[Winter 2014] anime IS COMING

[PLCDreamcatcher14]

Nobunaga the Fool Episode 3-

This is quite an interesting show. I'm not really sure where it's headed though. But I must say, I adore the art and animation...and that ED.

Space Dandy Episode 4 Dub-

This is one of those rare shows where you really don't mind the lack of plot or character development cause it's just so darn silly, funny, and entertaining! SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The way everyone became zombies and just casually excepted everything and then the snipers working for the insurance companies hunting them down just to avoid paying benefits... Then it turned around and back fired on them. Seriously, what is this show and why am I enjoying it so much? XD

[MangaRocks!]

Space Dandy episode 3:

...Y'know what, with this episode I've now come to realize that I have no reason to continue watching this series. Between this ep. being pretty boring (IMO), not funny at all (also IMO), SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Dandy simply leaving Meow to be digested at first and only coming back because he had the card... and then still leaving him anyway (another 'joke' which I didn't find at all funny), and that particular alien's... er... character design SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (when transformed, I mean) , I did not enjoy this episode; and, looking back over the first three ep.'s overall, their annoyances have outweighed their amusements by quite a bit for me personally -- so, I'm officially dropping this. (Oh well...)



Tonari no Seki-kun episode 4:

Bwahaha, so this time the focus was SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Go! And having some background on the actual (serious) game (thanks to the {excellent, BTW } Hikaru no Go manga) just made this even funnier.



Hamatora episode 4:

Ah, I was wondering when these two characters would be introduced. That's quite a neat power the girl has, and the two of them work quite well together, too. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: LOL though at that commercial and poor Murasaki's reactions to it. And oh my goodness, that old grandma was hilariously awesome, bwaha!! Also: I liked the case again-- but holy crap, man, that villain... And then, after all of that, randomly giving his (blood-soaked, though ) jacket away to that kid at the end out of (seemingly) genuine concern... Gah, that psycho seriously gives me the shivers (which is a good thing, because it means that he's a quite effective villain, IMO). (Speaking of which, that was an interesting little comment Art made about not letting Nice and Moral meet-- which of course means that they most certainly will , however I'm just curious as to what precisely Art envisioned happening...)



And Chuunibyou Ren episode 4:
LOL, this show is just so cute. (This and TnS are the perfect day-brighteners! )

[Crossfire]

Space Dandy 5. Thought it was pretty funny and heartwarming... Dandy actually uses his brain and does something legitimately nice SPOILER: Highlight text to read: and with no deaths at the end!!. Dare I say the episode had that Bebop feel to it- sadly it looks like the same cannot be said for the next one. Oh well. As long as more episodes are like this week's, I won't regret keeping up with the show.

[Ronigirl]

Currently I'm watching: Nisekoi, Silver Spoon Season 2, Nourin, Engaged to the Unidentified, the second season of Chuunibyou, Tonari no Seki-kun, and Norigami.

I'm really enjoying Nisekoi more than I thought I would. I'm even considering cosplaying the main blonde girl (Kirisaki). XD lol

Engaged to the Unidentified is surprisingly awesome! I'm a sucker for romantic comedies, but I expected this one to be long a boring. It's really picked up, and I'm expecting a lot from it now. lol

Chunnibyou is continuing to make me squee from cuteness and cringe from embarrassment of my own 8th grade syndrome. lol If they end it well it might end up being one of my favorite animes.

[Mouse2010]

I really liked Space Dandy ep. 5, too. I guess Dandy does have some redeeming qualities, despite so much of the evidence to the contrary!

To be fair, though, I also enjoyed episode 4, even though it wasn't quite what I had expected.

[MangaRocks!]

^ (Re: Crossfire/Mouse:) Still not going to get me to un-drop it, though, LOL.



Tonari no Seki-kun episode 5:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Ha! The addition of a third (and truly meddlesome) character to the mix was brilliant! I mean, his self-centeredness/obliviousness was pretty terrible, but oh my gosh was it funny. And that double K.O. at the end...



Hamatora episode 5:

Oh. My. Gosh! That was quite possibly the best 'hot springs' episode in the history of ever, LOL!! Not only was it not even fanservicey (well, *female*-fanservicey, I mean ), it was one of the most hysterically funny things I've seen in a very long time! SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Between the unexpected complete-reversal of the hostage trope with all the bad guys being 'not interested in women,' ROTFL (oh my gosh... ), the target's Minimum + the way he activated it + the good guys' reactions to it, and then several of them temporarily falling under said Minimum's influence... oh man, I was actually crying, I was laughing so hard! And then of course the girls finally got to be the ones to kick butt, which I quite approve of. (But then that slime backup plan to counter them... and the surfing... ) Seriously, I haven't laughed that hard in ages. Plus, there was actually a really good SPOILER: Highlight text to read: twist at the end, too!



And Chuunibyou Ren episode 5:

Trust this show to make an entire episode about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: competitive napping (?!) so amusing, LOL. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Also: Who knew that a sleep battle would be so awesome? Oh, and words to live by: "Nap hard, play hard, banish hard!"

[GeneD]

I'm already horribly late into the season and won't have time for as many shows as previous seasons, so everyone give me recommendations for about 2 or 3 (or 4) shows that would be worth my while to catch up on and follow.

MAL link's in my sig if you really want to see what kind of shows I like. I'm still watching Kill la Kill, Samurai Flamenco and Yowamushi Pedal from last season and already picked up Tonari no Seki-kun because of the short episode length. I won't be watching Silver Spoon s2 because I'm following the manga and would rather spend my time on something that I haven't already seen in another format.

[ForeverInspired]

So far, I think some of the best are Noragami, The Pilot's Love Song, Buddy Complex (the only thing is that the method of joining powers is called "coupling" - weird, I know :/), and Hamatora. Nonetheless, that is my stance after watching only 4-5 episodes of each.

I really like Nisekoi, but I've been told that it is pretty cliche... so I guess it's more of a guilty pleasure? I've also heard from manga readers that, depending upon where the director decides to end the series, it may end on a great deal of boring filler. Thus, to be cautious, it's not one of the top four. I am also hesitant to suggest Nobunagun since it is hit or miss - definitely not for everyone. The character interactions can sometimes aggravate the viewer and the super powers are a little overdone. I'm not recommending Chuunibyou since it's just like last season with one more character introduced. Don't get me wrong, the first season was solid, but I didn't find it that engaging. If you liked it, then by all means watch season 2. At this point (through episode 3), there's not much drama yet - it's more comical.

Honestly, I would recommend Magi: The Kingdom of Magic first and foremost before those four because it is EPIC right now after a somewhat slow starting arc. The only thing is that it started last fall. The other two-season anime that is even better than Magi is Kuroko no Basket 2. The only thing is that I think you haven't seen the first season. Even though I love sports, I came into this anime thinking basketball was boring... and boy did this anime prove me wrong. The character interactions are stupendous and I know so many people that watch this anime even though they are not into sports. It's just that good. Since you watched Free, just imagine that series made x 10,000 times better. Yes, that's Kuroko for you.

Wow, that was way more than you asked for. Sorry! O.O

[MangaRocks!]

Well, aside from the excellent TnS , I can also certainly recommend the other two Winter shows I'm watching, Chuunibyou season 2 and Hamatora.

[skreyola]

No love for Gin no Saji ssn 2? I'm looking forward to watching it; am I alone?

[GeneD]

No love for Gin no Saji ssn 2? I'm looking forward to watching it; am I alone?

I enjoyed the first season a lot and I'm pretty sure there's a lot of love for it here, but I did say:

I won't be watching Silver Spoon s2 because I'm following the manga and would rather spend my time on something that I haven't already seen in another format.

[Mouse2010]

Just watched Space Dandy episode 6. I feel like the ending scene, with music, must be parodying some SPOILER: Highlight text to read: surfing movie that I haven't seen. Anyone know?

[MangaRocks!]

Tonari no Seki-kun episodes 6-7:

Heh, that was a nice little Easter Egg in the former ep.'s OP SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (with Seki actually giving Yokoi an 'OK' sign instead of a 'retake' one). As for the ep. itself: ROTFL at Seki making a robot family and playing house with them instead of having them battle or something, and then totally not taking the school's emergency drill seriously but making the robot family do so in his stead. Also ROTFL at the complete role reversal at the end, including Seki's reactions. (And that 'theme song,' oh my gosh... ) And then in the second ep., I loved the fact that Seki got the entire class involved , and was mimicking postal rules and everything (including weird size restrictions, long forms, and closing even when they know you're in line, LOL)!



Hamatora episode 6:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Hmm, so Art had a younger brother who died (and how much you want to bet that it was Moral who left those strange flowers? )... seems like there's a story there (and I hope it gets told at some point). Speaking of which, I quite liked the backstory on Birthday and Ratio. And ha, I knew it-- so that's Moral's power, camouflaging himself as someone else. (No wonder he's been hard to catch, even once they knew it was him.) And, of course, now that Nice knows about Moral, he wants to meet him-- which is precisely what Art didn't want... Looking forward to next week!



And Chuunibyou Ren episode 6:
Adorable as always.

[MangaRocks!]

Hamatora episode 7:



SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...Okay-- first things first, before I get to that ending: It was nice to see that connection between Art and Three, and a little more backstory on Art, too. Also, wow, now we know how exactly Moral plans to 'save' Nice, and why he wants to (holy crap, man, that insanity)...

Now, as for the aforementioned ending: I really loved Art for pushing himself to be so good that he graduated even though he couldn't actualize a Minimum, and also for not letting Moral's twisted 'logic' about equality and friends and such get to him, nor giving in to the temptation of gaining a working Minimum artificially. Have to admit that Art's demise was rather a shock, though-- I was *not* expecting that to actually happen, at least right then (I was kinda figuring that Nice would get there just in time to save him or something); nor was I expecting how sudden and coldly brutal it was (even despite the series having shown Moral's sudden, cold brutality several times over already). (Seriously, I actually said "HOLY CRAP...!!" out loud when the gun was fired, it was that unexpected. ) And to make it hurt even more, the poor man had to be murdered right beside his own brother's grave , and was not allowed the chance to make up with Nice before he died, either (ugh... ). (And if Moral ends up using Art's appearance now, that'll just be the icing on the cake... )

Now, I say 'murdered' because, between that knife wound and then Moral basically emptying his gun into him at point-blank range afterwards , there doesn't seem to be any way Art could've possibly survived that-- unless, of course, his dormant Minimum ability happens to actually be like regen from death or something. (And given the nature of this show, it's actually perfectly plausible that that could be the case. In fact, part of me really wants that to be true, because I liked his character {and seiyuu, for that matter}, and the poor guy really didn't deserve that ... and yet, still, another part of me actually does want him to have died for real, because if he did truly die then not only would it have been a great twist, but I could be impressed at the guts it took to write that at this point and not go back on it. {Gah... })

...Oh, and I'm really curious as to what Moral told Art before he shot him (though kinda dreading it as well, since it's almost certainly something that just added even more insult to injury there)...




And Chuunibyou Ren episode 7:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: LOL-- of course they ran into Shichimiya on the day they're supposed to be having a date alone. I really like the fact that this isn't a love triangle at all, though (despite her having liked Yuuta in the past, as confirmed here). Also: The way this episode ended... <3 GAH THE CUTENESS

[ClaecElric4God]

*sigh* I have so much to catch up on when my computer gets fixed. Like Hamatora and Tonari no Seki-kun.
Noooraaagaaaamiiii.....

[GeneD]

Thanks for the recommendations, but I've decided to just stick to Tonari no Seki-kun this season and use the potential anime watching time to catch up on Yowamushi Pedal read more manga.

[ForeverInspired]

*This is a mini update since I haven't gotten myself motivated enough to post my thoughts for my entire queue but can't let this episode go without notice.*

Hamatora - Ep 7

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: There's a trend - killing off characters. It's a pretty popular trend this season for my queue if I do say so myself.

Now, that Hamatora has finally bypassed the mandatory hotspring episode, tied all the little mysteries together, and has decided to dive into the main plot, this is quite amazing. It's right up there with Noragami (and it's one of the few that I had originally thought could potentially rival the latter). The final scene of this episode will definitely be one of the top - if not the top - moment of this season. The drama, the characters, the words, the background, the ending music, the surprise... words cannot describe. I haven't had a scene like this for a while, and it will definitely be one of those not easily forgotten.

Nonetheless, I am having a hard time reconciling to the fact that it happened to Art, my favorite character of the series. I have a feeling that it'll turn out fine with some type of Minimum "miracle", but it still might not. If it doesn't, I do admit that would be very interesting. However, I will still feel a hole in the story. It's kind of like that one character in Psycho Pass who you never hear of again (even though I got the reason why they did it the way that they did and was thankful that it hadn't happened to my main favorites, I was kind of disappointed since I liked him a great deal).

Final note, I find it really interesting the names that the series gives to the characters and abilities. The antagonist's name is "Moral" (although he's the exact opposite), some of the main protagonist's are "Nice", "Happy", etc., the special ability is called a "Minimum Holder" (again, the ability gives the maximum output possible from a human being), and then you have "Art" the very thoughtful and determined kind. I have a feeling that there is something that the producers are trying to get across, and I can't wait (or maybe I can wait so that I have MORE episodes! ) to see the final picture.

[ClaecElric4God]

Noragami - Episode 8

Wow. This anime just got about 67 times deeper. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I really like how they're getting into the emotional/psychological aspect of it, especially with Yukine. I mean, so often it's like "Yeah, this person died for no apparent reason and is now a phantom/ghost/other form of dead person, and they don't really care at all". I like that he's finally starting to think about this, and it is affecting him. I can't wait to see how that develops. Also, Yato has been such a trooper for the last couple episodes, even if he is a loser. I can't help it, he's my favorite. Except now he's like...dead. That's always sad. Cliffhangers are awful.
And whatever history between Yato/Bishamon/Kazuma, that's going to be interesting to uncover, as well as Yato's past in general. I'm definitely completely caught up in this.
And now instead of Nora facing off with Yato in the opening, it's that creepy guy with the mask. Interesting.
I wish Yato and Yukine would resolve their issues and get over it already. They could be such an awesome team. Perfectly synchronized idiots constantly yelling at each other. Oh, yeah.

[MangaRocks!]

Tonari no Seki-kun episode 8:
LOL!!! Oh man, I simply cannot get enough of this show. I swear I have the most ridiculous grin on my face the entire time I'm watching it. <3 SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Loved Yokoi interfering with the story again, only to have Seki well-prepared for it this time, LOL! Though that still didn't help him when he finally got called on to read something, of course-- another part I loved, because (since he was of course not paying any attention, bwahaha! ) Yokoi actually had to give him the page number to read. (...Also, I just have to say-- I know full well that this series basically has less than a snowball's chance of ever having a visible romantic subplot, but holy crap do I ship those two, LOL. I can't help myself; they're just so darn adorable together! )



Hamatora episode 8:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Gah-- so not only did we have to see a *replay* of the scene where poor Art gets cruelly murdered , Moral *did* use Art's voice/appearance afterwards! And it actually does look like Art is dead for real, too (wow)... (...Unless, of course, he was actually one of the experiments at the end. But that would just be even *worse* for him... )

That mood whiplash after the OP, though... I mean, don't get me wrong, the rest of the episode was both good (in the case of the subplot with the sleeping-potion guy and his brother + its parallels to Nice and Murasaki) and quite-amusingly ridiculous (all the rest of it ), and I do sincerely appreciate the resultant mood pick-me-up after that kinda depressing event with Art; however, the *incongruity* of the switch in tone there was still a little jarring. It was certainly not bad by any means, though.

Looking forward to the next ep.!



And Chuunibyou Ren episode 8:

Hmm... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: This ep. (kinda randomly, IMO) had a little too much focus on yuri-undertone for my liking , but oh well. It was neat to see Nibutani fight for once, at least. And, of course, Yuuta and Rikka were adorable as always.

[dragonzatch]

As the only person who dares watch the imouto show; it's filth. It made me feel unclean watching a TV edit. Don't bother.

[MangaRocks!]

Tonari no Seki-kun episode 9:

Bwahahahaha!! Not only did we actually learn something about Yokoi's character SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (she's a knitting fanatic ), but she also actually managed to terrify Seki into reading his textbook!!



Hamatora episode 9:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Man, it's painful to see Moral deceiving people like that using poor Art's form. On the other hand, it's good to see that Nice is ferreting out the people close to Moral so quickly (as I suppose should be expected from his character ). Also: Flowers that smell like hamburger, LOL! Anyway, I liked the fact that the case was actually about Three this time, so we got some backstory on him. And it was good to see Honey talk some sense into him, too. (All of the partnerships are really well-matched, aren't they?) Oh dear at the end of the episode, though...



And Chuunibyou Ren episode 9:

Mostly just cute fun as always , although this time SPOILER: Highlight text to read: there was the neat little bit of character development for Rikka, and (precisely *because* of that development) Shichimiya finally re-falling in love with Yuuta, even though she had previously given up. This is one of the more unconventional love-triangles I've ever seen, though (in fact, it didn't even exist as an actual triangle until the end of this episode), so I don't mind. In fact, I'm looking forward to it.

[MangaRocks!]

Tonari no Seki-kun episode 10:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: LOL, so now another classmate is watching Yokoi and Seki (and *completely* misunderstanding what's actually going on, of course-- which is hilarious, and made even *funnier* by the fact that I'm actually shipping them {regardless of the fact that it's not happening }, too), bwahaha! Oh man, Seki's time-killing condition is really spreading.



Hamatora episode 10:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...Black-Cosmos-Guy fires an ice cube straight through someone's throat: Well, that escalated quickly. Seriously, though, things really did get out of hand very fast here, from the rather brutal murder spree to the (literally ) orchestrated distrust/chaos/violence/riots/etc. (And there was a little of the series' usual purposefully-ridiculous humor, too, of course; but the serious parts were more interesting this time, so that's what I'm going to comment on. ) And then that ending... oh man, finally, *finally* Nice and Moral meet! Can't wait to see what happens there. Also: Whoa, that totally had to be Art hidden in that room at the end!! Though, along with the dormant-Minimum-activating-because-of-death theory, there's all sorts of things Moral and co. could've done to him, too, so... yeah, not going to speculate on that right now; I'm just going to enjoy the ride.



And Chuunibyou Ren episode 10:

As expected, this is a rather better SPOILER: Highlight text to read: love triangle than usual. Great episode.

[Mouse2010]

I rarely say this kind of thing, but I feel compelled to say it now: If you are not watching Noragami, you really need to be. This show is developing into something so, so good. We watched episodes 5-9 last night, and while episode 9 didn't QUITE bring tears to my eyes, it came close. It just about broke my heart to see that it is only a 12 episode series: I don't want it to end in just three more episodes!

I guess this is your standard shonen supernatural action/drama series, but it has good fight scenes, lovely animation, and lots of heart. Also, it's got a case of mostly loveable characters . . . SPOILER: Highlight text to read: except for Nora, who is truly creepy. That ending scene after the credits of episode 9? Yikes! I sense more trouble brewing for Yato and his crew.

I know it's premature to even whisper this, since the series hasn't ended, but . . . Season 2 please???

[MangaRocks!]

^ Well, I'm interested, and will be reading the manga soon.



Tonari no Seki-kun episode 11:

Oh man, Yokoi just keeps getting more and more involved. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I love the fact that this time she had actually already done homework covering that portion of class, too, so she could watch Seki with no problems. And the whole thing with using Maeda as the 'mountain' (including his interference and even suspiciously looking back at them a few times) was just brilliant. (And then when Yokoi actually dashed over to the window, too... ) This is easily the best 8-or-so minutes of the week!



Hamatora episode 11:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Ha! Um... what? (That was definitely not how I was expecting that to go, LOL.) Having them just sitting in the bar and talking normally was pretty surreal, actually. (Although, obviously, Nice was really holding his anger in...) Holy crap though at those two particularly violent scenes. Talk about getting serious... (Also-- that after-credits scene: Uh-oh, now Moral made not only Nice but also Hajime go into a rage... going to get "kicked apart," indeed!)



And Chuunibyou Ren episode 11:
So... darn... heartwarming! <3

[ForeverInspired]

^ Well, I'm interested, and will be reading the manga soon.

Yes, trust me, you will love it. I am already putting it up without a doubt as the best show that started this winter season, and it's tied for best show currently airing with Kuroko no Basket (that started in the fall). Yato is the best character, and the rest of the characters are all wonderful (yes, and then there is Nora... creepy, creepy, creepy...). There is a strong and likable female character, which is really nice to have. The plot is pretty consistent - every episode does contribute to the main plot. The emotional, psychological, and comedic aspects are well done and well timed. The music is great (I can never skip the opening), and the animation is stunning!

As for the last episode that I watched - episode 10 - man, are we going to have an epic finish! I just know it after these current developments. Now, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Hiyori is being targeted so that Nora can get to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yato. Hiyori's response completely unnerves the viewer as well as Yato. Nora is going crazy now. This is going to lead to some trouble... and from the preview, some epic battles! Yay! I can't wait for that gorgeous animation!

[AnimeGirl]

Man, Hamatora ended up being the only anime I am following this season, but well worth my full attention! I heard it'll only be 12 episodes, and I have already watched 10 (can't wait to see 11 next week!).

[ClaecElric4God]

Finished Noragami. Very good ending, I really really liked how they wrapped that up. But I didn't like that they wrapped it up.
Also, the OVA. Hahahahaha, Yato. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Him crying at the end...I don't think I've ever heard "gomen nasai" said so pitifully. And then think about the fact that that's Levi from AoT saying that. Hahahahaha....
And now, since I haven't the patience to wait for a season 2 that hasn't even been proven to exist, I'm off to read the manga.

[AnimeGirl]

Got to see Hamatora episode 11 and;
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: MORAL, YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR MAKING IT RAIN BLOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!! Also, Hajime is hungry and ticked. Moral, you're a dead man!

Another one of those shocking kinda endings! Makes me wonder how the final showdown will turn out. NEXT TUESDAY, COME!

[MangaRocks!]

Tonari no Seki-kun episode 12:

My sides... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: LOL at Seki so intensely obeying (or at least trying to, anyway ) all of the traffic/testing rules just for playing around with a remote-controlled toy car on his desk. (But hey, at least he'll probably ace his real test someday... ) And then that whole ending, when he was celebrating but it got misinterpreted as him volunteering to be called on, and then him trying to bribe Yokoi for the answer (but failing hard in the manner of bribe)...



Hamatora episode 12 (finale):

......Wait... WHAT?! SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Well, so much for this being the 'finale'-- they went and pulled a huge cliffhanger with a "TO BE CONTINUED" message after the credits, instead. Before I get to that, though: Have to say that the Forbidden Minimum was actually pretty cool (I mean, the power itself-- *not* it being used the way it was... )-- as was Nice's eventual discovery of how to layer/multiply the use of his own power to match (and beat) it. (Also, it was kinda interesting that it turned out Nice was more of an antihero than is common-- oh, and him hurling his phone overboard when everyone was trying to encourage him was pretty funny, too. ) Now, as for Art: I had been figuring that he would show up again at the very end ever since that little hint that he was actually (somehow) still alive and being kept at the hacker girl's place a couple ep.'s back. And I also kinda figured that he'd be brainwashed or something. But I was not expecting him to first kill Moral, then (apparently) shoot Nice in the head point-blank (!) -- all while still appearing friendly to him, no less. And then to have it cut to the credits right there when this was supposedly the final episode... At least it did have the "TO BE CONTINUED" message, though, so more likely than not we'll get a second season (or at least some sort of closure) at some point.



And Chuunibyou Ren episode 12 (finale):

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: LOL at everyone watching and listening to the girls talk to Yuuta about him and Rikka + the random guy in the background's exclamation at the end of it. Also LOL at Isshiki's ridiculous super-tan and the... *ahem*... big reveal about who likes him. (Oh gosh... I... was not expecting that... ) And y'know what? I now fully believe that KyoAni just enjoy being trolls when it comes to certain aspects of romance in their shows. I wasn't even surprised SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that the big kiss didn't actually happen-- in fact, between that table-flip-inducing troll-ending of Hyouka (and yeah, I love that show a lot, but nope, I'm never going to get over that... >:P ) and the other somewhat-trollish things that I've seen them do (including the aforementioned new 'love interest' for poor Isshiki in this show ), at this point I was actually *expecting* it. All that said, though, they still managed to make the scene quite sweet (that was quite the speech Yuuta gave <3 ), so *this* time I didn't even really mind (though that was probably partially because I was already expecting nothing to actually happen with it in the first place, LOL). Oh well *shrug* -- the series was still (mostly) cute as heck , and I did enjoy both seasons of it, so mission accomplished there at least.

[Mouse2010]

Finished Noragami (although not the OVA . . . I'll have to track that down, I guess). Nothing to disappoint in the ending. Actually, I'd say the ending was better than I expected. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I was worried that there would be no resolution for the romance, but I thought they found a way of ending on a promising note/good note while still leaving room for development. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how important the romance element ended up being. Earlier in the series, I wasn't even sure if there WAS going to be a romance. I'm a sucker for a good romantic subplot, so that made me very happy.

I am still going to hope for a season 2, but I may also start reading the manga. We'll see.