So we’re up to ~episode six in most series, which is the halfway point for the Fall season (though not necessarily the halfway point for each show). I figured I’d check in and talk about where I am with each show these days.

• Bamboo Blade: Miya-Miya owns the ass of every female character this season, hands down. Then again, it’s not like she’s up against a lot of competition. Status: Watching regularly.
• Blue Drop: The pacing is sooo slow, it took until episode three or four for anything to actually happen. But the promise of lesbians keeps me going. Status: Watching regularly.
• Clannad: I maintain that this show would be so much better if they would just ditch Nagisa entirely. Beyond that, I’m liking it better than I expected to. I do still wish that anyone looked somewhat close to how old they actually are / sound…but eh. Status: Watching regularly.
• Dragonaut: The Resonance: I can’t explain why I keep watching this show. I’m not really fond of the art style, the plot is pretty mediocre…and yet, I keep watching. I blame the boobies. Status: Watching regularly.
• Genshiken 2: Ogiue’s Sasahara x Madarama FTW. That is all. Status: Watching regularly.
• Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun: GOOO REIKA! GO GO GO! Mayu’s cute, but boring. Status: Watching regularly.
• Jyuushin Enbu: Story-wise it’s gotten better, but the art and animation are still incredibly mediocre compared to FMA, and the characters aren’t as cool either. Status: Watching every so-often.
• Kaiji: I’m interested in seeing where this goes, but running out of space on my anime plate for watching it. Status: Dropped for watching later.
• Kidou Senshi Gundam 00: Major improvements in terms of developing characters, but I think I still like the ending theme better than anything else about the show. Status: Watching regularly.
• KimiKiss: I like this show, and I think it’s because it’s a dating sim but not one that focuses on one guy and a dozen girls, but rather a group of friends (male and female) and their love lives. Status: Watching regularly.
• Kodomo no Jikan: Epic yet uncomfortable win. But I’ve ranted about this show being undervalued as mere pedo fodder enough, so suffice to say Status: Watching regularly.
• Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro: I would totally be watching this show IF ANYONE WOULD FREAKIN’ SUB IT. I’ve actually already seen people cosplay from the manga, and yet no one will sub the anime? Am I missing something? Status: Watching…if it ever comes out.
• Minamike: I like the show a lot, but almost all the comedy comes from either crazy middle sister Kana, or crazy Kana-like characters (Chiaki and Haruka each have a classmate with a similar dynamic). And Kana is never given the opportunity to have any redeeming features. Hmph. Status: Watching regularly.
• Moyashimon: This one’s a little behind, but I like it…though the agriculture 101 bits can be a little dull, the rest of the batshit insane stuff makes up for it. Status: Watching regularly.
• Night Wizard: I’m getting a little tired of Eris being the sweet, cheerful, flock-of-birds attracting Mary Sue, and annoyed at Renji being the show’s whipping boy with, like Minamike’s Kana, no real opportunity to redeem himself. Status: Considering dropping.
• Prism Ark: …One episode was really enough. Status: Dropped.
• Rental Magika: It got so boring in episode three I just couldn’t continue. Status: Dropped.
• Shinrei Kari / Ghost Hound: I still have some issues with the art style, but the pacing has picked itself up nicely and I’m curious to see where it’s going. Status: Watching regularly.
• Shion no Oh: Mmm, delicious trap, must eat. Status: Watching regularly.
• Shugo Chara! Mmm, delicious magical girl, must eat. This is probably one of the more solid shows of the season, IMO, though it’s obvious not for everyone. Status: Watching regularly.
• Suteki Tantei Labyrinth: Looks cute, but pretty dull– I’m more interested in the dolls than in anything to do with the main character. Status: Dropped.

• Title: Genshiken 2
• Studio: ARMS
• Genre: Comedy/Slice-of-Life

Ratings (out of 5):

• Story: ♥♥♥♥

• Animation: ♥♥♥
• Characters: ♥♥♥♥
• OP/ED Themes: ♥♥♥ (No OP yet)
• Overall: ♥♥♥♥ (This is a first date how, exactly?)
  

Thoughts:
Odds are, you already know what you need to know: it’s Genshiken, an anime about a college anime otaku club. There’s a first season (12 episodes IIRC), an OVA (3 episodes), and now season 2– and each picks up where the last left off, and pretty much just follows the manga. It’s a fun show, and occasionally it’s amazingly hilarious. One popular moment in season 1 occurs when member Madarame finds himself alone in the clubroom with Kasukabe, the sometimes violently anti-otaku girlfriend of member Kousaka, a video game wiz. Madarame imagines the scene as a dating sim as he tries to figure out the best way to interact with the caustic female. It’s genius.

But nothing so exciting in this first episode. And honestly, for those of you who HAVEN’T seen season 1 and the OVA: you’ll probably want to. Granted, it’s hard for me to think from the viewpoint of someone who hasn’t seen them, but it doesn’t seem that the directors decided to waste much effort introducing the characters for new viewers, though it probably isn’t all that hard to pick up on, either.

So! The season kicks off with a doozy, plot-wise: new club president Sasahara gets a notice in the mail saying that the club has been accepted to have a booth at “ComiFes” (ComiKet, of course). Now the rag-tag team has to actually make a book! But their main artist has never made a full doujinshi, just sketched, really…and on top of that, he’s working on getting a job. Luckily a new member, Ogiue, turns out to be a good artist…but she also claims to hate otaku.

On top of that, the club gets a visit from the obnoxious Haraguchi, former manga club president (and Genshiken member) who loves to butt in to other people’s projects. He offers to arrange for famous doujinshi creators to contribute to the Genshiken’s book, but the club decides they’d rather do their own thing…only to have Haraguchi admit that he’s actually already arranged everything. Yeesh.

The brilliance of Genshiken is each character has his or her own quirks and strengths, and I guarantee at least one character will make you go “I know someone like that!” It might be the reticent Ogiue, the sometimes wishy-washy Sasahara, the Geek Pride poster boy Madarame, or the over-excited “Kucchi.” And it’ll get even better later in the season– when a few of cosplayer Ohno’s friends from America come to check out ComiFes…