Have you guys read the anime previews from Anime News Network? Click here to read.

Either way, I’m writing this blog entry to talk about their previews and how their ratings are the total opposite of mine. I guess everyone does have different tastes. I received mixed comments in the m33w blog; some would rate the shows similarly to me, while others seem to completely disagree – perhaps they have similar views to those reviewers at ANN.

The female reviewer, Casey, rated the shoujo shows more positively, and the male-oriented fanservice shows more negatively. Well, that’s perfectly understandable. However, the other three male reviewers seem to be quite unanimous in their ratings – in that they all seem to automatically give poor ratings to fanservice shows (except one who gave 4/5 for Maid Guy), and automatically give high ratings to shows which potentially have deep plots.

Perhaps, their rating criteria is different. Do they look for originality? Story? Personally, the only thing I rate is enjoyment and entertainment value. Whether the show has but a shallow story, or lacks originality, cliched or whatever, isn’t a factor for me. There are so many shows out there, it’s hard to actually find a story which has never been done before in some form or another. And searching for a deep plot in an ecchi romantic comedy is asking for a lot, honestly.

We’re into the third week for most of the shows? What have you guys been following? I’ve not watched anything past whatever I reviewed here two weeks ago except Real Drive. After three episodes, let me give some updates of my thoughts and reviews.

For Kanokon, I’d still give it an excellent rating. I honestly thought that it’d go downhill quickly, but the show has kept me laughing all the way. The humour is simple, lewd, but yet, funny. It’s interesting to watch how the great Eros Dai Maou juggle between the asset heavy fox and the flat-chested, expressionless wolf. Also, one of the ANN reviewers gave some negative comments for the OP/ED songs. I thought that the ED song was really nice though.

For Kurenai, I’m still quite undecided about that actually. It still feels like too little of the story has been revealed. However, it does seem interesting enough to keep following. But, I find Benika to be quite annoying for some reason. Perhaps it’s her arrogant attitude? Good thing she doesn’t get much air time. Also, is there a reason why they put a dash in Kure-nai? I don’t understand what the dash is for. Kurenai is a single word meaning deep red, and also the main character’s name of course.

ToLoveRu: Some people asked why I rated Kanokon above ToLoveRu. Well, just because they’re both about big breasted non-human girls going nuts over some undersized school boy doesn’t make them the same. Bokurano and Gundam are both about kids piloting giant robots too; yet they’re quite different. I honestly did think that Kanokon was better than ToLoveRu. However, ep 3 of ToLoveRu was actually pretty good. Perhaps I’m biased because I like Haruna-chan more than LaLa.

Tower of Druaga: I felt pretty cheated that only the first episode was about nonsensical humour. However, as a big RPG fan, I kinda love how they’re living in a MMO type of world. Divided by classes, forming parties, and seeking treasures in dungeons. It looks like it’s going to start to get even more interesting as they begin to ascend the tower in episode four.

Neo Angelique Abyss: Episode two wasn’t as good as the first, I thought. I guess I must have been expecting too much. I hope it’s not all about fighting and that more romance develops. That would certainly make it more interesting. However, what drew me to the show was that Angelique is a very likeable character, and I’d like to see how her harem of men fight for her attention. Well, never mind the Thanatos and saving Arcadia thing.

Monochrome Factor: The ANN reviewers gave poor reviews mainly because it was too cliche? Well, what shounen hero show isn’t about a normal kid who suddenly one day became the chosen one to save the world or something similar? Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, etc. all started out like that. I don’t think that should detract from a show’s value automatically. Monochrome Factor certainly isn’t great in my opinion, but I’m sure it’s not extremely bad either. It kept me entertained. And certainly, shows shouldn’t be brushed off simply because of the genre. I know I made this mistake often. I dislike mecha in general, but Bokurano and Gun Parade March are some of my favourites. The mecha is simply a backdrop in the greater story.

Nabari no Ou: I actually expected a bit more from the show after the first episode. But, the fighting eats up 100% of the air time in episode three. I guess this really is a fighting anime. However, the fighting scenes are fairly interesting and it did keep me entertained. It’s always about the exciting wait before the hero unleashes his godly powers.

Maid Guy: It’s funny and over the top. Don’t really have much more to say about it. Maid Guy makes the most mundane things absurd. Reminds me a bit of Sagara Sousuke from Full Metal Panic – a guy with impressive skills who can’t function in normal society.

Vampire Knight: Ah, one of my favourites. Zero’s struggle to fight his lust for Yuki’s blood, and perhaps his affection as well, tainted by a high level vampire, really piques my interest. Yuki is charmed by the mystery that is Kaname, but is very compassionate to Zero, who is like her adopted family. Plus, it has a wickedly eerie ED song. I’m not sure why the ANN reviewers would think that this is a horror (though ep 3 was a little creepy). It is supposed to be a shoujo and the main plot of the story does appear to be about the impossible relationships of Yuki, Kaname and Zero.

As for the rest, I didn’t bother watching any more episodes. I do wonder why Allison & Lillia is so highly rated by ANN though. I thought that it was just okay. And I thought Oinari wasn’t all that exciting either. The breaking of the seal to release to fox god and the battle with the lightning snake spirit felt very anti-climatic. I hope they didn’t give it a 4/5 just because it’s in HD. Nah, I think he geniunely liked it.

Another great season of anime has started. Wondering what’s good and what’s not? Well, I’ve watched many of the first episodes of this season’s shows, so let me share my thoughts with you all.

For a good listing of what’s being aired, see the synopsis of most of the shows this season in Josh’s Blog.

I’m not going to review Itazura na Kiss and Special A. Just watch those. Hehe.
Remember, this is only a first episode review, and the many things could change as the show progresses. My listing would look like this:

Name: The name of the show
Genre: Listed first, the primary genre followed by the secondary genre.
Subs: The group where English subs are available.
Score:
Excellent – the show truly impressed me.
Good – I liked it.
Fair – Neutral, didn’t hate it, didn’t love it.
Poor – Not for me, but maybe you might like it.

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Name: Kanokon
Genre: Ecchi, High School
Subs: Ayako-Fansubs
Score: Excellent

Kanokon was actually much better than I had expected. It’s about a underaged-looking boy from the suburbs named Kouta, and the fox-god(or something rather) girl with huge tits named Chizuru. She badly wants to have sex with Kouta, while the class president is rather against their lewd relationship. The fox-gods are capable of merging with human and shoot fireballs based on the strength of their love. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but it’s a great watch. NSFW.

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Name: Kurenai
Genre: Drama
Subs: BSSubs
Score: Fair

I didn’t really understand the story too well, but it’s basically about 16 year old Kurenai who’s in-charge of taking care of soon-to-be 7, Murasaki, daughter of an extremely wealthy family. She’s taken away from her father for protection. Not used to life in such squalid living conditions in her new life, she’s lonely and lost. Apparently, Kurenai has some secret powers too, and he has been accepting many dangerous jobs for money. Taking care of Murasaki is his latest one.

Kurenai is however, extremely well produced. Somehow though, it didn’t catch my interest as much as the others, thus I’ve probably under-rated this show.

Available in HD.

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Name: Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Subs: Gonzo
Score: Excellent

I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I believe it’s about some kinda MMORPG. Their objective is to destroy the God of Evil, Druaga. But, it’s actually an action-comedy, poking fun at many medieval fantasy stereotypes. It’s really hilarious, and best part is, it comes subbed by Gonzo. Apparently, they’re sick of fansubs stealing their glory and now they’re subbing it themselves. Good stuff.

Available in HD.

—————————————————————————-
Name: To-Love-Ru (Trouble)
Genre: Ecchi, High School
Subs: Ayako-Fansubs
Score: Good

To-Love-Ru is about a normal everyday high school boy, well kinda, named Rito. He’s got a phobia of girls, but has the hots for a girl named Haruna. All that changes when he ends up with an accidental alien fiancee named Lala. It’s a lot like Final Approach. And it’s better than Rosario Vampire too. This pink-haired Lala seems more interesting than Moka.

—————————————————————————-
Name: Neo Angelique Abyss
Genre: Shoujo, Action
Subs: Not yet available
Score: Excellent

Now, this is another show that really surprised me. In the modern medieval mixed world of Arcadia, an evil known as Thanatos attacks the land. These creatures suck the life force out of any creature they touch. Men(usually young and good looking ones) who possess purification powers are the only ones capable of destroying these evil creatures.

Well, that changes when the one and only girl possessing purification powers, Angelique, was discovered. Her purification power is immensely greater than any of the men, and with that, she is burdened with the fate to save the world of Arcadia.

I’m not really sure what genre to put this under, but I believe it is shoujo, just like Fushigi Yuugi. A young, beautiful heroine surrounded by pretty boys. Whatever it is though, the storytelling is excellent, and the characters seem very interesting. I’m looking forward to more Neo Angelique.

—————————————————————————-
Name: Kamen no Maid Guy
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi
Subs: Not yet available
Score: Good

Naeka is the granddaughter and the last two surviving heirs of her super powerful and rich family. The other is her brother Kousuke. Once she turns 18, she’ll inherit an incredible fortune. The grandfather has a fetish for maids, and he has a lot of them. Naeka however, not so. Wanting to live alone on her own, the grandfather grants her wish, but forces her to accept two maids, despite her protests. The younger brother too is forced to live with Naeka.

To protect her from assassins, Maid Guy and Fubuki are assigned to protect her. Meaning well, but also having absolutely no clue how to treat girls, Maid Guy is constantly punished for his incompetence. From episode one, I can’t tell where this show is headed, but it looks like there’s probably going to be a lot of hilarious antics from Maid Guy trying his best to take care of Naeka.

—————————————————————————-
Name: Allison & Lillia
Genre: Drama, War
Subs: Not yet available
Score: Fair

The katakana names are extremely hard to catch, as I couldn’t really figure out the names of the countries. But whatever it is, the show is about army pilot, Allison, and her childhood love, William. They live near the border(I think) of two warring countries.

Meeting with the tall-teller old man in the village, he tells them of a secret something which will end the war. What this item is, is not revealed, as he is abducted before her could show them. Allison and Will pursue the kidnappers. That’s a short summary of episode one.

Not too much was revealed in the first episode,(Don’t even know who Lillia is yet) so it’s hard to make any judgements about it.

—————————————————————————-
Name: Monochrome Factor
Genre: Action, Yaoi
Subs: Not yet available
Score: Good

If you’re willing to look past the homosexual acts, Monochrome factor is pretty good.

The story is about high school student, Akira, who’s really bored of life and really has nothing better to do. He is one day approached by the silver haired, Shigogane(who appears to wear lipstick and yes, is a guy). Strangely, Shirogane has no shadow, and claims to be the shadow of a deceased person.

In the end, Akira is forced to form a contract with Shirogane to become a shadow himself in order to fight demonic beings called Kokochi(or something if I heard correctly). However, there are plenty of funny moments and looks very interesting. Yaoi fangirls would love this show for sure.

—————————————————————————-
Name: Amatsuki
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Subs: Not yet available
Score: Fair

The story is about a carefree student named Tokidoki who gets transported mysteriously into Japan of 250 years ago while wandering through a replica version in the modern world.

Going through some sort of time-slip, Toki gets attacked by a lion like demon called Nue and its controller, Yako. Toki gets saved by a long-haired, sword-wielder girl named Kuchihada, but not before losing his left eye. These demons however, are not visible to most humans. Toki and Kuchihada are some of the few who can see them.

I think a lot of people will enjoy this show. There’s probably going to be a lot of fighting and such. My views on the first episode are quite neutral, but I did enjoy it.

—————————————————————————-
Name: Vampire Knight
Genre: Vampires, Shoujo
Subs: ShokuDan
Score: Excellent

Does it live up to the hype? Well, for me, it was really good. I wasn’t sure what genre to put this under, but I believe it is supposed to be an adaptation of a shoujo manga.

Anyway, in the Cross Academy, classes are divided into night and day classes. Day for humans, night for vampires. Humans are not aware of the existence of the vampires and the school tries to keep it that way. Yuki and Zero are day prefects or ‘guardians’, in charge of making sure people keep believing that the students in the night class are human and so that no day students trespass at night.

The co-existence of humans and vampires is an uneasy one, as the vampire’s lust for blood can overwhelm their reasoning. Yuki however believes, the vampire who saved her, Kaname, is a good vampire and would never attack humans. But, I guess the real question of the show is, will Yuki choose Kaname or Zero?

—————————————————————————-
Name: Wagaya no Oinari-sama
Genre: Supernatural
Subs: Not yet available
Score: Fair

I’m not sure what to make of this one as the first episode was pretty much an introductory episode, so I can’t really guess the direction that this show will be heading.

Anyway, it’s about the mischievious fox-god Kuugen who was sealed by the Mitsuji clan, and recently unsealed by Noboru to protect his younger brother Tohru. Upon completion of her job of protecting Tohru from a demon, Noboru decides not to reseal Kuugen. With her new found freedom, Kuugen chooses to stay with Noboru and his family as she quickly grew fond of them because she was well acquainted with their late mother.

Available in HD.

—————————————————————————-
Name: Nabari no Ou
Genre: Action
Subs: Not yet available
Score: Good

Now, this one was far better than I had expected. Yes, it’s actually about ninjas. Hidden in modern society is the hidden “world” of Nabari and the secret war between ninjas to obtain the “power of everything” stored inside a young boy named Rokujou Miharu. Unfortunately for Miharu, apparently, he seems to be the last person to know that he possesses such a incredible power.
Though it may sound corny, it’s a rather serious show and the ninjas here are actually pretty cool, unlike a famous blonde haired ninja who wears a bright orange tracksuit(isn’t cameoflage important for ninjas). Either way, if you enjoy serious action, with a cool main character and an interesting story to boot, I think Nabari no Ou would probably not be a disappointment.

—————————————————————————-
Name: Cystal Blaze
Genre: Detective, Action
Subs: Not yet available
Score: Good

If you’re wondering why it’s called Crystal Blaze, well, the first 20 seconds of the show sort of give a clue. Some mysterious force is capable of burning people and turning them into crystal, thus Crystal Blaze.

Well, this show sort of surprised me too. In a good way. I’m not very fond of detective stories, as they’re often a little episodic with silly small mysteries to solve. In Crystal Blaze, they start off with a big one.

Set in Rags City in near future Asia(with a 60s feel to it), a fat, cross-dressing informer tips off the S&A private investigation firm to pick up a “package”. However, this package is actually a woman, or appears to be, and is apparently some sort of weapon, perhaps.

Despite the supernatural sci-fi elements of the show, it still feels very realistic, and the theme is very dark, with smoke-filled bars and seedy hotels. Thumbs up for the first episode.

Available in HD.

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