Spring 2006 Anime Roundup
I've now gotten a chance to see fansubs of most of the new shows this season, here are the first impressions.
Ah My Goddess: Sorezore no Tsubasa. Don't know what to make of it, I don't know much about the original.
Air Gear. Roller bladers that can fly...seems like this will be Air Master on wheels.
Aria the Natural. I loved Aria the Animation. This is the sequel.
Black Lagoon. Espionage/mercenary show, with a great pace. Think Standalone Complex minus the cyberpunk.
Dai Mahou Touge. Magical girl parody, the school bully chicks are hilarious. Funny so far.
Disgaea. Another shitty videogame adaptation, this time they soil the name of a great strategy RPG.
dotHack//Roots. Returns to the sort of serious vibe that dotHack//Sign had. This is a good thing.
Ergo Proxy. Dark, dystopian show not unlike Blade Runner or Bubblegum Crisis. Very cool.
Fighting Beauty Wulong. Another show, very much like Air Master except pretty horrible.
Gakuen Heaven. Yaoi to the max, a bit too gay for me to really appreciate, but if you're into that...
High School Girls. A pretty pedestrian Japanese high school girl show, with requisite pantyshots.
KIBA. Crappy shounen show, looked like it had some potential but now 3 episodes in, pretty stupid.
Kyou no Go no Ni. School show, OVA episodes are split up like Azumanga Daioh. Kind of funny.
Nana. Story about two girls who shack up in Tokyo, very good stuff so far, slice of life.
Ouran High School Club. Comedy about pretentious rich boys' school club, extremely funny so far.
RAY the Animation. A show about a community of bred organ donors...one got her eyes replaced with x-ray...pretty cool thus far.
School Rumble 2nd Semester. The first season was hilarious love triangle fun, this is no different so far.
Soul Link. Absolutely horrible sci-fi show, every cliche in the book, horrible animation. Avoid.
Strawberry Panic. Light fantasy about these three girl schools, interesting so far. Men are forbidden there, so we may see some lesbian overtones.
Tactical Roar. A primarily female-staffed ship that fights pirates in the future when a massive hurricane has changed the face of the world. Not turning out as cool as it could have.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. About a freaky school girl and her bizarre ambitions, the first two episodes are so funny I was keeling over, fighting back the tears of joy. Could damn well be the best anime since Genshiken, I await each episode with much longing. The one to watch this season, easily.
Utawarerumono. Fantasy about guy with amnesia who wakes up with a strange mask on in a village of fox people. Much better than it sounds, very tasteful so far, another one to definitely watch.
XXXHolic. About a guy who signs himself over to some witches in return for his desires, it's a Clamp I think so it will be popular whether it is good or not, so far it's decent enough to watch, mainly for the cool art style. The title might seem sexual, but the anime is far from it.
Zegapain. Some sort of sci-fi/mech show, with a cyber-Matrix backdrop going on. Will have to see how it develops.
Looking like a good season overall so far, I'll be keeping up with most of the shows, except Soul Link, Tactical Roar, and Disgaea, and possibly KIBA and High School Girls if they don't improve within a few episodes. Still a few I haven't gotten to watch yet like Kanon 2006 and Glass no Kantai, I should have them soon. So, in 3 years when this shit comes out to DVD, with crappy English dubs on Cartoon Network (no offense, at least they play anime), remember where you heard about it first, or just grab the fansubs your self and live life in the drivers' seat.
Also started reading the manga for Death Note, it is absolutely fantastic and I will be collecting all the further volumes.
Ah My Goddess: Sorezore no Tsubasa. Don't know what to make of it, I don't know much about the original.
Air Gear. Roller bladers that can fly...seems like this will be Air Master on wheels.
Aria the Natural. I loved Aria the Animation. This is the sequel.
Black Lagoon. Espionage/mercenary show, with a great pace. Think Standalone Complex minus the cyberpunk.
Dai Mahou Touge. Magical girl parody, the school bully chicks are hilarious. Funny so far.
Disgaea. Another shitty videogame adaptation, this time they soil the name of a great strategy RPG.
dotHack//Roots. Returns to the sort of serious vibe that dotHack//Sign had. This is a good thing.
Ergo Proxy. Dark, dystopian show not unlike Blade Runner or Bubblegum Crisis. Very cool.
Fighting Beauty Wulong. Another show, very much like Air Master except pretty horrible.
Gakuen Heaven. Yaoi to the max, a bit too gay for me to really appreciate, but if you're into that...
High School Girls. A pretty pedestrian Japanese high school girl show, with requisite pantyshots.
KIBA. Crappy shounen show, looked like it had some potential but now 3 episodes in, pretty stupid.
Kyou no Go no Ni. School show, OVA episodes are split up like Azumanga Daioh. Kind of funny.
Nana. Story about two girls who shack up in Tokyo, very good stuff so far, slice of life.
Ouran High School Club. Comedy about pretentious rich boys' school club, extremely funny so far.
RAY the Animation. A show about a community of bred organ donors...one got her eyes replaced with x-ray...pretty cool thus far.
School Rumble 2nd Semester. The first season was hilarious love triangle fun, this is no different so far.
Soul Link. Absolutely horrible sci-fi show, every cliche in the book, horrible animation. Avoid.
Strawberry Panic. Light fantasy about these three girl schools, interesting so far. Men are forbidden there, so we may see some lesbian overtones.
Tactical Roar. A primarily female-staffed ship that fights pirates in the future when a massive hurricane has changed the face of the world. Not turning out as cool as it could have.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. About a freaky school girl and her bizarre ambitions, the first two episodes are so funny I was keeling over, fighting back the tears of joy. Could damn well be the best anime since Genshiken, I await each episode with much longing. The one to watch this season, easily.
Utawarerumono. Fantasy about guy with amnesia who wakes up with a strange mask on in a village of fox people. Much better than it sounds, very tasteful so far, another one to definitely watch.
XXXHolic. About a guy who signs himself over to some witches in return for his desires, it's a Clamp I think so it will be popular whether it is good or not, so far it's decent enough to watch, mainly for the cool art style. The title might seem sexual, but the anime is far from it.
Zegapain. Some sort of sci-fi/mech show, with a cyber-Matrix backdrop going on. Will have to see how it develops.
Looking like a good season overall so far, I'll be keeping up with most of the shows, except Soul Link, Tactical Roar, and Disgaea, and possibly KIBA and High School Girls if they don't improve within a few episodes. Still a few I haven't gotten to watch yet like Kanon 2006 and Glass no Kantai, I should have them soon. So, in 3 years when this shit comes out to DVD, with crappy English dubs on Cartoon Network (no offense, at least they play anime), remember where you heard about it first, or just grab the fansubs your self and live life in the drivers' seat.
Also started reading the manga for Death Note, it is absolutely fantastic and I will be collecting all the further volumes.