Spring 2010 Anime at a Glance

[A Black Falcon]

Also, I've never liked depressing stuff. I like happy endings... shows which end in horrible tragedy with no hope, constant serial depression, stuff like that, I don't like it. This applies to games too, such as Phantasy Stars II or IV, or in anime for instance why I didn't like Texhnolyze nearly as much as Lain, Haibane Renmei, or Kino's Journey. Sure Lain and Haibane Renmei are somewhat sad shows (the latter particularly), but there is hope in them too, and happy endings, sort of.

I generally don't like American sitcoms and never have, that kind of humor just doesn't interest me... I'd rather watch cartoons, American or Japanese.

I've found that as time goes on I have less and less patience. It's not that I dislike light hearted entertainment and only want heavy dramatic substance, but shows that revel in stupidity, fan service, and genre cliches really don't do much for me anymore. Oh I might watch one or two here and there, but unless there's just nothing else going at the moment then I'll watch, at most, an episode and then toss it away.

I also need to say, obviously, it depends on which genre you're talking about, and which cliches. I like fantasy a lot, medieval settings have been my favorite since I was a little kid. I have a much, much higher tolerance for fantasy shows than other kinds, for sure. There are other things I don't like, like incest-focused stuff, shows about groups of submissive girls being controlled by some loser guy (and that's where most of the harem-style shows I have enjoyed aren't like that I think, at least most of the girls in them are stronger characters, though the inherent ridiculous stupidity of the genre is very obvious), etc. I don't know, everyone has things they like and don't like... I like Love Hina quite a bit but find Hand Maid May very, very irritating, for example.

Stupidity - Depends on how much, and what kind...
Fanservice - I don't mind some, if the show actually has a point too...
Genre cliches - Whether in anime, videogames, or books, in fantasy set things at least I don't really mind (many of the) genre cliches. In other things I can dislike the cliches more, but it varies. Of course though, my overall favorite animes (Lain, Haibane Renmei, and Kino are my top three, if you forget) are very much not cliched, so I definitely value uniqueness... but sure, I don't mind some cliches.

Honestly, in fantasy animes I get more annoyed at the random mixing of time periods and ridiculous anachronisms than I do the kinds of genre cliches you're probably referring to. But as a history major, that is likely predictable. I notice those things. :)

Anyway, one other show I've been watching off and on now for a few months but haven't really mentioned is Slayers Try. I haven't really mentioned it because, as a Slayers fan (one of my favorite anime franchises really, I think) I feel like I should have seen it years ago, I have seen all of the other Slayers animes, movies, and OAVs after all. It's good, but I'm like 10-12 episodes from the end and it feels like it's almost over, so they're obviously going to pull something out to keep it going longer... good show though of course, like they all are. There are no bad Slayers shows. :)

Also, I hope they make a fourth season of Nanoha at some point. The third season may have been somewhat disappointing, but the first two were fantastic (have you seen them? If not, do!) and the franchise overall pretty good. I know there are a few more recent mangas, so hopefully another anime develops.