Seitokai no Ichizon: Random

Currently finished: Episode 4

Just like Lucky Star, the content of this anime (and its manga) is as random as anything could go. The reason so far I like this but not Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu is the fact even though it is mostly materials we've seen in many other animes, they managed to keep it creative. Having said that, seeing how many animes/mangas/games they've gone through in only four episodes, I wonder how long they can stay fresh and creative before they start to get into that endless repetitive cycles like the one that literally killed my interest for Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei.

Nyan Koi: Harem, Actually

Currently finished: Episode 4

It may started off as something else, but by now, it's pretty clear that this is a harem anime. But I have to say the approach is actually quite interesting. Come to think of it, which romantic comedy anime hasn't been a harem? I think that's the easiest way to make an romantic comedy. It's either that or love triangle, but love triangle tend to get too complicated and too serious over time, so practically speaking, harem probably is the only way to make romantic comedies.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with harem animes. It's just lately, too many harem animes takes the same approach, so they all look and feel the same. Nyan Koi however, with this unique approach, is quite refreshing. Though I didn't list it in my choices of top 5 from October, I think I might have given it a tied position if I have seen episode 4 before I decided my top 5. But I am going to give it:

Comedy Anime of the Season for October 2009 Season

[OVA] Shakugan no Shana S

This is just a side story OVA that is just for fun. In another word, this is something they did just to make some extra money off this franchise. It is mostly unrelated to the main plot, but it does have some interesting points.

At the moment, my recommendation for you is that unless you really really like Shakugan no Shana series, or just have too much time to burn, you can mostly skip this one without worry about missing anything important about the story.

[Dropped] Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza: Same Ol' Stuff

I managed to stay to the end of the first series because the concept was somewhat unique, and it was amusing, at least then. This season two, however, has nothing new and pretty much just repeats the same ol' things over and over again. In my opinion, animes like this should always be an one shot deal and should never have a sequel.

[Dropped] Shin Koihime Musou: Ri-diculous

While Queen's Blade managed to keep things somewhat amusing, Shin Koihime Musou managed to pull out the tactic of boring reused contents. As bad as Queen's Blade is, it at least manage to have an actual story going. Shin Koihime Musou doesn't even have a plot, period. My backlog are slowly creeping up again. I have no time to waste with junks like this.

[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.

[New October 2009] Winter Sonata

Japanese title: 冬のソナタ
Korean title: 겨울연가
Info/download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1530.html
Genres: Drama / Romance
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A love story adapted from the Korean TV drama with same name (I think). About a boy who came to a town looking for his father that he never knew.

First impression score: 85 ~ Romance

Personal comments: First off, this is a Korean anime. Having been so used to hearing Japanese voice from animes, it feels somewhat weird hearing a different language. The story started by creating a very romantic background environment right off the back. As I said previously, I'm a sucker for romantic love stories, and I think this is the type of stories hits my spot right on. Now I just have to get used to listen Korean instead of Japanese...

Asura Cryin 2: Loss and Redemption

Currently finished: Episode 4

This is a great example of how a good tragedy is like when it's done properly. (You'll have to watch the first season to understand the premise of the tragedy).

Many people may dislike this story simply because it's cruel and it doesn't seem to provide any escape route from the inevitable tragedy. But I think this is where the brilliance of the story lies. Nowadays, too many stories provie too many way to escape all tragic events simply because they don't want to upset the audiences.

Asura Cryin', however, places a harsh reality into the realm of this imaginary world where the characters in it not only have to witness the unfortunate events unfolding right in front of them, but also to realize that such misfortune has already been clearly projected onto their own inevitable fate as well. This sense of hopelessness is quite a rare find in nowadays' stories where feel-good is what they're all about.

I'm loving every single second of it.

Kimi ni Todoke: Shoujo Anime of the Season

Currently finished: Episode 3

Laugh as you may, but I have to admit, I am such a sucker for romantic comedies and/or shoujo stories like this. To me, for some reason, this kind of story can get me emotionally attached to the characters so easily. It's like I can feel the exact kind of emotions that are going through those characters mind in all situations.

Following Nana, Peach Girl, Aishiteruze Baby, Bakura ga Ita, I think Kimi ni Todoke is probably going to be the next anime that enters MY shoujo animes hall of fame.

I'm enjoying it so much at the moment that I'm going to hand it

Shoujo Anime of the Season

award.

Kiddy Girl-AND: Tasteless

Currently finished: Episode 2

Despite how much I liked the story of Kiddy Grade first time through, during the subsequent re-runs I've been through, I can't help to notice some of the tastelessness that anime possesses that has become so much more apparent once you know the story already.

So you ask what does that have to do with this series? Well, it seems that not only they carried those tastelessness into this new anime, they also managed to magnify it so much that Kiddy Girl-AND so far in my opinion is almost completely tasteless.

Being only 12 episodes long, by spending one entire episode on useless things, I can't help to think that whoever wrote this story probably had no intention in putting a good plot into it. What a shame.

Kaidan Restaurant: Creepy Tales

Currently finished: Episode 2

Although it's a collection of creepy tales for kids, some of those story still sends some chill down my spine. The effect is especially apparent since I always watch them alone late at night. Despite of me loving horror and spooky stories, I'm actually quite easily spooked. But more a story can spook me, more I'll like it. Sometimes I wonder whether I am mentally a masochist...

Asura Cryin 2: Bad Position

Currently finished: Episode 3

I feel sorry for him because every option available to him at the moment has a big "suck" stamped on it. Having said that, though, if he would just tell her the truth that she wants to know so much, it would make things a lot easier on him. Even though it doesn't actually make the decision making process any easier, he can at least off load some of the burden elsewhere and let somebody else to make the difficult decision. But since he is the "let me take all the pain for you" type of guy, he probably would torture himself to death before he's willing to do that.