Moar graphs!

FINAL EDIT:So after I thought I fixed this post last night, I wake up this morning only to notice that the links from animeblogger and animenano 404′d and the post itself had nearly half the content cutoff, orz. So for the last time, after yet another rewrite, I’ll repost this. If it screws up again then I’ll take it as a sign that it was destined for phail anyways.

Though the reference post was a few months before I hit the blogging scene, I always thought it was a hilariously nerdy idea, ridiculous even. Well skip ahead half a year and here I am carrying out said idea. The fall season probably wasn’t the greatest one to start off with because numerous shows haven’t hit their completion/halfway points yet, but I’ll make do with what I have.

Kanon 2006

Average episode rating: 9.00

As most entries here at Ani-Ari start, Kanon is first up. It’s the top ranking anime this season from a statistical point of view and with good cause. A remake of the an already popular anime and even more popular ero-game, and backed by the production company which turns everything it touches into an instant cash cow; Kanon was made for success. Overhyped? You bet. Overrated? I’d say only slightly.

Kanon started off with a bang…well, a glomp followed by a bang. The introduction of the taiyaki thieving loli Ayu with her multiple “Uguu~”s as well as Nayuki, both sleeping moe mode and her bra scene, made for an excellent start to the season.

The episodes to follow saw the introduction of many more characters: Kaori, Shiori, Mai, Sayuri, et al (Kitagawa?) to form the harem affectionately known as “Sad girls in the snow”. The rapid introduction of multiple bishoujo laid out KyoAni’s difficult task in ensuring that they each got a respectable amount of screentime and a faithful translation from their ero-game arc.

And so episode 3 started things off with the introduction of Sawatari Makoto, the original lolikit. Her arc was centered around the discovery that she is really a shapeshifting fox whom Kyon’ichi met many years ago and has carried a grudge because he abandoned her when he had to leave. This portion of Kanon has the most fluctuating ratings because I wasn’t 100% satisfied with how KyoAni decided to portray the events. Makoto’s degradation was drawn out and over dramatized, whereas her departure, which should have been over dramatized, was given an uplifting feel. Some people thought this was a good move, but looking back, I would have liked the arc to be a little shorter and more of an emotional suckerpunch at the end. Though at the time of watching Makoto’s arc ending I gave it high ratings, I’m sure there must have been a reason so I won’t change them.

After a half episode transition where Kyon’ichi rapidly gets over Makoto, we’re thrown into Kawasumi Mai’s arc. The ratings of these episodes are consistently high because I feel the episode pacing is being done exceptionally well. While I prefer Makoto’s character over Mai and Sayuri, the pacing of the latter arc has been much better so far. There aren’t any needless filler shopping scenes or the reading of the same manga thrice, there has been continuous development and action throughout. Plus it has the waltz scene, made of so much win that it has been compared to SHnY’s “Live Alive”, though eventually declared inferior.

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for some random yuri

Kanon’s technical aspects are obviously above average, being a KyoAni production and all. Animation and character designs are beautiful, hell the supporting cast of Kanon looks better than the main cast of YoakeNa and Kujibiki Unbalance put together. Music is also great, lots of classical pieces that add to the impact of the scenes, lawl @ Canon in D.

With the highest ratings and comparatively low deviation, Kanon is definitely one of the best animes this season, just take a look at blog aggregators every Friday and see count how many Kanon posts there are. Although statistically the best, I personally do not feel that Kanon is THE best anime this season, mostly because of it’s remake status and the fact it’s so overhyped causes some bias against it. It remains to be seen how Kanon will continue to perform, it’s living up to its expectations so far, but the Nayuki/Ayu arc will be the climax of this series, to pass final judgment before that is impossible. I look forward to reviewing the latter half of Kanon in the winter 2006 post, should this blog still live at that point =D.

PS: Yes, the perfect rating on episode 5 is solely because of the bath scene :3

Gift ~ Eternal Rainbow ~

Average episode rating: 7.79

Second under the microscope is Gift ~ Eternal Rainbow ~, my personal favourite amongst the original series (that is, excluding: Kanon, Death Note and Negima). Gift is about a town who’s inhabitants have a strange power called Gift, when a Gift is given under mutual feelings, a miracle occurs that makes the giver/receiver happy. When given under one sided or malicious feelings, the Gift goes berserk and causes pain and misery in an often ironic fashion.

Gift has the beginnings of a typical school romance and so I wasn’t very impressed, however as the graph shows, that quickly changed as the rating quickly ascends and peaks at episode 3. This is, of course, due to the appearance of Riko, a goddess among siscons. Soon after her introduction Kirino is pushed out of the picture and Haruhiko’s love for his imouto comes rushing back. Episode 3 tops out because of Riko’s implied confession and Haruhiko’s gutsy direct confession soon after.

However, things take a drastic turn for the worse at this point. Riko initially turns down Haruhiko and the series suddenly turns into a pile of garbage, filler like episodes with characters who have potential that is quickly wasted with irrelevant sidestories. These episodes only serve as minor build up to the upcoming angst, providing a bit of background on the power of Gift and the happiness/pain that can come with it.

The revival of the series comes at episode 8 when Haruhiko and Riko are on their school trip and they reconcile their love for each other. This episode also sets in motion the series of events that would take the Riko, Haruhiko, Kirino love triangle on an angst filled rollercoaster of emotion. Prior to leaving Kirino asks for a love charm from a temple as a souvenir, having started his relationship with Riko, Haruhiko denies her request and all hell breaks loose.

The following episodes are full of drama which, although corny at some times, was my main draw to the anime. Sure I knew that it was going to be a Riko ending but every passing week left me wondering how far Kirino would go to get Haruhiko back. Though I was a little disappointed that she didn’t go Kaede-level psycho, I was still quite pleased with the episodes leading up to the ending and the ending itself. Though the dip at the end is because of the rather cliche final episode, renewal of friendship is fine and all, but the speed at which Kirino forgave the two lovebirds is rivaled only by how fast Light went from wussy civilian to murderous mastermind, but that’s for another entry.

All in all an excellent series. Animation wasn’t spectacular but it got the job done, gigantor eyes though O_O. Music was mediocre and repetitive, but again, it fit the situation and didn’t detract from the experience. This anime isn’t going to top any blogger’s year end list, but it was an entertaining watch and worthy of entering my archives.

If this turns out to be a surprise turnaround ending OVA a la Kashimashi, I’m going to hurt someone

Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na ~Crescent Love~

Average episode rating: 5.21

EDIT: In the original post Adun commented that I was extremely lenient with the ratings for YoakeNa. Realizing that it may give the wrong impression to other possible viewers I lowered the scores to reflect my true thoughts. Sorry YoakeNa, reality is harsh, but hey 5.21 is still a pass =D

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: Damn that’s a long title. Thankfully this should be the last entry I’ll ever have to write on this series. YoakeNa is the definition of wasted potential. I don’t understand how something with such revered source material turned out so horribly, I probably should have taken that opening sepia-toned battle sequence as a hint of the horror that was to follow, _|￣|O.

I went into YoakeNa expecting a romance drama with a touch of fantasy and A LOT of Feena, so much so that I became a self-proclaimed member of the FFF. What were fans greeted with instead? A LARGE SPHERICAL GREEN ORB! Yes the cabbage that has become 4chan /a/’s idol, competition for GARcher in Saigar, and the symbol for poor animation quality.

YoakeNa had a rocky (but full of potential) beginning, filler-esque middle, craptacular main plot and a WTF deus ex machina end rivaled only by Mai HiME for the worst “they should have stayed dead” finale. The final scene caused me to tear with joy, not because Tatsuya and Feena got married “many years later” but because the series was finally over and it was purging the phail with tears.

YoakeNa has been a punching bag all season, taking abuse from many a blogger, so why did Danny, Hinano, myself and countless others keep watching? Train wreck syndrome. It was an anime so bad that you couldn’t help but keep watching, carrying only the SLIGHTEST glitter of hope that it would turn around. But then Tatsuya’s dad shows up and you realize you’ve just wasted four hours of your life in 20 minute intervals.

I think it was Kurogane who said something to the effect of: Bad art mars good drama. That was exactly the case here, there were some parts that I wanted to take seriously, but the quality of the animation was just so detracting that I couldn’t enjoy it. The wreathlit arc brought potential salvation with an interesting character and an ever so slight recovery of animation, but the Jurgen shows up and it all went to hell.

With such revered source material, and Feena, it really was a shame to see YoakeNa go down the path it did. Who knows, maybe one day it’ll get a remake and become the success we all know it could have been *nudges KyoAni*.

- – -

Well, it took three rewrites and a whole lot of frustration, but I’m finally done with this post. It was a little longer than what I had originally planned, especially my YoakeNa rant, but it’s a decent start. The graphing and analysis takes a bit more effort than I thought it would, but it’s fun to look back at a season and try to break down what I was thinking at the time.

Due to the fansub delay with many of the shows this season I’ll split these posts into blocks of three. Death Note, OtoBoku and either Geass or Tokimemo should be up next. Until then!

~ Shirukii ~

Click to enlarge

Kanon 12: 9.5/10

One of, if not the, best episodes thus far. Screentime for Nayuki, Ayu, Shiori, Kaori, some fugly ichinensei and of course Mai <3. And as if that wasn't enough, there was the beautifully animated waltz (which was actually a waltz in the truest sense, gotta love KyoAni). I still prefer Live Alive better, but that's probably because of the state of shock I was in whereas the dance was a long time coming. I still miss Makoto.

Code Geass 10: 8.5/10

Truthfully, I never really appreciated/liked mecha, it’s always been my downfall as an anime fan. However, among the slew of relatively crap mecha shows, once in a while a diamond in the rough will appear, last time it was the FMP series and this time it’s Code Geass. The reason why these two rise above all other mecha shows I’ve watched is because of the battle tactics. It’s not simply two overpowered mechs going head to head, it’s armies of them being strategically placed to set up ambushes, flanks and feints. Geass goes as far to compare the battles to an intricate game of chess, that’s mecha at its finest. Much more entertaining than watching a Gundam rip through 50 lesser models. (Gundam fans, please don’t hurt me. Better yet, correct me if I’m wrong, I’ve only watched a couple episodes.)

Episode 10 of Geass was the best since the Shinjuku Ghetto raid. Lelouch is a master tactician, using the elements against his opponents and backing them into a corner predicting their every move. Though, one complaint I do have about the series is that Lelouch has become obsessed with his conquest to crush Britannia. The Black Knights has completely engulfed his life as he now completely ignores his school life and his pseudo-harem. As a contrast, Sagara, despite being a military otaku, had a life outside the Arbalest.

Gift ~eternal rainbow~ 12 [END]: 7.5/10

A very anti-climactic ending, the sheer amount of angst built up in the previous episodes fell apart in the ending. I was expecting Kirino to go Kaede-level psycho and offer her body to Haruhiko or something, anything to capitalize on the build up, instead we got a rather predictable and generic harem ending. But I still crown Gift as this season’s best original harem/romance drama. It wasn’t anything truly innovative in terms of story or animation, but it was the standard triangle romance plot done exceptionally well. This is what I was expecting heading into DCSS, but instead got Aisia, orz. Kudos to Haruhiko for sticking with Riko for the entire series, sis-cons everywhere rejoice! Kirino can go die.

Negima!? 9: 8/10

Negima continues to confuse the hell out of me. With the series being comprised of seemingly random non-linking events and no discernible overlying plot I’m left wondering where Shaft is going with this. I never finished watching Pani Poni Dash so I don’t know what to expect in terms of an ending, or if there will even be one. In any case, Negima!? still looks amazing and manages to get me laughing out loud once in a while, at the very least it’s an entertaining waste of 20 minutes of life.

That’s all for this week! Due to the lack of subs I don’t have any material to make fun of Happiness and YoakeYori, nor can I continue praise Death Note. Stupid recap episodes. Oh well, off to watch Ouverture.

Merry Christmas Eve!
~ Shirukii ~

Click to enlarge

May not look like much, but this is the replacement for those lengthy episode summary posts. That’s not to say I’ll stop doing episode summaries and analysis completely, but they will be scarce and random. Instead I’ve decided to employ a ranking system, it’s pretty self explanatory, series in the right column, episodes in the top row and rankings fill the cross sections. I’ve also included running averages and standard deviations, the latter being a measure of how tight the cluster of rankings are. Basically, the larger the number, the more inconsistent the ranking of the series.

[aside] I’ve heard many conflicting opinions on this fall season, some are saying it’s been excellent while others are cursing the mediocrity. Personally, I feel it’s been a decent season. Aside from heavy hitters the likes of Kanon and Death Note there have been a few diamonds in the rough such as Gift ~Eternal Rainbow~ and Asatte no Houkou. However, one thing that leads me to think this season isn’t doing so well is the speed of the fansubs. I have only been watching ongoing series for about a year – a year and a half (previously having just marathoned completed series) so I’m not entirely sure if this is normal. But this is the first season where I’ve noticed that more series that are lagging behind in terms of fansubs. Is this because fansubbers have lives as well and went through exams the same as the rest of us or is it that the popularity of the series and therefore anticipation of the subs is at a low? [/aside]

Hopefully someone has an answer to that, it’s been bugging me for a while. But I digress, onwards!

Kanon

The above image alone is enough to convince the majority of its awesomeness. The Kanon remake is one of the series I find myself anxiously anticipating each week, and having already watched the original that’s quite a feat. With multiple moe modes centered around the overlying theme of sad girls in the snow accompanied by KyoAni animation, how can you lose? On that note, despite living in Toronto, there’s been a serious lack of snow thus far. Plenty of sad girls though, sporting the “I just got wtfpwned by that exam” look.

Death Note

Extreme writing, extreme potato chip eating, extreme cell phone calls, and something about the rise of a God, Death Note has a lot going for it. The amount of intellectual fencing that goes on between Kira and L is what draws me to this show. Both risking their lives as they play a game of wit and tact where the slightest oversight could be fatal, one of the best plots I’ve seen since Monster. Too bad I’ve been spoiled multiple times by readers of the manga…bastards. The introduction of Misa in the latest ep was interesting, it’s sure to change the entire dynamic between Kira and L. She sounds too much like Haruhi though =\

Asatte no Houkou

This show surprised me, I hadn’t started watching until episode seven or so, I decided to dl it on a whim. I was taken aback at how much I liked it. The pacing and style reminds me of Honey and Clover, though the story is quite different, a slice of life drama with a twist of fantasy. The characters are what really draw me in though, while not being overly complex, they each have their own intricacies and interesting pasts. On a related note, this is one of the few series where I’m not rooting for the imouto, Shouko FTW! It may have something to do with the lingering loli image of Karada, I’m usually all for lolis but she had very little moe appeal. Kudos for charging head on into a life without her Hiro-nii though.

Gift ~ Eternal Rainbow ~

Ah, here’s my siscon fix for the season. Gift, in my eyes, ranks as the best original harem/love romance of the season. It’s what DCSS should have been, Riko has looks one step down of Kotori and a personality one step down of Nemu, great combo. Kirino can go die though, ffs she’s annoying, perhaps it’s because she has the same seiyuu as Aisia whom I also disliked, but I just can’t stand her. Though she is a catalyst for RikoXHaruhiko, so despite not liking her, I will admit that she is a necessity to the plot. If you aren’t watching this, give it a shot, if anything it’ll bring back happy memories of Da Capo…or incite murderous rage from Kotori fanboys.

Negima!?

Following neither the manga nor the previous Mahou Sensei Negima series, this show is all sorts of crazy. Much like PPD it’s filled with seemingly random, yet hilarious, arcs as well as the ever changing blackboards. Not the best show of the season, but it sure is a looker, the perfect anime if you’re looking to stave off boredom for half an hour. Ep 4-6 arc was made of pure winnage, though lacked SecchanXKonoka love =(

Tokimeki Memorial

Tokimemo started out as a off the wall school comedy reminiscent of School Rumble and while it retains some of that randomness, it becomes more predictable by the minute and in my opinion should have chosen to go full harem or full sukuran clone. What’s left is a decent story about your typical undeserving and indecisive male lead with three bishoujos competing for his love. The energetic sports bishoujo Tsukasa, the shy yet dedicated Mina and the composed ojou-sama/iinchou Sayuri. We seem to be heading for a Sayuri ending, which disappoints me because I’ve fallen into the Tsukasa camp. Tsukasa FTW! Though she seems to have a couple loose screws o.O

Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru

Psst. Mizuho, you’re covering the wrong area. Mizuho does not have a penis, cast those worries aside and fap with pride! I was expecting a Strawberry Panic replacement with OtoBoku, but alas, hopes of yuri have faded to nothing but a dream. That’s alright though, onwards to a Takako ending! That’s not a spoiler, just my hopeful victor.

Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro na Crescent Love

How did an inanimate green sphere get nominated for Saigar? Decent story, terrible animation, hyped ending, I’m still puzzled as why I continue watching Yoakena. I’ll attribute it to the “so bad it’s good” Train Wreck effect. There’s plenty of drama and angst, but the poor animation quality overshadows all good aspects and the overall effect is ruined. I have a very difficult time ranking this show, thus it has the highest standard deviation of the bunch.

Happiness

Watarse Jun. That is all.

Dropped:
- Kujibiki Unbalance (terrible characters)
- Lovedol (terrible everything, exempt: “I sing for revenge” lawl)
- Su(mo*6) (couldn’t get into it, possible revisit in the future)

Possible pick ups:
- Code Geass (something about pizza hut?)
- Pumpkin Scissors (despite the name…)
- Hatakari Man
- Souko no Strain
- Haruhi Live Action porn

Recommendations on these would be great. Other than that, I’m absolutely clueless as to what’s coming up in the winter season, anyone willing to fill me in on what looks to be good?

Til next time!
~ Shirukii ~