Weekly Round-Up: April 18th

Reviewed this week: Allison and Lillia 1-2, Amatsuki 1, Chi’s Sweet Home 7-8, Crystal Blaze 1, Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino 6, Kurenai 2, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki 1, Tower of Druaga 2, Wagaya no Oinari-sama 1, Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 10

…and in manga: Akagi 10-11, Chi’s Sweet Home 1, Doujin Work 20-22, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 12

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Kaiji (1) – ざわ, ざわ…
2. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (2) – the state of modern society has left me in despair!
3. Chi’s Sweet Home (3)- litter tray
4. Kurenai (4) – Murasaki
5. Wagaya no Oinari-sama (-) –fox trap <-new!
6. xxxHOLiC Kei (5) – wow, it’s actually good
7. Kyouran Kazoku Nikki (-) – family frenzy <- new!
8. Amatsuki (-) – the new Tactics/Shounen Onmyouji <- new!
9. Persona Trinity Soul (6)- I really should catch up with this
10. Shion no Ou (7) – Hani Meijin’s secret videos
11. Allison and Lillia (-) – a bit disappointing <- new!
12. Itazura no Kiss (8) generic so far
13. Tower of Druaga (9) – don’t lose the humour!
14. Blassreiter (10) – dropped!
15. Crystal Blaze (-) –here today, gone next week

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Tetsuko no Tabi (1)- is this ever going to be subbed?
2. Gunslinger Girl- Il teatrino (2)- kaleidoscope
3. Himawari!! (3) – needs less plot
4. Love GetChu! (4)- light entertainment
5. Shounen Onmyouji (5)- end in sight?

*NEW* Allison and Lillia 1-2: Everyone knows how eagerly I search for the next Last Exile, and this series (or rather pair of series fused together) from the author of Kino’s Journey seemed like the perfect candidate- at least until I started watching it. It seems that Lillia is on the backburner for this half of the series, which instead focuses on Allison and her friend Wil as they enter enemy territory to rescue a kidnapped young man. Unfortunately, everything from the story to the animation is as generic as it comes, putting me in mind of the likes of Pumpkin Scissors and its ilk. I’ll be sticking with it for now, but my initial high expectations have been revised downward.

*NEW* Amatsuki 1: As I said in my season preview, this series is about a high school student who fails at history and has to take up a make-up course in the form of a virtual simulation of the Edo era- only to end up really going back in time and getting stuck in the past. With that in mind, the series makes a mildly entertaining start, but ultimately it looks like it will be yet another in a long line of Edo era supernatural series. Still, unless it reaches Shounen Onmyouji levels of mediocrity, it can stay on the viewing list.

Chi’s Sweet Home 7-8: The great expedition to buy kitty litter is here, but what sort of litter should Dad buy, and even when he chooses, will Chi understand that her ‘playbox’ is a litter tray? Next up, Chi finally gets her name (which in fact means ‘wee’), and there you have it- more development in the space of five minutes than some series manage in twenty-six full episodes.

*NEW/PROBABLY DROPPED* Crystal Blaze 1: What is it with the word ‘crystal’ that makes me want to investigate a series? Truly it was a mistake this time, because what I hoped might be a follow up to the “not so bad after all” Heat Guy J actually turned out to have very little to recommend it. This season’s Rental Magica, the series sees generic Detective Agency of Bishie Leader, Little Brother and High School Assistants take on a job to protect Mysterious Young Woman With Special Powers. If I had all the time in the world and nothing to do with it, maybe I would watch this series, but as it stands I can’t be bothered.

Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino 6: It’s been so long since I’ve watched an episode of this that I really don’t care anymore- the manga is so excellent that this anime seems superfluous to requirements. In this episode, a chairwoman has to be protected, whilst Henrietta’s kaleidoscope breaks and must be fixed, with both stories coming together in a mildly unexpected way.

Kurenai 2: Kurenai continues to score highly on both the content and presentation front as we move into the second episode, in which Lead and Murasaki continue to adjust to living together, complete with missed phone calls, unpredictable neighbours and a trip to the public baths. Despite some worry at the back of my mind that this could turn into another Seirei no Moribito, it’s proving to be a strong series so far, so perhaps I should just get on with enjoying myself and taking each week as it comes. After all, it even has a black cat.

*NEW* Kyouran Kazoku Nikki 1: Many years ago, the evil Enka attempted to destroy the world, and whilst it failed, its spirit lives on in various different beings. Now, all those beings must be gathered together as a family in an attempt to quench any latent desires to annihilate the planet- but what exactly happens when you put a paranormal investigator, a catgirl goddess, a jellyfish, a lion, a combat robot, a loli and a HARD GAY guy together? Presumably that’s what we’ll be finding out over the course of the series, and although I’m not entirely sure this will something I want to follow until the end, for now it looks promising- this could be what Disgaea and Kamisama Kazoku might have been like if they’d actually been funny.

Tower of Druaga- Aegis of Uruk 2: The humour is over, and Tower of Druaga is settling down into the kind of generic fantasy that makes me not really want to watch it. I’ll probably give it another episode or so, but with more series flooding in every day, it’s hardly something I want to devote a great deal of time to.

*NEW* Wagaya no Oinari-sama 1: Horo the wolf goddess is gone, but in its place we have this series about an unsealed fox god who becomes the guardian of two young members of the Miduchi clan- the only trouble being that s/he can’t even remember his/her original gender! I doubt this will be an overly complex series, but this could well be the next Tactics/Shrine of the Morning Mist, which is another series that I’ve been searching for. And of course, a nice fox-girl/guy always scores extra points.

Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 10: This time around, Sensei ends up in despair because of detuning (deliberate toning down), try to make the impractical work by saying “well, maybe it does” and the need to make the show friendly to first-timers. Although the second segment was a bit dull, the first and third parts were entertaining enough to make up for it, but I’m in despair that the despair will be ending soon. 

MANGA

Akagi 10-11: We’re into volume two now, but still on the match against Yagi, who manages to take the lead with a Baiman hand, only to be suckered in by Akagi’s bluff in the very next round. As always, we’ve already seen this in the anime, but since that was a while ago now, it’s good to refresh the memory.

*NEW* Chi’s Sweet Home 1: It may only be the first episode of the anime in eight colour pages, but I’ll take all the Chi’s Sweet Home I can get. Now, if only the manga could surge ahead of the anime.

Doujin Work 20-22: It’s time for another brief burst of Doujin Work, and again the manga is more perverted than the anime. Chapters 20-21 see Sora trying to claim Justice as her own by going on a date with him, only to end up hitting him so that he transforms from gentleman to pervert (fortunately nothing illegal happens). Then it’s on with the story as Tsuyuri persuades Najimi to draw an ero-manga, prompting Kaneru to try her hand at some adult works as well.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 12: Anime viewers will recall Commodore Perry, the man who feels compelled to open everything, and this is his chapter in the manga. For some reason, I found this segment far more hilarious second time around, so bring on more manga.