Current anime season weak

January 23, 2009 by Jin
Filed under Anime, Recent

Haruka Over the last couple of years I watched a lot of anime. I mean a lot. Not only was I watching some really good anime, but I was also catching up with shows that I either never watched, had previously ignored (and rediscovered) or just some that I felt I needed to watch to complete my anime education.

So what are some shows that I feel that are part of a good anime foundation?

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - an epic anime that seemingly becomes more legendary as time passes
Nodame Cantabile - a great anime with unforgettable characters, great musical sequences and a really sweet ending
Ouran High Host Club - this anime made me laugh so many times I lost count
Card Captor Sakura - along with Sailor Moon, the archetype of the magical girl animes
Neo Evangelion - can’t have a good foundation without including at least one mecha anime
Maria-sama ga Miteru - the archetypical shoujo anime that is technically yuri, but involves no explicit ecchi and instead focuses on the intense (and implied) relationships of girls who attend an exclusive Catholic academy
Naruto - a “kid’s” anime that sometimes surprises you about the lessons it imparts about growing up

This isn’t an all inclusive list, and there’s probably a good debate of which 9 or 10 shows would give you a decent enough foundation into the types of Japanese anime. And possibly even more debate as to whether just 9 or 10 shows would be enough.

Which brings me to my point. I see nothing this season that I find memorable or can even justify spending any time watching. Oh, I’ve previewed Maria+Holic, Akikan, Kurokami, White Album, Minamike Okaeri (first season Minamike is probably my favorite comedy anime of all time…it’s sad to see what the show has become), and The Tower of Druaga. None of them seemed very good or even mildy entertaining.

I know that Maria+ Holic, Akikan and White Album have their admirers. And I wish I could share your enthusiasm, but I just can’t. Maria+Holic just seems means spirited with a main character (not the trap) who is bullied merely because of her sexual preference. Yes, I know it’s supposed to be a comedy, but what some people find funny, I find strangely sad. It doesn’t help that the show is mostly low brow humor consisting of nose bleeds and seeing people naked accidentally. I pretty much put Akikan in the same category…low brow humor, lots of misunderstandings with unintentional nakedness with some gender identity humor thrown in. I think White Album, if it wasn’t for the star appeal of Aya Hirano, would be completely overshadowed this anime winter season.

If you take away these three shows, arguably the three most popular, there isn’t much to see this season. Fortunately, I’m still watching To Aru Majutsu no Index, Toradora and just started Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th season (so far, Maria-sama looks to live up to expectations). I have something to watch, but not much to write about. Just about everybody is writing about Index and Toradora. Why shouldn’t they? Both are excellent shows, and Toradora is close to becoming one of my all time favorites with characters that defy conventional anime stereotypes.

I really hope that the spring season will bring a better selection of shows. I remember being delighted with Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, Itazura no Kiss, Shana II, Claymore, Manabi Straight!, Spice and Wolf, Strike Witches, Sky Girls and Special A not too long ago (acutally, for some of them, it’s been a couple of years). I could remember a time that I couldn’t watch all the shows I wanted because so many of them were good. I can’t say that now.

So, if you don’t see much about anime (I’ll still write tons about manga) on this blog in the next couple of months, it’s not that I’m not watching, it’s just that I don’t think there’s much to write about.

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