The "What are you watching this semester" thread (Fall 2008)

[BASICman]

Well kids, summer is coming to a close, the leaves will soon turn, and everybody will be back to school... (well, everybody not me). So I thought that it would be a good idea to have a thread where we talk about what we're watching right now. I've stolen the idea from a monthly thread on the Megatokyo forums, which I have found to be quite useful in discovering new (unlicensed) series which I had otherwise never heard of.

So, in the vein of the "Recommended Viewing Thread", please post the show title, a brief description, and denote it with an asterisk (*) if its still unlicensed.

* Kure-Nai - High school student and "mediator" (yeah, he "mediates" with his hands) Shinkurou Kurenai is tasked to bodyguard Murasaki Kuhoin, the young daughter of a plutocratic family rescued from their isolation and uh... rather "royal" marriage rituals, if you get my drift. Wikipedia | ANN

* Baccano! - A simple story involving some immortal alchemists, a gaudy train, the mafia, lots of guns, lots of blood, and possibly the dumbest and luckiest Bonnie-and-Clyde pair conceivable. Told in a disjoint manner that I find very appealing (a-la Haruhi Suzumiya) Wikipedia | ANN

* Birdy the Mighty - Decode - A (female) space police officer accidentally kills a high school kid while chasing some fugitive aliens on Earth. While his body is being reconstructed back on Altair, he has to share a body with her. As bad as this plot sounds, there is suprizingly none of the expected humor from the whole "guy and girl sharing a body" thing, and so far I would give the writing a B+ or A-. Additionally, the boy's love interest may very well be a walking neutron bomb. Wikipedia | ANN

[lazurite]

Baccano! is now licensed by FUNimation. I watched it...uh, a while ago...and I too enjoyed the style and humor found within. In addition, by the twelfth episode I had decided (independently) that people who enjoyed Melancholy would also probably enjoy Baccano!, even though they are not really alike at all. There is a lot of blood and insanity.

Anyway, I haven't watched any anime since late June because of grad work and the endless draw of Stumble Upon. But for now I am on hiatus from Stumble Upon, so I was thinking of starting watching some new anime. I will probably finish up Mushishi, then move onto some promising looking shows. But because I don't know what they are and can't offer reviews/opinions yet, updates to this thread will have to come later.
Mnemosyne recently finished (six episodes long), so I may watch that to stick with the same vein of immortality and bloody violence.

[BASICman]

Mnemosyne recently finished (six episodes long), so I may watch that to stick with the same vein of immortality and bloody violence.

Oh yes... I'm watching that now, too. When I saw nudity, blood, violence and zombies in the first episode I knew I'd found something good

[lazurite]

Still haven't gotten around to Mnemosyne yet, but I did watch Allison and Lillia, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, some Lupin the Third movies and a whole bunch of first episodes of fall shows.

Allison and Lillia was some good clean adventure with action and drama. Nogizaka started out amusing thanks to the plot twist the show is based off - But then later in the show it became predictable. And I don't mean, in a "oh, i know how this series will probably end" sort of way (although that is pretty obvious, too). I mean it in a "oh, so this episode is starting out like this. That means we will see cliche A, B, and F in it. Yep, there they are..." sort of way.
And of course, Lupin is always good for some fun.

As for the new shows, I've only seen the first episodes of most of them, and you can look up descriptions yourself, so I will make a different sort of list.

First Episodes Watched
Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka, Casshern Sins, Hyakko, Kannagi, Kurogane no Linebarrels, Kuroshitsuji, Kyou no Go no Ni, Rosario + Vampire Capu2, Shikabanehime Aka, Tales of the Abyss, Toaru Majutsu no Index, Ga-Rei-Zero, Kemeko DX

Shows Worth Watching the Second Episode Of
Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka, Hyakko, Kannagi, Kurogane no Linebarrels, Kuroshitsuji, Shikabanehime Aka, Toaru Majutsu no Index, Ga-Rei-Zero (only because of the last two minutes), Yozakura Quartet

Notes
I'm not much for mecha, but Linebarrels seemed OK enough to watch more of, although it could easily fall out of favor. Kyou no Go no Ni is based on a mediocre OVA. I did not laugh during, nor was I intrigued by Tales of the Abyss. Rosario had (I counted at least) 35 panty shots in a 22 minute episode. Ga-Rei-Zero may win the ridiculous award for having a scene where a girl 'kills' several spirits using just a motorcycle, and afterward having this exchange:
guy: Ah, [girl's name], you actually believe in something?
girl: Yes. Led Zeppelin.

[BASICman]

Rosario had (I counted at least) 35 panty shots in a 22 minute episode.

Dom Nguyen's (of Megatokyo) of Rosario + Vampire says it all...

So, as I munched on soggy lunch room sandwiches, I gleefully obliged my aching mind and bludgeoned it with some of the stupidest anime I've watched in years: Rosario + Vampire. After about 14 minutes of what the Japanese descriptively call "Panty Anime," my brain sank into grateful oblivion and I felt sufficiently dumbened to tackle the next 3 hours of meetings.

You may ask why I consider Rosario + Vampire to be the dumbest on a list of very dumb shows I've watched in the past. You may also ask what that blatant image is doing at the top of my rant. The second question answers the first. The level of fan service is so high, and such a focal point of the show, that I firmly believe that my He-Man rule applies to it: "If society has to choose between being remembered solely by He-Man (or, in this case, R+V) and being condemned to permanent and irrevocable destruction, society will choose destruction."

I mean, the default camera angle involves knee level - you don't count panty shots when we're watching this show, you count each scene where the girl's skirt miraculously manages to cover her frilly underthings. According to the official staff blog, each writer's meeting for the show involves serious discussions of character panties.

If you want meaning, plot, or anything of substance, you're not going to find it here. As I mentioned before, I am convinced that watching this show has a negative impact on my intellect - each time I watch it, its inanity causes parts of my brain to set themselves on fire in protest. Hell, each time a new episode airs, I let my friends know with conversations similar to this exchange with Hodgepodge:

Dom: Let's get stupid TOGETHER
Hodgepodge: OU!
Friend: What are you guys watching?
Hodgepodge: Rosario + Vampire
Dom: Or, what I like to call The Dumbening.
Hodgepodge: Indeed, pantsu-fest.

Why do I watch a show this dumb, you ask? Why do I submit myself to a show I heap such abuse on? Why do I have to turn my English Literature degree face-down every time I fire it up, as if it's a picture of my wife and I'm cheating on it?

Because I like the ending song.

I wish I was kidding about this.

The original article, complete with italics and links, can be found here

[lazurite]

His review I think was about the FIRST season (13 eps), whereas this fall the second season "Capu2" is airing. But comparing the review to the episode, I can say that nothing at all has changed.

I forgot to mention that I also watched a bunch of episodes of The Daughter of Twenty Faces, which was good quality. It takes elements from Lupin and Baccano to create an intriguing caper.
A couple more new shows to keep an eye on:
Chaos;head - Take a younger Satou (from NHK) and have Misaki murder people instead of trying to save him.
Nodame Cantabile: Paris - This is my most anticipated fall show (out of what I've seen so far). It's the second season of Nodame Cantabile (which I also thoroughly enjoyed). I am no student of music, but the comedy and character interactions are top notch.

Mnemosyne update: It has a pretty decent story, great production value (the word 'sleek' comes to mind), and some memorable characters. But there is definitely a lot of gratuitous 'Mature' content, and painful, painful torture. Recommended, but not for everyone.

[eggmelia]

So, the other day, I was bored (y'know, it being Thanksgiving break and all), so, surfing around the doll forums (for those of you that don't know, I collect Japanese dolls ), I found that some of the dolls that are going to be released next year are based on another anime. Now, this is how I found Rozen Maiden, but they'd also done a collaboration with Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Anyhow, the anime's called Kuroshituji. It's about a butler, named Sebastian, who's "a demon and a butler", or "one hell of a butler", depending on who's translating. It's a pretty silly anime, and by silly, I mean, it's fodder for shounen-ai fangirls (blergh). Its crutch is that EGL, so, of course, it's "set" in Victorian England. A HIGHLY ANACHRONISTIC Victorian England (which, in itself is amusing. Perhaps a better way to describe it would be to say that the anime cosplays Victorian England...)

However, it redeems a tiny bit of dignity in the second episode, because Sebastian starts kicking ass and taking names! Sebastian the demon makes up for most of the tedium. And then there's Grell. He's a butler, too, or so we thought, now he's Jack the Ripper! Wait, no, Now, he's a Shinigami/Grim Reaper! AND HE HAS A CHAINSAW FOR A SCYTHE. A CHAINSAW. He's a freaking cross dressing, chainsaw-wielding maniac!

... That's about as far as I got. Subs for episode six through eight don't seem to exist yet (it only began in October). But really, if you want some good laughs about shounen-ai, anachronisms, contrived lolita anime, or even, perhaps, you'd like to watch a mystery unfold, or just watch something with a little bit o' gore, Kuroshitsuji is a decent enough time waster. Not brilliant, but then again, it's anime.

[BASICman]

I forgot to mention that I also watched a bunch of episodes of The Daughter of Twenty Faces, which was good quality. It takes elements from Lupin and Baccano to create an intriguing caper.

Okay, time for an update. This show is awesome! I mean it! I watched this thing religiously back in October. The only shame is that the final two episodes remain untranslated, with little hope for them to be completed in the future. But if you're looking for something to watch, theres 20 episodes completed (Live-eviL subs) and the show is top notch.

Now that I have Netflix, I've been renting anime in addition to my efforts with fansubs. I've been watching Noir and Tsukhime Lunar Legand. Stay tuned to this channel when I finish watching them...

[lazurite]

I don't feel like making a new thread, so I'm hijacking this one (but at least it's related).

Just wanted to let everyone know two things:
There is a new season of Full Metal Alchemist currently airing (in japan).
There is something going on with the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I know at least one new episode has been aired (in japan). I keep seeing how it's the start of a new season, but then I also see mention that they are just reairing the old episodes in chronological order. But then wikipedia has a list of episodes with descriptions that are not familiar at all. Anybody paying more attention than me and know more about it?