Mawaru Penguin Drum - 12

 
The opposite bank of the invisible river turned a sudden red and its waves glittered like needles, throwing what looked like willows into stark silhouette. A large crimson fire was burning in a distant field, its towering smoke threatening to scorch the deep violet of the sky. The flame was more transparent red than a ruby, more exquisite than lithium.
'I wonder what's causing that fire,' said Giovanni. 'What could be burning to give off a flame as red as that?'
'It's Scorpio's fire,' replied Campanella, his head buried in his map.
'Oh I know about Scorpio's fire,' said Kaoru.

Hyouge Mono - 07

There’s no denying that this is one of the stranger and more fascinating anime of recent vintage, but I find it consistently entertaining and worth the wait.  I think I could watch 22 minutes of Sosuke’s facial expressions and come away solidly entertained, but Hyouge Mono packs a lot more punch than that.

Blood-C – 12 (End) and Series Review

Perhaps if CLAMP HQ is burned to the ground and the Earth is cleansed by fire, the Gods might forgive us as a species for producing this series.

Summer 2011 Season Review

While we still have a few series waiting to finish up, I thought I'd just give a quick recap of my thoughts on this Summer's series.

Kamisama Dolls – Series Review

Let’s end at the beginning – the Summer Preview post.  In that, I said that Kamisama Dolls was my pick for sleeper hit of the season.  I hadn’t read the manga, but I had a hunch based on both the look, the director (Seiji Kishi) and the studio (Brains Base) that this show would be something special.  Well, 13 episodes later I can honestly say it exceeded my expectations.

Kamisama Dolls - 13 (End)

Anyone who thought Kamisama Dolls wasn’t going to deliver on its potential with a kick-ass finale were wrong, as it certainly did.  But if you’re looking for any kind of closure, you’re barking up the wrong tree.

Nekogami Yaoyorazu – Series Review

Come for the seiyuu, stay for the love.

Natsume Yuujinchou San - 13 (End)

Another season of Natsume Yuujinchou is over, and the finale is one of the best episodes of the season. Head over to RC to check out my blog post and season review.

First Impressions - Shinryaku!? Ika Musume

The first official premiere of Fall 2011 is actually the second initial bow for a sequel to one of my favorite 2010 comedies.  Like Working, Shinryaku Ika Musume is back with a new director – and some new punctuation.  What’s up with the lazy title ideas, anyway?

Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyou - Recap

Just as an FYI, I'll be skipping the recap episode of Nurarihyon this week for blogging purposes, as there doesn't appear to be anything new of consequence. Of course, I'll resume next week.

Hourou Musuko - 101

“The Calm Before the Storm”

Doctor Who Season 32, Episode 12 – Closing Time

I went into veteran “Who” scripter Gareth Roberts’ Closing Time not expecting much, as I wasn’t a fan of 2009’s “The Lodger”, of which this is a direct sequel.  But there was some surprisingly moving moments and a few good laughs as well.

Hansaku Iroha – Series Review

You know, I’ve done quite a few of these series reviews by now – but this is a tough one to write.

Hansasku Iroha – 26 (End)

I’ll be honest – I could spend a lot of time complaining about why this final episode of HanaIro being such a good one fills me with regrets about what might have been.  But I won’t – instead, let’s celebrate the fact that the series ended on a lovely elegiac note, striking just the right tone and hitting some real emotional home runs without trying too hard.

Ao no Exorcist - 24

It’s pretty easy to see what cards everyone is holding as we get set for next week’s anime-only finale of Ao no Exorcist, but there’s still a wild card – or perhaps it’s a joker - that’s yet to be played. And I suspect that as he goes, so goes the battle.

Dantalian no Shoka - 11

This week on Dantalian: Huey wants to try out as a replacement player during the NBA lockout, but gets schooled on the playground by his old rival Ilas.  Recap on RC:

R-15 – Series Review

I pretty much knew when I started blogging R-15 that I was writing mostly for myself, and that most discerning anime fans would never give the series a serious look.  But that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying the hell out of both the show itself and writing about it, no matter how tiny the pageviews and comment counts are.

R-15 – 12 (End)

The lyrics are basically porn, but…  Why is it so…

Kami-sama no Memo-chō'–12 (End) and Series Review

Kami-Memo goes out pretty much as it existed – in that vast, featureless middle zone between really worthwhile and truly mediocre.  While it sometimes ventured into either extreme, taken as a whole it was as average as it gets – and I’d say pretty much the same for the ending.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! - 12

So I guess we’re pretending that last episode didn’t happen?

Mawaru Penguin Drum - 11

Cry, Monkey Bitch…

Blood-C - 11

The laughs just keep on coming, as CLAMP and Production I.G. continue their mad rush to do as much lasting damage to the “Blood” franchise as they can before this series finally ends.