I noticed they were (on the "To Watch" list) or I would have asked for an opinion... am quite surprised you missed them as well since you seem to be more... versed in the various animes than i am, or at least you watch more of the "traditionally good" ones... Azumanga Daioh, Elfen Lied etc.

Especially since I assume you watched Clannad around the time it was released and not like me who thought it would be a boring "relationship" anime



That's a rather big confession there , to be fair I haven't watched any of it although my flatmate watched the first episode and ultimately we were still put off by the same thing (in my case, after i read the synopsis)... mainly it would be the changes in gender of the main character which we both don't accept very well lol. We both found it rather awkward in Hayate no Gotoku!! with Nagi and Maria constantly cross-dressing him which was rather... disturbing.



You say that and yet for some reason i think you're secretly looking forward to it Or the smiley at the end of the sentence is already supposed to indicate that ?



I've fallen behind on a lot of anime this week since I've gone way over my download limit (30GB of a 10GB limit)... admittedly it's Sky's fault since they reduced the limit on the package i was on from 40GB to 10GB and this is the first month they implemented a Usage Tracking tool. I'm going to see how it goes next month when i'm more cautious and if i still go over they upgrade me to Unlimited and i get to watch all the anime and TV catchup i want.

I've just watched it. Yes, to be honest I was rather looking forward to it. It was rather good, quite surprising. They revealed something everyone kinda guessed, but it wasn't quite what we expected. Lots of extreme violence, serious LOL moments and plenty of nose bleeds

I've also been catching up on Asura Cryin'. It's an up-and-down story, and one I sometimes struggle to follow properly. I get caught up in the moments and keep forgetting the plot, and realise I need to re-watch the entire episode because I wasn't concentrating properly! Some absolutely beautiful imagery. I'll do some screen-shots when I re-watch again it later in the week!

Had an idea for a poll. "Best magical-girl transformation". I don't see so many these days, but Kampfa kinda reminded me of my old favourites like Pretear. In Darker Than Black, the gun always reminds me of Utena.

I felt really old last week talking about Utena, when I realised my mate wasn't old enough to remember it

I've just read that James Cameron's a big Anime fan, to the extent that quotes from him are often used on the DVDs, apparently... I knew he was doing Alita, but had no idea he was buying other stuff up

Have just finished Kanon JJ and i have to say, i don't think you'll be disappointed.

It's got the same Clannad story and soundtrack, and although the visuals aren't quite as striking as Clannad (the opening scene of Clannad really does it for me), they're still very good.

One thing that i loved about the show was that every mystery is ultimately revealed/explained, unlike Clannad where i still have no clue what "the other world" is about.

The characters all manage to be unique as well although they seemed to have gone slightly *too* moe with them and given them all catchphrases. When i first started watching, i have to say i saw a few similarities between certain people in Clannad, however they soon came into their own.

In general, the show is usually rated slightly lower than Clannad, however i only think that's because it's missing the extra 24 episodes that Clannad had to develop a relationship. Although i don't think Kanon would have necessarily benefitted from it.

Ultimately i felt that whilst Clannad portrayed a great story of how the main character dealt with the girls he met but ultimately focused on his relationship with a single one; Kanon was very good at showing the actual relationship between the main characters and each of the girls.

On a side note, i thought Ef was good for portraying relationships between a group of people.... have you watched it yet

Saving it for late January when I go to Taiwan. I'll need something to keep me occupied on the loooong flight

I may well watch Kanon before the new year. Despite having over a dozen things on my watch list, I seem to have run out. I blame working (avoiding) from home, something I'll miss when I go back properly on the 4th

Urg. Back to decorating. I'll probably update this thread tomorrow

Opps, thought you had already been since i thought "upcoming" was within the next few weeks. Are you going there on business?

Shall look forward to the update

Yep, it's "business". I'm going on a training course for some tech made over there. It was supposed to be last week, but my boss decided it was too close to Christmas. I have a feeling it may be postponed again, but a part of me is really looking forward to it. I think the boss is dreading it though - he said "I'm hoping to live on Big Macs for the entire week". I'm really hoping we don't, because I have no idea what the cuisine is like over there but it's got to be better than McDonalds!!

I'm gonna give up waiting if it gets postponed again, so I'll definitely watch it by February one way or another

Just got the first Bleach movie for Christmas.
I feel the plot wasn't that strong and the ending was weak, but I guess I'm just used to the full fat series version.

Am surprised... personally i thought the first Bleach movie was rather good. Although that said compared to the first 2/3 seasons it wasn't as strong and i'm comparing it with the unfortunate decline of quality in the anime and subsequent films.

Stand alone, i thought the interaction between Senna and Ichigo was done very well and i personally *did* like the end, even if it was a slight cop-out since i felt it showed her dedication to him even though they'd only known each other for such a short amount of time. The enemies i felt weren't elaborated enough upon however, especially since i remember them being referred to as exiled nobles? (or of the sort) so i would have thought Byakuya would have gotted more involved.

Overall i think it was the best Bleach film yet although as you said, doesn't stack up to the quality of the first and second seasons of anime. I think when you get around to where i'm up to Lev and then watch back you'll probably find it more enjoyable .

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EDIT: I also went through and scored my anime on MAL JJ so if you want, you can take a look clicky. I think i compared my scores to yours and we were usually one point out either way, 2 points on a few and the main thing i disagree with a difference of 3 points... the Kyou Chapter from Clannad Afterstory.... it was excellent JJ! What didn't you like about it?

To be honest, I can't really remember! I think it just felt very rushed and slightly "wrong". No Ushio for starters. Also, this is rather bad, but my scoring is very dependant on my mood. I think I watched it strait after De Capo IF, and I was kinda sick of alternative endings. I loved DC, but too many variations spoil the feeling of the story for me. I guess that's the nature of a VN though. This is one reason I've not watched the Tomoyo Chapter yet, which I see you scored a 10.

That said, I absolutely loved Higurashi no Naku Koro ni because the twists were all integral to the story as a whole.

I wanna comment on a few other things, but I see you're a little behind so here's the spoiler free version!

Kimi ni Todoke 12
I was starting to get a little annoyed with this. Episode 11 only had a couple of funny moments (shoe!) and a lot of frustration, but episode 12 really brings it back. We can totally see inside Kurumi, and she's an interesting character. A lot of the other characters really start to shine too, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing the story develop. I think / hope the ending is pretty much a given already, but we'll find out eventually. Annoyed by having to wait nearly 3 weeks for the next sub

Darker than BLACK - Ryuusei no Gemini 12 - Final
This ended with a very hectic and slightly confusing BANG, much as expected. All the "WTF?!" comments on MAL made me laugh, because the story is actually explained very well if you pay attention to the details. If you're not concentrating though, then it's all a bit of a blur! Suffice to say, there has to be a third season and I will watch it!

Nyan Koi! 12 - Final
Just LOL. Gotta love the twin tails and their fantastic acting. If there's a second series, I'll watch it.

Railgun 13
Fairly pointless episode, but a few very memorable moments. Especially the last few seconds!

11eyes
Not seen 12 yet because I was waiting for SFW to sub it. I'm not sure I can wait any longer though! To be honest, the story has a few holes. It started off a fantastic 9, but now it's heading for an 8 or a 7. Lots of action, a great premise, fabulous visuals and the girls are all cute. Not the dumb ecchi I expected by a long shot.

I've been a little confused this season. So much I'm watching has alternative worlds and characters in, I keep forgetting which stage / level / planet / reality / time-line I'm on! I think several series would benefit from being watched in one sitting, or at least with a less forgetful brain than mine

I also agree the Kyou chapter may have been slightly rushed and that had it been made over two episodes it could have been even better, however, i think the fact it delivered on making a proper "clannad" style story between Kyou and Tomoya in a single episode that i still liked it so much. And to counter your arguments against it as having no Ushio, i'd like to know how they'd fit her in when Tomoya is supposed to have developed his relationship with Kyou? lol.

As for the Tomoyo chapter, i think i'm heavily biased there... looking back i don't think it actually deserves the 10 i gave it since there's a small time skip in the middle which essentially means it should have been put over two episodes instead of one. However, it features Tomoyo who was easily my favourite character in the series (and maybe my female one from all anime) so i felt obliged to give it a high rating.

TBH i scored the Clannad series as a whole, as a 10. I just think i'd been surprised at how good it actually was and wasn't what i expected at all. It managed to combine some of the funniest things i've seen with some of the most emotional scenes as well. I wish there was a way to really clarify the scores on MAL since i personally found that if i scored each season of Clannad, I'd have probably given both of them a 9. However as a whole series, it would be a 10 because it managed to create such an amazing blend of storytelling, visuals and soundtrack.



I really want to catch up on this since it was one of the best shows this season (imo). However i have episodes 8, 9 and 10 on the computer back up north and don't really want to use the download limit up by re-downloading them. Might have to wait until after the holidays before i continue watching this .



I feel bad if i say that the second season of DtB disappointed me... I went in really looking forward to this however it didn't grab me as much as i expected. The production was still of a high quality and i'm sure it's got an amazing story, however the thing i loved about the original DtB was that it had a series of plots which came together at the end meaning that it was generally good for more casual watching. This season appeared plot focussed from the start which meant that i had to put more effort into understanding what was going on and pay attention to what was happening. I'm not saying it's necessarily bad, just not what i was expecting which unfortunately put me off a bit. That said, i have the episodes and will get round to watching them at some point.



Will definitely catch up on this one, it's been awesome



I think i read about those last few seconds, which if i'm thinking of the right thing were awesome lol. Just have to see it for myself .

Overall i think my interest in this series has dropped slightly as well. However from what i've gathered from the summaries of the episodes i've yet to watch and the fact it's not over yet, it doesn't end how i thought it did which is good since i wasn't looking forward to that ending.



I put it down on my list of things to watch at the start of the season, however i never got round to watching the first episode which is still sitting on my desktop at the moment. I've also heard... not necessarily "good" things about it, but as you said, it more surprise at how it wasn't a run of the mill ecchi show. I definitely want to get round to watching it as it does seem interesting... especially some of the screen caps i've seen. I think the whole season's now available to watch on Crunchyroll for free so might check it out there.

I have to say, it started very differently to the first season. Most of my mates thought it was pointless, but I stuck with it. It develops quite slowly, and then ends in a rush. It could certainly have been better, but if you take the season as a whole then it does work and the story is well worth staying with. I suspect the manga would be better, but I just don't really read outside of exceptional circumstances; as in, if there's no chance of the anime catching up.

In other news, Paradise have subbed a few more episodes of Kirarin into Hungarian and Spanish

I realise I'm talking to myself here, but I loved this show. Mostly because I absolutely worship Koha, but I've always been a sucker for "If you do your best you can achieve anything!" type children's shows.

The 3D animation of the 3rd stage absolutely sucks, but if you can ignore it then the stories are as fun as ever. Plus, Milkyway are infinitely better than Kira Pika. I quite like *C-ute but Mai Hagiwara is just an annoying little child.

*goes to make screen-shots of Milkyway*

I can't see there not being a third season... the first season didn't gain that much acclaim but seemed to have a good, almost cult following. The second season was hyped up by a lot of people and i think it drew quite a few people in. Ultimately i'll get round to watching the rest of the season and then be looking forward to the third season.



Can't help but agree with the bold part . TBH half of me is surprised you watch it and the other half isn't... is a rather strange feeling

I had to go look it up and i don't think it's the type of show i'd watch... especially after how much i've taken the piss out of my flat mate for watching Skip Beat! . By the way, have you watched that JJ? The premise sounded similar, although i think it's less of a kid's show, more of just a normal Shoujo show.

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In other news, i've also managed to finish watching both first and second seasons of Code Geass. I started the first season at some point last year and though whilst technically very good, i didn't carry on watching it because, as bad as it sounds, i didn't agree with some of the actions the main character took and the "twists" that the story took, especially after reading about future episodes.

However, after being bored this Christmas holidays, knowing how good it technically was and how my friend told me he'd finished watching the first season, i decided to finish watching it. And i have to say... after accepting the twists and turns throughout the story, it has possibly the best ending i've seen to an anime. A rather brilliant culmination of the story and character. I went into it knowing what would happen and although i had already accepted it was a rather good ending, seeing it play out was just a lot better than i had expected. Although the ending scene didn't feel rushed, i have to say the lead-up to the epilogue did as it was just a simple timeskip after a decisive battle.

Another reason that contributed to me watching i guess was the knowledge that another Code Geass project had supposedly been given the greenlight for 2010 so i wanted to make sure i was prepared for it although am not sure what it'll be .

TBH i'd really recommend it JJ, as long as you can get over what happens to 2 of the characters in the first season and the apparent change of direction for the second season, it really is a good watch and although i rated the first season as an 8, with the second as a 9, the story/experience as a whole would rate a 9 as well.

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And in the third part... the previews for the Winter 2010 (no clue why they name it that) season are out: clicky

See anything you like JJ?

I think i'll definitely check into "Dance in the Vampire Bund" since it's animated by the people who did Bakemonogatari and appears to be getting quite a bit of attention. Also will look at "Durarara" but not necessarily actively looking forward to it. I won't exactly say i'm disappointed by the upcoming season since it's not been yet, however apart from DitVB, there doesn't seem to be much standing out. At least no Railgun and Kimi ni Todoke are carrying on from last season iirc.

Yeah, Railgun is the only BIG series running through to this year. I'm still following Kiddy GiRL-AND which is fun, Kimi ni Todoke I still love, and I think Yumeiro Patissiere (appealing mostly to 5 year old girls) will run for years.

Of the new ones, at the risk of inviting the party van I think I'll have to watch Chu-Bra!! You just know that's going to be huge.

So-Ra-No-Wo-To has such a strange premise that I have to give it a shot. The line-up is pretty impressive, so it should be funny at least.

Omamori Himari looks fun.

Dance In The Vampire Bund is a definite. Shaft and Vampires, it has promise.

Kaitou Reinya I'll be watching this because it's Reina! I have very low expectations, but, but, but it's Reina! It's Reina!!!

Katanagatari looks worthy, but at one episode a month it'll be hard to remember what's going on.


LOL, well I do like this kind of genki ganbatte anime, but the main attraction is definitely Koharu. Since the series finished and she's "graduated" from Morning Musume, I've been reduced to watching her weekly appearances on the kid's program Oha!

Here she is making a very scary "special cake-ee", along with Ships! (the boy-band from Kirarin). She's the girl, that's the one in Pink:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Es_BWQVMw&NR

Here's one from when Stage 3 just started airing. The whole of Milkyway are on and they're promoting the merchandise. She's the one in pink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpiiy7t5XW8

Screen shot from the end of the episode I just watched:



She's the one in pink, of course

One of my friends has the tambourine and microphone, and does the dance as a party piece. Right now he's in Japan, possibly actually talking to her. He's partly to blame for me following this.

I love Koha

Just watched KnT 13. Everything happens! A great start to the new season

I have to say, I loved this weeks YP too... but I wasn't wrong about the target audience. They showed a fan event at the end, and here's a screen shot of them showing the collector-celluloid card thingamabobs they made:



Not many bearded middle aged western men there.

I really want that cardboard cut out of Ichigo chan. Is that normal?


I have the first few episodes queued up ready to watch. I don't have great expectations tbh, but that should mean it's unlikely to disappoint