Isumi won Nagi?

OMG! Isumi won against Nagi ... not her childhood friend, but the used incarnate spirit from Kannagi ;)




Mandatory image appreciation follows for my favourite Hayate no Gotoku! character :p




Seems japanese otaku really have a fixation on virgins, unlike europeans ;) Read more!

Bakemonogatari

Bakemonogatari (化物語, lit. Ghostory, a portmanteau of ghost and story) is a Japanese light novel series written by Japanese novelist NisiOisiN and illustrated by Taiwanese illustrator VOFan; the series is published by Kodansha under the Kodansha Box imprint. The story centers on Koyomi Araragi, a third year high school student who has recently survived a vampire attack, and finds himself mixed up with all kinds of apparitions; gods, ghosts, myths, and spirits. The series is made into an anime in July 2009.

Bakemonogatari, volume one 化物語(上) 11.2006		Hitagi Crab (ひたぎクラブ), episodes 1, 2 Mayoi Snail (まよいマイマイ), episodes 3 Suruga Monkey (するがモンキー)
Bakemonogatari, volume two 化物語(下) 12.2006		Nadeko Snake (なでこスネイク) Tsubasa Cat (つばさキャット)
Kizumonogatari 傷物語 07.2008		Koyomi Vamp (こよみヴァンプ)
Nisemonogatari, volume one 偽物語(上) 09.2008		Karen Bee (かれんビー)
Nisemonogatari, volume two 偽物語(下) 06.2009		Tsukihi Phoenix (つきひフェニックス)
Kabukimonogatari 傾物語 ??.2010
Nekomonogatari 猫物語 ??.2010

The anime series was announced in April 2008 and started broadcasting in July 3, 2009 on Tokyo MX. The series is part of Kodansha's Nisio Isin Anime Project and is produced by SHAFT, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo with an assistant of Tatsuya Oishi, written by Fuyashi Tou and featuring a character designs by Akio Watanabe based on VOFan's original concepts. The music for the series is produced by Satoru Kousaki under the supervision of Yota Tsuruoka. The theme song for the series, titled "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" (君の知らない物語, lit. The Story You Don't Know) is produced by Supercell with a scheduled release in August 12, 2009. The series is scheduled to be 15 episodes long but will broadcast only the first 12 episodes. The remaining episodes will be distributed on the official website.

Bakemonogatari centers on Koyomi Araragi, a third year high school student who is almost human again after briefly becoming a vampire. One day, a classmate named Hitagi Senjougahara, who infamously never talks to anyone, falls down the stairs into Koyomi's arms. He discovers that Hitagi weighs next to nothing, in defiance of physics. After being threatened by her, Koyomi offers his help by introducing her to Meme Oshino, a middle-aged homeless man who helped him stop being a vampire.

The series tends to introduce only one new heroine per chapter, each involved with a different "apparition". The events of the previous chapters play an important role in the subsequent ones. The series primarily focuses on conversations between characters; it contains a fair number of parodies of other series, as well as NisiOisiN's trademark wordplay and metahumor.

阿良々木・暦 (Araragi Koyomi)

VA: Kamiya Hiroshi

Koyomi, the main character of the story, is a third year high school student who is close to failing every class except math. Shortly before the novel begins, he was attacked by vampire during spring break, and became a vampire himself. Although Meme Oshino helped him become human again, there are a few lingering side effects; he can see in the dark, and he heals faster than the average human. He is still scared of morning sunlight even though it no longer has any effect on him. He started dating Hitagi at the end of Mayoi Snail.

戦場ヶ原・ひたぎ (Senjougahara Hitagi)

VA: Saito Chiwa

Hitagi, the main character of Hitagi Crab, is a weak-looking girl with an "incurable disease". She is in the same class as Koyomi, but he has almost never heard her speak. When she was in the first year of high school, she encountered a mysterious crab, after which she became weightless. Ever since, she has avoided contact with everyone else, threatening everyone who discovers her secret. She called herself a tsundere and always speak in abusive style. At the end of Mayoi Snail, she admitted she has feelings for Koyomi.

八九寺・真宵 (Hachikuji Mayoi)

VA: Katou Emiri

Mayoi, the main character of Mayoi Snail, is a fifth-grade elementary school girl. She always carries around a big backpack, wears a hair-band, and has her hair in ponytails. Koyomi met her in a park on Mother's Day and offered to help her find her mother's home. She later reveals that, due to a Snail, they can never reach their destination and will always be lost. She makes a lot of spelling mistakes and has a habit of misspelling Koyomi's name. Her family name before their parents got divorce was Tsunade (綱手).

神原・駿河 (Kanbaru Suruga)

VA: Sawashiro Miyuki

Suruga, the main character of Suruga Monkey, is Koyomi's underclassman, ace of the school's basketball team and one of Hitagi's acquaintances from back in junior high school. Immediately after she entered senior high school, she became aware of Hitagi's secret and was threatened by her, just like Koyomi was. She's an admitted lesbian, fujoshi, lolicon and masochist. Back in elementary school, she inherited the Monkey's Paw from her mother. She started stalking Koyomi after she discovered he was dating Hitagi.

千石・撫子 (Sengoku Nadeko)

VA: Hanezawa Kana

Nadeko, the main character of Nadeko Snake, is Koyomi’s sister’s friend back in elementary school. She always wears a waist pouch; always cast her eyes downward, have her bangs covering her eyes, not talk much and can be easily amused. Koyomi plays with her a lot whenever she visited his house after being invited by his sisters. Her friend put a curse on her over a love affair, and was going to die until Koyomi found out and offers her his help.

羽川・翼 (Hanekawa Tsubasa)

VA: Horie Yui

Tsubasa, the main character of Tsubasa Cat, is Koyomi's classmate and the class president. Koyomi describe her as "the class president of all class presidents". Prior to the novel begins; she was possessed by bakeneko during a Golden Week due to stress over her family. Although it has since been resolved with the help of Shinobu at a cost of her memories, the problems emerged again right before the school festival because of different stress.

忍野・メメ (Oshino Meme)

VA: Takahiro Sakurai

Meme is a middle-aged man who lives in an abandoned building. Koyomi calls him "psychedelic aloha guy". Being an expert in apparitions field, he solves Koyomi and others' problems, although with compensation.

忍野・忍 (Oshino Shinobu)

VA: Hirano Aya

Shinobu is a girl who lives with Meme in the abolished building. She appears to be an eight year old girl, but she was originally a beautiful vampire who had lived for more than 500 years. After the events at the end of Koyomi Vamp, she was left in a weakened condition with no powers or traces of her original personality and therefore have to abandon her "Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade" (キスショット・アセロラオリオン・ハートアンダーブレード) name. She was named Shinobu by Meme at the beginning of Hitagi Crab, suggesting her kanji name Shinobu (忍), having "heart" (心) under "blade" (刃), matches with her original personality.

阿良々木・火憐 (Araragi Karen)

VA: Kitamura Eri

Karen, the main character of Karen Bee, is one of Koyomi's sisters. She's older than Tsukihi and always doing outdoor activities.

阿良々木・月火 (Araragi Tsukihi)

VA: Iguchi Yuka

Tsukihi, the main character of Tsukihi Phoenix, is one of Koyomi's sisters. She's the youngest of Araragi family. Unlike her sister, Karen, she is always doing indoor activities.

Since I am tired of transcoding and processing the images, the write-up is basically copy-past from wikipedia; I'll add more info as the series unfolds and then when I go through the novels in autumn, hopefully ;) For now enjoy the show on your iPhone XD

[iPhone-Raws] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
[iPhone-Subs] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
A/V Source: Zero-Raws, Subs Source: TBA

Read more!

CANAAN

I bet that almost everyone is not anymore oblivious about the new work from TYPE-MOON. CANAAN is based on an extra animated scenario (well ... sort of) that Takeuchi/Nasu team worked on for the "live-action" visual novel 428. If you're also not familiar with the game, no worries the series can be enjoyed without knowing anything, but you can spoil yourself at Akihabara Channel, where EvoSpace has generously provided a detailed summary of both the game and the extra scenario on Canaan and Alphard ... well the rest is quite spoilerish ;) Interested? Read, watch & listen more on:

1. Background & Development
2. Art & Animation
3. VAs, BGM & OP/ED
4. Characters & Plot
5. iPhone Torrents

CANAAN
aka 428
AniDB, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, Preview
Studio: P.A. Works
Directed by: Ando Masahiro
Character Designs by: Sekiguchi Kanami
Original Character Designs by: Takeuchi Takashi (of TYPE-MOON)
Original Game by: Chunsoft, Sega (just in case you've never heard of it)
Original Scenario by: Nasu Kinoko (of TYPE-MOON)
Series Composition by: Okada Mari
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan), Sakamoto Maaya (Alphard), Nanjou Yoshino (Maria)
Tanaka Rie (Liang-Qi), Tomatsu Haruka (Yun²), Minagawa Junko (Natsume), Noto Mamiko (Hakkoo)
Hamada Kenji (Minoru), Oukawa Toru (Kamingusu), Hirata Hiroaki (Sentana)

Background & Development

The series was known in its initial planning stages as 428 The Animation when it was first announced in Newtype's October 2008 issue and by Sega at the 2008 Tokyo Games Show, where a trailer for the series was aired and announced as an adaptation of Type-Moon's original scenario for the game. The title was subsequently changed in December of the same year to CANAAN, with Sega also announcing that they would host a booth for the series in the 2008 Winter Comiket, where DVDs featuring specials and trailers for the show, packaged with a booklet featuring original character designs by Takashi Takeuchi and completed animation designs by animator Kanami Sekiguchi would be featured, along with CDs of the theme song, "Arousing Soul", performed by Faylan. [From wikipedia, but I can assure you it is fairly accurate for a change]

Art & Animation

Judging from the first couple of episodes, animation is top quality, even challenging Rakkyo, despite one being a TV show and the other a series of movies. Especially, the action scenes are fluid, well directed and choreographed, something quite rare even for action anime. The character designs are beautiful, very detailed and distict. Also with the exception of Canaan, they are quite different from what Takenuchi usually draws, though still very distinctive of his style. Another amazing feature is the atention to detail on background art, which depicts Shanghai very realistically, as well as the animation of crowds and the fluid integration of 3D CG.

VAs, BGM & OP/ED

Voice acting is also well done, but this is expected considering the names involved. Also I must applaud the inclusion of Chinese and English in many occasions which adds to the suspension of disbelief, especially for non-Japanese viewers. Finally, apart from the three theme songs, the BGM is very fitting and varies scene from scene.

Comiket Promo: "Arousing Soul" by Faylan

Opening Theme: "Mind as Judgement" by Faylan

Ending Theme: "My heaven" by Annabel

Characters & Plot

The atmosphere of the show is somewhat bleak, it will remind to many Black Lagoon, though because of the brighter pallette used and due to the philosophical stance of certain characters, it acts as an offset and balances the mood. The characters themselves are interesting and the main cast seems to have a lot of potential, but with only 13 episodes planned, do not expect a lot (if any at all) development. Putting that aside, the psychology of the main cast is explored through the events and interractive dialog instead of blatant and dull exposition.

iPhone Torrents
[iPhone-Raws] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
[iPhone-Subs] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
A/V Source: Zero-Raws, Subs Source: gg
Note that only when they become available internationally, I will kill the links ;)

Read more!

The Degeneration of Haruhi Suzumiya

No, it's not a new novel and certainly not a new episode ending finally the Endless Eight. What follows is a point of view on a studio and a publishing house that have no respect for their customers, a recurring theme these days.

So what's the deal here ... for those that are blissful but want to get enlightened on what Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu is I suggest wikipedia, but in short it is/was (past tense explained below) a light novel series published by Kadokawa and adapted into an anime by KyoAni. Both were very successful breaking away from the otaku fringe market into mainstream both in Japan and abroad.

That was up to the glorious year 2006. What followed is the focus of this post. First of all, the last novel that concludes the series is in limbo since the spring of 2007, with its publishing date being constantly pushed and finally ending in TBA status. Also the last published volume ended in a cliffhanger aggravating more the situation.

On the anime front the owner of the franchise and publisher launched ambiguous advertisements indicating that a second season would air soon and based on the fourth volume. They were careful enough to create a lot of anticipation but offer no definite dates which the company used as an excuse to do nothing after the marketing stunt became viral.

Finally, in 2009 after another attempt, they used a doujinshi for a couple of web-casts that appeased many (me included). And finally, they animated new material that indicated that the fourth volume will finally be on the air by the end of the summer.

But as the saying goes: "Hope die last, but certainly dies non-the-less". The tombstone was put when we entered an endless repetition of the same episode plot, The Endless Eight, for no less then a month already and possibly for a second one, eliminating almost all hope that volume four will be part of this re-airing, re-run, re-launch or whatever you want to call it.

Now let me move to the studio's sins. Let me first clear out that any adaption can not be 1:1 because of the differences between media, but in my book as long as it preserves the feel of the original I consider it loyal. But just being loyal does not cut it, it has also to be good considering the medium itself. For example Tsukihime is an excellent game, with a disloyal adaption that I found good. On the other hand, Kurokami, was not loyal and in addition sucked by itself ... and so on.

Original Novel

The original artwork from the novels by Ito Noizi was OK. Still the first season was very loyal and both lead director and character designer improved upon the novels artwork, without altering the it's feel.

2006 airing

Unfortunately, though the studio fired a lot of it's most talented stuff, with the most known example that of Yamamoto Yutaka (Hare-Hare director) and in the three years that followed animated two 4-koma moe-blod shows and two Key moe-blob shows, all four of which share one important detail ... they need no competent writers.

2009 airing

This led to the abominable stills and amorphous animation, resulting in single-cellular organism instead of anthropomorphic characters. To indicate this influence Just compare the screenshots above from Haruhi to K-On! below and the 2006 airing. Haruhi (2009) ended up looking more like Yui than herself from three years ago XD

The culprit, K-On!

So what now, the optimistic rumor say that pressure from sponsors and the threat of DVD sales will either cut short the Endless Eight or force a rushed Disappearance by the end of the season. A more realistic rumor speculates either a back-to-back second season or at spring/summer 2010 with Disappearance and stories from latter volumes. Worse case scenario and most likely is that The Endless Eight iteration continue for either 6 or 8 episodes or even the end of August, then Sigh with or without a cliffhanger for Disappearance, with no deadline on air date.

So what can we do? Frankly, nothing! There are so many fanatics of Kadokawa, KyoAni, Haruhi, that we seem like annoying whiners and they act like rabid hounds to silence us in forums, IRC, etc. On the other side, they suddenly disappear when ignorant red-necks and jaded feminist twist reality. I just hope that in time, humans will become intelligent, managers competent, investors humane, animators talented, writers paid, ... and in other fairy-tales ;)

Read more!

Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody

For the first time in almost three years, Kodokawa/KyoAni did not troll us and actually episode 8 of the infamous re-run was new, covering the only chapters from volume 2 that did not get animated.

Here is the new ED.

Timeline	2009 Airing	2006 Airing	Title	Volume	Chapter(s)
April & May	1-6	2, 3, 5, 10, 13, 14	涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi	1	Prologue, 1-7, Epilogue (all)
June	7	4	涼宮ハルヒの退屈 The Boredom of Suzumiya Haruhi	3	1
July	8		笹の葉ラプソディ Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody	3	2
	9*	7	ミステリックサイン Mystérique Sign	3	3
	10-11*	6, 8	孤島症候群 Remote Island Syndrome	3	4
August	12*		エンドレスエイト Endless Eight	5	1
November	13-15**		涼宮ハルヒの溜息 The Sigh of Suzumiya Haruhi	2	Prologue, 1-5, Epilogue (all)
	16**	1	朝比奈ミクルの冒険 Episode 00 Asahina Mikuru's Adventure Episode 00	6	2
	17**	12	ライブアライブ Live A Live	6	1
	18**	11	射手座の日 The Day of Sagittarius	5	2
	19**	9	サムデイインザレイン Someday in the Rain	anime original	anime original
December	20-25**		涼宮ハルヒの消失 The Dissappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi	4	Prologue, 1-6, Epilogue (all)
	26***		ヒトメボレLOVER Charmed at First Sight Lover	6	2
	27***		雪山症候群 Snow Mountain Syndrome	5	3
	28***		猫はどこに行った？ Where did the Cat Go?	6	4
January	29***		朝比奈みくるの憂鬱 The Melancholy of Asahina Mikuru	6	5
February	30-35***		涼宮ハルヒの陰謀 The Intrigues of Suzumiya Haruhi	7	Prologue, 1-7, Epilogue (all)
March	36-37***		編集長★一直線！ Editor in Chief Straight Ahead!	8	1
	38-39***		ワンダリング・シャドウ Wandering Shadow	8	2
April	40-42***		涼宮ハルヒの分裂 The Dissociation of Suzumiya Haruhi	9	Prologue, 1-3 (all)
	43-?***		涼宮ハルヒの驚愕 The Surprise of Suzumiya Haruhi	10	TBA

* Speculation as of 22.5 (after the first new episode aired).
** Highly speculative, based on previous chapter to episode ratios.
*** Unlikely to air during the current run of the series.

screen-caps at the end of the post.

Hoping that this is not just a extra and that new episodes will air chronologically, we should expect The Endless Eight in four weeks, after Mysterique Sign and Lone Island Syndrome (originally episodes 6-8). Afterwards follows The Sigh, which has to do with the filming of Mikuru's Adventures, then the festival episodes (originally episodes 1 & 11-12) to finally reached The Disappearance, which was advertised a couple of years ago.

The episode itself was a welcome surprise, but it has some issues. First the art took a hit as all of KyoAni's latest productions. Animation was also minimal, compared with the treat of the first season. Especially the character designs of Mikuru and to a lesser extend of Haruhi, seem influenced heavily by 4-coma styles. Also the VAs seemed to struggle at parts to get back to their original characterization, but this is expected since three years have elapsed. Plot-wise, the episode was loyal to the novel, at least as far as I can remember since it's been quite some time since I read it.

All in all, if they continue to show new material, I am willing to forgive all this trolling and moe-crap they threw at us during the last three years, but both companies have a very bad record, so better don't get your hopes up.

Read more!

Winter '09 Short Reviews

Only a couple of months late, but the new semester's schedule is really tough. Anyway, winter had a couple of good one-cour series and another couple of two-cour also concluded.

Excellent:

Maria Holic

Good:

Ride Back, To aru Majutsu no Index, Toradora

OK:

Akikan, Shikabane Hime, Zettai Karen Children

Watchable:

Asu no Yoichi, Clannad, Tales of the Abyss

Avoid:

Druaga 2

Maria + Holic
まりあ†ほりっく
AniDB, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, Preview, Impressions
Studio: SHAFT
Directed by: Miyamoto Yukihiro, Shinbo Akiyuki
Character Designs by: Morioka Hideyuki
Original Manga by: Endo Minari
Series Composition by: Yokotani Masahiro
Sanada Asami (Kanako), Inoue Maria (Matsurika), Kobayashi Yu (Mariya)

SHAFT again delivered a hilarious series loaded with references and absurdity. Animation was typical of the studio, as well as the BGM and OP/ED. The cast of characters was quite large, but all got at least a centric episode, which helped characterization.

Ride Back
ライドバック
AniDB, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, Preview, Impressions
Studio: MADHOUSE
Directed by: Takahashi Atsushi
Character Designs by: Tazaki Satoshi
Original Manga by: Kasahara Tetsuro
Screenplay/Series Composition by: Takayashiki Hideo
VA? (role?), ...?

Excellent animation and incorporation of 3D mech design. The theme was also a little heavier then the anime norm, but was well handled and avoided childish over-simplifications. What IMHO hurted the series was its short length, especially when one takes into account the 10+ volumes of the novels it was based on.

To aru no Majutsu no Index
とある魔術の禁書目録
aka A Certain Magical Index
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, Preview, Impressions (1st cour), Impressions (2nd cour)
Studio: J.C.Staff
Directed by: Nishikiori Hiroshi
Character Designs by: Tanaka Yuichi
Original Character Designs by: Haimura Kiyotaka
Original Novel by: Kamachi Kazuma
Series Composition/Screenplay by: Akahoshi Masanao
VAs: Abe Achushi (Touma), Iguchi Yuka (Index), Satou Rina (Mikoto), Koyama Kimiko (Komoe), Taniyama Kishou (Styil), Noto Mamiko (Aisha), Okamoto Nobuhiko (Accelarator), Arai Satomi (Kumoko), Itou Shizuka (Kaori), Seki Tshihiko (Alister Crowly)

A typical JCStaff action show. In all categories it had its ups and downs depending on the arc, but overall it was fairly enjoyable.

Toradora!
とらドラ！
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Forum@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, Preview, Impressions (1st cour), Impressions (2nd cour)
Studio: J.C.Staff
Directed by: Nagai Tatsuyuki
Character Designs by: Tanaka Masayoshi
Original Character Designs by: Yasu
Original Manga by: Takemiya Yuyuko
Series Composition by: Okada Mari
VAs: Hugimiya Rie (Taiga), Majima Junji (Ryuuji), Kitamura Eri (Ami), Nojima Hirofumi (Kitamura), Horie Yui (Minori)

Lovcom at its prime. Normally I found these shows boring, but this one is a shining exception. My only gripe was the rushed (and somewhat irrational) ending, but otherwise the show was very nice.

Shikabane Hime: Kuro
屍姫 玄
aka Corpse Princess: Black
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, Impressions (Aka), Impressions (Kuro)
Studio: feel. & GAINAX
Directed by: Murata Masahiko
Character Designs by: Kubota Chikashi, Sadakata Kikuto
Original Managa by: Akahito Yoshiichi
Screenplay/Script by: Aikawa Shou
VAs: Akiyama Nana (Makina), Hosome Tatsuya (Ouri)

Plot-wise the second season was better then the first, actually "meatier" since there was resolution. What the season lacked was Keisei's character. Anyway, the annoying VAs improved a little, with the exception of Ouri. Action was OK, especially during the last episode. In general a good action show.

Akikan!
アキカン！
aka Empty Can
AniDB, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, Preview, Impressions
Studio: Brains Base
Directed by: Himaki Yuji
Character Designs by: Tanaka Ryo
Original Character Designs by: Suzuhira Hiro
Original Manga by: Ranjo Riku
Series Composition by: Koyasu Hideaki
VAs: Fukuyama Jun (Daichi), Narita Sayaka (Meron)

The first half featured some of the worst animation I have seen recently, but this improved to average during the latter half. What I liked in the show was the innuendo, probably due to age category of the novels. Save for that the show would have entered my avoid list.

Zettai Karen Children
絶対可憐チルドレン
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, Preview, Impressions
Studio: Synergy
Directed by: Kawaguchi Keichiiro
Character Designs by: Kagami Takahiro
Original Manga by: Shiina Takashi
Series Composition by: Noshizono Satoru
VAs: Tomatsu Haruka (Shiho), Shiraishi Ryoko (Aoi), Hirano Aya (Kaoru), Nakamura Yuuichi (Minamoto)

Pulling out 50+ episodes is a terrible difficult feat and Synergy managed it for a second year. Otherwise, animation and especially art varied wildly, especially when GONZO got involved. As for story and characters, it was enjoyable, but I never really got into it as with other shows.

Clannad ~After Story~
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Forum@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, Preview, Impressions (1st cour), Impressions (2nd cour)
Studio: KyoAni
Directed by: Ishihara Tatsuya
Character Designs by: Ikeda Kazumi
Original Character Designs by: Hinoue Itaru
Original Game by: Key
Series Composition/Script by: Shimo Fumihiko
VAs: Nakamura Yuuichi (Tomoya), Nakahara Mai (Nagisa), Kawashima Houko (Tomoyo), Mamiko Noto (Kotomi), Hirohashi Ryou (Kyou), Kanda Akemi (Ryou), Tamura Yukari (Mei)

As I have said before what KyoAni/Key lack is originality, this is their third show which reshuffled the same plot and characterization. And also the visuals took a heavy hit during this season, though still are by far above average.

Asu no Yoichi!
明日のよいち!
AniDB, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, Preview, Impressions
Studio: AIC
Directed by: Kujo Rion
Character Designs by: ???
Original Manga by: Minato You
Screenplay by: Kurata Hideyuki
VAs: Okamoto Nobuhiko (Yoichi), Satou Rina (Ibuki)

Purely fan-service, with average animation at best. The only shining point was Chihaya and unfortunately she got only one centric episode.

Tales of the Abyss
テイルズ オブジ アビス
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, Preview, Impressions
Studio: Sunrise
Directed by: Kodama Kenji
Character Designs by: Hishinuma Yoshihito
Original Character Designs by: Fujishima Kousuke
Original Game by: NAMCO
Series Composition by: Omode Akemi
VAs: Suzuki Chihiro (Luke), Yukana (Tear)

Too much exposition and at times horrible writting. Otherwise standard J-RPG chaos.

Druaga no Tou: Sword of Uruk
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, Preview, Impressions
Studio: GONZO
Directed by: Chigira Koichi
Character Designs by: Hakua Ugetsu
Screenplay/Series Composition by: Gatou Shoji
VAs: VA (role), VA (role)

If Tales had at times horrible writting, Druaga 2 as its predecessor had ONLY rediculous writting. Couple that with GONZO's animation and you get a recipie for certain failure.

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Spice and Wolf

I had a really hard week, so my solace lays with Horo ;)











I strongly recommend that you check out the OVA, it has some excellent dream sequences and an alternate look on Horo's POV ;) Read more!