updated

So here's what I'm sticking with for the present: Kannagi and Mouryo no Hako for sure. The latter is shaping up to be pretty good. Kurozuka is holding my interest for the moment, and Toradora kind of is too. It has a catchy OP at least... sometimes even something as little as that helps me stick with a series. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, I'll admit. Michiko to Hatchin does not seem to be keeping all that regular a schedule, but I think the second episode has aired in Japan. I liked the first episode enough to at least keep going with the second one.

Add these (potential) five to Bleach, Naruto and Soul Eater, and I am left to ask myself - what have I done? I sort of surf through Bleach and Naruto since I know what's going to happen, so that helps with the time commitment.

getting there

I'm down to seven candidates from the new batch of anime for long-term watching... ack! I thought it was less than that. Well, there are two front-runners and the rest are maybes.

Looking good so far:
Kannagi - Dorky not-new premise of earthly incarnation of a deity suddenly appearing and taking up with some hapless student, but after laughing my head off at various scenes I decided I liked it. Hilary watched the first two with me and seemed to enjoy it. I think I'll keep with it unless it gets boring.
Mouryou no Hako - This was one of the few dramatic entries that appealed to me, but I'll have to wait and see what direction it takes and whether it interests me enough. After two episodes, I can't tell yet whether it will just devolve into something stupid, or if it will be really good, maybe akin to Monster. There is a decided mystery element to it.

Will probably drop:
Shikabane Hime: Aka - Some cool action but quickly evolving into repetitive monster-killing. Where have I seen that before... bleah. Boring.
Ga-rei Zero - There were enough twists and turns in the first two episodes of this otherwise fairly lame entry into the futuristic anti-supernatural government agency squad genre, but I seriously doubt it'll get any better.

Dunno yet:
Toradora - If I'm gonna go with a light-hearted student comedy series I'll probably stick with Kannagi. So far Toradora hasn't done much to distinguish itself.
Kurozuka - Meh, I can see how some would find this one engaging, but I'm not exactly in the mood for dark, violent mind-trip stuff right now. However, the story is kind of interesting, so it might give it five episodes or so before I decide whether to drop it.
Michiko to Hatchin - Ok, so this one started off with the orphan-lives-with-abusive-foster-family thing (worse than any Roald Dahl story, I might add) and I was thinking I was done with it but I found some of the characters rather interesting, along with the Spanish-Latino setting they've got going on, so I think I'll keep with it for the moment.

To Aru Majutsu no Index is one I have definitely dropped. I tried three episodes (admittedly the second and third were watched in a truncated fashion) but there's other, better stuff to watch. And then there were a few other series that took only one episode to earn the thumbs-down.

What I'm Watching and Reading Right Now

By and large the stuff I'm into right now is a lot of catch-up. I'm catching up (albeit slowly) with One Piece and Bleach, though only on DVDs, since you guys probably already know my thoughts on downloading when I can avoid it. I had been watching the new series on [as], but when the schedule went downhill I said screw it. I still don't know how Code Geass ended, or what I'd really think of Morbito. One more argument for mom to get us DVR. Anyway, I'm also curious to continue Baccano, which I started after being influenced by Pie-chan. Enjoying it, but haven't really gotten too far yet. After initial reluctance due to the crudeness, I got really into Shin-Chan, and would like to pick up part 2 of season 1 at some point in the near future.

As for manga, I'm dying to find out how Fruits Basket ends with only three volumes left, I'm finally catching up on the American release of Bleach, and I've got the new volume of FMA on my desk. I want to start Monster, and have the first two volumes of it, just haven't gotten to it yet. Read Death Note, though I can't say it's my favorite. Also want to start One Piece, though I really wish my library carried manga so I wouldn't have to buy it, since reading online gives me a massive headache.

Things I would like to see and discuss in here, if you guys are game for something like this, like watching a series somehow together and discussing, include Samurai 7, a rewatching of Bebop just for enjoyment, since I never did get much discussion in it even though I've seen it, and perhaps Mushishi, which I've heard a lot about but never seen. Let me know what you think of my proposal and how we might go about such a thing. Of course, it will all depend on who's seen what and what kind of access we all have.

to begin...

OK, so first I thought of diving right into some thoughts on my selections from the fall anime crop of offerings, but I think I still want to watch a couple more of them before I do a write-up. Then I thought... I will run down briefly what I am currently watching (and reading).

My anchors of Naruto and Bleach, of course. The Bleach anime is just coming off a filler arc that I refused to watch, being current with the scanlations. I don't even know how they managed to break into the filler story line from what was going on... because it was kind of right in the middle of some action. But the manga has remained quite interesting, as will the upcoming anime episodes that track it. Same goes for Naruto. The story line in the manga is and has been awesome, and whenever the anime sticks to the story, I think it outshines the manga in various ways.

Soul Eater: BONES has hits and misses and I wasn't sure about this one, but I stuck with it and now, at episode 27 (out of 51) I am pretty glad I did. It's mostly just a goofy fun time but the story is interesting enough and has just enough intense moments to make it a pretty good watch. At first I thought it was another shinigami entry, and I guess you could still sort of say it is, but not in the way one might expect. Thinking back now I have to say that it's pretty unique, at least compared to other anime I've seen. In brief, the story so far has to do with students at a school in the fictional Death City run by Shinigami (yes, the God of Death). These students wield weapons, which have a human form, and both train together to become strong enough to eventually be used, I suppose, in the trade of reaping souls... at any rate, that purpose is not all that central to the plot, which deals primarily with some of the students and their teachers as a series of events that will have an impact on the future of Death City unfold. Halfway through the series I can't really say that it carries any emotional weight - it's just a well-done shounen. Honestly, though, I could see it having potential to go beyond 51 episodes, but I think it will do just fine as a self-contained story. It's BONES' 10th anniversary project, so I guess you would expect it to be something decent. The characters are all rather interesting and amusing and, with some exceptions, aren't just taken from the standard rack of expired spices.

So, I'd recommend this one to both the guys and the gals. There is a pretty strong female presence in it - it doesn't just focus on the male characters. The manga has been licensed for U.S. distribution, I believe, but I'm not sure about the anime.

To follow in another entry - what I've watched over the past year.