March comes in like a lion

Fall 2016 – Mid-Season Round Up

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Weee! I’m finally writing my first mid-season round up post since I started this friggin’ blog. Two seasons have already passed since then, so I guess third time’s the charm?

But what’s all this for, anyway? I mean, I’m already doing weekly round ups, so why one come mid-season? Well, there are just so many shows, and a number of my RL friends often come to me sometime around mid-season just to ask if there’s anything worth picking up. In some ways, you could say they’re more than happy to make me suffer on their behalf, what having to plough through all these shows expecting for the worst… But at the same time it’s always a good feeling when I can recommend a good title or two. Because let’s face it, some shows grow at their own pace, but knowing a show will be worth the effort is always something helpful to keep in mind.

So this will just be a quick rundown of the current standing of all shows this season based on my current census of titles. As with the season preview list and weekly round ups, these shows are ordered in descending rank. Only the season end ranking places the shows in order of ascending rank (they say it’s more dramatic that way). Also, if you’re lazy and just want a TL;DR, look for the words in bold in the last paragraph of each show description.

On a personal note, I’d highly recommend #’s 1-6. The rest might require a bit of… well, patience. Anyway, enough talk, let’s do this!
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Fall 2016 – Week 5 in Review

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This was a pretty weird week in animeland. Apart from the fact that many of the shows were basically settling in to their established “groove”, a good number of them managed to be overtly offensive. And if that wasn’t the case, it was the animation that took a turn for the worse. So five weeks in and the shows begin to bare their ugly side.

But that’s not to say that the shows started getting ugly per se. Think of it as how you discover that your significant other likes pressing the toothpaste tube in the middle, or how they bite into a TimTam only to leave it half-eaten in the refrigerator. You don’t necessarily hate them for it, but God is it frustrating. But then again, that’s the point we’re at in this season — just a little ways from hitting the midpoint.

So strap yourselves in for the ride and let’s plunge through what just happened this week! Continue reading →

Fall 2016 – Week 3 in Review

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Bring out the sparklers, it’s time for WEEK 3 IN REVIEW, wohoo!

Yes, it’s kinda weird how time flies when you have fun — and boy, am I having fun. The shows this season are pretty hefty contenders, and a good chunk of them are just enjoying their time at the top spot. Of course, I’m referring to Sound! Euphonium 2. But hey, there’s more to this season than just the KyoAni house favorite. So let’s run down what’s happened this week! Continue reading →

Fall 2016 – Week 2 in Review

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I hate myself.

As much as I said that I’d “limit” my viewing list, turns out I added another two shows, which in total makes for nine shows. That’s pretty much my standard viewing list, so there goes my hopes of “trimming” down anything. 0 – over 9000 in favor of Animu, I guess.

But that’s only because this season is actually pretty great! I’m such an idiot for thinking the releases were pretty dull (shame on you), and that’s probably only because I was in a hurry to tick off things from the list just because the cover art wasn’t so “appealing”. Having said that, wonderful pieces like Akiyuki Shinbo’s interpretation of March comes in like a lion went completely under the radar, and so did Wataru Watari’s gi(a)rlish number.

And so here we go with the week in review as I nonchalantly include these two titles as if I never missed out on watching them in the first place. That said, please–PLEASE do not recommend any more shows for me to watch. I’m seriously going to stick a cacatuar into my eyes if I end up adding another show to my list.

So anyway, back to this week. The shows pretty much powered their way through this week with very little reason for me to be worried. But as always, the first few weeks are the moments these shows tend to place their best foot forward. But if the prize for “most improved show” must go out to someone, then it most definitely has to go to Natsume Yûjinchou Go… Continue reading →