What I’m Watching Now

Since I haven’t finished any series in awhile, although I’m super close to finishing one or two on this list. I decided that in order to keep up the impression that this blog is semi-reliable in terms of posting, I’ll post these update things on what I’m currently watching…just for fun basically.

Now, as for watch I’m watching, I’m actually watching/keeping up with quite a few things, a lot of them airing which pleases me immensely. The reason behind this being that I usually keep up with airing series until about the mid-way point at which point I tend to become lazy and push it off until it’s finished airing and is now sadly sitting on my “Watching” list, taunting me. This season though, I’ve been pretty good about keeping up with my chosen weekly series (I say chosen because I actually wanted to watch a crap ton more stuff that was airing this season, but was smart and only got myself addicted to a select few.). Although, I’m sad to say, that I did end up giving up a bit on Kuro no Baske and Sankarea, both of which I plan to get my butt started on again…soon…

Anywho, for those who care, here’s what I’m currently watching:

Bakuman Season 1: This is one of the series that I’m really close to finishing. I have about seven episodes left….okay  so maybe I’m a little farther away that “really close”…Let me say this about this show though: The OP is one of my favorite songs. Seriously, I really love this song; it’s one of the reasons look forward to each episode. Sad, I know. However, the OP is like a minute something of this show. Now, I like this show a lot because of the determination of the main characters to accomplish their dream which is really inspiring and learning about the manga industry, but it can get so boring at times. The pacing and overall tone of this show is pretty slow and calm with not a whole lot going on, so sometimes I just get bored. However, I’m going to try my hardest to finish it soon so that I can talk about all the stuff I really liked about the show and what I didn’t like as much.

Natsume Yuujinchou: I’m actually re-watching this because I really want to watch the latest season which I read was awesome. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it since nothing much has changed since I first watched it, so I have no new and amazing feelings about it…other than, I guess, getting a little more out of the stories that I originally did. I love the art, the ED is freaking amazing and one of my favorite songs of all time, I love Natsume, and this show is a whole bottle of awesome sauce. ‘Nuff said…until later, I suppose.

Tsuritama: This was actually my second surprise show out of what I’m watching. I didn’t expcept to like it as much I do. Now this show is also really slow, but unlike Bakuman, I a) have a week break in-between every episode which is actually sometimes really frustrating at times, especially now, near the end and b) I dislike next to nothing about this show. It’s not perfection, but this is an adorable little show. Although I love how its moving out of the slice-of-life aspects and going into the more series stuff as we get into the homestrech. I’m super excited to see how it ends, although I have the feeling that it’s going to be a bittersweet one (*coughHarucough*).

Sakamichi no Apollon: I knew I was going to love this show from the start. Now let me say this here: I have never watched Cowboy Bebop, so I wasn’t all hyped up because I was expecting the same level of greatness from the power duo Yoko Kano and Shinichiro Watanabe (although I have watched Samurai Champloo which I enjoyed immensly, although I’ve only realized relatively recently who directed it). In fact, I typically don’t really care who is directing/producing/etc. I only usually care about the production studio because I kind of understand those. I just don’t understand what any of those people do..Although I’m now starting to pay attention to stuff like that.

Now that my little random rant is over, back to Sakamichi. This show is amazing. Really if you don’t believe me, go out there and read about it only other, better known blogs, and I bet you that for most of them love it or at least admit that it’s really well done. The animation style may take some getting used to depending on the person, but it is really stunning and I wish more stuff was animated this beautifully. After reading about how the playing of the instruments in this show was really realistic, I watched really closely, and it truly is amazing how smooth the animation is with regards to the music. Speaking of which, the music, one of the stars of the show, is fantastic, and the characters, the other star, are extremely loveable and you can’t help but root for them. I think the romance in this show is well handled as well. Most of the issues are addressed really early on, and although they seem to be resurfacing a bit with some new ones in tow, a couple has been tentatively formed, and there will probably be some future development in the love triangle.

Uchuu Kyoudai: This is my surprise series out of what I’m watching. I actually wasn’t planning to watch this because the story didn’t particularly interest me and I wasn’t a big fan of the animation. However, I kept reading really good things about it so I decided to try it…and I love it. (I seem to say that about a lot of series…). The animation style has grown on me to the point where I actually like it a lot because the character designs aren’t very cute, but fit their characters really well. Also, it is really easy to fall in love with Mutta because of his humor/silliness and his determination.

I have just gotten past the first part of the astronaut examinations which were really interesting to watch because I found the selection process to be really cool in the sense that I know absolutely nothing about the process, so it was interesting to see what the candidates were tested on. I’m really excited to see more of Mutta’s adventures in America and continue to learn more about him through his past, which helps fuel his dreams. I’m also excited to see more of Hibito now that the part of the story I’m at includes him more. Now, for those of you who are actively keeping up with this show, you might have noticed I’m a bit behind, and it’s true, I am behind, but I don’t mind. I want to take this show slowly and at a pace I know I’ll be able to keep up because I think this is supposed to up being quite long and I want to be able to see it through to the end.

Eureka Seven AO: First, let me tell you that I am a huge fan of Eureka Seven. Yes, Renton was an annoying brat at the start, Holland was a bit of an ass, the middle was chock full of drama and angst, and the story near the end was a bit hard to follow, but I remember loving this show immensly while I was watching it. I thought the romance was sweet even if it did take forever to develop and I liked the cast, for the most part, at the end. I also think that the drama provided a lot of development for both Renton and Eureka and allowed Renton to grow up a lot.

Back to its pleasing sequel. I’ll admit I had a few qualms about this show going in because its been quite a while since the original aired, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about this mysterious child popping up out of nowhere with no Eureka or Renton in sight (I’m still mildly upset about that, but that’s because I thought they were cute). However, I think that Eureka Seven Ao has been doing a really good job so far. Ao is, I have to admit, slightly more likeable than Renton was when he was introduced. He is really portrayed as a kid who is a little lost,, but is determined to face things head on, despite any risks. This show has the same feel as its predecessor which makes me happy. It has some really interesting things to build on in latter episodes which makes me excited for future episodes. On the other hand, I don’t quite understand the villain (maybe I’m not supposed to yet?) and the political tensions are a bit hard to completely grasp for me. Though, I’m sure these things don’t matter much in the scheme of things because I’ll probably get a better grasp on them as the story goes on. Did I mention how much I love that preview music? It’s so catchy….

UN-GO: I have literally just started this. This is one of those series I wanted to watch while it was airing, but was too lazy to. I’m actually pretty proud of myself because I was able to guess the culprit in the first mystery, although the reasons behind the act were…unexpected, I suppose I could say. Because I’m a spoiler whore, I loosely kept up with blog posts about this show  while it was airing and know that there is a definite undertone dealing with the various effects of the recent war on various people and the society as a whole, which I think is really interesting. I could definitely see that in the first episode. I have to say, I have pretty high expectations for this show because I love BONES and they tend to churn out some really good stuff. However, the one thing I suppose I don’t like as much about the show is how much talking there is. Maybe it was just the first episode and maybe I’m just a slow reader, but I found it a tad difficult to keep up with what all the characters were saying. It felt like the moment I finished processing something or reading the lines then looking at the title of the person who said them, there was already some other quickly spoken piece of dialogue going on. This isn’t  a major thing for me because I suspect this may just be an issue for me, and I’m sure that I”ll get used to it pretty quickly. Anyways, I’m looking forward to seeking  what this show has in store.

Bokura Ga Ita: Now this is the series I am almost done with. I have like five episodes left. Let me say this now: I already know I’m going to be unsatisfied with the ending at the rate things are going. I know the basics of the story, I know how the manga ends, and how long the characters took to get to that ending, so I’m sure that I’m going to be emotionally let down by the ending to this show which is sad because this is a show I’ve grown to like quite a bit. Yes, this show is super soap opera-y with its drama, but I love it (unlike Rumbling Hearts which I hate by the way). The drama is super frustrating because I want their relationship to survive and blossom so much, but it keeps you watching, if you know what I mean, because you want to see what happens next so you keep watching and watching.

I actually tried to watch this show when I was first getting into anime, but forgot about/got bored. I’m glad I’m watching it now because I feel like I have a better grasp on it now than I would have then. The animation style is pretty unique and gives the show a very soft look which suits it well. The characters themselves are…complex, especially Yano, poor Yano.Honestly, one of the reasons I really love the relationship between Yano and Nana-chan is that it helps Yano get past the Nana of the past and helps him heal, even if its just a little. That’s the main reason why I’m kind of dreading the ending because I think I know where its going to end and its going to end in a place that leaves both Yano and Nana-chan alone.

One Piece: Okay, I’ll own up and say I”ve been really lazy when it comes to this series recently. I have One Piece spurts: I’ll watch tons of One Piece for a really long time, and then I’ll take a break for a really long time, then rinse and repeat. Well, I’m trying to get off of my break by slowly making my way through this arc which I have to admit, is not one of my favorites. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really dislike this arc. The only One Piece arc I’ve ever truly disliked was the Ice Hunter Arc which I thought was utterly terrible because I think the One Piece crew should have been able to beat those bimbos in maybe one or two episodes tops Yes, I think ten episodes was too much time spend becaue, I mean, this is after  they completely and utterly destroyed Enies Lobby and the CP9. That arc just really pissed me off, but moving on.

My beef with the Thriller Bark Arc is that I feel like its dragging a bit. I mean, I love Brooks and can’t wait until he joins the crew, and I am used to long arcs, I just feel like all the characters aren’t doing much in their respective battles which are only now, about twenty episodes from the end, getting serious/resolved. Also, I’m dragging a bit because I’m getting close to the Sabaody Archipelago Arc with the splitting up of the crew I love so much and closer to Ace’s…well, you know, which depresses me a bit. However, I’m determined to catch myself up completely on One Piece over the summer, and I know I can do it….probably.

……..

Well, that’s basically it. I know a lot of it was me talking about the stuff I usually do in the first paragraph of reviews/final thought things (how/why I got started on the series), and a lot of it was random rambling, but I didn’t really know how to format or write these things. Hopefully, I ‘ll get better with practice. -One a side note, I’ll probably be doing a few of these over summer since I plan to watch a lot over summer.-