Well, I guess it does prevent quality control becoming an issue later down the line. Still....Jormungand warranting 2 seasons? I guess in the sense of story, probably. But I think it's going to be one of the financial bombs of the year and hurt White Fox big time. Still isn't stopping the people at the club saying Jormungand has to go on the playlist ASAP...*shrug* I don't see what's appealing about it. It's weaker than Darker Than Black, which was weaker than Black Lagoon, which was a poor man's version of Cowboy Bebop. And I still have no idea how I feel about Bebop. No wonder Japan jokes about Westerners and action. Imagine what would happen if Michael Bay got into the fray.

That format will give shows that need that length enough time to be adapted appropriately. But that's a fair financial risk. Most of those titles you mentioned - I can understand the payoff. Jormungand, I just did see where the payoff is.

In that case, what kind of time slot or deal does Jormungand have? The fact it got a 2nd season approved so fast is bewildering. It doesn't seem to be generating pre-orders, so is it a TV reason, a manga reason or what?

I've seen the first two Natsuiro Kiseki episodes so I have a decent idea how the show compares to HSI. But the episode four PV (haven't had time to see episode three yet) reminds me a lot of Minko and Tohru in HSI.

For reference, my reaction to episode one was "hmmm, guess I'll be waiting for Tari Tari for my fix", but for some reason I'm a bit more optimistic about the show now than I was at the start.

That actually surprises me, in part because Natsuiro Kiseki is a promotional vehicle for Sphere. Much as I applaud HSI for daring to challenge the perception that fans will react poorly to giving a girl from such a show a love interest, it's an even gutsier move from Natsuiro Kiseki in light of the flak Sphere has gotten from fandumb over such things IRL.

The PV in question reminds me a little of HSI too, BTW.

I had to go read the Wiki entry for What's My Line? to refresh my memory. I'm not old enough to remember either Allen, Steve or Fred, being on the panel. My recollection is of the Kilgallen, Francis, Cerf, and a player to be named later. The panel on Secret had a surface similarity to that panel with Myerson in the Kilgallen role, Palmer as Francis, and Morgan as the Bennett Cerf stand-in. Morgan was perhaps as witty as Cerf, and Francis was probably smarter than Palmer. Dorothy Kilgallen doesn't really stick in my mind I'm afraid.

And, no, Garry Moore was no John Daly.

Imagine a television show these days where the qualifications to be on the panel required being well-connected to the New York theater and publishing set! I'm not even sure there are equivalents to these people in contemporary American culture. The only show that I can think of that carries on this tradition is the NPR program Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me.

On Lupin III - I've already watched its first episode, but I admit I haven't gotten around to Episode 2 yet. This has been a very strong Spring season, so I find it hard to squeeze in everything I want to watch (for example, I only got fully caught up with Space Bros. last night, lol).

But, I liked Lupin III's first episode. It's yet another case of an anime being so refreshingly different from usual. I love how its very sexy without feeling degrading to the characters. In other words, Fujiko Mine's alluring sexual appeal is showcased well, but not in a way that saps her strength (i.e. making her seem very bashful/submissive, say) or makes it hard to take her seriously.

Too much to watch, so little time, I haven't watched Medaka ep 02 and then I just found out ep 03 is out already, Queen's Blade the same thing, haven't seen ep02 and 03's already out, and then Mysterious Girlfriend X I haven't even started yet, after all this and I have just started to re-train my eye

Hard to say... NIS has licensed titles as obscure as Wagaya no Oinari-sama (which I own and which also has a fantastic premium edition), but considering AnoHana is another of their major upcoming releases (remember the guy with the awesome shirt from my Sakuracon report?) they might be trying to snag some bigger fish. And Zakuro has always struck me as a bit of a sleeper hit both in Japan and the west. One Japanese cosplay site I frequent has like 3X more cosplay of Zakuro alone than the entire Hanasaku Iroha cast.

Alas, they are not doing a wild promotion like the infamous "submit photos of male and female versions of yourself" promotion for Wagaya no Oinari-sama this time as far as I know.

I couldn't agree more for Sengoku and Shining Penises

As for Nyaruko, I guess you're not a Cthulhu fan? Still though it has so many references irrelevant to Mythos and energy, not only from Nyaruko

As for Sankarea, dunno I feel that the anime, unlike the manga (I read the first few chapters) takes itself too seriously, and that will mislead a lot of upright viewers later... or I will drop the the thing altogether since if it keeps up this anime-original melo-drama, it won't be my thing... how should I put it, despite having a soft spot for abused heroines, in Sankarea's case, I felt more sorry for Babu spending a post-mortum week in a portable freezer than Rea crumbling under the most ridiculous abuse. Also I want more Ranko heart-broken/friend-zoned and little sister dead-pan commentary

Hmm, didn't know she was on the Redline team too. And she directed Michiko to Hatchin. Episode directed the two super cool episodes of Ergo Proxy (15 and 19). Well, I guess since she hasn't done much yet, I guess people would be focusing on Koike and Okada more. That said though, now that I remember Michiko to Hatchin, that did have a sexy female protagonist with a free, wild spirit in the lead too. So I do like what Saya Yamamoto is involved with.

PS. I was only referring to Koike. I really couldn't careless about Okada. ^^