Autumn 2009 Anime Review Thread: Post Your Opinion and Grade

[Slice of Life]

Most autumn shows have started already, and people are keen to hear about your first impressions. Please tell us your thoughts about the new anime season.

I'll add me own first impressions as soon as I've collected my thoughts.

EDIT: These are the TV shows I decided to check out. As always, what is missing are either shows for young children, "fringy" shows, or unwanted sequels of unwanted shows. If not otherwise indicated, I watched every episode that is out (on TT) in subbed form.

I'm not giving grades at this point, but the shows are roughly ordered from bad to good:

Sora no Otoshimono: I have the feeling that everything bad one can expect from the sudden girlfriend appearance genre will make it into this show. If your idea of an ideal life contains a girl with a chain around her neck then this is for you. Dropped after one episode.

Kämpfer: 10 year olds could come up with more intelligent and better constructed concept. And if you expect girls ripping each others clothes off, you'll be disappointed too. Dropped after two episodes.

Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra: Already the first episode oozed the shiny soullessness and exerted attempts at cool of a Gonzo show. Which is no surprise since David Productions seems to be some kind of phoenix out of old Gonzo's ashes as I learned afterwards. Second episode was worse, I'm not sure if I should watch a third episode.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun: I dropped Index early, gave this show a chance nevertheless but it doesn't impress me either. Seems to rely heavily on the trope "rape is OK if it's girl on girl". Kanamemo, anyone?

11eyes: The pantsu level is at 0.2 Aika which is quite high. The hentai game origin is somewhat obscured but this is already giving me Chaos;Head vibes which is not good.

Seitokai no Ichizon: This show is too meta just like Lucky Star . I don't want to write an essay about references as comedic element but It's not funny when you're waiting for it, dammit. I admit that how the harem angle is played out is a refreshing change from the usual hypocritical formula.

Sasameki Koto: Your average lesbians show.

Miracle Train: Ooedo-sen e Youkoso: What is this I don't even ... Seriously, girls. Do you want that? Is it that what you want? What about some Hanasakeru Seishounen bishounen instead of anthropomorphized train lines boring us with details of Tokyo's subway network, for heaven's sake.

Seiken no Blacksmith: Not much to say, I'm neutral at this point.

Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini: In the end the first season was about cool people being cool and the cake plot was a lie. I'm not expecting anything else here. Often (but not always) Bones can pull this off in a more decent way than Gonzo for reasons I can't really put my finger on.

Nyan Koi!: It was quite funny so far. If I'll follow it through will depend on how harem this will turn. BTW, why is it that the Japanese can draw sexy women but not cute cats?

Natsu no Arashi! Akinai-chuu: I don't expect much to change from the first season. Visually, this show makes a much better use of "SHAFTness" than the more stressing Bakemonogatari.

Kobato. I'm no CLAMP fanboy, they did a decent amount of shit, actually, But Kobato is cute, and if we're lucky this might even go a bit into an xxxHolic direction, so yeah.

Tegami Bachi: I'm not sure where this is heading but at the moment the dreamy fairy tale atmosphere and style is more than enough.

Kimi ni Todoke: Yay, romance. The animation is bad on an almost Yamato Nadeshiko level but who cares.

Aoi Bungaku Series, Fairy Tail, Kiddy Girl-and, Kuuchuu Blank, Fuyu no Sonata: Waiting for them to start and being subbed. It's probably the time to grab the original Kiddy Grade from my archive and see if ti's any good. I'm a bit afraid to even start with Fairy Tale as this might well become the next Naruto, and not only length-wise.

Yumeiro Pâtissière, Anymal Tantei Kiruminzoo, Kaidan Restaurant. I've watched ep 1 raw fir the first to shows and planning to do that for the third but so far they all seem to address audiences too young to pique my interest (as expected). I'd be willing to retry with a fansub but the chances that they will be subbed are of course small.

[jsieczkar]

Kimi ni Todoke: The art is unusual but pleasing, and the animaition is a bit iffy but is not distracting. The plot seems strong and the characters are believable and repeatable. 8/10

Letter Bee: The pacing is somewhat slow in the first episode but I am getting a good vibe from the show. Studio Pierrot has done a wonderful job of creating a dreamlike setting and the animation quality is solid. 7/10 (2 ep - Watching)

The Sacred Blacksmith: I found myself wishing that the female lead would be killed off. The premise seems interesting I guess, but I have the feeling that the show will not amount to much. 5/10 (2 ep - dropped)

Nyan Koi!: The show seems well drawn and the first episode had some good humor in it. The cast of characters is rather uninspired and the plot screams obvious, but is good filler if you have nothing else going on. I was right it went to hell in a hand basket 4/10 (2 eps -Dropped)

A Certain Scientific Railgun: I have nothing positive or negative to say about the show and for the life of me I have not been able figure out what the hubbub about the show is. 4/10 (1ep - dropped)

Armed Librarians: Book of Bantorra: Pretty people with super-powers trying to save the world from an evil organization. Yes it is your run of the mill action fantasy show. The show also oozes self importance to the point of being nauseating. In truth the show is adding little to nothing to discussion on world events nor making any political statements, it just wants you to believe that it is. 4/10 (1 ep - dropped)

Kampfer: Paint by numbers anime, zero originality in this show. The characters look to be nothing more then anime clip art and the animation quality is low. 3/10 (1 ep - dropped)

Sasameki Koto: Lesbians do not replace a plot, this show fails as a romance or a comedy. 2/10 (1 ep - Dropped)

Miracle Train: Welcome to Oedo Line: Do women even like this crap, there is no story even. 2/10 (1 ep - Dropped)

Sora no Otoshimono : I have a feeling that I am not the target audience for this show. Who is the target audience, I'm guessing shut ins with a bondage fetish. 1/10 (1 ep - Dropped)

11eyes: fanservice does not replace a plot 1/10 (1 ep Dropped)

Student Council Judgement: idiotic moeblobs, in a harem that has nothing new to offer. 1/10 (1 ep - dropped)

Aoi Bungaku Series and Fuyu no Sonata still to come and I have a feeling the best of the season. I am continuing to watch Letter Bee and Kimi ni Todoke on a continues basis and will be watching Nyan Koi! on a on and off basis.

[Misuzu]

I still have a lot to watch, but here's what I think of the shows I've seen so far:

Kobato: It's a little saccharine, but I don't particularly care. I like cute anime and I love CLAMP. I really loved the first episode and I'm excited about watching the rest of the series. A-.

Nyan Koi!: This is another cute one. It got off to a bit of a slow start but once the cats started showing up things started to get really funny. Hopefully they'll be able to keep the show's premise from getting stale. B.

The Sacred Blacksmith: There's nothing especially good or bad about this one, it's just really bland. I do think the premise is neat, and it's really short, so hopefully things will pick up a bit. C+.

Kämpfer: I really can't see any reason to watch this one except for fanservice. The pacing was really bad and I found myself getting bored just 5 minutes or so in. Definitely not a show for me, so I dropped it. D+.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun: I checked this one out, but I got really turned off by it early on and stopped the episode. No rating, since I didn't finish it.

Hopefully I'll be able to get to some more shows today and this coming week. I'm especially excited for Darker Than Black II.

[Ansalem]

I've taken a look at most everything that has come out so far this season with the exception of sequels, all of which I either didn't like or haven't watched the originals. This is still pretty early, but most of the shows seem to give a pretty clear idea of whether they will be watchable or need to be immediately dropped. Ordered from bad to good:

Sora no Otoshimono: 1/10 (1 ep - dropped)
This first episode reminded me of a more perverted version of Bedazzled, which as much as I like Brendan Fraser, was also horrible. An automaton of an angel on a chain grants the main character his wishes without question as he spends half the episode in Chibi-mode while he enjoys his less than savory desires, until he's gone too far with unintended wishes. I've seen more entertaining rocks, and they certainly didn't leave me feeling this unclean.

Miracle Train: 1/10 (1 ep - dropped)
In what seems to be a strange mix between a Children's educational show and eye candy for teenage girls, six anthropomorphic train stations on the Ouedo line appear as handsome youths to abduct women onto their mysterious train to solve their problems. However, the help seems be a nice がんばってね　rather than any real assistance, giving their aid about as much substance as this show.

The Book of Bantorra: 2/10 (1 ep - dropped)
The first thing that struck me about this show was the horrible character design of every lead character, from pageboy haircuts to the head of the organization with DD's busting out of her unbuttoned blouse. With jarring CG boats and a man who apparently gains power by bursting his shirt open with rippling muscles and turning black, the actions scenes put me to sleep. While it hinted at a possibly deeper and maybe interesting plot, too many parts of this show made my brain scream "Turn it off!" to investigate any further.

Kämpfer: 4/10 (2 eps - dropped)
I found the first episode more amusing than I had initially expected, especially the talking disfigured plushies. The character design was pretty but the plot of gender/personality-bending bracers forcing high school students was weak at best. The second episode finished off any interest I had in the show, with far too much fan-service, bad action scenes (knives on chains really are just going to cut your clothes?) that made little sense (guns vs flying knives vs fireballs works how?) with poor pacing, and the strange cease-fires during class periods.

Seitokai no Ichizon: 5/10 (1 ep)
So far, this self-proclaimed harem show is somewhat amusing at most. The student council's antics seems to be comprised mostly of playful bickering, filled with references to other shows, and breaking of the fourth wall.

A Certain Scientific Railgun: 5/10 (2 eps)
A city full of students of psychic abilities is an interesting premise, but so far the show has done little to capitalize on this. Rather, it is mildly funny with the best student of the school all but being raped by her new obsessive female roommate.

Sasameki Koto: 6/10 (1 ep)
So far it seems to be a perfectly ordinary high school drama with lesbians. Not particularly boring or interesting. Need more to really have an idea if this will be any good.

Kimi no Todoke: 6/10 (1 ep)
Another typical high school romantic comedy. The pace is very slow and the main character is a shy introvert who's fallen for the popular boy that's befriended her. Hopefully with the characters established, future episodes will be a bit more interesting and the pace will pick up a bit.

The Sacred Blacksmith: 6/10 (2 eps)
Hey, guys, did you know katanas are the best swords ever? Well, I suppose since they are magically runed-forged I can buy that, but this show certainly puts the Japanese blade of choice on a pedestal. The lead, Cecily, is the endearing aspiring hero who meets Luke, the brooding swordsman/blacksmith, while evil forces are on the rise. The show has potential to be entertaining.

Letter Bee: 8/10 (2 eps)
This show features compelling, well designed characters, and one of the cutest dogs I've seen in anime. There is ample plot to work with and the atmosphere feels like a fairy tale, although I'm not quite sure whether the Letter Bee or the young boy is the protagonist. On an interesting side-note, I find it a bit funny that is the second show recently where Fukuyama Jun plays a character with a handicapped sister. This promises to be one of the better shows of the season.

Nyan Koi!: 8/10 (2 eps)
With the main character under a curse to help cats lest he become one, this show is genuinely funny. The pair of cats assisting Junpei are a good comedic pair, and Kaede is adorable as Junpei's oblivious crush. However, as Slice of Life noted, the cats could be cuter. This show has everything a good episodic comedy needs.

Kobato: 8/10 (1 ep)
Kobato is charming and her foul-mouthed plushy side-kick Ioryogi is hilarious. I'm not a huge follower of CLAMP, but this show might make me into one.

[Guardian Enzo]

"Bedazzled" is not a Brendan Fraser movie - it's a Dudley Moore/Peter Cook movie. Please remember that...

[Ansalem]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

"Bedazzled" is not a Brendan Fraser movie - it's a Dudley Moore/Peter Cook movie. Please remember that...

My apologies for not having seen the original to every piece of remade trash I've seen on Saturday afternoon TV. Actually, I didn't know that it was a remake, but I'm not really surprised, considering how many Hollywood remakes there are these days. My point was it has a similar premise, and that both (the Fraser version of Bedazzled and Sora no Otoshimono) were bad.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Ansalem

My apologies for not having seen the original to every piece of remade trash I've seen on Saturday afternoon TV. Actually, I didn't know that it was a remake, but I'm not really surprised, considering how many Hollywood remakes there are these days. My point was it has a similar premise, and that both (the Fraser version of Bedazzled and Sora no Otoshimono) were bad.

But the Peter Cook/Dudley Moore version isn't - that was my point!

As for SnO, I really didn't dislike the first ep. Some of the humor worked for me, more or less.

[MeoTwister5]

K/Dobato (lol): B+ (1 episode)

I call it an innocent show if I must. It doesn't blow me away for a first episode but it seems to have a genuine innocence about it that makes it a refreshing watch. Also lol at psycho Snoopy.

Kimi no Todoke: B+ (1 episode)

Personally one of the stronger first episodes since Cross Game episode 1. Characters are likable if a bit one-dimensional from the outset. Also personally, great animation and backgrounds as Production I.G. ought to do.

Sasameki Koto: C (1 episode)

Nothing really... grabs me for this show. I feel like we got dropped in the middle of an ongoing story with little background on the characters and the plot, making it feel like the series started in the middle rather than a beginning. I also rolled my eyes at least once or twice. I also can't get any likability from the characters.

A Certain Scientific Railgun: C (2 episodes)

I didn't read/watch Index but I have some background on the premises. That said, it feels just plainly average besides Misaka at least. The premise has the setup for something big but hey, it's not my call if the writer has other ideas.

Sacred Blacksmith: C (2 episodes)

Generic adventure fantasy action etc. Cecily is likable if a bit of a one-tack, but Luke is a dick. Personally nothing I haven't seen before but I guess I can stick with it a while.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini: In the end the first season was about cool people being cool and the cake plot was a lie. I'm not expecting anything else here. Often (but not always) Bones can pull this off in a more decent way than Gonzo for reasons I can't really put my finger on.

When did Darker Than Black ever have anything to do with Gonzo in the slightest?

Well anyway, it occurs to me that I have some shows to watch from this season but haven't summoned up the will to start on anything. I don't know if that's just me getting distracted easily or if I'm just afraid of being horribly disappointed with like the 1 show I have any interest in seeing.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

"Bedazzled" is not a Brendan Fraser movie - it's a Dudley Moore/Peter Cook movie. Please remember that...

It's both.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

When did Darker Than Black ever have anything to do with Gonzo in the slightest?

The remark refers back to Gonzo's "attempts at cool" I wrote about above. Bones often handles "cool people being cool" better than Gonzo does and better than I expect David Productions to do. DtB was better than the typical Gonzo production (though still mediocre) and I also expect DtB 2 to be better than the typical Gonzo production. Clear now?

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

It's both.

Only if quality is not an issue...

[chikorita157]

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Second Season aka Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu ~Purity~ - 2 Episodes - 7.7, C+ - This series have some potential of being better than the first, but somewhat falls flat with some of the fanservice on a level higher than the first season in Episode 1 is troubling. However, Episode 2 was a improvement and back to the roots of the first season. The second season is alot more sugar coded with more sweetness between Haruka and Yuuto, but I'm feeling that this is becoming more of a drama than a romance comedy as implied. It's too early to tell how the rest of the series will go, but so far, so good... with some flaws.

[Archon_Wing]

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (2 episodes, 4/10, D+) I didn't really like Index, but the character of Mikoto looked really cool and I really like her abilities. The opening song is badass and I like the ED too. I also plain just like the name railgun. The show itself though... it's just bad. The only thing of note is the yuri fanservice and Kuroko's over the top stalkerness, but even that wasn't really interesting enough. The whole thing just comes off as boring, I can't remember any of the characters besides the main two, and I'm actually finding fanservice to be annoying and creepy. There are moments, but they are few and far between and not worth it. The jokes are extremely lame. Meh. Will stick around a bit; maybe they'll have some of the badassery that shows up in the OP.

[Sakuba]

Sora no Otoshimono: feels like Dears, thats all i can say, but unlike dears the angel can make anything happen, and I just wonder does he fall in love with the angel and does she become more human? lol either way I will watch it since it isn't bad.

Kämpfer: watched 3 episodes, and well its just plain weird and not really worth watching, but since I have nothing better to do I will watch it anyways,.


To Aru Kagaku no Railgun:Index was good and interesting and had really good moments and action, and so far railgun isn't to bad, and feels more centralised on comedy then action.

11eyes: So far its kinda uninteresting, but I will let the next 2-3 episodes decide for me.

Seitokai no Ichizon: Lol its Lucky star, and Haruhi all in one, its funny, and has the element of the world only god knows. with the H-Game.

Sasameki Koto: Hmmmm, nothing against yuri, but this show, kinda potrays a reality that isn 't usually shown in yuri anime.


Seiken no Blacksmith: So far the action has gotten my attention, not to mention the sword smithing part, since I love learning how to forge a decent sword. plus the characters are funny and interesting.

Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini: So far so good is all I can say, but episodes 2 ending left me wondering, what the fuck was going on.

Nyan Koi!: Interesting so far, well more like entertaining, seeing how there is that element of just one boy attracting tons of females but in the end only wanting one. but I guess its just watching how crazy he acts and how funny the cats can be


Kobato. I love alot of the Clamp work, as long as it isn't completely yaoi, Kobato, as the feeling of xxxholic and ccs, which is nice and plus its just enjoyable to watch, and not the mention the first episode was funny as hell.

Tegami Bachi: after 2 episodes I knew Gauche is no longer the main character but its going to be lag so now not sure if i want to watch it.

Kimi ni Todoke: I actually suprised I liked it, I mean normally I would have discarded it due to its drawing style, but as I've learnt the drawing style can be misleading to how good the content is, and I am a sucker for good love stories.

Fairy Tail, : Looks to much like one piece

Yumeiro Pâtissière, I've watched ep 1 and 2 and they aren't to bad, it feels really well similar to others, I just hope it doesn't end as badly as yakitate Japan.

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Second Season aka Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu ~Purity~ - the first one was good, but seem to have ended badly, but the second season has started not to badly, and the second episode left me wanting more sweetness between yuuto and haruka, but at the same time we all know shina wants yuuto so we all know its going to get dramatic.

[HotTanCakes]

Kimi no Todoke 9/10 Okay, so I REALLY like this new show. I am a big sucker for good lover stories, but I'm very particular in what I like. This show really hits on the head for me. I can't really explain why. I even laughed out loud which is very surprising for me. I absolutely love this show.

Fairy Tail: 6.5/10 Its your typical Shounen show, with your typical story, but its entertaining none the less, I'll continue to watch it.

Book of Bantorra 7.5/10 This one hit me off gaurd, I really liked it. It gives me a similar feeling to Full Metal Alchemist, but skips to the part where hes already a full fledged alchemist. A serious show with an interesting plot.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun 4/10 Although I thought the premise of it was great, I didn't like where this show was going. I watched the first 3 episodes and there was way too much fan service for me. If a show has too much fan service I'll drop it like its hot. (Thank you Snoop Dog for your constantly repetative songs.) If you like powerful school girls and panty shots, you may like this one.

11eyes 5/10 This one intrigued me at the beginning as well until I saw how many upskirt/panty shots there were. Once more not a big fan of the fan servce. (Ironic no?) The Hentai game roots seem really strong in this one. I feel like as I watch this show there aren't any background characters, only the main ones and their little friends. Wouldn't reccommend this one.

Thats all I had time to watch for this week. I'm really liking this new fall season, especially with Kimi Ni Todoke. Am I the only one who thinks that the show is really funny? Haha.

[SeedFreedom]

Detailed review of the series im following on my blog

Overall opinion:
11eyes: interesting, but not living up to potential 6/10
Kampfer: guilty pleasure, lots of fan service, little substance, 5/10
Seiken no blacksmith: looks really good, wish it wasn't 1 cour. Hate the Katanas are better overtones 8/10
Seitokai no Ichizon: very funny and enjoyable 9/10
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: havent seen index so no expectations on plot, very enjoyable 8/10

[DidCart]

I don't know why you guys dropped Sora no Otoshimono after the first episode. For me it was really funny. I'll continue to watch the show and laugh a lot.

[chikorita157]

Kobato - 3 Episodes - 8.63/10 B - So far, Kobato seems to be shaping up as a pretty good series although Kobato seems to do stupid things, which reminds me of K-ON! for some odd reason, but not nearly as bad, but it's funny and so moe for some reason... I pretty much think that will go away later in the series. The animation and music is pretty decent.. so no complaints so far.

[risingstar3110]

My turn then. Watching 4 new series so far:

Kampfer (ep1) N/A: the pace is quite off, but the plot sounds interesting. No comment yet, really

Seitokai no Ichizon (ep 4) 7/10 : i thought i found another masterpiece by the time i finished the 1st half of ep 1. But it keeps sliding down since, so having a mixed feeling now. By ep 4, the humour is off by my standard, and i hope something will spice the series up soon. I barely can stand the OP and can't stand the ED through

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (ep 4) 8/10 : i found every episodes quite amusing. Nothing brilliant yet, but high entertainment value. I like the cast so far, except the guy who support to be the lead in Index and should either play the protagonist or side character, not both. Like the OP, but the ED is sort of OK~

Darker Than black S2 (ep 3) 10/10: I know my opinion here will be biased. But i like S1, and S2 so far surpassed my expectation. For example, ep 3 did not only send a chill down my spine, but also burnt me with excitement for its whole 24 mins. By the time i finished it late at night, i ended up couldn't sleep for a while due to so much excitement (and before i realised it, i rewatched all important screens for more than 4 times). I really like the BGM as well. The OP is also by far the best this season. The Ed is fitting also

Probably will update opinion about Kampfer later, and "maybe" 1 more new series

[Vegard Aune]

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza
Same as the first season... Not awful, but not really good either. To be honest, the only reason I'm watching it is because I have nothing better to do. Rating: 5/10

Fairy Tail
Somewhat generic, but still fairly enjoyable. Not much more to say about that. Rating: 7/10

Seitokai no Ichizon
When I first started watching it, I thought it seemed like Lucky Star with less substance and more anime-references. Now... I can confirm that it is Lucky Star with less substance and more anime-references. Though despite the fact that I had a somewhat bad first impression of it, ("Well, this'll never get old... Or actually, it will. In about 2 seconds" pretty much sums it up) it's actually pretty enjoyable. Also, I rather like the opening-theme. Rating: 7/10

Sasameki Koto
...Whatever. Really, I can't think of much else to say about this series one way or another, it's just... bland. Watched 2 episodes, have no interest in continuing. Rating: 4/10