Dream Eater

So a few random things I have been wasting time on are Google Doc spreadsheets of the 2008-2011 of anime I have watched from each season as they aired. Compiling the list for 2008 was rather tricky because I couldn’t remember what all I actually watched besides Code Geass and Gundam 00. Before 2008 I didn’t really track much out of each season besides some of the big names. If I think about it, I might try to go back further and see what I can pick out. I combined 2008-2009 because I didn’t feel like making two separate smaller sheets. Feel free to take a look:

2008-2009 Anime
2010 Anime
2011 Anime

2011 Anime will be updated weekly, and also has a short list of titles I am looking into for next season. I’ll have initial thoughts up as we get closer to the Spring season.

Yumekui Merry was another thing that missed my initial radar and after reading some about it on /a/ and twitter, decided to give it a whirl at work the other day. Again, how the fuck did I miss this shit? Aside from having an awesome OP (and current favorite of the season) it has a slightly generic tsundere female MC, a fairly non-shitty and pretty cool guy male MC, along with several other pretty good side characters and a plot/story that is fairly interesting even if little details about it thus far. I can dig this, and it came at a pretty good time considering I dropped a series.

TLDR Watch This: non-shitty male MC, Merry, those creepy square irises
TLDR Don’t Watch This: somewhat generic tsundere, if you hated Shana (story is somewhat similar)
Sub Group: gg
First Rating: 8

Goddamit JC Staff, are you trying to give me a heart attack in Index 16 this week? Kanzaki fanservice? A HHHNNNNGGGGG moment indeed. This week we learned ToumaTLDR rubs off on other characters and Biago should’ve watched The Incredibles and known what happens when you’re caught monologuing in front of the heroes. Long story short, Touma saves the day and ends up in a hospital where Heaven Canceler (or the frog-faced doctor if you prefer) calls to let him know that he needs to be taken back to Academy City for treatment (by preference) and that Misaka Mikoto is looking for him to cash in on the penalty game bet they made during the games. So expect wacky hi-jinks in the next episode, and honestly, we could use some in this series for once.

Drama ensues in Madoka 04 as Madoka can’t shake Mami’s death by Charlotte Cake and Sayaka her friend’s injury that prevents him from ever playing the violin again. Homura continues to insist to Madoka that she should not get involved, that things would end up for her much as Mami did. THAT FUCKING KYUBEY is seen hanging around, waiting for a girl to form a contract, eventually saying he will leave. Sadly Madoka gets tangled up in the web again when her friend almost kills herself along with others in a cult suicide, foiled by Madoka, but not before a witch shows up and almost gets her, save for Sayaka saving the day with Puella Magica powers… it seems she could not overcome her guilt for him after all and wished his hand healed. The episode ends with another girl entering town, vowing to claim the area for her own from the “rookie” Sayaka. This shit is nuts, and honestly, I am loving it, a darker and gritty magical girl series from SHAFT is worth every penny so far. Hopefully it only gets better.

Infinite Stratos 04: China versus Ichika, in a pretty good fight, which is sadly interrupted by some unknown and unmanned IS from the outside, which attacks them. It’s subdued by the two of them plus Britain. I’m a bit disappointed at an “unmanned drone” IS appearing this early in the series, if at all. One reason is, unmanned drones in any sort of robot show takes away some of the humanity of robot fighting, even if it is training. Think Treize’s speech from Gundam Wing, about the Mobile Dolls and how the fact that there is no human pilot takes the meaning of war away from the battle, there is no reflection and meaning. A lot of other series toss in drone robots and I feel it cheapens the effect of it. It’d be like GGG if the Zonders didn’t have a person with feelings in the middle, they’d just destroy it without a second thought, and sometimes a series like that is fine if they are evil monsters, but for a series like IS, where the people are the robots, I can see where this might go, drone IS units invade, probably sent by a country in an effort to convert IS usage for military purposes and war, and start conflicts. Can’t we just have fun for 13 or so episodes?

I know there is some LN material out there for this, I think it tells a different story. If anyone knows of where to find this info (or translated LNs) let me know.

GOSICK 04, another mystery is a’foot, and this time is revolves around Kujo and his “Dark Reaper” status as he is witness to a early-morning murder and arrested by Grevil, only to be released when Victorque solves the mystery of how the head came off the motorcyclist’s body. A new transfer student then appears with what looks to be the same hand injury as she described earlier. Stuff happens and suddenly they’re thrust into another mystery of how a body was trapped in a morgue for eight years. All this and more HNNNGGG Victorque moments made for a further convincing series.

Fractale 03, suddenly some of this is starting to make sense, apparently it’s a world where a technological system controls the people and there are others who broke away from the system and are trying to free others from it. Cain finds that they’re willing to do this by cruel means, even going so far as to kill or be killed, when he runs into another Neena and Phryne at the Star Festival. I smell a .hack-GitS-Matrix hybrid here, but it’s fairly interesting.

Super Robot Wars OG 15-16 has been confusing me lately with who is fighting who, Earth vs. The Inspectors vs. Shadow Mirror vs. Neo DC vs. ??? but a nice clear battle was waged in 16 between the SRX Team and Dr. Agilla Setme, the old woman who ran The School and used Latooni and the others as research tools. It opened Mai up to be able to work with the SRX Team and form a powerful new weapon at their use. The episodes also focuses on Sangar and Elzam von Branstein as they helped to reclaim Telsa Labs and obtain two new experimental units. Fun fun fun, and also, watch the ED for 15 at the very end for a special surprise.

Last but not least, this week’s Top Eight, reworked. I have dropped Oniichan no Koto in favor of waiting for the DVD/BD release because frankly, the story and characters are pretty weak, but I can’t stand the large censors when there really isn’t anything there to censor except probably some camel toe. Likewise, I might actually give B Gata H Kei another try, I hear the DVD/BD version is uncensored and maybe I can stand the rest. I also took last seasons two off to fit the two new I picked up.