intermission : definitive list for winter 2011 watchlist

here are the series which have secured their respective 'highest priority' status within my [ zange's aside ] watchlist. please be noted that the following impressions were based solely on the two episodes [ per series ] that has aired so far [ although some titles already had their third episode aired by the time this post was submitted ].

01. PUELLA MAGI MADOKA★MAGICA
[ read our initial impression on the series here ]
it went on an impressive start, and it stays on impressing us with the sophomore episode. puella magi madoka magica can as well be regarded as a groundbreaking series within the mahou shoujo genre for its adherence towards shinbo akiyuki's stylistic trademark of jarring, surrealistic visual direction; something you would certainly not be seeing in the genre itself. as far as the first two episodes went so far, the series currently is in its exposition stage, where there's still a lot of details that has yet to be elaborated on - although the handful revelation on both puella magis [ magical girls ] and the certain uncanny existence[s] referred to only as witches somewhat helps in establishing the viewers of what to expect in future episodes to come.

02. KIMI NI TODOKE, SECOND SEASON
[ read our initial impression on the series here ]
a sequel to which we had high expectation in, and gladly for us it has yet to disappoint nor has it betrayed our expectation for as far as the first two episodes [ excluding episode 0 ] had went for the time being. from the look of it, sawako is still as awkward as she was in the first season when it comes to her growing affection towards kazehaya, and it doesn't help either that kazehaya himself are still holding up from taking the budding relationship the two had as of now to the next level.

03. HOUROU MUSUKO
[ read our initial impression on the series here ]
hourou musuko is the only series from the noitamina block that managed to prevail over our not-so-strict winter tasting session, while fractale somehow ended up in the on-hold list for not living up to our initial expectation [ as opposed to when the latter was first announced prior ]. from the first glimpse, some may find the subject hourou musuko were to touch upon to be highly uninteresting, as well as unappealing, given that there wasn't much of interest in regard to transsexualism topic due to it being the upmost taboo within normal society. that, to be frank, wasn't of any concern to us, and the series itself is a highly pleasant treat to both our eyes and ears - most notably for the splendid visual execution and the wonderfully woven accompanying background music. to sum it up, hourou musuko is best to be regarded as the most thought provoking as well as the most artistic entry this winter, alongside the aforementioned puella magi madoka magica above.

04. YUMEKUI MERRY
[ read our initial impression on the series here ]
drop dead gorgeous. yumekui merry is a series that's beautiful in every aspect and regard; the story [ despite were mildly confusing at the start of it ] and plot, the overall visual direction [ and execution ], its merry cast of characters etc. and if hourou musuko were the most artistic winter entry in literal sense, then yumekui merry can as well be regarded as such; in mainstream, contemporary appeal sense otherwise. that, and the emotional depth of its primary characters were just as closely prominent as hourou musuko's [ if not exact ], a point to which we were so greatly in favor of. also, the cameraworks aspect [ for an anime ] shines the best here, and should you were paying close enough attention then we're so entirely sure that you'd probably come to agree with us, as well as starting to appreciate the series even more for its subtle artistic behalf :3

05. GOSICK
[ read our initial impression on the series here ]
gosick, for one is the kind of series which has kept us entertained well mainly for the quirks and the very personality of its leading female character; victorique. that said, she most probably is the most charming and adorable female lead for winter, even towering above the moetastic fan favorites merry [ of yumekui merry ] and eucliwood of the loltastic kore wa zombie desu ka ?. the thriller side of the series -for the most part of it- has yet to reach a very solid feel, though we still find it as entertaining given the lack of murder-thriller series as of lately [ we're still hoping for something as excellent as the infamous higurashi no naku koro ni series to pop in anytime soon ].

06. IS : INFINITE STRATOS
[ read our initial impression on the series here ]
contrary to popular belief, infinite stratos is more than just a generic harem series where the [ only ] male lead were constantly portrayed as an useless, spineless alpha male chased down by a mob of archetypical females. the action half of the series so far has been quite visually pleasing and interestingly promising, and that were somewhat understandable given the fact that infinite stratos itself were produced by the same team that has given us macross frontier; a splendid series best known for its immersive drama and outstanding CGI-based dogfights. and besides, there's the glorious tsundere known as houki of whom i find next to impossible for me to ignore on :P

07. KORE WA ZOMBIE DESU KA ?
[ read our initial impression on the series here ]
it's been a while since i last laughed this much just from a comedy series, and that's a pretty impressive feat i must note there. comedy-wise, kore wa zombie desu ka ?'s quality in humor were -for the most part of it- much comparable to remarkable juggernauts such as seto no hanayome and bokusatsu tenshi dokuro-chan among others - the latter of which bores the most prominent resemblance in regard to the constant use of morbid, guro-driven humor to incite our neverending laughs. and comedies aside, the cast of characters looks peculiarly interesting themselves, especially when there's a chainsaw-totting masou shoujo set on loose within the set of the show.

08. HAIYORU ! NYARU-ANI : REMEMBER MY MR. LOVECRAFT
the closest contender to kore wa zombie desu ka ?'s status as the best comedy this winter, yet a pity however is that the series somehow retained its ridiculously brief runtime format from how it was [ as an online-exclusive ONA ] then. that aside, the jokes and its plethora of near-absurd humorous jabs were as lethal as how it was. not to mention the returning characters were just as greatly amusing as well, especially my personal favorite; cthuko.

09. DRAGON CRISIS
[ read our initial impression on the series here ]
dragon crisis -as of current- were in hold of the only mixed reception from both members of the editorial team [ although zange herself didn't bother on resuming her watch over this one, according to our most recent conversation ], with the only point of savior for the series being the inclusion of kugyuu-sama within its seiyuu cast. that, and the two episodes that has been aired so far kept on reminding me of the gonzo-produced dragonaut -the resonance-; which bores greatest conceptual / thematic resemblance to the series for as far as the second episode had went. despite all that, dragon crisis is still watchable and it is very less unlikely for the series to be dropped from my winter watchlist anytime soon, unless it suddenly went downhill in every regard [ please keep in mind that studio deen's the one on the helm right here, and they can sometimes lose their interest in the very series they produced ].

[ too much of isana might be a bit of an overkill, so here's a nice sideview of houki x cecilia for a change ]

two other series which didn't make their cut for this post, yet were still on my personal watchlist at the time being; freezing and rio : ranbow gate. btw, it should be apparent from the prelude post that our chief editor zange wasn't any interested in these two at all.

EDIT : i've amended the current ranking of each series, with yumekui merry currently awarded the fourth highest rank - to which is a remarkable rise in status compared to how it was evaluated initially. and that's a solid proof to just how wonderful the series is, according to my personal perspective that is :3

[ cosplay ] midori kanda : ikaros vol. 2

layer : Midori Kanda
character : Ikaros
series : Sora no Otoshimono
score : *****

expanding from where we had left with the initial post, here are several other images of midori-san in her excellent ikaros-get, giving us further insight into the overall execution and how well she had nailed the character from how we perceive it [ bust size aside ]; spot on [ facial ] expression[s] and a very well done job in costume selection - the latter of which excellently match the original design seen in the anime [ for a better comparison, to note ].

[ all images are property of kimokamehiro ]

intermission : hime's female character of choice this winter

technically, it is kind of early for us to roll out a favorite list such as this, judging from the fact that winter was just beginning and there isn't much episode from each aired anime has been released so far for us to properly assess and judge over which characters should be enrolled into this particular list of ours. but anyway, despite of all that we still wanted to proceed with the list, and for this one here we'll solely be relying on the first impressions we've had so far over each mentioned characters, from the first two [ or three, depends ] episodes they were featured in to date.

01. HOMURA AKEMI : PUELLA MAGI MADOKA★MAGICA
a cool female transfer student with ojousama-type demeanor and a secret double life after school. homura were as well a puella magi [ read : mahou shoujo ], hunting witches and battling weird, surrealistic monsters for the witch seeds. doesn't seem to favor on teamwork much, and prefers more on being the lone ranger rather than being dragged down and having to worry much about her comrades. well i kinda fancy such attitude, but that doesn't seem to last long especially one can pretty much tell that she'd soon be warming up to madoka, and the two will indeed pair each other out in their hunt for the witches. for the most part of her, she's kind of resembling my favorite ojousama chikane himemiya from the kannazuki no miko-fame; thus the more reason for her to be ranked this high on my list.

02. ISANA TACHIBANA : YUMEKUI MERRY
a childhood friend of the male protagonist with bright, friendly as well as optimistic personality and attitude. also, she seems to have quite a caring personality as apparent from her quick bonding to merry, despite not knowing much [ of anything ] in regard to the latter. presumably a waifu-type character; the quality among which i often took a quick liking to. not to mention she had among the best character design this winter, and can easily tower over the rest [ including first seater homura akemi ] in terms of her chara-design alone :3

03. VICTORIQUE DE BLOIS : GOSICK
it's easy to mistake her for a doll at first glimpse, only to came into later realization that she's just as human as you, and can be very well entertaining to look at when she's bored. an exceptional detective despite her rather frail look, and were capable of adapting herself into the crime scene with ease, thus producing neat, close monitoring and splendid assessment in unlocking several crates of the mysteries at hand.

04. HOUKI SINONONO : INFINITE STRATOS
glorious tsundere. nuff said.

05. MERRY NIGHTMARE : YUMEKUI MERRY
a dream demon who've lost her way into reality, and constantly fights her way through other reality-invading dream demons in order to return to where she came from. and yes obviously this one here goes into the list without much saying - though she could've beaten houki in regard of the fourth rank of the list, but houki however hold the most definitive weapon ever at her disposal, and for that, merry had to accept and be content with her seating at fifth... but being fifth wasn't much of a bad spot either, right ? [ p/s : merry and her donuts made me goes *moeverload* ]

06. SERAPHIM : KORE WA ZOMBIE DESU KA ?
a mysterious ninja vampire with glorious dynamite body and super-foul mouth + attitude combi, as well as her [ somewhat ] interesting preference in making the ceiling as her place of refuge. certainly it was a really tough competition -as well as decision- for me to decide between her and everyone's favorite eucliwood hellscythe, though the latter fell short in the list as my sense of preference kicks in, especially when sera [ as she chose to nickname herself ] bores quite a resemblance to my glorious kaorin-neesama; particularly on her look and slightly on her attitude [ kaorin-neesama however is a bit more benign, especially as of lately ]. in the end, dynamite glorious bodies always win, in my case :D

07. CTHUKO : HAIYORU ! NYARU-ANI : REMEMBER MY MR. LOVECRAFT
a [ lovecraftian ] great old one who currently freeloads in mahiru's household since the initial ONA, together with her [ one-sided ] love interest nyarlko prior to the arrival of atoko. throughout the series, she's been depicted as the stoic, and the most awkward of the bunch given her affinity for nyarlko [ read : yuri ] and her seemingly lack of common sense in regard to earth and its customs; such as pondering on whether goldfish really does not have a pair of feet, after supposedly feeding mahiru's pet goldfish with a pet [?] food she bought from intergalactic market - resulting in the fish to have grown a pair of feet much to mahiru's discontent. also, she's a deviant at best, and will probably not be giving in herself nor her principles to others' - save for nyarlko definitely.

[ might as well cut as a fine yandere, but please no. i love her the way she is now best ]

p/s 01 : just for the note; i've decided to go for a [ rather peculiar ] top seven instead of the usual top five for the list. why ? it's because seven is my lucky number, and since i'm terrible at picking up top 5s i could just cheat and slide in two more names into the list. well it's our blog, and i am free to cheat as however i am pleased, right ? xD

p/s 02 : Q > assuming that you love isana A LOT, will you be changing the current blog header / banner to one with an image of her soon ? | A > probably not, i guess. well fumino is still in hold of the number one spot on my overall favorite list, and as long as she's in the lead, she'll be staying up there for as long as she desire so :3

hourou musuko : first impression

HOUROU MUSUKO
studio : AIC Classic
director : Ei Aoki
serial run : January 14, 2011 - ongoing
total episode : 11
hime's priority rank : 03
zange's priority rank : 02

HIDEYOSHI ? HE'S SO YESTERDAY. NITORIN IS THE NOW

hourou musuko [ or wandering son, as localized by several other sites out there ] is one of the two series produced for fuji tv's widely acclaimed noitamina block; with the other one being fractale directed by none other than yutaka yamamoto [ of lucky star / kannagi / black rock shooter fame ] via his newfound studio ordet; the latter of which didn't made its cut for our 'first impression' series [ but will certainly be covered upon in future posts / full-fledged review ]. anyway, hourou musuko for one were among the many instant favorite of us this winter even before it is aired, primarily due to the transsexualism theme and setting it is to tackle upon, which indeed had us very well intrigued.

as mentioned in the final line of the paragraph above, the major portion of the story plays around the transsexualism, as well as the ensuing social stigma issues [ often associated with the former ], where two of its primary characters were youths in their prime, trying to deal themselves both psychologically and socially with their growing interest and desire to live as the opposite gender. both were depicted at the start of the [ anime ] series as to have taken some level of initiative, with nitorin's being the first to have been shown caught and shown some disinterest with, notably by one of his own family member. the rest of the series rooted its way into the casual slice-of-life route, not any different than those of tamayura or honey and clover, among others.

aside from the seemingly intriguing plot and excellent, captivating storytelling, hourou musuko were as well best regarded by fans around the fandom for its lush, splendid visual production value and ear pleasing musical scores; both points of which helps in delivering the story in the most elegant yet casual way possible. the foreground / background art - for the entirety of the series - were exquisitely rendered in soft, breezy watercolor touch; even more so than most known watercolor-based series such as kimikiss -pure rouge-, for example. this splendid choice of visual / art direction greatly helps in amplifying the mood and the emotional intensity of the characters aside from strengthening its artistic value to those who've held quite a large concern over the latter.

[ this is admiral ackbar to rogue leader; IT'S A TRAP ! ]

should you were already fan of casual, free-spirited slice of life series in the likes of aria, tamayura or honey and clover [ among others ] then we, the +ophanium team as a collective would like to [ greatly ] recommend that you give hourou musuko a check-and-watch this winter. and believe us [ for just this once ] that this is one series that should not be missed out, for as much as the highly regarded kimi ni todoke II is.

[ cosplay ] mahiru : yui

layer : Mahiru
character : Yui
series : Angel Beats !
score : *****

there wasn't much of her yui-get available anywhere, and this is the only best one [ okay i lied, there's one other but we loved this one better anyway ] i could find after being lurking around for how many months ? i forgot :D

so anyway, it is very much apparent from the 'only image' above that mahiru-san did a praisingly well done job with her cosplay of yui; she got her look and visual resemblance to the character right, and even her costume were done neat, though the latter could as well be attributed to pre-made costume bought from a cosplay boutique. nevertheless, above was among the closest cosplay of yui you can ever get from the masses while many others fail or didn't really quite at it on their respective attempts; save for two other prominent layers uriu-san and yun kousaka-san.

[ above image is the property of kaki ]

[ cosplay ] uriu : ekaterina 'katja' kurae

layer : Uriu
character : Ekaterina 'Katja' Kurae
series : Seikon no Qwaser
score : ****1/2

a close call for some, yet a fine lovely one for us. yes she did a fine job in retaining the look and feel of katja; her facial expressions [ though were lacking of the grimmer, sadist part the respective character most prominently known for ], and her costumes were, for the most part looks accurately developed and executed, albeit we weren't quite agreeable on the choice of material for her top, as well as the handwork does seem a little less refined on certain parts of it. but regardless of that, it's a well done piece, and we're so greatly approving of this :3

[ all images are property of muki ]

happy birthday, akiyama mio~!

[ now listening to : hello little girl by hikasa yoko ]

[ cosplay ] midori kanda : nymph

layer : Midori Kanda
character : Nymph
series : Sora no Otoshimono
score : *****

MY NYMPH CAN'T BE THIS SEXY~!- *MOEXPLODES*

frankly speaking, we [ at +ophanium specifically ] really didn't saw this coming at all; and just as how she had us ultimately surprised with her index-get during last year's winter comiket, this nymph-get of her as well were not anywhere within our list of expectation in regard to which character she'd be cosplaying next; assuming that her choices were often set primarily on either glorious tsunderekko, sexy twintails bishoujo or badass oneesama-type, and seldom were to include loli-type characters in the likes of [ above ] nymph, sora, fate testarossa [ yup, she've done your precious loli-fate as well :3 ] and index [ above all ]. oh well, a change of expectation would be fine once in a while, right ? xD

surprises aside anyway, midori-san once again did a really fine job with this latest project of her, though it may be greatly overshadowed by sue-san's magnificent [ and more accurately pinpointed ] nymph-get of recent when it comes down to the character likeness factor of course. still yet however, she did a pretty amazing job in capturing the look [ those expressions she had on her face were almost dead on ], feel and character of nymph, and is very much comparable to sue-san's portrayal of the same character. also, her tactically-wise chara-planning by getting into nymph's casual look are to be commended upon, as she seems to understand perfectly well [ unlike many of those who chose to remain ignorant ] that her physical built and look are of no loli-type, unlike sue-san.

[ all images are property of kimokamehiro ]

[ cosplay ] sue : nymph

layer : Sue
character : Nymph
series : Sora no Otoshimono
score : *****

ｷﾀ━━━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━━━ !!!!!

these, are among the very definition of the highly sought remark 'epic win' in cosplay sense. and nymph has never looked this gorgeously delivered in 3D until sue-san went and pick her up for her next cosplay project, which in turn came to be one of her best [ or to be twice more precise; greatest ] effort ever to date, again.

and so in our greatest sincere, words alone aren't enough to describe the level of magnificence and glory that has been constantly radiating from this uber-wonderful nymph-get here; for it is a highly accurate masterpiece in regard to every single aspect of it - her wig, her costume [ she made them herself, yes ] and even her physical resemblance / chemistry to the character of choice; and they were all seemingly tackled with much care and high level of attention on every aspect and detail so to result in something with less to no apparent flaw as this.

[ all images are property of kimokamehiro ]

gosick : first impression

GOSICK
studio : BONES
director : Hitoshi Nanba
serial run : January 7, 2011 - ongoing
total episode : 24
hime's priority rank : 04
zange's priority rank : 03

SHINKU HOLMES GOES DETECTIVE KUN KUN

a murder mystery thriller set in a fictional european country somewhere in post victorian / edwardian-era times; that, certainly is something i'd be fast to stick my nose and interest to, considering the huge mania i always am over anything that is clad in lavish, exquisite victorian taste such as this [ my greatest thanks to both mana of malice mizer and rozen maiden for triggering the 'victorian mania' in me ]. and also not to mention that i'm usually in for detective stories - especially those concerning of murders, like this particular series in question; so twice the concrete reason for me to fell in love with gosick here.

frankly speaking, it wasn't much of an impressive start with gosick here, and might as well be viewed as being on par with how heroman debuted itself way back then; [ though i'll clearly state it here that gosick has certainly gave out twice much better impression than heroman was then of course ]. still however i find the unusually fast pacing to be something of interest despite the huge sacrifice it has made in regard to further introducing the main cast of characters, in exchange for heading straight on to the mystery at hand. a hasty start definitely is the more proper definition i could ever give in for the first and only episode aired at this point of time.

i find it much too early for me to comment on any of the primary characters here, as most of them were yet to be properly introduced in full detail at this point of time. with that said though, victorique on the other hand is an easy favorite for me from the get go, mainly due to her quirky personality into which i had rooted a great deal of interest in; for i especially love it when she's in her bored mode, and that's when and where all the fun came in for me in regard to her character, as well as the series in general. as for kazuya well he does had some merit in him to which i find somewhat worthy to be looked forward to in learning more [ rather than hastily throwing the stones at him this early into the series ].

[ you don't go ransacking a lady's case, my dear fine young gentleman ]

so as with most [ if not all ] of bones productions to date, my greatest praise goes -in entirety- to the visual / animation department as always. the studio has certainly did a pretty good job in recreating the look, feel and mood of the victorian / edwardian times, and their next-to-flawless attention to details [ which stood in the same level of greatness as other renowned premium animation studios like kyoto animation, j.c. staff's -team toradora- and gainax, for example ] are something to be mesmerized upon, aside from serving as the primary weapon and the ultimate point of strength for gosick here.

kore wa zombie desu ka ? : first impression

KORE WA ZOMBIE DESU KA ?
studio : Studio DEEN
director : Takaomi Kanasaki
serial run : January 11, 2011 - ongoing
total episode :
hime's priority rank : 06
zange's priority rank : 05

NOT YOUR TYPICAL ZOMBIE-HORROR DRAMA

a particular habit of mine is that i usually watch my anime / movies whatever with drinks in hand; most usually tea or coffee being the beverage of choice. and speaking of drinks, well it has been a while since i last sprayed [ yet not entirely drenching ] my monitor with the coffee i had in my mouth, thankfully for being caught off guard by hard hitting jokes that was shown on the screen while i was pleasantly sipping or gurgling my coffee. that said, the closest instance of this coffee-to-monitor-spray-get was last summer when the sexually pun-tastic seitokai yakuindomo were still being aired, yet it was recently that i get to have another go at it - much thanks to kore wa zombie desu ka ?, a series to which i believe should not be taken lightly in case you're in for the same habit as mine.

kore wa zombie desu ka ? by far is the most solid sitcom to have graced the winter block yet; at first glimpse it may not be appealing much especially if you're the kind to be easily turned off by the so called generic harem / eroge look and design. but sincerely speaking, do not... i repeat, DO NOT ever let its outward appearance fool you as the series had itself armed with massive fist punches that were highly guaranteed to handsomely break and / or shatter your ribs as if they were made of glasses; and that, should in case you be paying less attention and carelessly neglected your guard as how i initially was. its comedy, for one is of a really high taste according to how i perceive them, and possibly shares much of the same prowess as seto no hanayome, penguin musume heart or bokusatsu tenshi dokuro-chan just for the note.

comedy factor aside, the overall look of the series really does fit my taste well though this one too were generic-looking at best. still, generic it may be but i do consider the character design -for one- as saccharine cute and visually appealing, and that is more than pleasing enough for me, yes. the entire animation on the other hand were done in such a good fashion, especially when it comes to action-filled sequence like the battle with that certain crawfish megalo; you can feel the adrenaline at work, and this is among the best part of xebec which i often look up to since love hina. the inclusion of several visual gags such as the [ suggested by many ] nod to nanaca crash also helps in heightening the comedic mood and delivery of the series.

[ the merry, uncanny party of three ]

another interesting factor of the series is its primary party of characters - there has only been three introduced so far; the zombie guy of whom is the ultimate comedy generator among others, a seemingly mute necromancer from the underworld who communicates through pen and paper - usually just to indicate her desire to eat something up and last but not least a self-proclaimed 'masou shoujo' - your classic mahou shoujo - armed with a pink magical chainsaw and a really, really bad attitude to boot. now, assemble said three above within a single premise and all you will get is a neverending supply of excellent roflmaos to fill up your anime nights. .

dragon crisis ! : first impression

DRAGON CRISIS !
studio : Studio DEEN
director : Hideaki Tachibana
serial run : January 11, 2011 - ongoing
total episode :
hime's priority rank : 10
zange's priority rank : -

ICE ICE RYUJI

kugyu-sama returns -with full effect- this winter block via dragon crisis !; a series among many which are best known for being one of those hastily panned by so-called-critics in the name of 'a festive bag of rehashes and cliches'; and to such assumption which i personally am quite impressed at how overly fanatic they can become towards originality - much to the point of quickly dismissing a series just for adopting familiar concept[s] without giving much chance for these panned series to unveil their other cards in hand. so anyway, based upon a little research i did earlier i just came to realize over the fact that the series' director [ tachibana-sensei ] had previously directed [ or at least participated in the production of ] a number of episodes from some of my favorites series to note; azumanga daioh, h2o : footprints in the sand, honey and clover, kamichu ! and r.o.d. -the tv- among others, and knowing that alone provided me with more enough reason to invest my interest into dragon crisis !

story and plotwise; there wasn't much explanation made as of yet at this point of time [ and from my point that is, thus you can easily dismiss this opinion of mine should you find proper ], especially in regard to the ever recurring term 'lost precious' which is often mentioned and brought over [ and over again ] by keiko for as far as the first episode was concerned. also, a thorough explanation on rose and her kin will be twice more helpful [ and welcomed ] should they be properly elaborated on, preferably as soon as this coming second episode; proving just how eager i am to learn and immerse myself with the story in offer, and thus showing just how the overall concept and premise of the series wasn't necessarily all that stale, bland nor tastelessly unattractive as how some has let themselves to believe in.

the overall art direction + visual presentation were average at best, and at times somewhat reminds me of other works done by xebec and j.c. staff; though more precisely reminding me of the latter in particular. the character design for one were conceived in such a very nice taste, adequately emphasizing each characters' point of charm and attractiveness although the boys does seem to be rendered a bit dull and less impressive in design, from my perspective that is. still nevertheless the series has given out a pleasantly appealing visual look to itself though dragon crisis ! may not be as visually impressive as gosick, infinite stratos or yumekui merry were.

[ even dragon are tempted to the charm and pleasure of ice creams ]

frankly speaking, yes i can as well be precisely more [ cruel and realistically ] critical like most other reviewers out there - going about in my [ since forgotten ] 'connoisseur mode' and criticize many, many things in regard to the series; yet however i've decided not to so as to maintain the bright, optimistic viewpoint for which is the very essence and point of interest of this blog here. and so, regardless of the amount of rehashes and cliches that can be found every here and there in dragon crisis !, the series did went it way for a really good job in keeping me all interested and entertained - primarily through the existence of rose alone; most especially via her naivety and curiosity-filled interaction with the other characters and the presumably [ not so ] alien environment around her. those, and her exceptional level of moe of course, without a doubt |3

dog days : coming this april

more great stuff for us to look forward to this year; recently it was announced in the february issue of newtype magazine that dog days; the latest brainchild of mahou shoujo lyrical nanoha franchise creator tsuzuki masaki has been confirmed for production, and were set to run this coming april - much to our joy. said original animation will as well be produced by seven arcs which has previously brought us our aforementioned favorite nanoha, as well as sekirei and asuka cryin'. overall direction will be helmed by the director who once directed the latter two sequels of the nanoha tv series; kusakawa keizo, with character design done by sakata osamu - the latter of whose design has already won our hearts out :3

several prominent names were as well detected in regard to the CV department, with our favorite seiyuus such as yui horie, nana mizuki, ayana taketatsu, ami koshimizu, yoko hikasa [ she sure does bloom well with her career these days ], and kana asumi providing their respective voiceworks among others. it will be twice more awesome should yukarin as well were enlisted into the cast x3

p/s : is that raising heart i see thar ?

[ initial sauce and heads up credited to our associates moetron and cowboybibimbop | official tv anime site ]

hime's choice : best of 2010, in anime

for two straight years we've neglected on putting up our best of [ insert year here ] list due to several internal issues. this year however, we've decided to kickstart the classic obligatory list so to mark our renewed direction as a hybrid aniblog, as well as to join in the fun with others who had shared theirs long before us. and so with that said, hereby is our '2010 anime of choice' list, personally handpicked from series we've seen throughout the magnificent year of 2010 [ fall, for one was among the best season to ever graced us last year ].

please take note there are series which has yet to find their way into the list [ mitsudomoe, for example. and we highly regret for not having our watch of the first season while it's still oven fresh ], yet however due to the dynamic nature of this list, the aforementioned series might sooner or later find it's name sneakily inserted into any of the specific mention as follow

[ honorable mention : best summer series ]

01. BEST WINTER SERIES
> DURARARA !!
honorable mentions : Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, Sora no Woto, Hanamaru Youchien

02. BEST SPRING SERIES
> K-ON !!
honorable mentions : Angel Beats !, Working !!, Mayoi Neko Overrun !

03. BEST SUMMER SERIES
> SEIKIMATSU OCCULT GAKUIN
honorable mentions : Highschool of The Dead, Amagami SS, Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi

04 BEST AUTUMN SERIES
> PANTY & STOCKING WITH GARTERBELT
honorable mentions : Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, Yosuga no Sora, Bakuman

05. BEST 2010 SERIES
> K-ON !!
honorable mentions : Durarara !!, Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin

[ editor's choice : best slice of life series ]

06. BEST SLICE OF LIFE SERIES
> K-ON !!
honorable mentions : Sora no Woto, Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, Working !!

07. BEST COMEDY SERIES
> SORA NO OTOSHIMONO : FORTE
honorable mentions : Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, Shinryaku ! Ika Musume

08. BEST ROMANTIC COMEDY SERIES
> MAYOI NEKO OVERRUN !
honorable mentions : Kiss x Sis, Kaichou wa Maid-sama !, Motto To Love-Ru

09. BEST ROMANTIC / DRAMA SERIES
> AMAGAMI SS
honorable mention : Otome Youkai Zakuro, Yosuga no Sora, Kaichou wa Maid-sama !

10. BEST ACTION / DRAMA SERIES
> HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD
honorable mention : Durarara !!, To Aru Majutsu no Index II, Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

11. BEST MECHA SERIES
> N/A

[ editor's choice : best ova ]

12. BEST THEATRICAL RELEASE ( based on dvd / blu ray release )
> SUZUMIYA HARUHI NO SHOUSHITSU
honorable mentions : Evangelion 2.22 : You Can [ Not ] Advance, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann : Lagann-hen, Macross Frontier : Itsuwari no Utahime

13. BEST OVA
> BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER
honorable mentions : Koe de Oshigoto, Yozakura Quartet : Hoshi no Umi, Hen Zemi

14. BEST ONA / SHORT ANIME SERIES
> TAMAYURA
honorable mentions : Haiyoru ! Nyaru-ani, Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu, Mirai Nikki

15. BEST ERO-OVA SERIES
> SONO HANABIRA NI KUCHIZUKE WO : ANATA TO KOIBITO TSUNAGI
honorable mentions : Kanojo x Kanojo x Kanojo, Choukou Sennin Haruka, Fukibiki ! Triangle : Miharu After

16. BEST SEQUEL MENTION
> K-ON !!
honorable mentions : Sora no Otoshimono : Forte, Tegami Bachi : Reverse, Motto To Love-Ru

[ honorable mention : best female character in a series ]

17. BEST MALE CHARACTER IN A SERIES
> MORITAKA MASHIRO + AKITO TAKAGI [ BAKUMAN ]
honorable mentions : Tomoki Sakurai [ Sora no Otoshimono : Forte ], Chuck [ Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt ], Takumi Usui [ Kaichou wa Maid-sama ! ]

18. BEST FEMALE CHARACTER IN A SERIES
> FUMINO SERIZAWA [ MAYOI NEKO OVERRUN ! ]
honorable mentions : Anarchy Stocking [ Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt ], Saeko Busujima [ Highschool of The Dead ], Astraea [ Sora no Otoshimono : Forte ]

19. BEST 'TRAP' CHARACTER IN A SERIES
> HIDEYOSHI KINOSHITA [ BAKA TO TEST TO SHOUKANJUU ]
honorable mentions : 'Kotori-chan' [ Working !! ], 'Tatsumi Antoinette XVI' [ MM ! ], Joey Jones [ Heroman ]

20. BEST MALE CHARACTER IN A THEATRICAL / OVA RELEASE
> SIMON [ TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN : LAGANN-HEN ]
honorable mentions : Lancer [ Unlimited Blade Works ], Akira Takizawa [ Eden of The East ], Shirou Emiya [ Unlimited Blade Works ]

21. BEST FEMALE CHARACTER IN A THEATRICAL / OVA RELEASE
> YUKI NAGATO [ SUZUMIYA HARUHI NO SHOUSHITSU ]
honorable mentions : Asuka Langley-Shikinami [ Evangelion 2.22 ], Sheryl Nome [ Macross Frontier : Itsuwari no Utahime ], Rin Tohsaka [ Unlimited Blade Works ]

22. SPECIAL MENTION 01 : BEST TSUNDERE CHARACTER IN A SERIES / THEATRICAL RELEASE
> FUMINO SERIZAWA [ MAYOI NEKO OVERRUN ! ]
honorable mentions : Asuka Langley-Shikinami [ Evangelion 2.22 ], Saya Takagi [ Highschool of The Dead ], Rin Tohsaka [ Unlimited Blade Works ]

[ editor's choice : best tsundere character in a series / theatrical release ]

23. BEST DIRECTION IN A SERIES
> DURARARA !!
honorable mentions : K-ON !!, Sora no Woto, Black★Rock Shooter

24. BEST ART DIRECTION + VISUAL EXECUTION / PRODUCTION IN A SERIES
> K-ON !!
honorable mentions : Durarara !!, Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, Black★Rock Shooter

25. BEST SCREENPLAY IN A SERIES
> DURARARA !!
honorable mentions : Black★Rock Shooter, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, Yosuga no Sora,

26. BEST MUSICAL SCORE IN A SERIES
> PANTY & STOCKING WITH GARTERBELT
honorable mentions : Sora no Woto, Otome Youkai Zakuro, Sora no Otoshimono : Forte

27. SPECIAL MENTION 02 : PRODUCTION STUDIO OF CHOICE FOR 2010
> KYOTO ANIMATION [ K-ON !!, SUZUMIYA HARUHI NO SHOUSHITSU ]
honorable mentions : Gainax [ Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt ], J.C. Staff's 'Toradora ! Team' [ Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi ], Ordet [ Black★Rock Shooter ]

28. SPECIAL MENTION 03 : BEST FANSERVICE IN A SERIES
> HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD
honorable mentions : Kiss x Sis, Yosuga no Sora, Motto To Love-Ru

[ honorable mention : best fanservice in a series ]