[Poll] Evil Cat's Top 5 for Summer 2012 Season

Now the last of this new season is out, let's take a look at the best this season has to offer, shall we. While this season seems to be somewhat above average, it lacks a stellar crown jewel among all these better-than-mediocre anime. But again, extraordinary anime may not show itself immediately, as we've seen in the past like Madoka Magica, Ano Hana, and Mawaru Penguindrum. So, don't weigh this initial opinion too much on what the best of season could be. So, I'll start calling them "seed" from here on out.

No. 5 seed: Natsuyuki Rendezvous

There isn't anything special, but I have a good feeling about it. It has a very similar vibe to Ristorante Paradiso which I was quite fond of. I think this has potential to become something good.

No. 4 seed: Kyokai Senjou no Horizon II (Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere II)

Too bad there aren't that many people appreciate this series. While it's a bit difficult to wrap you head around, the first season is an epic story that is based on a rather unconventional fantasy world building process. Even though nothing seemed to make any sense on the surface, if you are willing to let go of your common sense a bit and accept those "magic" thing as something normal in its realm, then the story actually is very interesting. Since it's a continuation of the first series, you do have to watch the first series to understand this one. If you've seen the first series once and didn't quite get it, I would highly recommend you to run through it again, because the information revealed later in that series would make the earlier episode make more sense. In fact, I just watched the entire first series and it helped me tremendously in understanding the characters because first time through it's kind of difficult to digest the setting and characters at the same time.

 

No. 3 seed: Moyashimon Returns
One of my favorite series is making an return. Anybody who have seen the first series would know this series is outrageously funny yet highly knowledgeable at the same time. This sequel, from what I've seen, is continuing to build upon its success. I think this has potential.

No. 2 seed: Sword art Online

As far as production quality goes, this is definitely the best amongst all summer season new releases. The story is interesting. Even though it looks like another overused .hack clone, it's actually fundamentally different. In fact, because the setting is what it is, it feels more like a mix blend of Scifi and Fantasy.

No. 1 seed: Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita (Human has Declined)
You may disagree, but I think this series is just made of pure brilliance. It's using a fallen human society to dissect today's world's problem one at a time. Because of the background setting, with a much simplified human society, it's able to pin one problem at a time to fully and exaggeratedly exploit the issue in hand. This, in my opinion is the best series of this season at the moment.


Oh and in case you haven't noticed, the poll for this month's new series is open on the right side. Put in your votes for your top 5 series of the season.

[Poll] April 2012 New Season Poll is Open

Now the last of the new season is out, let's take a look at what the best of the season has to offer. Compare to last couple of seasons, we have seen quite some amazingly good series coming out. It seems the good anime drought is indeed over--again I'm having trouble deciding what series to cut  instead of what to put on my top five. After quite some deliberation, I finally narrowed down my top 5 picks. Let's start from the bottom, shall we:

No.5: Sakamichi no Apollon. While it's not anything exciting, it has a very interesting beats to it. I can't quite grasp just yet what is it I'm like it so much for, it's definitely something I'd like to keep watching.

No.4:  Sankarea. The overall premise is weird yet intriguing, on top of that, it is just very well executed in terms of translating the manga to the screen.

No.3: Fate/Zero 2nd Season. Well, this technically isn't a "new" series, since it's only the second part of a long season series. Nevertheless, I need to mention it here because as far as quality goes, this would definitely seize the No.3 spot of the season.

No.3 (the real one): Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? of the Dead. I think there are many people out there just don't understand this series. Personally, I just think there are so much brilliance that are worked into into the series. One side note, I think you'll have to watch the first series to understand this one. Otherwise, I don't think you'd appreciate it nearly as much.

No.2: Tasogare Otome x Amnesia. I don't think anybody going to argue this series deserves to be one of the top 3 anime of the season. The character has great chemistry, the comedies are funny, and it's very well directed. The most intriguing part, is how they have mixed comedy and horror in the same place and you can distinctively feel them both very well.

No.1: Jormungand. My mind had quite some struggle on deciding who should take the top seat of this new anime season, specifically, deciding which of the top two should take the spotlight. They're both excellent animes (or should I say, animes with excellent first impression). Ultimately, I think the little extra action and explosiveness and the message it was passing off (about weapon is the the tool to keep peace instead of disrupting peace) won me over. It actually felt like an unique blending of CANAAN and Black Lagoon, which both are excellent action animes.

So those are my top 5 pick, feel free to cast your vote on the right side. I'd like to see how much my opinion deviates from my blog readers ^_^

p.s. my friend danchou (the guest author of this blog) (^_^)v may post his top 5 soon as well. I'm very much interested in what he has to say about them, since our opinions differed a bit over past several season.

Danchou's Top 5 Pick of October 2011

As the Evil Cat has said, these last few seasons have been water to a rather dehydrated anime fan. Light shown to a person stuck in a Platonic cave. Even, dare I say it, an open bar to a college student! Regardless, I think I'll have a similar list to the Evil Cat's, but there will be some slight adjustments.

Fate/Zero: After a slightly disappointing adaptation of the excellent video novel labeled as Fate Stay/Night, TypeMoon is attempting to up what has been done with the first series. Not saying the first anime was bad, it just deviated so far from the source material, it left many wanting more. Regardless, this series is doing a good job showing the movements of all the different parties, building up well known characters of myth and history, and showing how so many well constructed schemes are slowly working towards one another. It started out quite slowly but seems to be gaining some steam. Anyways, if you are a fan of the series, Typemoon, the VN, or even just famous historical/mythical figures being used in zany (yes, zany) ways with cool powers, this is definitely going to end up high on your list. Since I fall into all of those categories, I'm hooked.
UN-GO: This series, with the exception of possibly Guilty Crown, has been the biggest surprise of the season for me. However, saying that, it also means that it has the biggest chance of letting me down. The first episode managed to portray many interesting looking characters, the possibility of some intriguing politics being played out, and what is needed for a mystery/detective series to go far. That being said, it could easily fall into some of the traps shows like Psychic Detective Yakumo did. Anyways, it has enough hope to make it on my list.
Guilty Crown: This series had possibly the best directing of any series so far this season. The way the song was integrated into the episode was reminiscent of Star Drive (yes, that crazy show), the timing like the mixed action and strategy of Code Geass, and the pacing of Code Geass' first episodes as well. Drawn along for the ride, dazzled by the singing, and interested by the mixture of mecha, magic, and politics, you can count me in. I know I haven't said it enough, but this has the potential to be another Code Geass. Oh, yeah.... Code Geass.
Shakugan no Shana III: Shakugan no Shana was the first series I ever watched subbed. I know I'm a fanboy of this title because of it. But, I would like to say that, despite this, I am quite reasonable in claiming that it deserves a spot in my top 5. This is because of the mystery between the seasons, the pseudo-political tensions that are sure to rise, and the pacing change. Obviously, a LOT happened between the seasons that needs to be explained. This mystery is one of the driving factors for the show thus far. Also, the new... erm... alignments will surely bring about a new dynamic that the show has left untouched for much of the earlier seasons. Finally, the pacing is completely different from either of the other seasons. Instead of throwing people into the fire, then easing up a little to explain things, this season is starting by explaining all the turmoil brewing throughout the world, showing how some of the characters are feeling and then going from there.
Mirai Nikki: Although slightly saddened by the pacing of the first season, this series also has potential to go far. A wide range of characters, a good setting, and an interesting look at the psychological factors of many of the characters bodes well for this show. This, however, is definitely last on my list of 5 because of the pacing of the second episode. It wasn't as well done as the first and revealed WAYYY too much for the second episode of a long series. That being said, it still has hope.

There are a few honorable mentions on my list, just as the Evil Cat had on his. This would be made of Ben-To, Bakuman 2, and Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!!. Bakuman and Ben-To are the two of these closet to making the top 5 (especially if Bakuman 2 is as good as 1), but they weren't quite there. Last Exile may eventually make the list as well, but, unfortunately, I have yet to watch it. Anyways, happy watching everyone, and I hope I can get some good comments :3

Evil Cat's Top 5 Pick for October 2011

After such a long drought, recent seasons indicate that business (well, anime business that is) is booming again. Take this season for example, instead of having too few series to choose from, I have to figure out which ones I want to leave out of my top 5. Come to think of it, I haven't have to ponder over that question since January 2010.

My top 5 picks for October 2011 are:

Fate/Zero so far everything I'm seeing from this series is solid. Grant it that it's an established franchise with some very good series from the past, it has somewhat of an unfair advantage because of the exposures it had. But, even if this is the first time you heard about the its name, you'd probably still going to be impressed by what it has done.

Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing As the first real series (Nyanpire is not a real series) after GONZO re-emerged from bankruptcy, this story has a very explosive start. I think if GONZO is returning to the innovative storytelling that made them famous at first place, this is definitely one of the series to watch.


Mirai Nikki This, in my opinion, is definitely by far the best series of this season. The story is exciting and the characters are interesting. My only concern right now is that so far the character Yuki feels very much like Ganta from Deadman Wonderland. They think alike and they act alike. At some point Ganta turns into a completely crybaby and ruins the whole show. I just hope Yuki doesn't do the same.

UN-GO For the most part, I'm not exactly sure where this show is heading just yet, but, I'm very intrigued by what I've seen so far. There's some weird undertone in the story I haven't had a firm grasp on just yet, but it's all for the better.

Ben-to This, I have to say is the biggest surprise for me among all the new series from this season. It manages to mix a nearly perfect blend of subtlety and straight-faced silliness with some tropes that are designed to make fun of brawling animes such as Ikkitousen or Tenjou Tenge to form a one of kind comedy.

There are also a couple of other series that if the competition isn't so intense, would totally made into the top 5 as well: Shakugan no Shana III, Bakuman 2, Guilty Crown, and Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!!. It's actually pains me to leave them out of my top 5 because they all had a solid opening episodes. However, Shana III isn't captive enough in its opening run; Bakuman 2 is a slow starter; Guilty Crown doesn't feel very original; and Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!! is just slightly excessive on the fan service part. These, ultimately made my top 5 picks win over these guys.

I'm sure my co-host, danchou probably would post his top 5 pick soon as well. We'll see if he has any different opinions. ^_^

[Poll] Top 5 from Summer 2011

While the economic recession isn't quite over yet, it seems that the anime is back into a booming period. For two consecutive season, there has been so many great new animes coming out that the entire catalog of 2010 would pale by comparison.

However, after the dusts had settled, I realize while the baseline for this season is much better than previous ones, series I would consider exceptional are still few and far between: majority of the series from this season are mostly "above mediocre" line, but, most are pretty far from being exceptional. Among my top 5 picks, I managed to pick out the top 2 without much thinking. But I have to ponder over the other 3 for quite a while before I made the decision because they're just all at the same mediocre level.

My top 5 picks of the summer 2011 anime season are:

1. Usagi Drop
2. Natsume Yuujinchou San
3. Mayo Chiki
4. Mawaru Penguindrum 
5. Dantalian no Shoka

First thing first, if you don't agree that Usagi Drop should hold the top spot of the season, then, you may as well stop reading my blog and go surf somewhere else. Chances are, you and I will disagree on 80% of the animes I review here. 

Then, Natsume Yuujinchou San, the only other series I would consider to be exceptional from this season based on the early impressions. What amazes me is that after two full short season series, the story of Natsume Yuujinchou is stilling going strong as ever.

Now, we get into the "group-of-better-than-mediocre-animes", my third place choice, Mayo Chiki. It's somewhat of a cliche, but nevertheless, it's interesting and fun to watch, more so than those who didn't make it to my list.

The fourth place, Mawaru Penguindrum, is just weird and whacky. Generally, I tend to like whacky series that tickles me in the right place. Mawaru Penguindrum did exactly that. I'm very curious about what's going to come out of this. On top of that, whether it'll end up being a tragedy in the end.

Then there's the fifth spot on my top 5 list, Dantalian no Shoka. It seems quite a few people disagree with my comments I made about it feels like a cross between Card Captor Sakura and Pandora Hearts. Honestly, I was not mocking it. Both Card Captor Sakura and Pandora Hearts are series that I was very fond of. I was merely pointing out how I felt watching the opener episode. On top of that, the fact the story this anime based on was written by the original author of Asura Cryin' actually made me respect it so much more. Therefore, it beat all the other "mediocre series" and made into my top 5 list.

The poll for Summer 2011 season is open on the right side of my blog. Feel free to express your opinion about which ones are the best of the season. 

[Poll] Top 5 from April 2011 Season

Historically, April and October have been the bigger and better seasons than January and July season. Meaning we usually see more and better anime released during April and October. But I don't think there has been one that has such a big discrepancy between two consecutive season as this year.

Last season, the new releases are so horrible that I actually consider not to even fill my top 5 spot. I thought for sure the economic downturn has been affecting anime industry and we'll be seeing a steadily decrease in quality of new animes. Then April 2011 season came out, I realized my concern is somewhat unwarranted, because I for one, am again having trouble picking my top 5 for this season because there are too many good animes, not too few.

Ok, enough said, let's go into the real stuff, my pick for top 5 animes for April 2011 season are:

1. Tiger & Bunny
2. [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
3. Deadman Wonderland
4. Ao no Exorcist
5. Denpa Onno to Seishun Otoko

Let's go down the list real quick, because I have a feeling that there are quite few people would disagree with me, not necessarily on the top 5 pick, rather, the order of top 5.

No. 1, Tiger & Bunny. I chose it to be in the top spot partially due to its quality, more importantly, unlike the others, this is some extremely creative concept. Think about it, we've seen battle in alternate worlds that linked to the real world; we've seen weird psycho conspiracy to force people to fight; we've see the son of devil rises up to defy the devil himself; and we've seen stories about weird people imaging stuff because they lost their memory. But superheros sponsored by corporations and make crime fighting a showbiz? That's some brilliant concept. While I'm optimistic about this anime, I think in order for it to come out on top in the season ending review, this brilliant concept alone would not be enough, there needs to be a good underlying plot like a conspiracy or something. We'll see.

No. 2, [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control is just an interesting concept to begin with, especially it started off with a mystery that we all eagerly want to find out what's behind it. Even though Deadman Wonderland is the same way, [C] somehow just attracts me more.

No. 3, Deadman Wonderland, well, I think everybody would agree this one belongs to top 5.

No. 4, Ao no Exorcist, same here, an excellent manga with excellent adaptation, definitely top 5 material.

No. 5, Denpa Onno to Seishun Otoko, I actually went back and forth among this, 

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, Hidan no Aria, but ultimately chose Denpa because it's somewhat strange and unique, and there's a mystery to be figured out.

One anime that many would ask why I don't mention anywhere near top 5 is Steins; Gate. I think many think it deserves a spot in top 5. The reason I'm skeptical about this anime actually has something to do with a different anime that is related to it, Chaos; Head. It felt just as suspenseful or even more early on in the series, but it eventually turned into something that I would say is mediocre at best. So far it seems that Steins; Gate is just tracing the same route Chaos; Head took. So I'm afraid it too will turn out to be something not nearly as good as early on.

[Poll] About the Poll Results

My January 2011 new anime poll is now closed. The result, I have to say generally falls along the line what I was expecting, although GOSICK coming out on the top was a slight surprise. As you can see, out of the random sample of all anime viewers (I like to think that, it makes my poll numbers look more important than they really are), it's pretty clear what I predicted early on in the season was correct: there are no clear "winners" in this season, the poll numbers are all over the place. However, we do have some clear losers, but they're not worth discussing about so I'll just jump right over to the pole positions. The top 5 according to the poll lines up like this:

1. GOSICK
2. Yumekui Merry
3. Beezlebub
4. Dragon Crisis
5. Level E

and within one vote to the No.5 position, we also have IS: Infinite Stratos and Kore wa Zombie Desuka? It's sad that Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika didn't make it onto the list because that is one damn good anime. I think it might have something to do with people tend to stereotyping magical girl animes and just skip out on it without even looking.

While I can see GOSICK deserves a top five spot, and understand why it holds the top spot, it's still be bit surprise that it had pull that far ahead of everybody else. GOSICK is literally a puzzle anime that feeds you one piece of the giant puzzle at a time, at this point, there's still a lack of compelling central plot to follow up on. But I do admit everything else has been pretty well done.

Yumikui Merry, Dragon Crisis, Level E are all among my picks for the top five, I'm glad to see that most people out there think the same.

In the case of Beezlebub, more I watch it, more I learned to mentally block out the naked baby when it appears so it doesn't bother me that much any more. I'd agree it probably belongs in the top five.

Then there's Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? I think it had a late surge in the poll because there are some turning events that made it so much better than it was. If it had arrived a tad earlier, it would have a really good chance in getting in the top five.

Now, about IS: Infinite Stratos. Apparently, harem sells. I really don't see anything in the plot at the moment that would justify it being anywhere close to the top five of the season. It literally is just a simple harem building process so far. As I stated in previous posts, there's not even an compelling reason that anybody should be so interested in IS. So if you have voted IS to be in the top five, would you mind telling me why you have chosen it instead of...anything else?

[Poll] Top 5 for January 2011

I've been waiting for this new anime that supposedly done by GAINAX and SUBARU, but I'm getting a bit impatient because according to their web site, the premiere date is February 1st. And after seeing the trailer on their web site (http://sbr-gx.jp/) I don't think it's going to be anything of importance that would affect my decision on this month's top five. So, I'm going to go ahead take my pick on January 2011 season's top five.

Looking back at all the premiere episodes, there are two words I'd like use to describe this season:

Utterly Pathetic!

There are only a hand full I would consider to be not completely worthless, and even less I would consider decent. This is probably the worst season my blog has ever seen.

Last season, top three of my top five pick matched up exactly with the poll I put up. I think it's mostly because these three are animes with such exceptional qualities that no other anime in the season could match, and everybody agrees with that. This season, however, from my conversations I had with friends that also watch anime, I can already tell the poll is going to be all over the place. Really, if you have to pick a best out of pool of garbage, there's no telling what you would pick. Sadly, this is what we have to do for this season.

So, my top five pick for January 2011 new anime season are:

1. Yumekui Merry
2. Dragon Crisis
3. Kimi ni Todoke 2nd Season Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica [Edit: 2/21/2011]
4. Level E
5. Fractale

In fact, this season is so bad, the only sure pick I have at the moment is my No. 1 pick, Yumekui Merry. So don't blame me if number 2 through 5 do not come out as good as you expect.

[Edit: 2/21/2011] I completely didn't see it coming, but Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is such a good anime, so good that I'm willing to knock off the No. 3 spot anime from the season opener and replace it with Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. Yes, it's that good.

[Poll] Top 5 for October 2010

Alright guys, that's all the new animes for October 2010 season. Surprising, the season I thought is going to be a big bust turns out to have quite a few decent animes, including a "A" grade initial impression series, which is actually quite rare if you have been following my blog long enough. There are a couple of them missing from my review, namely, Hakuouki: Hekketsu-roku. I'm not going to bother to review because I've dropped the season one half way through due to it being too "dry" in content. There would be no point to watch any of this season since it's just a continuation from season one.

So, before I put up the poll to let the unreliable masses (I've totally lost faith in the masses after High School of the Dead has been voted in for last season's top anime) to collectively decide what are the top 5 anime of the month .

So my top 5 for October 2010 new anime season are:

1. Otome Youkai Zakuro
2. Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai
3. Bakuman
4. Iron Man
5. [Edit 10/18/10]Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai Kuragehime

Otome Youkai Zakuro in my opinion is the undisputed best anime of this season. It's just very well made in all aspects, period.

No. 2 and 3, I don't think too many people would disagree with me about having them in top 5.

No. 4, Iron Man, could be just a shock factor that it had turned out to be a much better anime than I was expecting.

[Edit 10/18/10]
And No. 5, Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai, I'm really not thinking too highly of it at the moment, but I do think it has potential to become something much better as the season progresses.
At this moment, Kuragehime definitely tops Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai for the last spot in my top 5 anime of October 2010.

Among the New Releases

Is it just me or is this July season much much smaller than usual? As it just starting to whet my appetite, it comes to an end to all new releases for this season. Either they squeezed all the new releases into the first two weeks of July or the economic downturn has really affected the entertainment industry that much. Either way, this new season just feels way too small.

But again, it doesn't mean there aren't any bright spot among the new releases. There are quite a few of them seems to have high potential to be something great. Before I start my poll for this month's new release, let me lay out the top 5 anime of my choice for this season:

1. Occult Academy
2. Kuroshitsuji II
3. Shiki
4. Sengoku Basara 2
5. Amagami SS

Although I really want to squeeze Asobi ni Iku yo! into the ranking, I really can't decide which one that is already on the list to be axed. On top of that, although I somehow doubt that's going to happen, right now it is a little hard to tell whether Asobi ni Iku yo! would become another pointless boob show like Kampfer. So I'll be conservative and leave it off my top 5 list for the moment.

Poll for April 2010 is open

This April anime season isn't nearly as big as what it usually is. On top of that, the qualities of the new series aren't stellar either. I guess the current economic slump is still to blame. But even among mediocre animes, there are still quality differences between them. So, participate in the little poll on the right side, see if we can get a consensus on what's the best of this season.

[Poll] January 2010 Poll is Open

Finally, after Katanagatari, all new series from January 2010 are out. Let's see everybody's opinions about this new anime season. This is a relatively small anime season, but in my opinion, there are quite a few high quality ones.

My top 5 picks are:

Dance in the Vampire Bund Intriguing, that's the word I would use to describe it. I think at the moment, I think this has very high potential for being the best anime of the season.

So-Ro-No-Wo-To This is a very unique blend of comedy and light drama. It doesn't have anything too special. But it gives you a very refreshing feeling.

Durarara! Just like Baccano!, it's hard to make sense of the overall at the moment. But I can feel they're secretly constructing a much bigger plot.

Nodame Cantabile: Finale Some of the jokes are getting old by now. But Nodame is still funny as ever.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Mocking all card battle based anime, this is just a brilliant idea.

[Poll] The Poll for October 2009 Top 5 is Open

With Winter Sonata, I think I've caught all the new releases from October 2009 new anime season. To be honest, even though the total count is pretty high, 28 to be exact, I'm not seeing many exceptionally impressive new animes. Normally, I'd have a hard time to decide which animes to eliminated from the list for my top five. But this time, I'm actually struggling on deciding which one I want to put in my list so that I can have five in my top five.

Seriously, you know the overall quality of this season's new release ought to suck majorly when you have a difficult time picking 5 out of 28 animes that you would consider "good".

My top 5 picks are:

Kimi ni Todoke - This is a no brainer pick for me. In fact, this is riding way above the other in my top 5 list.

Asura Cryin' 2 - It probably would be a borderline case before I saw episode 3 and 4. Those two episodes have made this series so much better. But you'll need to equipped with knowledge from the first seasons to be able to understand this one.

Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) - I like it for its concept and characters. And it reminds me much of Galaxy Express 999, which I'm quite fond of.

Darker Than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini - So far I'm not impressed by it as much as the first series, yet. But it's a pretty good start, and with Studio BONES track record, I think they'd handle it well.

Fairy Tail - While it's interesting for the moment, I can't help to notice the potential of repetitiveness already starting to show up by episode 3. On top of that, the chances of them making this an ultra long series is pretty high.

[Poll] The Result of July Top 5

Even though there's no way my little poll represents the anime community as a whole, the result of this season's top 5 poll seems to agree with ratings I found from other more respectable sources. While the result is somewhat as I expected, there are something I'm not quite understanding. So let's just take a quick look at the top 5:

Spice and Wolf II being the undisputed winner of the popularity contest is something I've predicted. Who doesn't like the cute and wise wolf deity?

Bakemonogatari being the second is also quite understandable as well, consider it is the best anime from July season quality-wise. The only thing is that you need to be able to cope with is the weirdness and violence. Sometime they do turn people away...

Then there's the close third place, Princess Lover. Honestly, I'm a bit baffled why it has gotten this high on the poll.

True Princess Lover is a good anime. But is it good enough to hold the third place among all series that came out this season? I don't think so. In my opinion, Princess Lover is a well made harem anime. But harem anime is a harem anime. There's no way for it to get away from its formulaic nature. It may throw a twist here and there in the middle, but it doesn't matter how hard they try, it's next to impossible to get a plot or ending that isn't part of the well known and predictable formula.

CANAAN, who managed to outrank Umineko no Naku Koro ni, held the fourth place. Though I still have hope for CANAAN, I have to say the current state of CANAAN is mediocre at best. They need to do a lot more than what they have right now to make it great.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni, I'm glad to see it's still hanging in the top five. It has been somewhat a roller coaster ride. I think the reason it has fallen back so far is due to not live up to audiences' expectation. But since it's a 26 episode series instead of a 13 episode series as it was reported originally, I think there are still quite some time left for it to improve and redeem itself.

[Poll] Top five...Seriously?

Though there are still many days left for the poll to close, I've already noticed certain trend in it. For one, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has been the undisputed winner for this season's best anime according to the poll ever since the beginning, just as I expected.

But ther's also something else in the poll I'm not quite understanding. As of now, the top five animes according to the poll are: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Eden of the East, 07-Ghost, Sangoku BASARA, and Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity-. The first four I can understand, but the last one, Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity-, how is this receiving so many votes for top five animes of the season? Sure it's cute and pretty, but there are way too many problems with the plot and too many decisions made by the characters are just plain illogical. Though I don't think it is a bad anime (yet), I just don't see it as top five material.

So, people who voted for Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity-, do you mind sharing why you think it should be the top five anime from this season?

[Edit 05/18/09] Since the original post of this entry, more people has voted and Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity- is no longer in the top five. Also there has been a quick surge on Hatsukoi Limited and K-On!. At the time of this edit, K-On! has surpassed Eden of the East to clinch the No. 2 spot.