gi-Oh!, etc.) Maybe it's just a big mystery that doesn't require solving or explanation. Hell, if this song was a Tootsie Pop, I would savor it instead of counting the licks.

3. "How to go" - School Food Punishment
(Un-Go OP)

I had mentioned School Food Punishment a few entries ago, and somehow the group has enamored the noitaminA block so much that they've basically set up camp there. After all, their debut single "futuristic imagination" was featured in the stunning ED for Eden of the East, and I've already mentioned "RPG" in the [C] series. So far, both of the animation endings they've touched have been quite the package, so it's good to see someone allow them to introduce a series instead.

I'm intrigued by the music of SFP being used for shows that involve real collapse, whether it be through infrastructure or society, especially since their songs have this sense of something as private as a nightclub or as glamorous as a disco. However, I do like their approach to "How to go", their music threatening to implode on itself with high-tempo drumbeats and ravaging pounds against a piano keyboard. Perhaps it's a breakdown of neomodern jazz, a symbol of how society in Un-Go is elegant on the inside, but brittle from recovery on the outside.

2. "Dilemma" - Ecosystem
(Gintama' OP2)

Right now, Gintama (with or without the apostrophe) is probably your best guarantee for entertainment in anime, and that goes double for the opening and closing animations for the show. The last OP "Tôgenkyo Alien" had two cases where the animation completely blindsided the viewer with sequences unique to the episodes, while the ending theme "Balance Doll" was a random roll of the dice in terms of what could possibly be shown.

I suppose that's what makes the serious sequences that much more valuable to the show. If there's one thing I've learned is that Gintama is able to floor you with satire or drama, but very rarely with both at the same time. The opening for the third season of Gintama' is fueled by the debut single from the three-woman, one-man unit "ecosystem", a surprisingly punk smash without the need for comic relief. Night scenes around the paradoxical Kabuki district crescendo into a chalk-drawn fight drawn over the city lights, distinct evidence that, at times, Gintama' can be as serious as Rurouni Kenshin once was.

Of course, until the preview images show where the mosaics for the penis jokes go...

1. "Kuusou Mesorogiwi" ("Fantasy Missolonghi") - Yousei Teikoku
(Future Diary OP)

I'm not a big fan of horror, but any opening that can stir the cauldron and make my skin crawl is the kind that gets my attention. I'm not talking about witches and vampires in particular; I'm talking about drama and terror that only comes from abnormalities in the human psyche. Shaft did an outstanding job in developing that sense of despair from their Sayonara, Zentsubô-sensei openings, as did Manglobe with their Deadman Wonderland animation this year.

The fact this series was animated by little-known Studio Asread (their first solo project since Minami-ke) impresses me beyond belief. The sequence commences with a haunting Gothic chant and an eye crying blood, only to puncture the operetta with violent violins, blood-spattered white-and-red imagery, and the piercing toll of a bell. Toys rotting into pools of blood, a bony dog carcass lying on a carpet of dartboards, the main heroine smiling like someone who could either give you a love letter or stab you in the face with its opener—this isn't the product of nightmares, this is the factor that produces them!

Most impressive is the song composed by Yôsei Teikoku ("Fairy Kingdom") and their enigmatic lead singer Yui (who claims to be over 325 years old). Considering their last impressive project was for the Kurokami animation, fluffier substance than the band's image portrays, it's wonderful to hear their music come unglued with the psychotic imagery, something that was severely lacking in the promotional video for the song. Even the title, derived from the Siege of Missolonghi during the Greek War of Independence, speaks of slaughter.

Even after just describing the opening to Future Diary, I may not be able to sleep tonight.

Next time: the Best Ending Themes of Fall 2011 (if I manage to wake up...)

Best Ending Themes of Summer 2011

2011-10-20T22:48:00.000-04:00

Thank God it's all over. It all couldn't have finished soon enough, and that was after abandoning Mayo Chiki!, R-15 and Kaitô Tenchi Twin Angel by their second episodes.

The summer season's shows were so tough to swallow this year that I almost didn't make it to 50% of the ending themes. In fact, I probably didn't make it—considering how many songs came from The iDOLM@STER and Uta no Prince-sama shows alone, I probably left a ton on the editing-room floor. I'm so burned out that a mindless second season of Shinryaku! Ika-Musume is quite welcome.

Since the ends of the shows were literally music to my ears, I probably enjoyed more ending themes this season than last. With this ranking of the best 15 ending themes of the summer, we finally end this sad season. Once again, all credits for the pictures go to CDJapan.

Last Place. "Nyanpire Taisô" ("Nyanpire Exercises") - Nyatsuko Asô & Nyadain
(Nyanpire ED)

I understand there's a large demand for Hyadain after the popularity of My Ordinary Life's opening themes and his work on past songs with Natsuko Asô (see #15). Perhaps the ending theme to Nyanpire would have made a great single, but considering that the show itself is only about three minutes long each episode, there just isn't a need for a 90-second ending theme. I mean, imagine a One Piece episode ending with a ten-minute finale!

Instead of using thirty seconds of the song and shooting a promotional video for the single, the producers tried to kill two birds by making a full-blown live-action ending theme for the show. It's too much. Animate the ending, and we'll be much happier. Or you can just...

15. "Eureka Baby" - Natsuko Asô
(Baka to Test to Shôkanjû Ni! ED)

...leave Natsuko Asô's songs for their "perfect area".

Not to pigeonhole her talents, but Asô was much better known for her openings to the first TV season for Baka and Test ("Perfect-Area Complete") and the "Matsuri" OVAs ("Ren'ai-Kôjo Committee"). The song itself is a bubbly concoction that shows Asô has a bit to go before she can truly flex her vocal ability, but at least the animation is a creative multi-level collage of the show's characters. Bonus points for that, even though the animation is tough to view from a distance.

14. "Nanairo Namida" ("Rainbow-Colored Tears") - Tomato n' Pine
(Beelzebub ED 3)

Every now and then, a show's ending sequence will take a character in a direction we aren't normally familiar with. Yes, we've already been exposed to the gentler, alternate portrayal of the rugged Aoi in Beelzebub, but it's quite surprising to find a show that loves its cornier side of comedy appreciating its female characters. All of the wind-swept scenes of Aoi looking wistful and lonesome do tend to be a bit repetitive, but it's nice to see the directors using a lighter palette of colors for the more feminine scenes.

13. "Maji Love 1000%" ("Serious Love 1000%") - STARISH
(Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000% ED)

Well, it's cool to have the show about idols and composers end on the obligatory SMAP number. The animation's pretty fluid with plenty of thought left for the dance moves, perhaps with more individual movement than the opening to The iDOLM@STER. The song itself isn't really one for my CD rack, especially with Hiro Shimono not able to hold notes like the other five in STARISH. A good ending, but the songs during the show are better examples of vocal display, especially when each member is allowed a solo number.

12. "Switch ga Haittara" ("When the Switch is Flipped") - Chiaki Ishikawa
(Kamisama Dolls ED)

Well, at least the final sequences don't spoil the appearance of any of the characters that have yet to show, but if the intent is to hide back any spoilers for Kamisama Dolls, why provide silhouettes at all? The song is a terrific mixture of rivers and valleys, Ishikawa's ethereal voice again reverberating across the transition into the ending animation, but the animation itself is just a replay of everything we'd seen through the eyes of the "dolls" piloted in the show. A little dull of a finish, especially when we're only there to watch the twenty-second puppet-theater tease for the next episode.

11. "Wani to Shanpû" ("Crocodile and Shampoo") - Momoiro Clover Z
(Double-J ED)

I'm a bit surprised that I generally enjoyed the Double-J series, despite its brevity, but I'm even more stunned by how well the producers dissected the ending song from Momoiro Clover Z to make it work for the diminutive episodes. Only twenty seconds are taken from the song by the pop-idol quintet, and truth be told, the full song is hard to follow with all its directions. After listening to the full song in its cumbersome form, I'm rather glad it was sectioned out. The animation is short and succinct (take some notes, Nyanpire!) in its photonegative style, leading us onto the next five-minute short.

10. "Oh My God" - Haruka Tomatsu
(Cat-God ED)

The ending theme, sung by the voice actress for the cat-god-in-question Mayu, shows a decent vocal range and has some pretty good pep to it, making it a head-bopper for the show's end. You'd think there would be something a little more creative than just showing Mayu's nondescript reactions to things over a white background, but the song at least sends the audience away happy with its fresh tempo and catchy send-off. "Hey, Baby, Oh My God!"

9. "Rokutôsei no Yoru" ("Evening of the Sixth-Magnitude Star") - Aimer
(No.6 ED)

I'm not really a big fan of opening or ending themes that try to get away with "animation" through still-life images, but the ending theme to No.6 is one that can be read in ways that make the show rather sad. Are Sion and Rat on a playground during nuclear winter? Are we watching as two youths, forced to mature years beyond their age, catch up with their childhood in a dilapidated setting to which they can never return? Coupled with this extremely lonesome song sung by Aimer and the slow-motion roll of a snowball losing its flakes in mid-air, the last transition into a spring scene feels like it hardly provides the hope the story calls for.

8. "Clover" - The Sketchbook
(Sket Dance ED 2)

The opening theme from The Sketchbook ("Michi") seemed like it didn't quite fit with the Sket Dance program, a little too rock-and-roll for a show that was much more "Saved-By-The-Bell". The ending theme is much more melodic than the opener and much less clunky, the three Sket-Dan members laying in a field of clover without a care in the world. I'm probably reading too much into the animation, but watching the computer geek Switch stare at the sky in his robotic manner makes him look both totally emotionless and more human than ever.

7. "Wired Life" - Meisa Kuroki
(Blue Exorcist ED 2)

Vocally, "Wired Life" sounds like it gets a good boost of Auto-Tune as an addictive additive, and while Jay-Z might not approve, it gives Meisa Kuroki's lyrics a good mesh with the disco sound. While there's a lot of still-life in the animation, the producers at least know they have a budget to glamorize it with two-dimensional computer graphics. Probably the best dance-hall track of the season.

6. "Colorado Bulldog" - Mr. Big; "Asunaro" - Kenichi Suzumura
(Kami-sama no Memo-chô ED)

While the first ending theme is really no big feat of strength with its flashes of black-and-white photography, it's pretty amazing to note that Mr. Big—yes, THAT Mr. Big—is still around. "Colorado Bulldog" may not fit the idea of the anime (it's a mix of Vodka, Kahlua and Coke), but it's still pretty good fuel after the show, surprising from a folksy band like Mr. Big.

The second ending theme is certainly more the pace of the show, the main character Harumi given an opportunity to appear more stoic and serious than he starts in the show. It's very rare to hear an alternative-rock ending theme from a male soloist in Japan, so it's good to hear the strength in Suzumura's voice accompanied by firm electric guitars. Probably could have been a good song in the early 2000s from Duncan Sheik.

5. "Kimi no Kakera" ("Pieces of You") - Kôsuke Atari feat. Emiri Miyamoto
(Natsume Yûjinchô San ED)

As if drawn in a sumi-e style and colored with modern inks, Natsume Yûjinchô San ends like a lonely summer at home, the main character Takashi watching the last embers of a senko-hanabi (incense-fireworks) drop from his hand. The song from Kôsuke Atari features the flow from Japanese R&B singers such as Ken Hirai and Chemistry while invoking the feeling of admiration towards all things. This fits the total idea of the anime, each episode meant to instill thought towards the shortness and ephemera of life.

4. "Tsubasa wo Kudasai" ("Please Give Me Wings") - Sayaka Sasaki
(My Ordinary Life ED 2)

There is a lot to know about the second ending theme to My Ordinary Life, as "Tsubasa wo Kudasai" is quite popular as a song for singing contests in high schools.The song itself was composed back in 1971 and sung by Akai Tori, but it's been covered over a dozen times. Megumi Hayashibara sang it in an Evangelion soundtrack, and the girls from K-On! turned it into a rock song. An English version was even covered by Susan Boyle on the Japanese release of her debut album, I Dreamed A Dream.

What makes this ending solid is how complex the animation is in its simple scroll from east to west. As we watch from the sky down to the unnamed town supposedly in Gunma Prefecture, we see all of the characters, from major to minor, going about their business as the day comes to a close. Considering how many scenes there are in anime where the background characters never move, this ending is both refreshing and breezy.

3. "Balance Doll" - Prague
(Gintama ED 15)

At first, this ending theme might appear a little bland compared to some of Gintama's spring submission, but consider the fact that the producers aren't afraid of calling audibles—the season's opening theme ended in one episode with the Yorozuya trio getting into a fiery accident, only for the three to wonder if it had been stock footage all along.

While Prague does make some very sound music for the ending, the blue skies of the animation matching the smooth guitars like a motorcycle ride, it's that variety that makes the ending anxious. Each episode seems to be represented by a funny scene, whether it be characters from Sket Dance making a cameo or Edo's shôgun standing in a stretched pair of underwear. Nonsense in a field of sensibility—isn't that what a gag anime's all about?

2. "DEAR FUTURE" - Coaltar of the Deepers
(Mawaru-Penguindrum ED)

You may have never heard of "Coaltar of the Deepers", but you've likely heard their leader's music before. NARASAKI, the music producer for shows such as Paradise Kiss, Deadman Wonderland, and the new show Un-Go, formed the band in 1991 from the dregs of the "shoegazing" movement in the late '80s. Hence, their style has always been diverse and heavy in electronica and post-punk.

It's that sort of haze that brings each Mawaru-Penguindrum episode to such a lucid end. The tone swings from metaphysical to melancholy and back while Himari dresses into her "Survival Strategy!" outfit and plays hand-held percussive instruments with the idol duo that populates the subway's warning signs. Good luck understanding what all it means, but considering how drowsy the music sounds (and the fact this is an Ikuhara production we're talking about), it's bound to keep a dream interpreter working on its meaning.

1. "High High High" - Kasarinchû
(Usagi Drop ED)

At first I had my doubts about choosing Usagi Drop's ending theme as the best of the season, but there was something definitely familiar with the animation style. It took me a second to confirm the biggest "DUH!" moment of my life—the animation was done by Gekidan Inu Curry, the same animators that turned Maria†Holic into an 8-bit paradise, Zan Sayonara Zetsubo-sensei into a button-eyed film noir, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica into an experimental nightmare of sin.

The use of Gekidan Inu Curry's animation style almost gives the ending theme an unintentional haunting style. Darker pastel colors, combined with a movement that pulls the background into the unfocused foreground, give the ending a sugar-glass appearance, while the stop-motion animation gives it a flip-book feel. It's almost as if the main character Rin is dancing with rabbits that belong in a Tim Burton fairy tale. However, the song, a spirited guitar strum by Kasarinchû, is so uplifting and afloat in the clouds that it gives the animation the happiness the show seeks.

There are definitely some somber moments to the Usagi Drop show, so perhaps this ending is meant to draw that parallel. The animation looks a little scary to kids and sounds pleasant to parents—yeah, that draws a pretty good comparison to how children and adults see the same thing as both scary and serene.

Best Opening Themes of Summer 2011

2011-10-09T13:26:00.005-04:00

It's me! Whatever you do, stay away from R-15 and Mayo Chiki!

Somehow I must have sent a D-mail to myself from the future. I have the faintest feeling that I had warned myself not to watch much anime this season, and running the first three episodes of each anime over and over again in my mind pretty much confirms what I've thought.

There really wasn't anything in anime this season that was new enough to drag my attention away from the Spring 2011 shows that I've continued to follow. Likely it had to do with the waving flag of surrender constructed out of recycled anthology pages—eight shows from Shônen Jump ran on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Viz Media—but it probably has a lot to do with the deluge of average shows. Still plenty of beach episodes on shows that could have been mistaken for other shows. (Was I watching A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives or Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? I can't remember.)

I did manage to stay awake enough to pay attention to the songs in the beginning and end. At least, I hope I did. Many of them, much like the shows themselves, failed to impress.

Last Place. "Onna no Ko 'tte Maji Cho Angel!!" - ave;new Project feat. Saori Sakura and Rie Shirasawa
(Kaitō Tenshi Twin Angel: Kyun Kyun Tokimeki Paradise!! OP)

I don't know where to start with this opening theme. It's a bit like an amusement park, in which you have to look and listen in so many directions to the candy-like attractions, but the producer of this OP seems to want to compress time. If anything, it feels like a car hurtling down the edge of an incline, the music and lyrics sped up to the point of non-comprehension. To make matters worse, the song is whirled through too many key changes, leaving a sense of confusion. I hope we learn our lesson here—too much in an OP produces headaches that extend into the show itself.

15. "Yuriyurararayuruyuri Daijiken" - Nanamori-chû Goraku-bu
(YuruYuri OP)

There's no doubt this song got into your head by the first episode and threatened to bust through it like a cat escaping from a pinata. People may have been driven crazy by the catchy "ra-ra-ra" portion of the song sung by the voice actresses for the four main characters, but the song had chirpy energy that was likely the glue that kept people interested in the series. At least the animators were clever to change the opening animation to reflect the "disappearance" of Akari in one episode.

14. "READY!" - IM@S 765PRO All-Stars
(The iDOLM@STER OP)

If anything, the opening to The iDOLM@STER does a pretty good job of introducing such a large unit of singers without taking the shine away from the cohesive leader of the unit, Haruka (the idol on the far left). This is a production that was to resemble Morning Musume numbers at the get-go, so an opening number in front of a cheering crowd probably was the best bet. I'm not even bothered by the producer Ritsuko jumping in there to act as the 13th member.

13. "Orpheus" - Mamoru Miyano
(Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000% OP)

Much like The iDOLM@STER, Uta no Prince-sama is built on the songs that flow through it, but the opening is surprisingly left for a soloist, while the ending theme is buffered by the full group. Considering that I've really only absorbed Miyano's voice-acting work, I only knew about his hammy over-the-top roles and guiltly glossed over his performance work. After much self-study, he was probably the best choice as the lead role and the natural choice for the rock opening.

12. "Boku Ni Dekiru Koto" ("What I Can Do") - HOW MERRY MARRY
(Natsume Yûjinchô San OP)

The third season of Natsume Yûjinchô is the first I've actually watched, but looking back at the opening themes of the first two seasons, I'm pleased that the producers went back to a theme that sounds a little more melancholy (similar to "Issei no Sei" by Shuuhei Kita) than upbeat (the misplaced "Ano Hi Time Machine" by Long Shot Party). How Merry Marry are known more for their harder ending theme to Soul Eater, so hearing them produce a rain-swept opening convinces me they're capable of many different styles. The animation does a very small yet clever trick with the main character's white silhouette caught in the foreground of a flashback of scenes.

11. "Missing Link" - NOVELS
(Tiger & Bunny OP 2)

It's a little disappointing to see the opening theme to the second half of Tiger & Bunny resembling the opening theme to the first half, but I suppose a show with as much talent in the story and design doesn't really need a serious grab the second time around. A very good song by Novels for their first appearance in an anime, but it would probably be a whole lot more attractive if we hadn't gotten just another roll call of the major characters.

10. "Cras numquam scire" ("Tomorrow is Never to Know") - Yucca
(The Mystic Archives of Dantalian OP)

The opening theme to Dantalian almost feels like there has been a mistake to the soundtrack. The song, sung in a very romantic Latin, drifts along while a golem fight interrupts the normalcy of gothic European life. The singer, Yucca, a graduate member of the Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus who released an album of operatic covers in 2009, is perfect for the song, and the opening does the song justice with lyrics in Japanese.

9. "The Rock City Boy" - Jamil
(Fairy Tail OP 8)

Not exactly sure why I picked this song in this spot on the list, but I suppose I am more impressed with the idea that Jamil, an American rap/rock singer, clawed his way into Asia via Thailand and Japan and managed to blast his way into J-pop music in the same manner Becca did with Black Butler. True, the song has little to do lyrically with Fairy Tail (and we once again get floating-island imagery!), but the song has this catch to it that makes it hard to release. Besides, any song that ends its English-lyric rap with "You don't know what the hell I'm saying, right?" in Japanese deserves a gold star.

8. "Kamisama to Issho" ("With God") - Haruka Tomatsu and Yui Horie
(Cat God OP)

Cat God was a warm fireplace to sleep around this (contextually-speaking) frigid season. Comfortable characters and amusing scenarios included, it was a nice show to watch while fending off sleep under the heated kotatsu (but not before switching it off, of course). The opening song reflected this by displaying the main characters interacting with each other, instead of cutting to individual portraits of each god and their characteristics. Good call.

7. "Sweet Drops" - PUFFY
(Usagi Drop OP)

Puffy's American presense is likely not going to be that big anymore, as they peaked in the early to mid-2000s with their own animated series and the theme song to Teen Titans, but it's great to see them settle into modern culture as overall ambassadors to the J-pop sound. Usagi Drop really needed a theme that let viewers bounce like kids before the subject matter went to that of being a parent, and "Sweet Drops" really does the trick. Coupled with its toddler-book animation style, the song dares you not to smile. Two cool things; Ami and Yumi also made cameos in the show, and the promotional video for the song is pretty funny too.

6. "In My World" - ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D
(Blue Exorcist OP 2)

It was totally naive of me to think that ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D was more of a veteran band, but their debut was only a year ago for the second opening theme to Durarara!! ("Complication"). The band's got some good melody to it, and they definitely show some harder rock chops that didn't quite shine through before. Considering Blue Exorcist's first opening was a little more on the comic scale, it needed a serious montage for the second half of the show. Good to see one presented with a harsh vibe to it.

5. "Fukanzen Nenshô" ("Incomplete Combustion") - Chiaki Ishikawa
(Kamisama Dolls OP)

Perhaps the connection between Chiaki Ishikawa and Yuki Kajiura isn't immediately evident, but the two of them made up part of the trio See-Saw. While their '90s works were not as popular, their reunion in 2002 led to a resurgence from appearances in soundtracks for Noir, the .hack series (specifically the "Obsession" opening theme to .hack//SIGN), and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. While Kajiura has gone on to produce her own haunting soundtracks, Ishikawa continues to sing for anime themes. Her warbling voice in the Kamisama Dolls opening provides a great dichotomy that the animation is trying to draw between the village and urban settings. The animation is nice too, splashing stationary character profiles with revolving triangles that highlight a second color pattern.

4. "Spell" - LAMA
(No.6 OP)

The song's drowsy and may be a little too happily psychadelic for a serious end-of-humanity science-fiction show, but the animated sequence is the reason I put this opening closer to the beginning. If anything, this is an interesting way of presenting the two main characters by blowing panels of their pasts off their skin like a blast of hot air. Hard to say if the end result leaves a free-and-clear meeting between the two, but simple and clean is likely the best way for this animation to open.

3. "Kimi + Nazo + Watashi de JUMP!" ("You + Mystery + Me Jump!") - Larval Stage Planning
(Baka to Test to Shôkanjû Ni! OP)

Although the name of the trio is suspect at best, I was quite surprised by the pleasant nature of the opening animation for Baka and Test's second season. The first season's opener was fine for presenting the characters, but it was nice to find the animation style for the second go-around matching the pastel colors of the show's actual animation, but the attempt to do so without heavy outlines really gives the opening a unique feel. In fact, there was so much to like about the opening, from the subtleties of using a unique font to the surprising impact that icons representing the characters made, that I had to rank this opening higher than most. In addition, the song's got a J-poppish sweet tooth without resorting to syrupy messes.

2. "Hyadain no Jôjô Yûjô" ("Hyadain's Amazing Friendship") - Hyadain
(My Ordinary Life OP 2)

I couldn't do it. I couldn't call the second opening to My Ordinary Life the best of the season.

The obvious reason is probably the pure similarity to the first half's opener. I mean, it worked the first time to have characters introduced in that cool picture-inside-a-picture transition, but they went to the well again to do it. Granted, that still makes the opening better than most of the openers this season, but variety is still the spice of life.

However, some things still work, such as scripting another Hyadain song for the sequence. If anything, I like this song a touch better than "Hyadain no Ka-Ka-Kata Kataomoi-C", due to the variety of song-switches. Yes, this might violate my pledge against key changes, but this circus-like opener gets me wiggling in my seat. More shows need more energetic openers like this one.

And 100 Ed Grimley fans agree that any song with a triangle in it rocks your world.

1. "Nornir" - Etsuko Yakushimaru Metropolitan Orchestra
(Mawaru-Penguindrum OP)

Am I surprised to find Etsuko Yakushimaru providing us with another breathless song for animation? Absolutely not. Her works for Arakawa Under the Bridge ("Jesus and Venus", "Cosmos Vs. Alien") and Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko ("Ruru") were both mirthful and gentle, especially for shows that thrived on comedy.

Am I surprised to find her singing for the Mawaru-Penguindrum opening? Absolutely.

While the show has terrific bouts of comedy, it is deeply rooted in drama and mystery, meaning that the opening song had to capture that eccentic fusion. To hear Yakushimaru singing a song with flowing orchestral vibrations, complete with a full organized string section, is somewhat familiar at first, but the allegro tempo seems so unfettered without the staccaco nuances that guided the Arakawa Under the Bridge openers. Most of all, the song itself is so melancholy that we see a different side of Yakushimaru; the childlike hops from "Ruru" are now somber apologies.

Simply put, the opener is quite pure in its white background and hard to diagnose with its vague introductions to the cast, but everything gels together for a terrific sequence, framed mostly by Yakushimaru's light voice. The best bet is to let this opener ride for the entire series and to let the insert songs and ending animations vary to change the flow. Definitely the best from Summer 2011, and it could be the best for Autumn, as well.

Next time: the best ending themes to Summer 2011!

F1RST IMPRESSIONS: Uta no Prince-sama - Maji Love 1000%

2011-08-04T23:44:00.000-04:00

When you think of summer, you probably think of concerts and festivals, right? Consider this week to be your Summer of Song, as AniMaybe covers this season's two music-based shows. First up is Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000%, an animated adaption of the bishônen dating game from Broccoli.

Last year, my good friend Mike Toole (all-around anime wise man and ANN columnist) presented me with La Corda D'oro, a TV series animated by Yumeta Company and eventually subbed by Sentai Filmworks. Borrowing fully from the bishônen visual novel, the story focused on the life of a novice female violinist in an academy half-dominated by genius performers, most of whom were male. Not a bad story in there if you took out the fairy who helped the heroine, but that's a review for another time.

However, it did make me wonder if a company would squeeze more milk out of this potential cash-cow by going straight to something that clicked more with the target audience. Less instruments and more vocal cords later, Broccoli came out with Uta no Prince-sama (My Prince of Song) for the PSP, and that's led to the animated version, subtitled Maji Love 1000% (Serious Love 1000%).

In Uta no Prince-sama, the "academy for geniuses" scenario is relatively unchanged, as all those teens who want to make it big as singers and composers aim to be enrolled in the prestigious Saotome Academy. How prestigious? The founder "Shining Saotome", an ex-idol played by the flamboyant Norio Wakamoto (Mechazawa, Cromartie High School), comes flying into the opening ceremony and exits in an explosion of confetti. Needless to say, he's certainly one of the many colorful teachers at the institution.

Like all good bishônen visual novel games, however, the story revolves around a malleable heroine. With a heart of gold (and a pair of pupils to match), Haruka is incredibly eager to become a great composer, although she hasn't the capability to read sheet music. Rumors about her placement bring her down, but a sextet of friendly male students that come to her side soon give her confidence, each character comic in its own loud or quiet way. It's just too bad that there's a policy at school that forbids students from falling in love with each other!

Let me buffer this review by saying that it was about time someone stitched together anime with Japan's love for male-idol acts. Johnny's Jimusho have pretty much dominated the airwaves since the 80's, and it seems the characters borrow fully from the likes of SMAP and Arashi. The male characters are solid in the ways they fit their roles, complete with a sullen Mamoru Miyano playing the "KimTaku" role. Even Hiro Shimono, who isn't the best of singers, plays a short fedora-clad kid. Perhaps a Masahiro Nakai clone?

Either way, while the story is rickety, the show is animated nicely with some memorable comedy. With lots of color and music, it might be easy to dismiss the show as a Candyland musical, but animation by A-1 Pictures and direction by Yuu Kou (GIANT KILLING, Zero no Tsukaima) provides dependability. At times the music produced by the talents at Elements Garden could use a little more push within the episodes, but coupled with the openings and closings, they are better than expected.

Story: 2
Animation: 4
Characters: 3
Soundtrack: 3
"Hype": 3

Overall: 15/25

I still have lingering doubts that Uta no Prince-sama can be a cohesive work, but as pure entertainment it looks like it will carry the load. The hijinks might be enough to pull interest, especially with NicoNico.com's video player capabilities to provide comments on-screen from viewers. It's a daring venture for NicoNico to push it as one of its big shows, but so far it brings me to the site (unlike some other titles, and we'll cover them later). I suppose the concert has the energy to go on, but we'll see what sort of fanfare Uta no Prince-sama produces.

(Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000% is simulcast on NicoNico.com every Saturday.)

F1RST IMPRESSIONS: YuruYuri

2011-08-02T12:06:00.001-04:00

The summer's still sizzling, but no worries! Go to your local convention and GET THAT ICE COLD WATER FOR ONLY ONE DOLLAR. If you only have 99 cents, then cool off with some of our Summer 2011 anime reviews. This time we cover YuruYuri, an anime adaption of the manga written by Namori currently running in Comic Yuri Hime.

It's hard to really judge what sorts of genres in anime are capable of fitting together with the likes of yuri (girls' love) comics. For the most part, yuri seems to enjoy using high-school dramas as its hiding place (Maria-sama ga Miteru, Aoi Hana), but that doesn't mean that yuri can't be set in an action show (Revolutionary Girl Utena) or a comedy (Miyuki-chan in Wonderland). However, it's a little unsettling to come across the concept for YuruYuri, the latest comic from the pages of the Comic Yuri Hime anthology to be animated, as it attempts to stitch light-hearted comedy and slice-of-life situations with girl-on-girl fantasies.

YuruYuri both gravitates towards and away from the life of middle-school student Akari Akaza, the show's "main character" and token dojikko. While she's airheaded in nature, she does lead a happy school life with her upperclassmen Yui and Kyôko and spends days with them in the "Amusement Club", which does nothing but sit around the school teahouse and talk. Of course, this lazy activity gets the ire from Ayano, the class president.

Enter pink-haired Chinatsu, and the dynamic shifts almost instantly. We soon understand that Kyôko's a total otaku for magical-girl shows and is in love with Chinatsu's similarity to the main character "Mirakurun". However, Chinatsu has fallen for Yui's kind-hearted nature, while Ayano has this tsundere approach towards Kyôko in the process. With all that going on, vice-president Chitose envisions naughty situations between Ayano and Kyôko, thus developing constant nosebleeds in the process. All of this imagined and self-professed love between schoolgirls leaves Akari in the dark, often the butt of the joke for being the "invisible main character".

Okay, there are many different discussions I could lead after watching the first third of YuruYuri, but not too many of them are positive. The art isn't overly childish and the designs by Chiaki Nakajima are pretty stable, but at times the show feels like it would rather display the characters as posable dolls. The situations are pretty much unchanged from other "no-boy-characters-allowed" slice-of-life shows, even going as far to steal the "Removable Ponytails" idea from Azumanga Daioh and the "Let's Go To Comiket!" idea from Lucky Star.

It is a little disappointing to see that director Masahiko Oota (Mitsudomoe) was put in charge of a school comedy that really misses the point. While the yuri genre tends to explore more adult situations and more committed versions of love, YuruYuri opts for childish subjects by seeing what would happen if middle-school girls crushed all over each other. This one-sided attention to the show provides no change in the schticks put into place. Probably the only thing that will grow on you is the catchy opening and closing themes, and even those might grate on your nerves.

Story: 1
Animation: 2
Characters: 2
Track: 3
"Hype": 2

Overall: 9/25

YuruYuri seems to have made the terrible assumption that fans would be happy with a complacent cast and hints of sexuality, but putting such devices in a middle-school slice-of-life show just feels creepy. Yes, it's likely that there won't be anything more than misguided fantasies and "Sempaaaai!" calls, but this show is a lot like that "Do Not Enter" door in Akari's house. Do we really want to explore this side of yuri?

(YuruYuri is simulcast on Crunchyroll every Monday at 1:30 PM EDT.)

F1RST IMPRESSIONS: Mawaru Penguindrum

2011-07-23T22:10:00.002-04:00

If it's not the heat, it's the absurdity! AniMaybe continues its look at Summer 2011's new anime shows with a look at Mawaru Penguindrum, an original anime series from Brain's Base and the creative mind of director Kunihiko Ikuhara.

It's hardly an understatement to say that Kunihiko Ikuhara, the director for part of Sailor Moon and creator of Revolutionary Girl Utena, is an eccentric anime mind. Instead of embracing success after capturing the attention of critics and fans in the late '90s, Ikuhara pulled himself out of the limelight and disbanded Be-Papas, the collective behind Utena's manga and anime productions. While fans were mildly curious about his Schell Bullet manga/novel production, his work with anime had basically ground to a halt for years while he lived in Los Angeles.

Ikuhara's return to anime is an interesting one in the form of Mawaru Penguindrum (lit. The Rotating Penguindrum), one of three shows in Summer 2011 to be animated by Brain's Base (Natsume Yûjinchô San, Kamisama Dolls). Not only did Ikuhara helm and co-write this series, but he also enlisted the help of Lilly Hoshino (Otome Yôkai Zakuro) for character designs and Yukari Hashimoto (Toradora!) for music production.

The story of Mawaru Penguindrum revolves around orphaned twin brothers Shôma and Kanba and their terminally-ill little sister Himari. While they manage a decent life at their colorful kindergarten-like residence, the clock unfortunately runs out on Himari during a trip to the aquarium. The brothers are grief-stricken at their misfortune, only to be shocked to see Himari bolt upright and shout "Survival Strategy!", all thanks to a penguin-hat they had bought their sister.

Apparently, whatever resided in that hat is keeping Himari alive for the sake of obtaining assistance from Shôma and Kanba. They must find something called the "Penguindrum", but are only given vague instructions during an elaborately colorful sequence involving robotic bears and a staircase resembling the curve of vertebrae. Luckily, the siblings are given some help in the form of three pudgy blue penguin assistants that only they can see.

It's not surprising to kind Ikuhara blowing our minds once again with extravagant stock-footage transformation scenes and pensive symbolism, but it's terrific to see the details that make this show unique. Unnamed extras are replaced with expressionless people you'd see on public bathroom doors, and scene shifts are marked by subway station signs. The animation is fluid and sound with appropriate attention to the main characters, while backgrounds that are meant to stand alone stand as works of art.

The one thing I enjoyed mostly about Revolutionary Girl Utena was the surprising amusement provided by Chuchu, the show's absurd monkey/mouse comic-relief. For Mawaru Penguindrum, Ikuhara cashed his chips in three times to mimic this interaction, and the comedy coming from the three penguins kept a smile on my face. Loyal housekeepers one moment, but unintentionally perverted and bumbling with a one-track mind the next, these three stooges make Badtz-Maru look like an amateur, and they don't even have to say a word.

Story: 5

Animation: 5

Characters: 4

Track: 4

"Hype": 4

Overall: 22/25

Three weeks down, and there's almost nothing in the show that discourages me from following it on a weekly basis. The animation is colorfully crisp, the music seasons the scenery almost perfectly, and the story has been set up like dominoes, each needing to fall to get to the end. The one big fear that I have is that the androgyny and personality flaws in the characters might push the envelope too close to resembling Utena, but I'm hoping that Ikuhara's time away from direction has taught him new tricks.

While Mawaru Penguindrum may have flown under the radar during the spring, it could quite possibly be the biggest surprise to the anime industry this year. It took twelve years and the perfect storm for Ikuhara to return to the director's chair, which almost makes me fear that we won't see another great piece of work from Ikuhara until 2023.

F1RST IMPRESSIONS: Double-J, Nyanpire, Morita-san wa Mukuchi

2011-07-23T14:17:00.000-04:00

The summer's here with a (somewhat) full slate of new shows, and AniMaybe is covering each new show with a comprehensive preview. This time, we cover three new animated shorts for Summer 2011—Double-J, Nyanpire the Animation, and Morita-san wa Mukuchi.

Double-J

Story: 2

Animation: 1

Characters: 2

Track: 2

"Hype": 2

Overall: 9/25

Eiji Nonaka's hit gag manga Sakigake! Cromartie High School was one of those hard-to-miss titles that was so contrary to the mainstream that its eventual animated form felt so crisp and funny to watch. While it didn't depend on animated movement as much as it did on still-life, the final product was confident, each episode containing a mix of shorter stories with obscure situational comedy. I'm assuming that Nonaka felt the short bursts of comedy were its selling points, as he's tried to duplicate the comedy in Double-J, a collaborative effort with fellow artist Maru Asakura.

The effort itself isn't without a decent gag concept. Nagashima High School (another school named after a baseball player!) has a unique after-school activity run by its students called the "Cultural Activity Preservation Club". When Hajime and her friend Sayo look to join it, they find that many of the activities are trivial in nature; after all, what's so impressive about carving the tops of toothpicks and redesigning 7th-century "manga"?

While Nonaka's switch from a rough yankii story to fluffier moe nonsense is impressive, there seems to be weaknesses that drag the animation down. While there were playful transitions for the animation in Cromartie High School, such devices are missing in Double-J, even though the story seems to be told in the same manner. The humor takes a moment to sink in, but the snapback responses aren't as emotionally sharp as the ones you would see in other manzai-styled shows such as Nichijô or Arakawa Under The Bridge.

For now, Double-J can only be seen within the Yuruani? animation block on NTV with three other mini-shows. Perhaps its lack of an edge makes it easier to watch in five-minute spurts—if Double-J was a twenty-minute show, it would be as dull as licking envelopes, but at the current length (and apparent budget), it could be decent.

Nyanpire the Animation

Story: 1

Animation: 2

Characters: 2

Track: 1

"Hype": 1

Overall: 7/25

Hello Kitty has been an offensive juggernaut that no other assembly of two-dimensional mascots can forcibly take down. Yeah, Pikachu, Anpan-man, and Doraemon can take Sanrio by the horns and deliver a marketing body-slam, but when it comes to paper-thin moppets, Kitty-chan is #1.

Somehow, Nyanpire the Animation thinks it can borrow from the Sanrio monopoly, darken the mood a little bit, and deliver a solid alternative. The concept itself is adorable—simply put, Nyanpire is a kitten that has become a cuddly blood-sucker after a vampire gave the hungry critter a transfusion. As the show develops, we eventually meet other cat-based derivatives of samurai, angels, ninja, and the like, all meeting Nyanpire in amusing ways.

By itself, the animation is meant to be short and succinct, here and gone in the span of three minutes, but the brutal decision to cap the end of the show with a ninety-second ending sequence that has little to do with the animated show kills it. In fact, the ending can barely be called "animation", as it's merely a live-action sing-along song from Hyadain that is meant to occupy kids for a tad longer. It's perhaps unfair to judge Nyanpire the Animation as a full show, but if you're going to advertise it as one, it needs more of a kick than this weak effort.

Morita-san wa Mukuchi

(Morita-san's So Quiet)

Story: 1

Animation: 2

Characters: 1

Track: 2

"Hype": 1

Overall: 7/25

Admittedly, there seemed to be something intriguing about Morita-san wa Mukuchi on the surface. The original manga from Tae Sano was a yonkoma, so it was pretty obvious that the show's direction would be similar to an Azumanga Daioh, while the animation by Studio Seven would be closer to a K-On! or a Hyakko. It was a disappointment to learn that it would be chopped into bits no bigger than a CD single in duration, but at least there was still promise, right?

That being said, there's really not that much under the skin of this fruit. Neither good nor bad, Morita-san wa Mukuchi figures it would be best to provide slice-of-life profiles for each character. However, instead of providing characters with absurd quirks or annoying tics, Sano produces characters that are no different than those you see every day in school. There's a chatterbox, a fashionista, and a terribly shy worrywart, leaving Mayu Morita to be the only real unique person in the group.

As the title suggests, Mayu is the hazy-eyed mute in the group, keeping a cheerful nature and a solid circle of friends despite never once speaking to them. With that in mind, you would think that there would be no need for a voice actress. So...why exactly is Kana Hanazawa providing her voice for Mayu's inner thoughts? It totally defeats the purpose of having a mute character. In fact, this isn't the first time Hanazawa has voiced for a character that shouldn't have a voice—Mayu is merely a less shy version of Sora from Sketchbook.

With that all in mind, why even animate Morita-san wa Mukuchi at all? It just feels like a sliver taken off of some other animated yonkoma. The humor is bland for the first three "episodes", and the characters are hardly unique enough to demand attention. At this point, it's hard to believe that the story or animation could get any better, and adding a bizarre twist at the point would just make matters worse. This isn't the worst 210 seconds of your life, but you could be doing so much more with it.

(Morita-san wa Mukuchi is simulcast on Crunchyroll every Wednesday at 1:00 PM EDT.)

F1RST IMPRESSIONS: Manyû Hikenchô

2011-07-21T16:12:00.000-04:00

The summer's here with a (somewhat) full slate of new shows, so AniMaybe kicks off its Summer 2011 preview with a look at Manyû Hikenchô, an adaption of the samurai action manga written by Hideki Yamada and animated by Hoods Entertainment.

As a collective of animation fans, we really shouldn't be surprised when creators and producers collaborate on a project for the sake of titillating males. Whether it be live-action or animated, breast jokes and sexual pratfalls have been done for many years and probably will be done for many more. Unsurprisingly, the mix of this sort of campy action and seductive storytelling has already made its way into samurai "drama" B-movies. If you want any sort of evidence, I would suggest you check out any of the Kunoichi Ninpôchô series to see what I mean. (Keep in mind, while the trailer is safe for YouTube, it's still pretty darned suggestive. NSFW if your boss is sensitive to these things.)

Breasts that fire bolts of electricity and plumes of fire? Black holes that pop up between thighs? When Pat Benetar suggested we stop using "Sex As A Weapon", she might have been looking into the future at Manyû Hikenchô, the latest venture in animated samurai-era soft porn.

In the case of Manyû Hikenchô (lit. Secret Scroll of the Magic Breasts), we're not just talking about a society that battles with breasts in mind, but we're talking a whole Tokugawa shogunate setting where fame and luxury come from being endowed with cantaloupes the size of Mt. Fuji. Those with washboards for chests are doomed to live a life of poverty and humility. So sayeth the Manyû clan, a ruling family that possesses secret techniques to make mounds mountainous and the power to reduce a woman's breast size through swordcraft.

However, the inheritor of the clan's secrets, the tomboyish samurai Chifusa, doesn't see such endowments as being restricted merely to the upper class. She defects from the Manyû clan one night, only to fall wounded from a bridge, shot by her own stepsister Kagefusa. Chifusa sees the damage that her own family has done to the women of Japan who have had their breasts shrunk and vows to use her mystical sword to take the power away from the Manyû clan. Of course, possessing the secret scroll of the Manyû means that every time Chifusa magically wipes out a woman's J-cups, her own jugs inflate from all that stolen power. Hyuk hyuk.

And that's all there really is to the plot for Manyû Hikenchô. It's just a massive mash of mammaries disguised as a samurai drama, and that tends to turn the story into a forced comedy. Things could perhaps proceed with Chifusa fending off Kagefusa's warriors, but she has to make her travels with her assistant Kaede in tow. Since Kaede's already had her breasts reduced for turning against the clan, she's constantly jealous of Chifusa's size, drooling lewdly as she squeezes them for the camera.

Or...at least we think she's squeezing them. See, this show has been animated by Hoods Entertainment and directed by Hiraku Kaneko, two entities who were responsible for the production of Seikon no Qwaser. Perhaps due to reputation of the craft alone, a good majority of the screen is invaded by glowing beams of Censorlight™ when the boobies come out to play. While this form of censoring has been used before, it gets so intrusive that characters appear as if they came from the movie Cocoon, glowing to the point of being unidentifiable. It's due to this interference that the show loses all animated meaning, and the (partially) decensored version on TV-Tokyo's anime satellite channel AT-X only eliminates the bars over the breasts (which look rather disfigured from their gargantuan sizes).

Story: 1

Animation: 0

Characters: 1

Track: 2

"Hype": 1

Overall Rating: 5/25

There's got to be a story somewhere in Manyû Hikenchô, but it seems that producers and directors are happy to have people ogling at the initial concept than the actual direction of the show. The characters, outside of the honorable Chifusa, are poorly refurbished and recycled, only there to show off their flesh at the drop of a yukata. Perhaps there just might be a little bit of an ode to the ridiculous nature of the Kunoichi Ninpôchô movies, but this show is merely an X-rated version of the Highlander series, Chifusa cutting down the competition and collecting breast cup sizes until she's the biggest one left.

Thankfully, no one has picked Manyû Hikenchô up for the season, and I suggest no one should. If I wanted to see a misogynous show with martial arts, bad acting, and a flurry of gratuitous breast flashes, I would have picked up Cheerleader Ninjas.

Your Investment Portfolio: Spring 2011 Goldmines

2011-07-07T22:21:00.001-04:00

If anime shows could smoke, these would be kickin' with Cubans.

(Astarotte's Toy, you'll find yours next to the Doublemint gum.)

Let's cut to the chase. It's a hard-knock life for anime shows. Unless you have a huge cult following like the powerhouse Shônen Jump machines or the untouchable Doraemon / Chibi-Maruko-chan / Crayon Shin-chan slice-of-life shows, you have the shelf life of a can of beer. It can last a few months with refrigeration and careful storage, but it will eventually skunk.

That's not to say that some shows can be the best of the skunky beers. Of the 30+ shows we reviewed this season, five clearly came out of the vat with the cleanest taste and thickest foam, rich enough to be bottled as a premium lager. After watching these shows, I felt satisfied from those that came to an end and thirsty for more from those that have not.

Get out your glasses, folks—these are your King of Beers*.

(*All apologies to Budweiser, but your beer sucks.)

Part 1: Spring's biggest gainers!

Part 2: Spring's biggest losers!

Part 3: Spring's incomplete deals!

Part 4: Spring's bankruptcies!

Part 5: Spring's best investments!

"You have gain."

This rating doesn't necessarily mean I have confidence in these shows being good or bad; it just means they've improved since the first episode.

"You have loss."

Again, some of the shows that have received this rating are not necessarily bad or going to get worse, but their initial scores just happened to be higher than they are now.

"Confidence."

These shows are considered winners, even if they have lost some momentum since the first episode. Good chance they will continue to be good going into the next season(s).

"Collapse."

The outlook for these shows do not appear as comforting as others, while those that have ended will likely not get a second thought.

"Open deal."

These shows haven't been seen enough for a decision to be made. Let's agree to deal with them later.

"You are bankrupt."

We've seen enough. These shows deserve to have their Midas Money stolen and their Financial District cards broken.

"You have control."

The best of the best. These shows have had me from Day 1 and will have me on Day 1 of the Summer 2011 season (if applicable).

Gintama'

Still airing on Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 22

Current Rating: 23

Best In Show (Multiple Season)

Best of Spring 2011

I wonder just how much we are underestimating Gintama here in the States. While Viz has pulled the plug on the manga's publication in the US, the franchise has quietly sold over 33 million volumes in Japan (as of December 2010). While the show is no One Piece in terms of popularity, it's hard not to deny the show's overall likability—a news outlet even hypothesized that Gintama was a major reason why wooden swords were selling well in Hokkaidô during the G8 Summit in 2008!

While I tend to agree that the artwork wasn't what sold Gintama' as the best of the season, I'd have to single out the humor that stems from the dialogue. Whoever is writing this material, whether it be Hiroaki Sorachi, the manga's creator, or the staff at Sunrise/TV Tokyo, they need a huge bonus. I can't remember the last time I've laughed so hard from the original untranslated dialogue of an anime show, and the translations (credited to Chris Pai) are some of the smoothest I've come across in ages.

Most of all, I was shocked to see the show transition from a comedy to a drama at the drop of a hat. Even Excel Saga, one of the leaders in gag anime comedies, had a tough time being serious for an episode, but Gintama' managed to shift gears from nonsense comedy to samurai drama splendidly. Perhaps a lot can be attributed to the characters—remove the comic reliefs from the straight-edged characters, and you get a solid arc of hard-boiled episodes.

Nichijô (My Ordinary Life)

Still airing on Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 17

Current Rating: 22

Most Potential (Tie)

"Things we think are cool! Nichijô!"

If there is a common element that has lifted the likes of My Ordinary Life from the rest of the season, it's the unique Japanese style of comic storytelling. I have a feeling that some anime production staffs assume that comedy has to be titillating to get a reaction from the audience; My Ordinary Life is content with making the comedy multi-dimensional.

Initially, I'm sure that many (myself included) assumed that the comedy would blossom from only the friendship between three cute schoolgirls. There certainly is plenty of that between the stern tsukkomi Mio and the "Queen of Baka" Yukko, but it's amazing to see how both were outdone by the stoic, silent comic stylings of their friend Mai. The give-and-take comedy between kid-prodigy(?) "Professor" and her robot creation Nano is gold, but throw in their talking cat, and you have even more material.

The biggest surprise was the confidence displayed by Kyoto Animation's work. This is Lucky Star taken to a fourth dimension, one where the point-of-view and time is toyed with until a funnier perspective is reached. This is Azumanga Daioh to the nth degree, where the absurdity of a principal giving a deer a German suplex is the new norm. Best of all, KyoAni knows that the freshness of the original manga needs to stay animated; between the main story's clips, the show provides animated shorts that are reintroduced every other episode, common enough to keep the bit funny without over-seasoning the dish.

Tiger & Bunny

Still airing on Viz Anime

Original Rating: 21

Current Rating: 22

Most Potential (Tie)

Hey, have you all been wondering what's been going on with Masakazu Katsura, the mangaka who redefined both the superhero genre and the panchira in seinen comics like DNA2 and Shadow Lady? While he has been taking his time with ZETMAN serializations in Young Jump, he obviously has not lost his creative juices, serving as the chief character designer for Tiger & Bunny. Perhaps that's why some of the characters seem so familiar (particularly the female ones—Dragon Kid reminds me of Video Girl Ai) and the sense of justice feels like it came from Batman.

While the story does have the sense of a Lethal Weapon, its tag-team of Wild Tiger and Barnaby Brooks Jr. unable to see eye-to-eye most of the time, I also get a great sense that this is a superhero version of Cowboy Bebop. The background art is pretty spectacular, and the computer-generated machinery surprisingly does not interfere with the regular animation. The structure of the story is placed well, episodic adventures building up the rivalries and teamwork, only for a serious villain and nefarious crime syndicate to disrupt the games.

The other evidence Tiger & Bunny could continue to do well next season? The plethora of original "Tiger X Bunny" artwork out there. Ladies, prepare your yaoi paddles.

Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san.

(You're Being Summoned, Azazel-san.)

Original Rating: 15

Current Rating: 18

Best In Show (Animated Short)

Azazel-san had me snagged from the first episode and held me in a headlock the entire way. I mean, who wouldn't love watching a show where gruesome demons from the other side of darkness turn into fuzzy Sanrio rejects once they are summoned to the human world?

While the animation isn't exactly five-star, it's the creativity when it comes to parody and jocularity makes the show a hoot to watch. The mockeries of Sazae-san, Comiket and...whatever series the pointy-haired school kid's supposed to be from in Episode 7...are solid, and the Disney-Demons are brilliantly inept at their crafts. Perhaps it's all this ridicule that makes the intentionally-bad animation good (Heta/uma? - Ed.)

In particular, this is a series where the lack of integrity is significantly noticeable, and that frees up so much clearance for the voice actors to drop all pretenses and act like immature brats. Hiroshi Kamiya's calming demeanor fits the savior-faire of the penguin-like Beelzebub, only to dissolve once he craves animal feces. Yû Kobayashi gets to display her talent for split-personalities as the mermaid Undine, but this particular role allows her to do so with a violently jealous streak. In the end, it's the lovable horndog Azazel (played by a jolly Masaya Onosaka) that steals the show, guaranteed to get a pitchfork to the head for being a sexual deviant.

AnoHana

Original Rating: 18

Current Rating: 21

Best In Show (Single Season)

I had been concerned that streaming services had been turning a deaf ear to the noitaminA titles being offered lately. While Crunchyroll did pick up the critically-acclaimed Wandering Son last season, Funimation took its time before it pounced on the inferior Fractale. This season, while Funimation was content with [C] - Control, no one budged on AnoHana. It was the first time since streaming started overseas that a noitaminA title was left in the cold.

Funimation, Crunchyroll, Anime Network—you guys seriously dropped the ball.

While there may not be much to the bottom line of the story—a group of childhood friends helping their childhood friend pass on after death—the execution of the story turned a coloring book into a Picasso. The staff behind the straight-to-animation project have a terrific twosome, as director Tatsuyuki Nagai (Honey & Clover II) was reunited with his scriptwriter, Mari Okada (GOSICK). While it's usually the animation studio (A-1 Pictures, who are hardly a slouch themselves) or voice actors that get the credit, Nagai and Okada are an exceptional team when it comes to depicting raw emotion, having composed the tearjerking comedy Toradora! in 2008.

With the script and plot in capable hands, the story produced more tears than an onion field, and the characters, although hardly original on their own, were some aggressive studies in regression. The death of one child cause the other five to build walls around them, both figuratively and literally, forcing all six to wallow in the past. The last episode of AnoHana is one that will likely stick in the back of your mind like the last episode of Toradora! and produce a lump in your throat that may never disappear.

Best of Spring 2011

Gintama'
My Ordinary Life / Tiger & Bunny
AnoHana
Steins;Gate
Blue Exorcist
[C] - Control
Hanasaku Iroha
Deadman Wonderland
Azazel-san
Kaiji Season 2

Worst of Spring 2011

The Qwaser of Stigmata II
Health & Phys Ed for 30-Year-Olds
We, Without Wings
Bridge to the Starry Skies
Dog Days
Aria the Scarlet Ammo
Battle Girls: Time Paradox
Astarotte's Toy!
Hen Zemi
A-Channel

One final note: isn't it amazing that every show in the "Worst of Spring 2011" list is a one-season show? Am I the only one impressed by that? No?

Your Investment Portfolio: Liquidations from Spring 2011

2011-07-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

Shows so bad that they require more
than a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card...

This season had shows with so much potential. For some, the potential was scouted and seen from the very beginning, as shows that were granted a half-year of episodes seem to have deserved it. For others, the potential came in the form of disaster, perhaps in the same way that we saw so much potential in the operations of Enron, New Coke, and the Exxon Valdez.

For every successful business, there is a certain ratio of businesses that have tanked. Show me Grave of the Fireflies, and I'll show you Happy Lesson. Show me Cowboy Bebop, and I'll show you the second season of Happy Lesson. Really, to make things simple, just show someone Happy Lesson. They'll get the concept of failure.

So here we go, folks. These shows have filed for Chapter 7. May they never return again.

(Reminder: all scores are out of 25. Like hell I'd give Battle Girls a 7 out of 10.)

Part 1: Spring's biggest gainers!

Part 2: Spring's biggest losers!

Part 3: Spring's incomplete deals!

Part 4: Spring's bankruptcies!

Part 5: Spring's best investments!

"You have gain."

This rating doesn't necessarily mean I have confidence in these shows being good or bad; it just means they've improved since the first episode.

"You have loss."

Again, some of the shows that have received this rating are not necessarily bad or going to get worse, but their initial scores just happened to be higher than they are now.

"Confidence."

These shows are considered winners, even if they have lost some momentum since the first episode. Good chance they will continue to be good going into the next season(s).

"Collapse."

The outlook for these shows do not appear as comforting as others, while those that have ended will likely not get a second thought.

"Open deal."

These shows haven't been seen enough for a decision to be made. Let's agree to deal with them later.

"You are bankrupt."

We've seen enough. These shows deserve to have their Midas Money stolen and their Financial District cards broken.

"You have control."

The best of the best. These shows have had me from Day 1 and will have me on Day 1 of the Summer 2011 season (if applicable).

Hen Zemi

Original Rating: 10 (out of 25)
Current Rating: 8
Last Episode Watched: 7

For a show all about studies regarding the twisted and perverted people in this world, Hen Zemi could have been a study on anime itself. In a medium so desperate for change and absurdity, the show could have established a new paradigm in the genre, but because of the stagnant nature of some shows, a reform so radical to the typical anime plotline makes it just as hard to swallow.

In the end, it simply became a collection of disturbances and disgusting actions.

Yes, anime and its fans are an assembly of perversions that could give researchers material for years, but urine in beer bottles, fetishes about being used as a food tray, and the use of ear canals as breeding grounds for fruit flies? Well, that's just sick. Yes, it's a bit of a colorful selection of college students, each with their own deviancy, but something tells me this series was an animated game of "Chicken" to see how far it could go before Governor Ishihara pulled the plug.

Battle Girls: Time Paradox
Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 8

Current Rating: 7

Last Episode Watched: 4

There was some promise upon watching the first episodes of Battle Girls: Time Paradox. Then I realized that I could be washing the dishes.

While part of me was hoping that another adaption of a pachislot theme into anime would create another "jump the shark" moment (see: Rio ~Rainbow Gate!~), reality dictated otherwise. Much like Dog Days (the show below this review), the "war" was substituted with "recreation", and that has to get under the skin of historians out there. Add to that an increasingly-whiny Hideyoshi, and I found my stopping point.

Aria the Scarlet Ammo

Funimation

Original Rating: 5

Current Rating: 6

Last Episode Watched: 3

Oh, Internets. You all fell in love with Rie Kugimiya and Junji Majima so easily in Toradora!, and I am just as guilty as all of you. It wouldn't hurt to have them appear in another anime together, right? Well, we reap what we sow, as Aria the Scarlet Ammo isn't the type of show we wanted them to co-star in.

Frankly, seeing high-school students with guns and swords in anime is a vital pet peeve for me. Full Metal Panic! gave me a bit of the chills from the friction with my personal policies, and Gunslinger Girl irked me endlessly by lowering the average age of the assassins. Aria's introduction of a high-school just for weaponry and ballistics training really got my goat this season, and I couldn't stand watching it after the third episode. (Seriously, guys—quit using the traps they used in Speed already.)

Dog Days

Original Rating: 6

Current Rating: 5.5

Last Episode Watched: 2

Admittedly, Dog Days was the one show that I couldn't watch past two episodes. Animating a war between cats and dogs is one thing, but animating a faux war between cats and dogs is another contest altogether. I'm sure that it could have gotten better had I watched more, but if I wanted to see pugilism without the blood and gore, I would have watched an episode of Takeshi's Castle.

Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi
(Bridge to the Starry Skies)

Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 5

Current Rating: 5.000000001

Last Episode Watched: 7

Just what is it that encourages companies to roll out animated versions of erotic visual novels? Is it a celebration for a game's success, a reward to the consumers for being good to their products? Is it an added bonus to appeal to those who didn't get their jollies from the game itself?

To be brief about it, it's hard to tell exactly what the point was for animating Bridge to the Starry Skies. The characters were colorful in hair color alone, their personalities as prefabricated and wooden as mannequins. The scenery was borrowed, not bolstered, by other games, as it was dreadfully similar to other visual-novel adaptions—hell, it was Yosuga no Sora without the obvious creepy brother/sister incest and with the implied creepy brother/little-brother incest. Worst of all, even if you didn't play the game, it was set in stone that the male lead would make out with the lead character, the abnormal ditz with the bottomless stomach.

The inexplicably sad thing is that it had actually improved since the first episode. Ugh.

Health & Phys Ed for 30-Year-Olds

Original Rating: 5

Current Rating: 4

Last Episode Watched: 4

Worst in Show (Animated Shorts)

I'd say that I watched four episodes of this series, but all the colored-chalk scribbles blocking out the naughty bits and the nonsense words bleeping out the sensitive subject matter, I probably only saw two. If the censors had any real say in the matter, they would have gone to the producers beforehand and given them a bit of advice:

"Yeah, you know that blow-up doll there? That's not getting past us, guys. Same goes for any vibrators you have on hand. All those words to describe the act of sexual intercourse and the anatomy of male and female genitalia have to go too. Really, if it were up to us, we'd just put this bad boy straight to video and call it a day."

I'd want to call this a victim of the stricter censorship laws, but I think we're all victims here...

The Qwaser of Stigmata II

Original Rating: 3

Current Rating: 2

Last Episode Watched: 3
Worst In Show (Multiple Seasons)
Worst of Spring 2011

I will say only one thing about this pathetic show. I cannot believe that the Japanese public are so starved for entertainment that they allow this show to last 36 episodes. I'll fill the rest of the review with my shopping list.

Eggs
Cheese
Bacon
Diet Pepsi
Milk ~~from the breast of a nubile maiden~~

Dammit!

Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai
(We, Without Wings)

Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 10

Current Rating: 4

Last Episode Watched: 7

Worst in Show (Single Season)

You know, I was totally prepared to give OreTsuba the credit it deserved for turning a cumbersome association of characters and a confusing plot swerve into a show that actually tried something unique. As hard as it was to fathom, the We, Without Wings title slowly made sense as I started to understand how Shûsuke, Hayato, and Takashi fit into the mix.

Then they had to have that "DJ Condor" guy change the channel to Skinemax.

Every time the show looked like it was heading in a sensical direction, it had to pull some sort of low-brow stunt to deflate all of its momentum. The introduction of an interesting villain to the show was coupled with a dimwitted picnic, a fake-as-plastic Fat Joe impostor, a food fight involving cakes and crossdressers, and a rock-rap fusion song about (and I quote) "D*cks! D*cks! D*cks! D*cks!" A serious conversation between characters? Hell no! A cavalry battle in the pool where the main heroines lose their tops? Of course!

The OreTsuba staff had the chance to cater to a wider audience. Instead, they gave all of their galge fans the erections they demanded.

Your Investment Portfolio: Trading Halts for Spring 2011

2011-07-05T14:02:00.001-04:00

These shows are in neutral.

Good chance they won't be going anywhere soon...

Again, the amount of my financial background could probably be condensed to that of a single pamphlet, but even I know that not all deals, whether they be operational, asset-related, or on Wall Street, go swimmingly. Sometimes they need to be delayed or halted until a better time comes around or a better deal can be hammered out.

That was the case with a few shows this season. Whether they were full on promise and low in motivation (or the other way around), there were shows that I wanted to watch more, only to find that there was some obstacle to the deal. This doesn't mean that the following shows will be abandoned, but right now there was something that didn't allow me to finish them, even if the interest was there.

Here are the shows that I wanted to watch more of, but didn't watch enough. Maybe I'll get to them the upcoming season. Maybe.

Part 1: Spring's biggest gainers!

Part 2: Spring's biggest losers!

Part 3: Spring's incomplete deals!

Part 4: Spring's bankruptcies!

Part 5: Spring's best investments!

"You have gain."

This rating doesn't necessarily mean I have confidence in these shows being good or bad; it just means they've improved since the first episode.

"You have loss."

Again, some of the shows that have received this rating are not necessarily bad or going to get worse, but their initial scores just happened to be higher than they are now.

"Confidence."

These shows are considered winners, even if they have lost some momentum since the first episode. Good chance they will continue to be good going into the next season(s).

"Collapse."

The outlook for these shows do not appear as comforting as others, while those that have ended will likely not get a second thought.

"Open deal."

These shows haven't been seen enough for a decision to be made. Let's agree to deal with them later.

"You are bankrupt."

We've seen enough. These shows deserve to have their Midas Money stolen and their Financial District cards broken.

"You have control."

The best of the best. These shows have had me from Day 1 and will have me on Day 1 of the Summer 2011 season (if applicable).

Toriko

Still airing on Funimation

Original Rating: 19

Current Rating: 18.5

Current Episode: 4

Perhaps it was a little bit of indigestion when it comes to Toriko. There was just so much on my plate this season that dining into episodes where Toriko devoured manhole-sized slabs of meat like they were cookies just gave me a sense of being full enough to pass the platter to the next diner.

There are still tons of scraps on this show that are sweet and tender. I came to appreciate the goofy grins the characters get when they are wrapped in caloric bliss like bacon around scallops, the DBZ-styled fights against delicacies too plentiful to let be, and the decent acting efforts by Ryotaro Okiayu (Toriko) and Romi Park (Komatsu). However, the endless overindulgence of gluttony was hard to stomach, and the buck had to be passed from the Spring 2011 anime menu. Perhaps now that summer's here Toriko can be savored and reviewed accordingly.

Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera

Original Rating: 18

Current Rating: 18.5

Current Episode: 4

A bit of a surprise that I wasn't able to watch more of this show, and now the delay in its pursuit means I will likely be unable to watch this until it comes out on video from NIS America. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera might please all the yôkai fans out there with its silly hijinks and simplified exploration of Japanese monsters.

Considering that the original Enma-kun was played by Masako Nozawa (Son Goku, Dragon Ball; Tetsuro, Galaxy Express 999), there were some giant shoes to fill, but putting high-energy veteran Kappei Yamaguchi into the role made it seamless. Adding Mamiko Noto and Takehito Koyasu to complete the trio certainly helps give this show star power. Perhaps its limited availability made it harder to follow, but there's a good chance it will be in my collection come next year.

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (Electric Wave Girl and Youthful Boy)

Original Rating: 14

Current Rating: 15

Current Episode: 5

Of the few episodes of Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko I've watched, each seems to have its own way of charming me and driving me crazy. On one hand, the character designs are cherubic and seem contrary to the styles SHAFT had chosen to animate in the past. On the other hand, the characters surrounding the male lead have a tendency to have their own annoyances in personality.

It's a decent show that had one too many of those annoyances to keep me from watching it thoroughly, but perhaps the biggest disappointment is that the final episode has to be purchased to be seen. Apparently it can't be shown on the air due to the quake for some unfathomable reason, so one must purchase it in a bundle with the home-video release. Without an actual ending in sight, it's hard to really have the motivation to finish the series.

Shôwa Monogatari (Shôwa Story)

Original Rating: 13

Current Rating: 12

Current Episode: 2

The jury is still out on how a show like Shôwa Monogatari would unroll after just two episodes, but there's just not enough of a connection to encourage me to follow it right now. Watching the show would be more of a learning experience, but something tells me that it was meant to be a show that helps the older generations to appreciate the nostalgia of post-war Japan.

Not being part of that subset, I'll leave it to those wiser about that generation to judge the show. I might return to it for study material, but that could be something more easily obtained by watching the movie version of the show.

Hyouge Mono

Original Rating: 13

Current Rating: 11

Current Episode: 3
Least Potential

It seems unfair to judge Hyouge Mono after just the first three episodes and assume that it would bring the least to the table in terms of second-season potential, but of all of the continuing shows, this one was the one I figure I wouldn't be watching consistently.

There is that flash of a chuckle from the faces that Sasuke makes after a possibly brilliant article of aesthetics risks demolition, but that seems to be all the show has to offer from the surface. The pace of the show tends to slow and speed at times, and the vocal cast hasn't impressed me. Whether I look to wade in deeper, that's something that needs to be judged later, but something tells me that an appreciation for art is something that I won't need an anime to tell me about.

Moshidora

Original Rating: 10.5

Current Rating: 10

Current Episode: 2

Could this be a pattern developing? Both of the original NHK shows for this season (Moshidora and Hyouge Mono) seem to lack the power, regardless of whether it be constructive or destructive, that other shows have. While I'm sure Peter Drucker has developed a new radical way to approach business, I get the sense here that it really doesn't have a vital role to how the story is to be unfurled.

I'm certain that it will make a terrific live-action movie (Released last month in Japanese theaters - Ed.), and perhaps that's what the initial approach should have been. It appears that you'd get more emotion in this drama (and perhaps even more comprehension of Drucker's subjects) than if you had it animated. I might give this show a rainy-day watching every now and then, but I have my doubts I'd enjoy it.

Your Investment Portfolio: Spring 2011's Losses

2011-07-05T10:46:00.002-04:00

The Spring 2011 anime season is just about over!

Pay two months of subscription fees!

I'll be the first to admit that I know very little about finance and economic matters. I'm not dumb enough to be unable to tell stocks from bonds, but I'm also not the sort that will be able to construct Madoff schemes. I get much more use out of a book on checkers than a check book.

However, I do understand that there are nuances with stocks. Just because a stock has fallen in its price, that doesn't mean that the stock is totally going to be worthless now or in the future. I'm going to apply the same mentality when it comes to my anime—a show that has improved over the span of a season doesn't mean it was or will continue to be good in the future, and a show that has lost ground may not continue to lose it.

So take the following analysis with a grain of salt (but hold the tequila). Here are some of the shows that have lost some steam over the pressure of the Spring 2011 season.

Part 1: Spring's biggest gainers!

Part 2: Spring's biggest losers!*

Part 3: Spring's incomplete deals!

Part 4: Spring's bankruptcies!

Part 5: Spring's best investments!

"You have gain."

This rating doesn't necessarily mean I have confidence in these shows being good or bad; it just means they've improved since the first episode.

"You have loss."

Again, some of the shows that have received this rating are not necessarily bad or going to get worse, but their initial scores just happened to be higher than they are now.

"Confidence."

These shows are considered winners, even if they have lost some momentum since the first episode. Good chance they will continue to be good going into the next season(s).

"Collapse."

The outlook for these shows do not appear as comforting as others, while those that have ended will likely not get a second thought.

"Open deal."

These shows haven't been seen enough for a decision to be made. Let's agree to deal with them later.

"You are bankrupt."

We've seen enough. These shows deserve to have their Midas Money stolen and their Financial District cards broken.

"You have control."

The best of the best. These shows have had me from Day 1 and will have me on Day 1 of the Summer 2011 season (if applicable).

Hanasaku Iroha

Still airing on Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 20

Current Rating: 18

I still think that Hanasaku Iroha a terrific show amongst those that grace Crunchyroll this season, as the show manages to tell a very good drama about a subject that probably wouldn't appeal to many—traditional Japanese inns (ryôkan). In many ways, the show is comparable to the initial thrill of going to a ryôkan for the first time. The first experiences are exciting (especially when alcohol is a factor), and everything smells and feels new, from the robust sulfur of the hot springs to the tightly-woven rice straw tatami mats. However, the longer you stay at a ryôkan, the luster tends to wear off.

While Hanasaku Iroha manages to find humor in daily operations—spunky Ohana spends each day either as a helpful employee or an animated Lucille Ball—things are rolling a bit slowly. Granted, the bar was set high to begin, but there are particular characters that have gotten under my skin. The story's still solid with good direction, but hopefully the characters around Ohana manage to grow into likable foils.

Deadman Wonderland

Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 19

Current Rating: 18

Deadman Wonderland could be the perfect TV series out there for the horror fans who are seeking a gory story with little cohesion in the way of its bottom line. It's meant to shock people from its lack of ethical thinking and humanity's tendency to corrupt social boundaries. In other words, expect lots of blood and little comprehension.

There's no doubt the story will seek a second season, but stopping the presses in mid-story is a serious flub. Too many things make too little sense in too little time. Yes, the splatter alone could probably impress George A. Romero, but there are so many gaping holes from the plot by the time the last episode closes that not granting a second season would be a crime. However, so much would have to be retold and explained just to reintroduce things to fans. A skeptical thumbs-up if it leads into a second season.

Maria Holic Alive

The Anime Network

Original Rating: 19

Current Rating: 16

The first season of Maria Holic was a delight to watch, as Shaft and Akiyuki Shinbô did a great job of turning the genres of Takarazuka and bishôjo games onto their perfectly-styled heads. It was fun to watch Kanako internally drooling over each of her classmates, only to be held in check by her crossdresser-in-charge Mariya.

If the first series was smooth sailing, then there were warning signals that Maria Holic Alive would experience a bit more turbulence. There was no true departure from the schtick, and it seemed that the series was settling into Kanako's nosebleed as the go-to gag. Direction was there, but I look at Maria Holic Alive and see a fourth season of Sayonara Zetsubô-sensei—too many plot devices from that show led the series into a montage of non-sequiturs.

The World God Only Knows II

Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 17

Current Rating: 15

Speaking of sequels, the second season to The World God Only Knows managed to turn my head by promising the addition of Haqua, Elsie's elder in school and work. It felt good that the gears were turning and that Keima's quests would be a little more urgent, especially with the introduction that a spirit could be lodged in the hearts of demons, too.

However, things just...returned to normal. No bigger challenges, just more "conquests" and another gaming finale that focuses on Keima's galge obsession. It feels like there was no real ground made in this season; you could conceivably start the inevitable third season by skipping the second. Hopefully things will click more in the future, as this game of "Capture the Flag" is starting to wear thin.

Sket Dance

Still airing on Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 16

Current Rating: 14

Sket Dance has been fortunate in the sense that the characters' unique personalities and sharp-tongued comments have been keeping it alive so far this season. The situations may not have been all that entertaining, but at least the color from the assembly of fools have managed to keep the club from disbanding.

Unfortunately, by the end of the first 13 episodes, the show has resorted to its usual bag of Shônen Jump tricks by putting clubs in an arena-packed competitive battle. For a martial-arts show or a coming-of-age seinen show, this might feel more appropriate, but it seems like it was just an excuse to appeal to more SJ fans. Hopefully, a return to less bloodthirsty battles and more attention to the backgrounds of Bossun and Switch will give the show a little drama to counter-balance the comedy.

Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi (World's Greatest First Love)

Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 15

Current Rating: 12
Biggest Disappointment

I do like the art that goes along with Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi, as it is flexible enough to pop between serious melodrama and superdeformity, but in the end, that's really all I enjoyed about the show. All the averages that held the show as a decent boys'-love romance ended up pulling it down into a show that really didn't require the editorial department to tell the story.

It's hard to really put a finger on why the show never really settled with me, but I'll be honest in saying that it wasn't the subject matter. If anything, it was the difficulty of really getting to like the personalities of the characters. While the show managed to get off of the conflicting relationship between Onodera and Takano by focusing on two other book-related relationships, they never seemed to feel unique. It was as if Onodera and Takano were just redrawn into two other versions of themselves, the personalities merely transplanted into other receptacles. In the end, I just couldn't get into the tease of a relationship between the wishy-washy Onodera and the stubbornly confident Takano.

A-Channel

Original Rating: 10

Current Rating: 9

Now that this season is promising us slice-of-lifer shows Yuruyuri (already streaming on Crunchyroll) and Morita-san wa Mukuchi, I wonder just what sort of Kraken has been released by the likes of Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star. It appears more and more creators are assuming, ergo ipso facto, that putting four girls in a classroom will guarantee success from some sort of otaku clique, so they really don't bother fleshing them out with personality.

That's what really destroyed the chances that A Channel had this season. Considering everybody and their brothers were releasing anime shows, you needed a good gimmick and stand-out characters to grab fleeting attention spans. A Channel's staff might have thought that insert songs and a strong logo (the "A" in the background) would do the trick, but that still gets nothing from me. The foursome weren't all that spectacular, aside from Run's flamboyant ditziness, especially when compared to the shenanigans going on in a similar show, My Ordinary Life. There wasn't much in the tank to begin for A Channel, and I'm pretty sure the show ran out of gas early in the season, leaving it thumbing for a ride until the very end.

Your Investment Portfolio: Spring 2011's Gainers

2011-06-30T11:45:00.000-04:00

The Spring 2011 anime season is just about over!

Go directly to Go! Collect what's left of your sanity!

Let's face it—being an anime fan this season meant that huge investments in time had to be made. Perhaps you've spent a little coin for a premium membership at Crunchyroll. In all likelihood, you've even invested sleep to watch some of the shows (since there were a lot of them). However, just how much of that investment has actually paid off? What shows out there were worth their weight in Perica?

It's about time that we get in contact with our ~~bookie~~ broker to see what shows have been wise investments this season and which will be wiser investments in the long run. We're going to run with this whole "Bank of Otaku" motif and discuss which shows improved over the season and which shows were dreadfully bad to the point of Chapter 11.

Part 1: Spring's biggest gainers!

Part 2: Spring's biggest losers!

Part 3: Spring's incomplete deals!

Part 4: Spring's bankruptcies!

Part 5: Spring's best investments!

"You have gain."

This rating doesn't necessarily mean I have confidence in these shows being good or bad; it just means they've improved since the first episode.

"You have loss."

Again, some of the shows that have received this rating are not necessarily bad or going to get worse, but their initial scores just happened to be higher than they are now.

"Confidence."

These shows are considered winners, even if they have lost some momentum since the first episode. Good chance they will continue to be good going into the next season(s).

"Collapse."

The outlook for these shows do not appear as comforting as others, while those that have ended will likely not get a second thought.

"Open deal."

These shows haven't been seen enough for a decision to be made. Let's agree to deal with them later.

"You are bankrupt."

We've seen enough. These shows deserve to have their Midas Money stolen and their Financial District cards broken.

"You have control."

The best of the best. These shows have had me from Day 1 and will have me on Day 1 of the Summer 2011 season (if applicable).

[C] - Control

Funimation

Original Rating: 18 (out of 25)

Current Rating: 20

Let's start with the show that encouraged this style of review. While I was a bit skeptical of [C] as an art form, I was certainly impressed with its attempt to introduce a little bit more of an ethical discussion when it comes to consumerism and the state of economics. While, yes, the show did turn into a fusion between Pokemon and Wall Street, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as it gave that dynamic needed between "present" and "future".

I rather liked some of the characters, especially the enigmatic Masakaki and the gold-toothed Takedasaki, but I also regret that the brevity of the show (11 episodes) caused a bit too much acceleration in the plot. Perhaps this is where noitaminA's shorter episode count is its downfall—where there another episode or two, there may be some opportunity to have answers for unanswered questions. While the show may have had wrinkles, it was still crisp enough to be legal tender.

Steins;Gate
Still airing on Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 18

Current Rating: 21

It's me. It looks like that secret organization SERN has accomplished its mission. ... Not, time travel or that sort. They've gotten the public hooked on this show all about time travel! ... Okay, I'll call you later. El Psy Congroo.

While the theory behind Steins;Gate's time travel could probably be debunked by physics scholars, there's no reason to believe that the impossibility can't be dismissed. The show has just the right amount of good animation to keep the viewer interested, while the conversation between characters has enough quirks and nerd-core in it to stay fresh and witty. Of course, now that the details surrounding the Future Gadget Laboratory's D-mail time-travel invention are about set, we can get to the crux of the show—watching Rintarô jump from timeline to timeline to attempt to make everything right again.

Blue Exorcist

Still airing on Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 20

Current Rating: 20.5

A boy housing one of the darkest evils known to man gets accepted by a prestigious academy to fight against forces interested in unleashing that evil On the surface, Blue Exorcist could definitely draw some parallels to the early stages of Naruto, especially when you look at the training periods and unstable teams that Rin and his classmates must endure.

This similarity took the show down a few pegs in the beginning, but there's enough from the current cast to keep things interesting, and there is just enough subterfuge within the ranks of the academy's teachers to indicate things could explode in the next 13 episodes. Call the thumbs-up a tentative one for now...

Ultimate Survivor Kaiji Season 2
Still airing

Original Rating: 13

Current Rating: 18
Biggest Surprise

I was totally dismissive of the second season of Kaiji for its lack of clear-cut animation. The first few episodes seemed dry from its drab background and dim situation, but much like Kaiji's eventual walk into the sunshine, things became brighter and more exciting to follow. The character designs caused a little personal friction with how I was used to viewing them in the past, but I grew used to the large noses and angular expressions.

At times, it's hard to watch as people get dragged into the abysmal situations that gambling causes, but it makes for solid drama and some opportunities to try out animated metaphors. While the characters are none too exciting by themselves, the narrator (played by an energetic Fumihiko Tachiki) steals the show with his melodramatic descriptions of events. It is still slow for an anime, but it has legs with every episode.

Tono to Issho: Eyepatch's Ambition
Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 12

Current Rating: 15

I stand behind my opinion that Tono to Issho's first season was a wreck—the animation was rickety and wooden, all of it clipped from the OVA, and the humor felt lackluster. Somehow, I have a feeling others thought the same, as the second season pretty much fumigated the stench of the first season, perhaps entirely through the hiring of Kôsuke Yoshida as the new animation director.

The characters were more colorful this time around, both in personality and appearance, and there was less reliance on stressing history. Most importantly the show was given more time to breathe—it's amazing what adding two extra minutes to the episodes could do! Suddenly, a third season wouldn't be so bad if this formula is kept as is.

Softenni

Original Rating: 10

Current Rating: 13

Okay, the pain from Softenni wasn't as severe as I thought it would be. The cheesecake shots were pretty inappropriate for the ages of the main characters, but compared to some shows that tend to push the envelope a little farther (see below for an example), it's pretty harmless. Yes, we could have done without the trips to the hot spring, the practice matches in school swimsuits, and the dozens of panty flashes, but we also could have gotten far worse scenarios.

That's not to say that its improvement means it should get a free pass. There was way too much implied nudity for middle-school students. The final episodes were pretty lame, and in the end, we only got to know more about the two main characters, Asuna and Kotone, while everyone else remained an enigma. At least they stopped leaning on the "Oh no! The cow's loose again!" gag by the middle of the season, but there's no need to revisit Softenni for a second season.

Astarotte's Toy
Crunchyroll

Original Rating: 7

Current Rating: 10

One step away. Astarotte's Toy was one step away from having its credit card revoked and bankruptcy declared. There was just so much wrong with this show from the beginning that it was a wonder that I continued to watch. However, it soon dawned on me that this was the season's Rio ~Rainbow Gate!~. This was the one show that people would cover their eyes with their hands, only to peek through their fingers.

It had its plusses. Rie Kugimiya managed to play the tsundere Astarotte with more uncertainty and less anger. The commercial break art was sculpted nicely, despite some of the erotic poses. The comedy managed to stay lighthearted, even if the hijinks were expected. However, the sum of all these parts still led to a whole that couldn't be ignored—this is a show about a ten-year-old succubus and her adult "lover" who just happened to have a ten-year-old daughter. If, perhaps, we replaced "lover" with "parent", maybe the show would have been more palatable.

Best Opening Themes of Spring 2011

2011-06-21T23:14:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is part of the promo video for Maria Holic Alive's "Runrunriru Ranranrara".

Where will it rank?

With the end of another (crowded) anime season upon us, finally just about everything can be put into place. Most shows are ending, but some have another season to go, complete with changes to the opening and ending songs and animation, so it's about time AniMaybe gets to ranking these things! The ending themes have been compiled and ranked before, but the sheer number of opening themes makes their ranking a bit more complex. Here are the Top 25 Opening Themes for the Spring 2011 anime season (along with what we felt had to be the worst).

(Once again, all of the CD images are straight from the CD Japan website.)

Last Place. "Hoshikaze no Horoscope" ("Stellar Wind Horoscope") - Nomico

(Bridge to the Starry Skies OP)

Not only was Bridge to the Starry Skies hard to get behind enthusiastically, but the opening theme really took things in an awkward direction, both in audio and video production. The song from Nomico is a bit grating to listen, the singer's voice more helium than oxygen, and the key changes that develop from splicing edits to the song make the transitions torturous. Possibly the hardest to welcome is the montage of female characters looking dreamily at the audience as they turn to the camera; why is Kazuma's younger brother one of them?!

25. "Scarlet Knight" - Nana Mizuki

(Dog Days OP)

Well, the song itself isn't all that bad, as Nana Mizuki certainly has the voice for drama, but the major strike against this opening theme is the lack of innovation in the animation. Yes, we get introductions to practically every soldier in the dog army, and that's pretty much it. There's nothing that graphically shakes the audience enough to keep them from falling asleep.

24. "Spread Wings" - Aki Misato

(We, Without Wings OP)

Honestly, guys—what the hell is it with the flying islands in the opening themes this year?! We're seeing them in Dog Days, The World God Only Knows (albeit digitally) and even the Naruto "Lovers" opening, only for them to pop up in the end of the OreTsuba opening. The animation does start out decent, the four main heroines searching for their counterparts in a Tokyo district, only for the minor characters to be presented as if they were posing for pictures. A bit dull to merely showcase your characters this way; besides, aren't they all being presented in the episodes with their names affixed to them, as if we're all being graded on this?

23. "Bowl Man" - Ikzo

(Hyouge Mono OP)

While I do like this jazzed-up approach to a show that is so simple in its design, the only problem with it is that the light R&B approach had been used by another samurai-era show, Samurai Champloo, for their ending theme (Minmi, "Shiki no Uta"). The song, by itself, would be an easy listen, and it's good for livening up Hyouge Mono, but it probably wouldn't appeal to many younger fans.

22. "Tenshi no Clover" ("Angel's Clover") - Aimi
(Astarotte's Toy! OP)

I suppose this is the portion of the rankings where the songs aren't overly impressive, but not bad enough to leave out. It's hard to truly get the gist of Astarotte's Toy! by watching the opening sequence, but I suppose the song is average enough to not turn viewers away too badly. It only hurts badly when I watch the credits roll, only to be reminded that Akiyuki Shinbô helped construct the storyboard. Duuuude.

21. "Sekai de Ichiban Koishiteru" ("Love You The Most in the World") - Shûhei Kita
(Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi OP)

Definitely good pace and energy with this song, especially for something that tries to exaggerate the overall pace and energy of the show itself. Kita has a voice that reminds me a lot of Porno Graffitti's lead singer, Akihito Okano, definitely a plus in my book, but there could be more to the animation that merely intimate moments between the characters. The situations just feel a little out of place with the song.

20. "Kakko Warui I Love You!" ("You're So Uncool, I Love You") - French Kiss
(Sket Dance OP)

I can't say the AKB48 sensation is something I have been able to monitor over the past few years, but I'm assuming the unit breaks up into factions like Morning Musume has done so many times. While the music is catchy, French Kiss doesn't really sing with much inspiration to their voices. At least the animation provides a decent introduction to the stampede of characters that one comes across in Sket Dance.

19. "Hana no Iro" ("The Color of Flowers") - nano.RIPE
(Hanasaku Iroha OP)

At first, I must admit that I liked the flow of this song with the opening animation for Hanasaku Iroha—nano.RIPE does capture the sporadic business of a traditional Japanese inn with their soft start and quick pace near the end. After a few episodes, however, I am willing to welcome a better song to the show. While "Hana no Iro" has the tempo of Whiteberry's "Natsu Matsuri" and vocals that sound like Judy and Mary, it does get a little cumbersome to hear by the sixth episode. I also have to question why nano.RIPE also sings other inserts—it's a little bit of overkill for a TV series to showcase one band.

18. "Fight Together" - Namie Amuro
(One Piece OP)

There have been fourteen opening themes used in the One Piece TV series (if you count the three versions of "We Are!"), and I still don't think that they will get any better musically than The Babystars' "Hikari e" ("To The Light"). I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Amuro for making a thump-thump pop/disco song work for this opening—a blend of flashbacks and character poses—but the extra-long length for the opening brings down the appreciation for the track. Ninety seconds is just right for TV-sized opening; two-and-a-half minutes seems too long.

17. "Core Pride" - UVERworld

(Blue Exorcist OP)

While Blue Exorcist has been a decent show for the season, there has been a little gusto missing from the shows, and this is something that could be remedied by a little more from the opening. UVERworld does give some impact from their rap-rock-jazz(?) opening, but there's still some room for improvement, as the animation actually gives the feeling that it's the end of the show with our main hero Rin walking with the academy in the background and laying in the rain in defeat. The bluesy saxophone doesn't really seem to fit either.

16. "Tamashii Meramera Itchô-do!" ("Burning Soul At A Billion Degrees!") - Masaaki Endô and the Moonriders

(Dororon Enma-kun Merameera OP)

Yes, that Masaaki Endô, singer of tokusatsu inserts and JAM Project concerts, is singing the opening theme to Dororon Enma-kun Merameera. It's a little different than the opening to the original series in 1973, sung by Chinatsu Nakayama, but it's great to hear him break out of the shell he had formed with all of his Power Ranger and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D songs. There's also some good motion with the animation, something that you can't duplicate for the original series.

15. "Whole New World God Only Knows" - Oratorio The World God Only Knows

(The World God Only Knows II OP)

I've been impressed with some of the animation used for the openings to both seasons of TWGOK, and while the songs have been a little random and off-kilter from sudden key changes and tempo interruptions, the general feel of the opening is a good one. Unlike most harem shows, TWGOK doesn't flood the senses with too large of a harem, so an opening that doesn't focus on the heroines already has a positive point in my book.

14. "Runrunriru Ranranrara" - Yû Kobayashi /
"Mōsō Senshi Miyamae Kanako" ("Delusional Warrior Kanako Miyamae") - Tomokazu Sugita
(Maria Holic Alive OP)

It's hard to debate the parody overdrive that Maria Holic has hit in its second official season. The content of the actual show is one thing, but SHAFT rolls out variant opening themes and animations like they were Marvel Comics covers. It's impossible to choose one (a brilliant giant-robot homage to Mazinger Z) over the other (a mix between Hans Christian Anderson and Lady Gaga), so why not choose both? It's just too bad the show's working too hard to be a parody.

13. "Morning Arch" - Marina Kawano
(A-Channel OP)

I have to hand it to the folks at Studio Gokumi for putting together an opening that is so tight in its utter randomness. The song from Marina Kawano is peppy like a race to catch the school bus, but the animation's unique ways of introducing the production staff takes the cake. Movie formats and fonts vary at the speed of light and do a terrific job selling a show that, as of the fourth episode, really has no selling point.

12. "Chase The Light!" - Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas
(Kaiji Season 2 OP)

Zawa zawa. While the opening song to the first season of Kaiji, "The Future Is In Our Hands" by Redbourn Cherries, had more of a punk feel to it, it hardly addressed the overall debt that would haunt our protagonist for years. The second opening theme, a mix of anger and Autotune over screeching synthesizer, accurately establishes Kaiji's position and the games he must play for absolution and revenge. Zaa waa.

11. "Rulebook wo Wasurechae" ("Forget the Rulebook") - ULTRA-PRISM feat. the Shiratama Junior High Soft Tennis Club
(Softenni OP)

For some reason, ULTRA-PRISM songs just make my head bounce like a tetherball in a cyclone. They made Shinryaku Ika-Musume's opening so bubbly that I almost overdosed on the carbonation, and even the Rio Rainbow Gate! ending theme "Miracle Chance" was better than expected. In fact, Xebec actually makes the opening fun to watch with in-jokes that are revealed later in the season. Dare I say it? Soft tennis actually looks fun to play, as long as it comes with the musical accompaniment.

10. "Orion wo Nazoru" ("Tracing Over Orion") - Unison Square Garden
(Tiger & Bunny OP)

Even though an upbeat song doesn't necessarily dictate the mirth within a show, a hero comedy like Tiger & Bunny needs that sort of upbeat song that gives the story a happy tone to it. If anything, Unison Square Garden provide a song that is a lot like what L'Arc-en-Ciel's "Heaven's Drive" was to GTO, both melodically and symbolically. The brisk melody matches well with the profiles of the heroes, perhaps even becoming a bit more like a jingle to match all of the product placement we see.

9. "Guts Guts!!" - Akira Kushida
(Toriko OP)

"Guts" has been a convenient word that has found its way into Japanese jargon, as it gives a feel of power in both languages (if one was to eat robustly, it would be done with the onomatopoeic word "gatsu-gatsu"). Using it for the Toriko opening and coupling it with the powerful voice of Akira Kushida (known for his tokusatsu show openings and the songs for Kinnikuman) definitely gives a sense of strength and power. The song and animation are remarkably well-drafted, but the one argument that keeps the opening from being a classic would be that the use of oversized gorillas and dragons seems to mimic the gargantuan creatures you'd see in a Dragon Ball or One Piece opening. Go with what Shônen Jump brings you, I suppose.

8. "Pandemic!!" - Team Nekocan feat. Chihiro Yonekura
(Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san OP)

Okay, so the staff hasn't exactly broken the bank to supply Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san with a long-enough opening theme (or an ending theme, for that matter), but the short sweetness of this para-para candidate and the "cuddly" demons from the show dancing about ludicrously makes this opening a total trip. It may be a little over-the-top with the five-second boobies-n'-fecal-matter background, but every crude comedy should have a crude opening.

7. "OS-Uchûjin" ("OS-Alien") - Erio wa Kamatte-chan
(Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko OP)

At first, I wasn't really thrilled with the beep-beep keyboard notes and Erio's squeaky voice belting out this song, but eccentricity is something that gets my attention for these openings. Bending the laws of physics certainly helps—Makoto is arguing with an oversized Erio, as if she had been snooping in the White Rabbit's house in Wonderland, only to be floating in zero-gravity with the other characters the next moment. The vibrant colors used for design also grab visual attention and don't let go until the final note.

6. "Hacking to the Gate" - Kanako Itô
(Steins;Gate OP)

This opening has taken some time to grow on me, as there is hardly any emotion on the characters' faces throughout this digital time-shuffle, but the song alone has probably helped its case. There's a good sense of unease from the minor key for the song and Kanako Itô's pointed singing style. The afterimages of the characters and the time-paradox imagery, heavy on butterflies and watch gears, make this an interesting opening, even if the characters mostly convey motion by just standing there.

5. "Matoryoshka" - NICO Touches the Walls
([C] - Control OP)

Admittedly, this opening has both a terrific concept and awkward execution. Computer graphics deconstruct the yen, dollar, euro, and the phantom currency known as "Midas Money" to display cut-out collages of each country's history, but the characters are introduced with an unoriginal "running-into-battle" motif, something that fits with the idea of the anime but lacks identity. Regardless of this, the music from NICO Touches the Walls provides some solid rock punch, and lead singer Tatsuya Mitsumura can certainly hit notes accurately. Provide a better way to submit the characters, and you've got the best opening of the season.

4. "Aoi Shiori" ("Blue Bookmark") - Galileo Galilei
(AnoHana OP)

I'm still in amazement that noitaminA continues to put out memorable openings and closings with songs that capture the feel of their shows. [C] - Control is definitely the action genre, brimming with rock and electronica, while AnoHana's opening does a terrific job with a reminiscent route. Galileo Galilei's windswept music capitalizes on plucked strings, snapped cymbal strikes and Yûki Ozaki's quiet lyrics, and the nostalgia springing from each character's memories really bring a smile to one's face, if not also a lump in the back of one's throat from the lingering sadness of not being able to relive those moments. Simple and clean song, simple and clean animation.

3. "One Reason" - DWB feat. fade

(Deadman Wonderland OP)

Granted, there aren't many horror shows this spring, but of all of the openings to the shows this season, only Deadman Wonderland's provides an accurate concept of fear. Give credit where credit is due, as the animation and soundtrack to the opening are brilliant matches for each other. The splashes of blood red color and flickering font changes provide an eerie setting, but the tip of the hat goes to the scene where jailed criminals march in chains and mascot heads, all while the conniving Tamaki plays puppeteer from above.

Surprisingly, fade provides a solid nu-metal song in English, rough around the edges with clear vocals from lead singer Jon Underdown. Probably even more surprising is the fact this is a Japanese band helmed by an American, but that their discography is comprised of both English and Japanese songs. Definite crossover potential, especially with a song of this impact.

2. "Tôgenkyô Alien" ("Alien Fairyland") - serial TV drama
(Gintama' OP)

I was so terribly torn regarding the rankings for the best and second-best openings for the season that I was almost tempted to put a #1 and #1A. Once again, we have a band who has performed an opening for a Shônen Jump show ("Kopipe", the fourth Naruto opening), but this is no slouch of a song. Serial TV Drama provides energy and rock blended with the feel of a bouncing parade and omikoshi procession ("aa-sore!"), so the song interlocks well with the cavalcade of comic misfit characters and a flashback to a bloody battlefield. The song is addicting to listen to and fits the comedy-drama to a T.

1. "Hyadain Kakakata☆Kataomoi-C" ("O-o-o-o☆one-sided Love of Hyadain-C") - Hyadain
(My Ordinary Life OP)

The seventh episode of My Ordinary Life started with no music or opening animation at all, as it went straight into the show with unspectacular credits. I was almost violently angry for not seeing the opening montage, and that perhaps spoke volumes about how much I enjoy the opening. The song is more synthetic than first imagined, as the head-bopping chime of bells and horns are all produced with a synthesizer, and both the male and female leads are "sung" by Ken'ichi Maeyamada, the brains behind Hyadain and the lyricist/composer for both the opening and ending themes.

So why is this opening better than the others? The start and finish to the animation is pretty much the obvious reason, the characters introduced in a flurry of zoom-in transitions, but I also like how well the animation was constructed around the song itself. The main (and secondary) school characters lip-sync to the music, while the half-tempo interlude presents a peaceful day of laundry at the Shinonome Laboratory. Considering that Maeyamada had composed many mixes of video game music for Nico Nico Douga before—check out some of the "Western show" songs for Nintendo games—it's great to hear (and see) how he puts a spin to an anime that's already been spun from its own self-parody.

Best Ending Themes of Spring 2011

2011-06-12T23:25:00.000-04:00

The Pillows, "Comic Sonic". Where do they sit in the rankings?

With all of the shows this spring, it's pretty amazing to see all of the opening and ending themes competing for recognition. Usually, I tend to consider the opening themes to be more structurally sound and a better catch of the eye, but this season's ending themes are nothing to sneeze at themselves. While I will be reviewing the best opening themes later on, here are the twenty ending themes that I feel totally outshine the others.

(All of the CD images are straight from the CD Japan website.)

Last Place. "Atsuki Ya no Gotoku" ("Like A Flaming Arrow") - Tenka Tori Tai

(Battle Girls: Time Paradox ED)

Just a sexy and seductive song to accompany an attempt to rehash the past as an effeminate moe-fest. It's got some wavering background vocals that give it more of a romantic feel, but the song's features are drowned by a lackluster ending animation. The main characters, stripped naked and hidden by computer-generated ribbons, all look like cardboard cut-outs of themselves. Not only is this treatment of the "battle girls" expected (as it was also done for the likes of Samurai Girls), but it's pretty boring too.

20. "Ashita, Boku wa Kimi ni Ai ni Iku" ("Tomorrow, I'm Going to See You") - Wakaba
(Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi ED)

Well, it's a pretty melodic song for the end of the show, but there's a lot that seems to be missing with the ending theme. The animation appears to be a little drier than expected; there's not a lot of movement for much of the ninety seconds. While Wakaba is a talented trio, having sung the ending theme to the 2008 Yatterman redux, something sounds auto-tuned in their vocals. Basically, I could go through the anime without needing the ending theme, but it's not too terrible that it is useless on its own as a song.

19. "Manatsu no Photograph" ("Midsummer's Photograph") - azusa
(Astarotte's Toy ED)

Yes, it's creepy to think of a ten-year-old girl's silhouette reaching for the hand of an adult male while this serene song is sung by Azusa, a veteran anime singer-songwriter from her days in the unit Sparkling Point (Monkey Turn V, MÄR). However, the animation matches the song, unfolding a bit like a picture book before bedtime. Once again, though, the quiet song and cotton-candy animation fail to address the fact that this is all for a show about a succubus who has to chu-chu for a living.

18. "Dōnimo Tomaranai" - Amanokisaki Gasshōdan

(Maria Holic Alive ED)

While I've really enjoyed the opening and closing for the first season of Maria Holic, it's harder for me to agree that the second season has produced a solid pair of songs to match. The opening "Runrunriru Ranranrara" from Yû Kobayashi may be fun to watch and hear, the same isn't quite so for the ending. The animation is a bit of a mish-mash of styles, while the song itself, a cover of Linda Yamamoto's 1972 smash hit, has to brave the differing vocal stylings of the cast. It just doesn't click with me like many of the openings and endings that Shaft has produced.

17. "Humming Girl" - Aoi Yuki, Kaori Fukuhara, Minako Kotobuki and Yumi Uchiyama
(A-Channel ED)

The song from the four voice actresses for the show's main characters at least gets your head swaying back and forth while they head home for the day. Hard to put my finger on what the song reminds me of, as it's spun with a slow poppy guitar and a bubbly trumpet, but it at least puts a warm blanket on the show as it ends. Clever that they make the animation span all four of the seasons.

16. "Tsumasakidachi" - Kanae Itô
(Softenni ED)

It's not exactly an ending theme that encourages the safest of practices—jumping off a stories-tall chain-link fence, floating through the air, and landing perfectly on a tennis court—but the song's good for sparking that sense of "can-do-anything" attitude. It's healthy for Softenni's philosophy, one that encourages kids with little talent to still aim for the top. Still a little too simple in animation to place higher, but the song's just about right.

15. "Ai no Yokan" ("Premonition Of Love") - Kami nomi zo Shiri-tai
(The World God Only Knows II ED)

While the songs in TWGOK's openings are more elegant and Victorian in establishment, the ending themes have done a good job at agreeing with the feel of the show—uplifting and airy. I could perhaps do without the "PFP" video-game system that we always see Keima with, but I suppose it's a vital part of the program. It's here more for the song, as the melodies sung by Season Two's voice actresses crisscross rather well.

14. "NEVERLAND" - Miyuki Hashimoto
(We, Without Wings ED)

Well, at least the simple-and-(relatively)-clean ending theme for We, Without Wings manages to make things a little more palatable on the soul. After watching such a disproportion in coherence during the show, the windy ending song from Miyuki Hashimoto is accompanied by some decent animation transitions. It's not great, but compared to the show itself, it will have to do as its forte...

13. "Minna Kutabaru Sasasa" ("Everybody's Exhausted ZZZ") - The Moonriders feat. Yoko

(Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera ED)

Shhhhh. The entire cast is sleeping through this ending, only to experience dreams of heaven near the end. At least, from the way that Enma-kun and Yukiko-hime appear in the first scene, clothing all ragged on their prone forms, I'm really hoping they're all sleeping. It's a restful end to a show known for its activity, with just enough Nytol in the music to act as a sleeping aid.

12. "Shiny Shiny" - DWB feat. NIRGILIS
(Deadman Wonderland ED)

It's an interesting dichotomy that the producers present for Deadman Wonderland's ending theme—considering how haunting and nightmarish the opening was, it's enough of a curveball to be thrown at the audience. Airy, light, and "shiny", we're given the peaceful other side of each character before they likely were recruited into Deadman Wonderland's freaky side of Disney.

11. "Hoshi no Sumika" ("Bed of Stars") - Aobôzu

(Tiger and Bunny ED)

"Seishun punk" has been a term that has floated about in Japanese rock circles since the late 1990's, something of an amalgam created by the harder rock influences of The Blue Hearts and Western pop-punk units like Green Day. Bands such as 175R and FLOW have lasted for a while, but some are still gaining attention and popularity. Aobôzu has been around for eight years, and they finally are getting some recognition. The animation maybe be your typical "walking-in-snow" trailer, but "Hoshi no Sumika" is a great song that rings from the wonderful vocals of lead singer Hozzy.

10. "Comic Sonic" - the pillows
(Sket Dance ED)

Yes, it's not exactly the thrill-a-minute music you may have grown up with when you watched FLCL on Cartoon Network, but let's not forget the pillows have aged too. It's a pretty good representative song for the lads from Hokkaidô, as their music does resemble the Beatles quite a bit. The animation isn't complex, the characters watching their deeds roll before them like a classic 1980's slide projector. Good to see the pillows return to animation in this form.

9. "Take Off" - 2PM
(Blue Exorcist ED)

This ending theme is a bit of a surprise. There's nothing incredibly significant in the animation that identifies it as part of Blue Exorcist unless you look carefully at the billboards and screens that fly by the car-hood-camera angle. It's more impressive, however, that this song was sung by a Korean boy band. The pronunciation is quite articulate, and the song itself is a fun listen. Considering 2PM's caught like wildfire in Japan, I suppose I shouldn't be at all that surprised.

8. "Tokitsukasadoru Jūni no Meiyaku" - PHANTASM
(Steins;Gate ED)

What makes Steins;Gate work on multiple levels is the way the show toys with time in a very gothic manner (or at least in the way I perceive the show). The ending animation may be just a simple reconstruction of a shattered hourglass, but the accompanying music from the unit PHANTASM is good for giving the show that underlying sense of mystery. More importantly, the vocals from Yui Sakakibara, a veteran of all things Akihabara from voice acting to singing, really give the song a flair for the dramatic.

7. "Freedom" - Home Made Kazoku
(Naruto Shuppûden ED)

Normally, I don't find myself choosing an ending from a long-running show like Bleach or One Piece, but I do have to make one tiny exception this season. The guys at Home Made Kazoku left such a good impression on me at Otakon that I think they just might be one of the better Japanese rap acts out there. The animation is clever without being too cumbersome, and the song has just enough impact for the action that Naruto has developed.

6. "RPG" - School Food Punishment
([C] ED)

While I wouldn't exactly label the action in [C] to resemble an RPG, the whole concept of it resembling a video game (where the tokens are your first-born) really meshes with the digitalized music from School Food Punishment. Some really creative uses of computer graphics here gel with the crushing electronic zizz, only to fade from the jazzy piano and soothing lyrics from Yumi Uchimura. Incredibly artistic for an ending theme without straying too far from the show's overall impression.

5. "Ruru" - Etsuko Yakushimaru
(Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko ED)

Leave it to Shaft and producer Akiyuki Shinbo to never settle for just one ending theme animation. We've already gotten morsels from Yakushimaru when she sang the opening themes to Arakawa Under The Bridge, but this quiet march of toy xylophones, double-reed instruments and whistlers is joined by floating UFOs and an ode to E.T. in its three versions, all very enjoyable to watch and listen to.

4. "C kara hajimaru ABC" ("The ABC's Starting At C") - wasureranneyo
(Kaiji Season 2 ED)

I could easily focus on only the shortness of this ending theme (it runs sixty seconds instead of the typical ninety), but there's just something so wonderfully silly about the ending theme for Kaiji's second season. For such a dramatic show, it's hilarious to see Kaiji stumbling through a minute-long relationship with a woman he doesn't particularly like. The punk song accompanying Kaiji's escape from one-sided love is brilliantly angry at relationships in general, resulting in Kaiji's panicked run towards the sun.

3. "Zzz" - Sayaka Sasaki
(My Ordinary Life ED)

There certainly seems to be a soft spot for sleepy ending themes this season—Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera tucked their characters into bed, and the staff at My Ordinary Life present a small stage show to send their audience to Slumberland. The outlines to the characters are pleasantly thinned out to give the final scenes and softer feel to them. While Yukko and Nano are them main characters in the ninety-second ending, the random cartoons in the foreground and background play a convenient role by acting as toys for the scene, and Sasaki's gentle lyrics give the feel that we're in a bedroom, not a theater.

2. "Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after Ver.)" - Ai Kayano, Haruka Tomatsu, and Saori Hayami
(AnoHana ED)

Ten years ago, Zone had released their biggest hit "Secret Base", a single used in the television drama Kids War 3. While the single itself never hit the top of the Oricon charts, it did manage to be one of the rare songs that ultimately charted higher (#2) than its first-week ranking (#19) and has sold a total of 900,000 copies. Perhaps it was its longevity during the waning months of the summer, but there have been a few covers of the song, including one that was used for the ending for Kyô no 5 no 3 (Today's Class 5-3).

Due to the fact that AnoHana is set in a reunion ten years after a tragedy, it seems all the more fitting to use a song that captures both lost innocence and nostalgia. The "Ten Years After" version sung by the voice actresses really captures the essence of the original song, and the floral motif looms once again to produce a fantastic ending to each episode.

1. "Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot!)" - SPYAIR
(Gintama' ED)

There is hardly a doubt that Gintama' has impressed me this season, despite not having seen a single episode from its first four seasons, but what surprised me has been how well the series has managed to space its gags with serious drama. Whole the opening "Tôgenkyô Alien" is like one of those traditional dances with an idiot prancing around with chopsticks in his nose, then "Samurai Heart" totally fits the alternative, a scene straight out of a Kurosawa film.

At first, I wasn't quite aware of the impending reason why we'd see the staredown between characters in the rain, but chalk it up to the producers to do a good job to tease the drama and make it last until the end of the Spring season. Better yet, by providing some strong, passionate music from SPYAIR (the same band that sang "Last Moment" for Bleach), the ultimate duel between Gintoki and his new rival Doromizu feels even more energetic. There's something definitely grand about an ending animation that can summarize a story in about ninety seconds without spoiling a single thing.

Here's the actual promotional video for SPYAIR's "Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot!)":

Your Guide to the Summer 2011 Anime Season!

2011-05-30T15:29:00.002-04:00

Summer is just around the corner, believe it or not! Watermelon smashing, school swimsuits, and part-time jobs at the seaside restaurant! Well, perhaps we've already seen this in all of the harem comedies from Winter and Spring, but now the temperature actually reflects the scene!

It also means that, when July comes around the corner, a fraction of the shows we've been enjoying are replaced by temporary fixes until Autumn. Here's a listing of the new shows you'll come across for Summer 2011. Enjoy the hot weather and go visit The Cart Driver for more information on the shows!

June 13
Appleseed XIII
(Action, Science Fiction — 24 eps.)
It's taken over 25 years, but the Masamune Shirow manga from the late 80's finally gets its own television series, thanks to a collaborative effort between Jinni's Animation Studios and Production I.G. Perhaps the story of Deunan Knute and her cyborg lover Briareos might actually have a conclusion.

July 1
BLADE
(Action — 12 eps.)
The final show in the Marvel/Madhouse collaboration to bring American comics to anime steps away from the X-Men universe to bring the story of the super-bad vampire slayer. Wesley Snipes is most likely a no-show here.

July 4
Natsume's Book of Friends III (Natsume Yûjinchô San)
(Drama — 13 eps.)
The popular story about Takashi Natsume and his attempts to free the spirits bound to his lineage enters a third season. Director Takahiro Omori (Baccano!, Gakuen Alice) and Brain's Base reunite to produce the show.

Yuruyuri
(Love comedy? — ?? eps.)
Animated by Dôgakôbô and directed by Masahiko Ôta (Mitsudomoe), Yuruyuri centers on the lives of four middle-school girls and their attempts to create an "Amusements Club".

July 5
Kamisama Dolls
(Action, Drama — ?? eps.)
On a night where Kyôhei thinks he stands a chance with his college friend Hibino at a mixer, he ends up witnessing a murder and understanding from his little sister Utao that robotic "dolls" are the culprits behind the murders. Animated by Brain's Base and directed by Seiji Kishi (My Bride is a Mermaid).

Morita-san Doesn't Speak (Morita-san wa Mukuchi)
(Slice-of-life Comedy — ?? eps.)
Based on the four-panel comics written by Tae Sano. It's not that the main character, Mayu Morita, doesn't speak at all; she's just too kind and considerate to speak up.

July 7
Usagi Drop (Bunny Drop)
(Comedy-drama — 11 eps.)
Based on the popular manga series by Yumi Unita, the first noitaminA title of the season stars a bachelor and the young child he has adopted after discovering that she was the illegitimate child of his deceased grandfather. Directed by Kanta Kamei (Tales of Vesperia) and animated by Production I.G.

No. 6
(Action, Science Fiction — 11 eps.)
Based on the novels and manga written by Atsuko Asano. The second noitaminA series revolves around the sixth district of a city in the near-future and the day that an upper-class boy meets with an escapee from the restricted part of the city...

THE iDOLM@STER
(Comedy, Musical — ?? eps.)
Based on the popular Namco video games and animated by A-1 Pictures, this anime follows the lives of thirteen pop-idol princesses as they try to hit it big on the music scene.

Blood-C
(Adventure, Horror — ?? eps.)
The Blood franchise gets an unexpected revamp as Production I.G. and Aniplex collaborate with the legendary manga writers CLAMP and Blood+ director Junichi Fujisaku to produce an original story.

Mayo Chiki!
(Comedy — ?? eps.)
Subaru Konoe is employed by the Suzutsuki family as a butler for their daughter Kanade. However, when second-year student Kinjirô discovers that Subaru is actually female, both now must work to keep that secret hidden, or else Subaru will lose her job!

July 9
R-15
(Comedy — ?? eps.)
In a school of geniuses, how is Taketo Akutagawa expected to keep up? By demonstrating his own genius at writing erotica and porno novels! AIC helms the animation, while direction is led by Munenori Nawa (kissxsis, Fortune Arterial).

July 15
Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian (Dantalian no Shoka)
(Fantasy — ?? eps.)
Based on the light-novel series by Gakuto Mikumo and animated by Studio Gainax, Dantalian no Shoka covers the story of a young male who inherits a mansion from his grandfather, only to discover the "reading princess" Dalian in the basement, who protects a gateway to books of demonic wisdom.

July (date unannounced)
Ro-Kyu-Bu!
(Comedy — ?? eps.)
First-year high-school student Subaru loves basketball and tries out for the male team, only to leave on uncertain terms when she gets into trouble with the captain. The alternative? Subaru becomes the coach of a nearby elementary school's girls' basketball team. Directed by Keizô Kusakawa (Asura Cryin', Dog Days).

Kamisama no Memo-chô (God's Memopad)
(Mystery — ?? eps.)
Based on the light novel series by Hikari Sugii and directed by Katsushi Sakurabi (Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru). Narumi, an introverted teenager, meets up with a squad of detectives helmed by the quiet Alice, only to find that the detectives are all NEET.

Mawaru Penguin Drum
(?? — 24 eps.)
No idea what this one is about, but it has Kunihiko Ikuhara (Utena) directing the original anime and Brain's Base animating it.

Sacred Seven
(Action — ?? eps.)
Sunrise busts out a new high-school mecha-battle anime with Yoshimitsu Ôhashi directing his first show since 2006's Witchblade.

Baka to Test to Shôkanjû Ni! (Idiots, Tests, and Summoned Beasts 2!)
(Comedy — 13 eps.)
The class misfits from Class 2F of Fumizuki Academy are back to prove that they can still compete with the rest of the school and all of their summoned avatars!

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée
(Drama — ?? eps.)
When a Japanese girl is brought over to late-19th-century France under the guard of a French ironworker, both are given a crash course in understanding the other's culture. Based on the popular light novels written by Hinata Takeda, the illustrator for the GOSICK series.

Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
(Fantasy — ?? eps.)
Based on the light novel from Takaya Kagami (The Legend of the Legendary Heroes) and directed by Takashi Yamamoto (Jewelpet Twinkle). After forgetting his run-in with a pretty vampire in the past, Taito's reunion with Saitohimea leads to a mystical battle between the high-school's student council and other "Tenma" beings.

Nekogami Yaoyorozu
(Comedy — ?? eps.)
Directed by Hiroaki Sakurai (Maid-Sama!) and animated by AIC+. Yuzu is in charge of an antiques shop, but the live-in cat-god Mayu is a handful by herself. Let's see what happens when her other god-friends come by!

Manyuu Hikenchô
(Comedy, Action — ?? eps.)
It's the dawn of the Edo era in Japan, but female warriors are judged more by the size of their breasts than the skill of their swords. The bigger the chest, the better the reward, so the Manyuu clan goes all out to defend a secret scroll that guarantees their bosoms! Directed by (who else?) Hiraku Kaneko (Seikon no Qwaser).

Nura: Rise of the Yôkai Clan II (Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyô)
(Action — 26? eps.)
The supernatural Shônen Jump thriller is back for a second season, as Rikuo Nura continues to figure out how to lead a normal life while serving as the head of a house of yôkai monsters.

Kaitô Tenshi Twin Angel: Kyun Kyun Tokimeki Paradise!
(Magical girl? Pachislot — ?? eps.)
Based on the pachislot game produced by Sammy and directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki (Hayate the Combat Butler, Ôkami-san). High-school students Haruka and Aoi masquerade as magical girls after dark, punishing villains as Red and Blue Angel!

Uta no Prince-sama ~ Maji Love 1000% (The Prince of Songs ~ Serious Love 1000%)
(Romance — ?? eps.)
Based on the popular PSP love-adventure game and directed by Yû Kô (GIANT KILLING). Haruka as entered a school for songwriting and musical idol development, only to be paired(?) with three bishônen males who are aiming for the top! Of course, dating your partners is totally off-limits...

Other Summer 2011 Releases

TV Specials
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Special!

OAD (Manga volume included)
Air Gear (Vol. 32)
Fairy Tail: Yôsei Gakuen (Vol. 27)kiss x sis (Vol. 8)
Kore wa Zombie desu ka? (Vol. 8)

OAV
Baby Princess 3D Paradise
Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
Carnival Phantasm
Hakuôki Hekketsuroku
Hellsing Ultimate
Katte ni Kaizô
Kuttsukiboshi
Saiyuki Gaiden
Valkyria Chronicles 3
VitaminX Addiction
When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira)
Yurumates

Predictions? Interests? Doubts? Guarantees that Manyuu Hikenchô will be picked up by Crunchyroll?

ShitsuMonDay: Double Dollar Bill, Y'all

2011-05-23T13:11:00.004-04:00

I've got...

Nine zillion Zeni in my zapatas

I've got one hundred thousand Wongs in my way

I've got plenty of perfect Potch

Lots of Jennies on my watch

And my Miami Dollars would buy Tokyo Bay

There is nothing quite as wonderful as Beries

There is nothing quite as beautiful as Sen

There's nothing that is greater

Than handling a Meseta

With money there is lo-ots to yen

There is nothing quite as wonderful as Beries

(Beri Beri Beri)

There is nothing like a newly minted Kan

(Kan Kan Kan)

I am up to my Gils

In wondrous Woolong bills

It's accountancy that makes the world so grand

(grand grand grand)

You can always [C]s control

By extracting Extols

For it's money, money, money that makes the world so graaaaaaand!

(Tip of the hat to The Money Programme)

Simple question for this week's ShitsuMonDay! What's the best fictional currency out there? Midas Money? Teiai Dollars? Macca?!

My money's on Munny.