Two more shows to close out the season with, effectively ending it, plus two episodes of Initial D to briefly cover. Then we’re on to brand new shows next week. Exciting? Eh. Maybe.
From start to finish, Tonari no Kaibutsu was a great ride, and hopefully we’ll be getting more down the pipeline soon, until then, I will need to hit the manga. I’ve quipped before about it being a Toradora-like experience, and it has been, though Mitty is a little different from Taiga. The real fun though is what you get out of all the other characters as they interact with her and each other. Poor Natsume is so damn adorable you want to hug her way too often in this show, even if she is pandering to the shut-in male demographic. I’m surprised they only went 13 episodes on this, for a manga still running, but then Mysterious Girlfriend X also did the same thing two seasons ago, hopefully both will return at the same time, I won’t be able to contain my feels.
Title: Tonari no Kaibutsu
Sub Group I Watched: Commie, Horrible
Episodes: 13
Rating (1-10): 8
Favorite Character: Shizuku Mizutani
Least Favorite Character(s): The three guys who hang out with Yamakan
SHIPPING: Ooshima x Natsume (yuuuuuuuuup)
Queen of Mean: Toradora gets picked on with these kinds of shows because Taiga was a bitch early on, flaunting the tsun, but melted into the dere as the show progressed. Mitty is a little tougher, her dere is rare.
Second Season? Certainly enough manga for it, I imagine it will be more of the same.
This is rare, but for a show like CODE:BREAKER, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, and that’s awful. It has a predictable plot with predictable characters (LOL SHAMALYAN TWIST WITH HEIKE, RIGHT?) and action sequences that just scream similarities to other shows with superpowers and secret organizations. My first thought was Seikon no Qwaser, minus the TITS, but then I got to thinking about GetBackers, which god, pulled that one out of the past, but I never finished it, so while it strikes some cover similarities, maybe not quite the mark. Still, despite its ups and downs, it actually smoothed out and ended on a pretty high tick, leaving room for more, though we’ll see if it boasts the sales numbers to prove it. I do need to get on the manga though, it looks pretty boss.
Title: CODE:BREAKER
Sub Group I Watched: sage-koi
Episodes: 13
Rating (1-10): 7
Favorite Character: Nenene Fujiwara
Least Favorite Character: Masaomi Heike
Favorite Breaker: Rei Oogami
Useless Sakura: She has the power, but didn’t really use it well, and I figure this is something for the next season and/or manga
Second Season? Plenty of in-anime hints and the fact there is more material to cover. I’m game.
Two more episodes of Initial D, though low quality 480 versions from Anime Central, as sage hasn’t released yet. Sucks, but apparently it’s hard to get the channel it airs on for the HD versions, so many are waiting for DVD releases. I’ll take what I can get. Episode Three covered the end of the fight from the second episode, with Takumi winning after the Roadster crumpled its wing and oversteered. A short beach scene with the girl before it’s off to the next match where he comes up against a foe he raced in a previous season on Iroha, Kai Kogashiwa, who after losing to Takumi after spinning his MR2 in the leaves, comes back to challenge him in an MR-S, believing he can win this time. Haw.
No other updates, as most shows went into hiatus for the holiday break and should return this week and next week, so the next post will likely be next week. Enjoy until then.
