Yay, more Noto-sama/Nogizaka-sama! This show is pretty much a guilty indulgence for me since it’s unabashedly a Noto-sama otaku-attracting vehicle, but whatever the heck eh? No need to justify so much to others if you really like it.

Well, despite that, I’m not mindlessly in love with the show either. For one thing, CENSORSHIP FAIL is fail.

Funny to see Mika getting the reverse end of the sekuhara though.

Also, I lol’ed at that in-universe Lacrosse anime where the heroine’s played by Noto-sama as well and Yuto comments on how similar the seiyuu sounds like Haruka, Oh geez, what’s with all the meta-jokes this season?

Liked: For Noto-sama
Watching: For Noto-sama.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Another year passes. Man, it’s hard to believe I’m already in to my 9th year of being an otaku as well as my 4th year of blogging. Time sure flies. I’m now well over 1500 posts with nearly 16k comments, and it’s thanks to everyone’s support that I’ve gotten so far.

This year was marked by an increased number of good shows, but surprisingly, it wasn’t as “happening” as last year. To put it in another way, while the average increased, the top end of the bell curve wasn’t as high as last year. Nevertheless, this year still had its moments.

My choices here aren’t particularly graded using a strict measure, it’s more of an overall rating of shows of this year that I greatly enjoyed in one way or another, so please view it as that rather than a solid indicator of quality.

Of course, being a mere mortal with a real life outside of the Internet, I will inevitably miss a few gems here and there, so feel free to voice up any other shows that you, my dear reader, believe I should have watched and not missed for this year.

With that said, here’s the list.

14. Spice and Wolf

Mmm… economics animu. Well, actually calling “fox god animu” would suit it better because, seriously, everyone only watched it for the bundle of furriness that is Horo.

13. Lucky Star OVA

Kagamiku! Tsunderella! Cherry-dog! Christmas-cake Nanako! Kagamiku! Oh wait, already said that.

Anyways, the Lucky Star OVA was awesome because we all missed the cast of Lucky Star so badly, especially in this KeyAni-dominated year. Not to say that’s a bad thing but we all missed the light-heartedness. Here’s to hoping for another extension or a spiritual successor of the awesomeness that was Lucky Star.

12. Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu

Honestly, Noto-sama as a closet otaku ojou-sama? I’m sold.

While NHnH seemed like it’ll be a one-trick pony, it had a surprisingly coherent plot and good character development, characterized by a few choice episodes. That, and Mika is fucking jailbait.

11. Itazura na Kiss

The Nana Mizuki show of the year. Honestly after last year’s Tokyo Marble Chocolate, I realize Nana’s niche is the slightly naive yet earnest young adult women where she really can be her character. (I suspect it’s because she seems to draw it from her own experiences)

Itazura na Kiss was mainly enjoyable because of that and we even got a full season of Nana Mizuki from it. I realize a lot of people didn’t like the show’s pacing, but it was quite fine to me considering how they were putting in nearly 10 years of story in to 25 episodes.

10. Natsume Yuujinchou

Natsume Yuujinchou wasn’t really in my fielding range until someone IRL recommended it enthusiastically and I tried it out. Oh boy I sure got hooked on it. With tinges of Mushishi and a very likable cast (moe moe fox shouta!) I just couldn’t stop watching it. So glad to hear there’s a second season to it too, premiering next month.

9. Detroit Metal City

GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC!

8. Kurenai

kurenai, characterized by the moe-moe bundle that is Murasaki and the tight writing and direction by Kou Matsuo, really deserves mention for this year. The ending was kinda unexpected, but it only served to enhance the “deep”-ness of the story.

7. Strike Witches

One of the surprises this year, I initially balked at the premise of SW’s no-pantsu flying mecha musume. I mean, for god’s sake, the fanservice is just so fucking blatant. Despite that, and to my own pride, I finally watched it in a batch once it was finished and I was so hooked I finished it in two sittings.

SW’s appeal, once you get over the lack of proper lower body wear, lies in the light-heartedness and optimism of the characters. Gonzo also managed to give equal exposure to every one in the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, and the pacing meant that the show wasn’t too “draggy” unlike the other mecha musume anime Sky Girls (still struggling to finish it). The infamous pantsu-stealing episode also nearly killed me from all the laughing I did.

So, despite my initial hatred of the series, it’s really surprising how things can change, and now SW’s in my Pick of 2008 list. Well, if you can’t win ‘em, join ‘em. :P

6. CLANNAD

Gym-shorts Kyou! Killer violin Kotomi! Tomoyo Raptor Kick! “Why can’t I call you onii-san, onii-san?” Mei! Sanae Rainbow Bread! Dictionary attack! Starfish girl! Nagisa x Ryou!

Yeah, I could probably go on and on, but suffice to say, CLANNAD was pretty damn enjoyable despite being the third KeyAni outing in the past 4 years.

5. Code Geass R2

Despite the illogical plot, despite all the mindfucking, despite all the copying from Evangelion, it’s undeniable that Code Geass R2 was the most entertaining show this year, singlehandedly. Being surprised after every mind-fucking episode and subsequently reading the reactions from other fans really drew out the worst from me. Never had I had so much fun with post titles, ha ha.

Despite all that, the ending was surprisingly epic and half redeemed the series for me. Lelouch BAWWWWWWW!!!! Still, I don’t think I can rewatch the series again if for the lack of Geass Sundays. That was practically 75% of the reason I persevered on till the end.

4. Ga Rei Zero

Can’t mention this year w/o talking about the yuri croquette that is Ga-Rei Zero. First, it rickrolled us all by presenting a totally unrelated cast for the promos and the first episode, only to kill ‘em all by the end of it. Only then it went for the real deal, the untold past story of Kagura and Yomi from the original manga, justifying the “Zero” part of its name. It also gave me another reason to like Pocky, XD.

Ga-Rei Zero is also notable for the crazy inventory of weapons, ranging from the gun-katanas, an iron, a boiler and the bloody weaponized wheelchair. Oh and not to forget the bike-fu from Natsuki in episode 1 too. That was awesome.

3. Kannagi

Kannagi oh Kannagi. This quirky comedy show about a bunch of crazy shrine maidens by the much-talked about Yamamoto Yutaka sure delivered the laughs. The karaoke episode also made its mark on me. Oh god Takako made me shat bricks.

While the show was generally light-hearted, Kannagi veered in to serious “self-existential” drama for its final arc, proving Yamakan’s directing chops isn’t limited just making people laugh. This is one show I wouldn’t mind seeing more of in the future.

2. Macross Frontier

Ah, Macross Frontier, my first foray in to the world of Intergalactic Song Wars and Variable Fighters. The show started off a strong note, but really tapered down towards the end, ending with an non-ending kind of ending.

Despite that, the love triangle was still pretty epic towards the end, and the songs of the show are inevitably the best I’ve heard this year. The songs were the biggest redeeming factor for the show as things went rather downhill. God bless Yoko Kanno \o/. I still wish there was a solid ending though…

1. true tears

The only show this year that was so good that I made a rare and passionate opinion post about it. P.A. Works first independent work, it was initially expected to be another eroge adaptation, but quickly turned out to be something much more different.

true tears took everyone by surprise by the clean, crisp visuals, leading P.A. Works to be given the moniker of the second KyoAni. Director Junji Nishimura also kept the story and character development really engaging, coupled with how he kept everyone guessing about the final resolution until the very end, provided weeks of debates amongst fans as to who would end up with whom.

Movie of the year: Evangelion 1.01 You are (not) alone

It was technically released last year, but Evangelion 1.01 is more of a 2008 show for me since the DVD (which I proudly bought) came out this year and even made it in to local shores, which was a real surprise for me.

While many critized it for being another attempt by Gainax to cash in on the franchise, it’s undeniable the show has gotten a much needed facelift from it’s original 1995 incarnation. The action cinematography culminating in the sniping of Angel Ramiel was simply awesome.

Sure it might be another milking of the fans, but Anno Hideaki is delivering the goods here too. Looking forward to 2.0 in 2009. Asuka \o/!

And that wraps up my first 2008 in Review post. There’s another one coming up after this, where I’ll be talking about the other noteworthy things that happened this year.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Final episode! It pretty much ends with a happy ending so no point summarizing. Highlight of the episode was Yuto and Haruka almost going straight for the home run, if they weren’t careless and forgot to lock the damn doors again (or do those doors never have locks in the first place?!). That part sure got my blood pressure running up high, haha. Also, Haruka in twin pigtails was just so cute~

Overall, it’s been a generally fun show to watch. It was fun watching Haruka’s antics as well as Yuto’s rare brand of manly male lead in a genre famous for spineless ones. I can’t at all say the show has been a great one, but it was good as any to watch as a pastime. Of course, having Noto-sama in the lead does help a lot as well, hehe. Mika deserves special mention for her brand of jailbaiting fanservice, while the maids provided a good fill-in while thankfully not remaining a distraction.

There are some parts I wished the show could’ve explored further, I hear Nobunaga’s actually god damn awesome in the original, but I still did like how they focused properly on the relationship development between them both, a good choice given that the show has a limited episode count. Admittedly, even the drama was a bit stale at times, but thankfully it never manages to turn obnoxiously annoying or stupid.

Verdict: Good clean and fun otaku-centric rom-com, but don’t expect anything more from the show unless you’re a big fan of Noto-sama. Otherwise, it has been a great side-dish show to watch.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Anyways, the penultimate episode of Nogizaka Haruka starts the last arc of the show, with Haruka’s birthday celebration party. Her birthday is on the 20th of October, FYI.

Being informed beforehand by the ever-reliable Mika (who needs wingmen when you have her!), Yuto initially scouts out a present in Akiba and with help from Nobunaga, Yuto chooses a Dojikko Aki-chan figurine for Haruka.

Right after buying it, he gets whisked off by Nanami and Hazuki to the airport, where a connecting flight brings them to the Happy Spring Island, a resort island bought by Haruka’s father for her. Damn rich bastards. Yuto somehow develops a spot of inferiority complex when he sees the opulent gifts for Haruka and the many celebrities and VIP’s that have been invited for the joyous occasion, but a spot of relaxation with Haruka and the rest lifts up his spirits.

Unfortunately, right before the party begins, a jealous young jock, who has been spying on Haruka earlier, approaches him and intimidates Yuto by parading his intended gift for Haruka, a pretty white dress complete with a full set of accessories, which triggers back the inferiority complex Yuto had earlier. The episode ends on that note, with a cliffhanger to be resolved next week.

Hm, a fun episode overall, but it’s kinda stupid to end the show by playing on the difference between Yuto and Haruka’s social standings. Well, at the least on how easily Yuto is affected by it all of a sudden when he hasn’t cared about it much all this while. Just makes him feel out of character, y’know. Having that idiotically lame gaijin jock as his “opponent” also doesn’t help too. Yuto is clearly way more GAR than he was, so it was irritating in that manner as well too.

There’s also Yuto’s sudden selective memory loss. Quite annoying on how it plays up by the way. He can perfectly remember the hardship that Nobunaga gave him but totally forgot about giving away something to a cute, crying little girl in the playground. I would definitely remember if it was me, lol.

The beach portion, is of course a must for shows like this, and I’m finally glad they did it this week. Finally got to see Haruka in that oh-so-awesome white bikini. Mika provides more fanservice, and man, she is such a precocious kid! I lol’ed at Yuto accidentally removing her bikini top yet again, as well as the part where Haruka nearly drowns and Yuto is conned by the rest in to attempting CPR on her, which is interrupted by Haruka regaining consciousness, heh. Now all we need is an onsen episode and most of the required cliche’s will be covered. I wonder if they’ll cover that in an DVD-only OVA/extra episode.

Also went a bit crazy with the screencapping this week. Low-bandwidth users are forewarned before proceeding.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Yuto is such a pimp.

Oh man, Mika never fails to provide the laughs and fanservice, even though Haruka provided the latter part more this episode.

Oh god, I developed diabetes at this part of the episode when they both went “No, it’s my fault!”, “No, I’m the one who chose this, so it’s my fault!” and then even the mom also couldn’t stand it and let them off the hook and then Haruka went, “Can I dance with you?”

Anyways, drama at the end.

Maa… I roughly know what happened already, but eh… standard dorama fest yeah?

This week’s preview: “Saiyusen jikou yo”

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Mika, oh Mika…

In summary, Mika wants to experience a date and drags Yuto along under the pretense of “teaching” him. Not like there’s anything to teach, looking at his SUPER PIMP POWERS, which results in more LOVE-LOVE points for Mika towards “Onii-san”. At the end of the episode the stage is set for the next arc, when Yuto and Shiina are chosen as their class representatives for the Culture Festival.

I know you guys are rich… but why cooking hotcakes in the freakin’ middle of the room?

When Mika gets that look… man she has overflowing hormones, hasn’t she?

Yuto’s super pimp powers make him natural magnet for females, children or women alike.

LOLI FANSERVICE TIME!

Ahh, happy family time.

Mika = +50 LOVE-LOVE points.

Hmm… prelude to drama?

Also, this week’s preview is a total copy of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes previews. God, the production team sure are high-level.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Haruka’s father finally finds out about her hobby and decides to trash her precious loot to cure her of it.

Miku, Horo, Kino and Shana. Nice collection there.

Pissed off, Haruka decides to run away from home to Yuto’s place, staying for the night, while her father scrambles his elite team, the Hellhounds, to look for her. Of course, Yuto is initially reluctant, but how can he resist such a cute face! So in the end, the Yuto household gladly welcomes Haruka and Hazuki to their fold. Lots of cute moments ensue.

Note: This did not happen.

( ´ ▽ ` )

Ruko is hot.

“Do you… like me?”

What the hell? Gundam Lagaan?

Drunk Hazuki is hillarious.

Oh god, o-hime-sama dakko!

Oh dear, must be quite hard to sleep in that posture.

However, happiness doesn’t last long, as the following morning, Haruka’s father tracks her down and barges in to reclaim her back. Ruko, displaying awesome swordswomanship, and Hazuki with her trusty chainsaw tries to hold them back, but fails. Yuto gets really angry at him when he starts to rebuke Haruka over her hobbies, so he shouts back at him, asking why it’s wrong.

Of course, otou-san doesn’t take to that kindly, but before he can do anything, Mika and Nanami finally arrive with their ultimate weapon, Haruka’s mother, which Yuto clichéd-ly mistakes as her sister. Well… she does look the age.

After knocking some sense in to him, he decides to acknowledge Haruka’s hobby for the time being, since it’s not affecting her studies and other activities. Haruka is overjoyed at this and gives good ol’ Yuto a nice hug in front of the watchful eyes of everyone else.

In the end, the parents take their leave, and all’s well ends well. Haruka and Yuto’s relationship = +20 love-love points.

Awesome episode we all had this week. Haruka staying overnight at Yuto’s place, seeing Hazuki get drunk, Mika going “Be gentle to her, it’s her first time.”, Yuto giving Haruka an o-hime-sama dakko, then sleeping with her the whole night. Haruka was so moe I died. Damn you, Yuto, damn you!

Also finally got to see the Nogizaka parents, Gento and Akiho. Pretty overboard there with the helicopters and jets there, Gento. Akiho is as awesome as expected too, heh heh heh.

Next episode, a crack appears in their relationship?

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Remember kids… DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE COMIKET! Nobunaga isn’t kidding about that, really.

And this is what happens when you do, XD.

Oh, of course, so many chances to hit the chivalry flags. God dammit!

Haruka going “Wan!” was the single most funniest-ly cute moment in the episode. “Te!” “Okawari!” “Wan!” *moe overload*

Another cute shot of Haruka.

Ohnoes, the last book got bought by some lame fat-ass line cutter.

But no worries, Rozen Asou to the rescue! ｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ

More Shana cameos

Oh god, what happened?

HOLY SHIT, INUKAMI YAOI DOUJINSHI!

Haruka is really weak against sexual appeal

Oh dear, poor Haruka’s getting mobbed.

Yuuto to the rescue… but oops, they’re blocked!

Pipirupirupipiruppi~
Pipirupirupipiruppi~
Nandemo kirechau chainsaw~
Ten~butsu~maru~

Single most awesome moment in the episode. God damn, Hazuki is GAR.

An unlikely alliance?! Wilhelmina and Hecate to the rescue!

Even the cloth attacks are in! The producers really love Shana don’t they?

Justice is served!

Awwwwww~~~

… but ehh?! What’s with this cliffhanger!

This episode of Nogizaka Haruka has gotta be one of the best Comiket-themed episodes I’ve ever watched. The producers are really loving Shana a lot don’t they? Not only did Mika and Nanami did their cosplay, but Hishoku no Sora was playing in the background again. Hazuki’s Dokuro-chan cosplay is just… GAR. Rozen Asou also made me went ROFL’ing when I found out about it.

Also, at the same time, one of the more embarrassingly romantic ones too. Look at all the times Yuto had to hold on to and catch Haruka God damn it, Haruka is truly an otaku’s wet dream come true!

Before I go, random Lunamari… i mean Shiina fanservice shot!

Next week; what’s troubling Haruka and INAZUMA KIIIIIICK! Just love all those references in the preview section.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Resemblances to a certain female character in a certain Gundam show are coincidental.

Relatively bland episode this week, mainly to introduce recurring panty-flasher character, Amamiya Shiina, Haruka and Yuto’s school newest transfer student. Lunamaria fans shouldn’t miss this show.

With a cheerful and approachable manner, Shiina makes friends very easily, almost matching up to Haruka’s popularity. Shiina gets in to a spot of trouble when she’s roped in to participate in the swimming relay, since she can’t swim at all.

Mmm~ double mizugi shot.

Yuto and Haruka find out about it and they decide to help her out by teaching her swimming at the school pool. All goes well for them, except for the addition tag-along’ers Mika, Nanami, Hazuki, Yukari and Ruko. Their efforts pay off and Shiina manages to get the hang of swimming before the competition.

It’s finally the day, and Shiina feels nervous about the whole thing, but Yuto manages to calm her down. Shiina does well in the relay initially, but her leg cramps on the last part and she nearly drowns, if not for Yuto coming to her immediate rescue. She’s brought to the infirmary, and Yuto tries to console her, helped out by their classmates too.

Asking Nanami to send Shiina home, Yuto and Haruka walk back home together and talk about how fun the past semester has been, preparations for Natsucomi and finally, Haruka broaches a bad subject in the form of Yuto’s rescue of Shiina. Yuto notices the omens and gets Haruka happy again by promising to do the same thing if it happened to Haruka as well. The end.

Wasn’t really much of an eventful episode, but it was a nice one to introduce Shiina officially in to the cast. I wonder will she get “sucked” in to the dark side of the “secret” or will she provide the “normal”, rival character for Yuuto’s affection versus Haruka.

Mika presents the “dangerous” fanservice for this episode, albeit rather shorter than the previous installments. This is soooo rather ironic considering her age.

Now how did that happen?!

Mika’s types are the really dangerous ones.

We also got to saw a teeny bit of the green emotion from Haruka at the end of the episode, but thankfully, Yuto managed to dodge the bullet pretty well. It was kinda as if he read her mind though, but no matter, we had another awesome smile from Haruka to end the show again.

Awww~~~

Next week; Natsucomi time???

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

“Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!”

Yes. That is Haruka, in full Shana cosplay gear, going “Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!” with Hishoku no Sora playing prominently in the background. I am not joking. Seriously.

Haruka and co. are worried about Hazuki, who seems out of it lately and decide to secretly trail her, dragging Yuto along as well. Generally, they get kinda sidetracked, with Mika and Nanami going for brassiere shopping instead, leaving only Yuto and Haruka, who manage to trail her near a bridal shop, where they assume Hazuki’s getting married.

Before they get clarification, they get mistakenly dragged in to the shop themselves and get dressed up in wedding dresses themselves, even getting pictures taken before the mistake is spotted.

*wedding bells are ringing*

MOEEEEええええええええええええ！！！！

Not officially married yet, okay.

Finally, at home, Hazuki clarifies that she was just getting her saw (or something) fixed at the shop ABOVE the bridal shop, so all’s well ends well on that end. Unfortunately for Haruka, the wedding picture fell in to the hands of Mika, providing her with more blackmail fodder on Haruka.

“Wow, I have a brother-in-law already?”

Ho ho ho, this was a pretty nice episode, with the cosplay and all. Quite a few laugh-out-loud moments happened too. Firstly, Nanami distracted Nobunaga, who coincidentally saw them, by saying she saw the “super-talented beautiful seiyuu, Ueda Kana” walking past by. Oldest trick in the book, yeah, but it worked. Now, guess who’s Nanami’s seiyuu… wwww

Then, Haruka and Yuto also stumbled upon Yukari, the sekuhara teacher, who got drunk in the middle of the day, and actually asked him to “3P” with her and Haruka. The look at Haruka’s face when she asked what that was… is just priceless, hahahaha.

That innocent face asking “What is 3P?” is just priceless.

Not just content with bumping in to Yukari, they also run in to Ruko-nee as well, who gets to meet Haruka for the first time, and approves of her already, LOL.

“Ohohoho, my brother sure scored a good one..”

Of course, there’s also Mika as well…. who surprisingly provides most of the fanservice this episode. I estimate 8% of the episode is about her lingerie. Dear god, she’s such a precocious little girl. I really lol’ed when they showed the two times she was trying out some bras and doing all those ecchi stuff.

Remember readers, she’s only 14!

I said she’s 14, dammit!

Mmmmm, next week; FINAL FUSION! SHOUNIN! (not joking, this IS in the preview!)

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.