Winter 2016 Season Wrap, Part 1

It’s finally here!!! I’m so relieved to have made it through almost half of my winter anime now that Sakura-Con is over and the spring season looms ahead. This season didn’t strike in my target zone as frequently as ones previous, but there are still a handful of series worth noting.

• Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!
• Boku dake ga Inai Machi
• Haikyuu!! Second Season
• Diamond no Ace: Second Season
• Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen
• Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2nd Season
• Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm
• Dimension W
• Ojisan to Marshmallow

12 Days of Anime – [7] Daiya no Ace

Sawamura Eijun will always be the ace of the Seidou baseball team in my heart for his spirit and potential, regardless of the actual number on his back. We’ve seen him grow with agonizing slowness and meet with extraordinary challenges instigated mostly by others, but also by himself. He redefined my definition for “ace” and continues to surprise me with his ability to adapt and stand tall in the face of adversity.

Spring 2015 Set Menu

We’re into the third and fourth weeks of the spring season, and I’ve finally decided upon my line-up. They’re not in any real order, other than viewing order, and span a variety of genres. Many of them are sequels, the majority of which retain a very similar feel to their prequels. I’m also noticing more and more CG these days, sometimes tastefully inserted during actions scenes where characters are smaller and less unnatural-looking, and at other times overwhelming (see my dropped list). Anyways, have a look-see and let me know what you think and what shows you’re watching that I’ve skipped this time around!

• Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works (TV) 2nd Season
• Shokugeki no Souma
• Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken S2
• Hibike! Euphonium
• Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid
• Daiya no Ace 2
• Baby Steps 2nd Season
• Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka
• Hello! Kin-iro Mosaic
• Owari no Seraph
• Arslan Senki
• Kyoukai no Rinne
• Ore Monogatari!!
• Gunslinger Stratos
• Kekkai Sensen
• Koukaku Kidoutai: Arise – Alternative Architecture
• Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu
• Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku
• Plastic Memories
• Houkago no Pleiades
• Sidonia no Kishi: Dai-kyuu Wakusei Sen’eki

Winter 2015 Season Wrap

Winter is over and spring is officially here! At least, that’s the case in the Northwest–sorry if you’ve still got snow 😉 I am shocked at the number of shows that finished up this season, both one and two cours. My anime list was temporarily tiny before I started picking up new anime at the start of this month.

I apologize for the delay in this post; Sakura-con always seems to fall smack on the weekend between shows ending and beginning. iDOLM@S also hung around a week later than everything else and I wanted to include it in the season wrap. The 22 shows I finished up (and in the order discussed) are:

• Bonjour Koiaji Patisserie
• Akatsuki no Yona
• Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
• Dog Days”
• Koufuku Grafitti
• Death Parade
• Log Horizon 2nd Season
• Daiya no Ace
• Shirobako
• Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road
• Rolling☆Girls
• Tokyo Ghoul √A
• Sanzoku no Musume Ronya
• Aldnoah.Zero 2nd Season
• Kamisama Hajimemashita◎
• Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu
• Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE!
• Yoru no Yatterman
• Durarara!! x 2 Shou
• The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls
• Garo: Honoo no Kokuin
• Absolute Duo
• Junketsu no Maria

Winter 2015 Set Menu

We’re about three weeks into the 2015 winter season, and I’m still undecided on quite a few shows. I thought I wouldn’t be adding in too many this time around since the line-up didn’t impress me at a glance, but I’ve got a surprising amount clinging on to my continuations from the fall. I’ve broken my shows into three categories: watching, undecided, and ongoing. Fuller thoughts on new shows are given first, with quick summaries of my feelings on the shows still airing from previous seasons following at the end. Let me know what you think is missing from my list (any why) and I’ll give it a try!

On the 6th Day of Anime — A Year of Sports Anime

Sports have never been my forte either in real life or in my viewing preferences, but I do tend to have one or two a year that I end up enjoying. That’s how I’ve found some favorites like the baseball anime Cross Game. This year, however, there was a torrential downpour of sports anime. I ended up watching much more than I have ever before within a year. Below are my choices, some of which are still airing.

Summer 2014 Season Wrap

This is probably the closest in a while to the end of a season ending that I’ve been able to finish on a timely basis and blog my final thoughts. Nineteen of the shows I’m watching finished up for the summer, with only four continuing on into the fall. The summer was full of its fair share of surprises, from Aldnoah.Zero’s and Zankyou no Terror’s endings to Nozaki-kun’s and Sabagebu!’s brilliant comedy.

Summer 2014 Set Menu (really, mid-season thoughts)

Summer is in full swing, and I’ve got the ridiculous shoe tan to prove it (thanks, TOMS). Along with the insistent sunshine and 80-90 degree weather, this summer has proven to be significantly busier than the previous, with friends’ weddings, festivals every weekend–currently it’s SeaFair here in Seattle–hiking, and a whole slew of new anime to watch. I’ve downloaded the VLC app to my iPhone to try and keep up with the shows while on my commutes to and from work. So far, this is what I have pinned down for my Summer Set Menu, and included are some mid-season thoughts: