Anime Status: August ’09

Welcome to Anime Status for the month of August~!

Anime Status is a monthly ranking of anime I am currently watching right now. Well yes, the list will be highly subjective, biased and personal. It depends on how I like the show this month of August and that month only ^^.

We get to say bye-bye from NEEDLESS, Kanamemo, Elementhunters, and Aoi Hana (lame lesbian show that goes nowhere just like the manga… And Fumi sucks). I’m currently backlogged on Taishou Yakyuu Musume, since I felt that it’s getting quite forgettable sometimes. Also, the show that I’m backlogged the most is GA Art Design Class. Come on, where’s the love for this show?! I highly enjoyed the first two episodes but too bad that the subs ended in there T__T. Is there a hidden hate for this show to be ignored by subbers? Lol I think GA deserves some love.

Other shows I’m just planning to marathon instead of just following in a weekly basis are Hayate no Gotoku! 2, Tears to Tiara, and maybe Shangri-la? Maybe some non-filler episodes of Shugo Chara as well (oh god I wonder how little that would be >.>).

So anyway, let’s proceed to the Status right now. Lots of movement this August because some Summer shows showed what they really are halfway through the some. Some failed so hard, and falled so hard in the list. But there are also those which kept me amused, for they retained higher spots, even Also, let’s get to see the Spring shows that are still continuing in this list and what spot they are in.  You know how this goes, so I won’t explain the symbols, but I added a Last Month’s Position and a Peak Position as well.

20: Hanasakeru Seishounen

Last Month: 14 | Peak Position: 14

I only watched one epsode of Hanasakeru Seishounen this August, all thanks to Kitsune baiting me with Li Ren x Lumati XD. I’m already putting the show on hold until I saw his post and I’m like, “OMG! Gonna watch it!” and Kitsune’s like, “Just as planned!”  XDD. Roflmao. So yeah, bitchslap is entertaining, followed by ghey crack for the lulz XD.

19: Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Last Month: 15 | Peak Position: 15

Jun, y so love?? Gawd~ He’s my fave character of the whole series btw, alongside Nozomu of course ^^. And probably my obsession love for him is getting into the Yosuke [Persona 4] and Gil [PH] levels of love where I collect naughty fanarts of him O___O…. XD;; Yeah. *SHOT*

So anyway, I guess ZSZS is just… I don’t know. This is actually the first time I watched a SZS series in a weekly basis though, and I think I find the show to be a bit more effective on me when it’s done on a marathon.

18: CANAAN

Last Month: 08 | Peak Position: 08

I think I should say this but CANAAN disappointed me. It had gotten really boring as it goes, then it suddenly gets slightly interesting right after. Then it gets silly again… I enjoyed some Canaan x Maria yuri hints. Haha, they’re totally my fave yuri OTP of the season right now followed by Marin x Kanon (Umi Monogatari). Canaan x Alphard is fine too~ And I love Minoru btw~ Lovin’s this male character in the huge female cast XD. But overall this show is one of the biggest fails this season.

17: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei

OVA/Re-Entry | Peak Position: 05

Gotta love to put up a pic of my OTP there~ Fufufufu~!!

So anyway, we’re now at the fifth installation of HiguRei and this one is just WTF. I enjoyed the part where they are playing mahjong though, and Rena is still made up of awesome win ^^.

16: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Last Month: 21 | Peak Position: 14

Obligatory shounen watch for me that I catch on streaming sites… Erm, yeah. It’s still mini arcs though, or whatever they call it, but I guess it’s still fairly enjoyable with cute scenes and Yamamoto getting a nice amount of screentime ^^. So yeah, at least Repborn gets more entertaining compared to some few shows I’m currently watching.

15: Yoru Wakaru Gendai Mahou

Last Month: 12 | Peak Position: 12

I guess this show is really pass-material and I’m almost at the edge of dropping it by the middle of the month but I just can’t. It’s getting predictable, generic, boring at times, silly, but something just makes me love this show: THE HAIR COLORS!!!

14: Umi Monogatari

Last Month: 22 | Peak Position: 11

Midway through the month, I was thinking of dropping it but I realized that I’m just too late right now and the show’s already ending anyway so I guess I’ll just stick with it. So it’s just fairly decent after all. Not really outstanding or anything. Urin becoming ebil was pretty much predictable though. I still believe Urin’s my favorite Horie Yui role of the season. And also, props for the director because I never knew this anime came out only from a pachinko game.

13: Princess Lover

Last Month: 19 | Peak Position: 13

Turns out that this show is unexpectedly good. Well, I gotta love how it put on the harem thing aside and get more intense and stuff and I can say that I’m enjoying this show. Princess Lover! turns out to be one of the better harem shows of the year in my opinion ^^.

12: Pandora Hearts

Last Month: 20 | Peak Position: 06

PH is full of awesomeness this August! Even for the hiatus week for it (damn whatever caused it -_-;;), it still produced quite memorable episodes this month. I gotta take note of Episode 20 being the most hilarious thing I’ve ever watch this Summer season xDD. I badly wanted to make a post on it but I just lack time T^T.

11: Suzumiya Haruhi 2009

Last Month: 18 | Peak Position: 07

So yay for us finally getting out of the Endless Hell!!! I think I’m enjoying the series again but I just can’t seem to feel the ‘magic’ back then at the first season cast before. I guess the art style affected it a bit though, I missed the original art designs for the characters back then on the first season.

10: 07-GHOST

Last Month: 06 | Peak Position: 05

Oh my god more than twenty episodes already but my fangirling on 07-GHOST just never dries, isn’t it? Though I just treat 07-GHOST the same way as Pandora Hearts, I never really mind the plot so much as long as it provides me fodder for my ebil fangirl needs >8DD.

09: Sora no Manimani

Last Month: 05 | Peak Position: 05

Sora no Manimani still continues to be the show that’s very fun to watch, though it’s really not that “top-priority material” or anything so I could care less about not actually blogging it.

Mii-chan is total LOVE, but I can’t also help but feel sad for Hime for always failing her chances :/… I really like Hime for the sole reason of Haruka Tomatsu voicing her (LOL seiyuu biasness) so she’s definitely a thumbs up character for me. And LOL Fumie >.>… Not rooting for her, I disliked her from the start.

Also, am I the only one sad that this is already ending soon? I hope it extends more to at least 24 episode ‘cuz I’ll really miss Mii-chan and the others so much :'(

08: Hetalia Axis Powers

Last Month: 10 | Peak Position: 01

The past few episodes had been very enjoyable! Well, at least compared with last month’s. And I guess I gotta give some credits to Hetalia as well because it helped me to pwn my history Prelim exams ^^. Haha~ Hetalia is indeed helpful.

Anyway, seems like I’m getting another new ship to jump on in the fandom: Switzerland x Japan!!! Haha~ I really love Swit’s quick appearance on episode 31. Last but not the least, ok I’ll admit this, reason why APH climbed up is the ridiculous amount of Arthur-service that’s been happening! XD

07: Pandora Hearts DVD Specials

Special/New Entry | Peak Position: 07

Ohohoho~ Sharon definitely loves a Panda!Break like we all do!

Ehem… Anyway… There are two basic reasons why the DVD specials got ranked higher than the show itself. First, it’s a DVD special, obviously it’s animation quality is better. Second, it’s just fucking awesome. I enjoyed every crack of it, and it’s so cool to watch the show without the srs bsns atmosphere ^^. So yeah, I enjoyed both extras definitely ^^.

06: Valkyria Chronicles

Last Month: 07 | Peak Position: 06

Faldio is a stinking asshole, that’s a way to start off saying what I think about VC right now. I just wanna scream “In your face!” to all fangirls Faldio had gathered~ Haha, isn’t it so cool to know what’ll happen in this show? OMG I’m becoming a hater T^T…

Anyway~, we’re now at the part where Alicia kicks major ass in the show!!! And Welkin is becoming less interesting with his DORAMADESU. I hope all the ridiculous drama can burn in a fire already. But I still gotta give props to this adaptation because it fleshes out the huge cast more so than in the game, from what I’m seeing.

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HOT FIVE!

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05: Spice and Wolf II

Last Month: 04 | Peak Position: 04

Oh my god what kept me from loving this show so freaking much is that there’s finally much more interactions between Horo and Lawrence, and they’re evn now on the next level!

I don’t really care much about the economy thing, so I’m all for the shipping and one thing that keeps on pushing me to shout on at this show is that, “OMG DO IT NAO ALREADY!!!” >XDDD. Oh wow, this is definitely very awkward to discuss but dear, the sexual tension is just THICK. Come on Lawrence, Horo doesn’t only want hugging! XD Yeah, probably I had already gotten bored with Lawrence if I were Horo, because dude lacks so much balls.

04: Umineko no Naku Koro ni

Last Month: 10 | Peak Position: 04

This is a very very VERY fun series to watch, though just ignore the horrendous writing and just watch it for the gory-gore and the amusing killing sprees and some shipping xD. I also got interested on how vast the possibilities could be. I love the Stake Girls, the Meta Scenes, the shiny furniture blades, and all the other ridiculous stuff in here. The music is also amazing, all thanks to the VN.

I’ll repeat this again. Umineko may not (and won’t be :P) the best show of this season, but I’m still hooked over it. They keep things really interesting that’s why this is one of the shows I definitely look forward to each and every week ^^.

But don’t let me get started on the VNfags…

03: Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~

Last Month: 01 | Peak Position: 01

I guess I’ll just let Phantom make way for other two shows that really shines throughout the month. Phantom is still totally intense and just freaking hawt though, and I might say that this is definitely one of the shows where BeeTrain can be proud of. Also, did I mentioned how Phantom puts CANAAN to shame? Comparing the two gun-toting shows I’m watching, Phantom just makes CANAAN look cheap and it just throws it into a puddle of lameness.

Cal/Drei’s change is… unbelievable, but I’ll just ignore it for the meantime lol. Moving on, I guess the high school thing adding on the lives on Reiji and Elen was quite unexpected though, and it turned me down a bit. But oh well, I’m really not taking the show very seriously anyway so I’ll just go with the flow, as long as my OTP is lovey-dovey~ 😛

Seriously now, Phantom is definitely shaping up to a really fierce grand finale, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull off a really good one, the show will definitely regain its crown next month ^^.

02: Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

Last Month: 02 | Peak Position: 02

This turns out to be one of the strongest shows of the year. I just can’t help but not stop on watching this because I also live in an Asian region too where earthquakes can happen. This show is just effective on realism and casting on the “What if?” card.

Mirai’s character growth is just stunning. From a character I just despised at the first episode, comes a character that indeed showed the best of her when the worst came. Also, what happened in episode 8 where ~*****spoiler*****~, just nailed it. What a very brilliant turn for this show. T_________T. I really can’t describe it but it’s just an emotional murder. I’d never been freaking attached and played by a show again until this one! Oh my god I’m just full of disbelief, dazed and shock at the same time just right after I watched it. Bottomline is, this show is shaping up to be one of the bests of the year for me.

01: Bakemonogatari

Last Month: 03 | Peak Position: 01

What made Bakemonogatari win over Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 and even Phantom is that Bakemonogatari is simply DISGUSTING, and I LOVE it~

This is definitely one of the shows I’m anticipating every week. Yeah, it’s like “OMG new week, new Bakemonogatari episode!!!” for me! Compared with TM8.0, it might be truly amazing but my anticipation level for TM8.0 isn’t very strong at all. Actually, I’m more hyped up on Umineko than TM8.0…

So anyway, moving on with what makes Bakemonogatari freaking awesome, is it’s just stylish, and that’s something really refreshing on anime these days. The WTF-ness just cracks me up, the throwing of dialogues are brilliant, the random weird camera focusing is ridiculous but it works, and I guess it’s just very artistic. And who would forget about the intestines? XD

SHAFT just does what they want to do with that show, and you’ll either love it or hate it while they don’t care. So Bakemonogatari is just basically the show where it’s not particularly “good”, so I’ll just describe it as “disgusting”. “Disgusting” is the new “fierce”.