Level E Episode 1

Level E was one of my most anticipated anime for this season, and I had high expectations for it. The manga was originally written by Yoshihiro Togashi in between in his two famous works: Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter. Though I’m not a big fan of YYH, HxH is one of my favorite shounen series. Even so, I was still dubious. The synopsis on Wikipedia made it feel like a slice of life comedy series with other shounen elements. However, after watching this first episode, I realized I had nothing to worry about. This exceeded expectations.

Beelzebub Episode 1

I wasn’t expecting much from Beelzebub. Though I’ve never read the manga before, I do understand the basic gist of it and what type of manga it is. Nonetheless, I will admit that the basic premise is unique and intriguing. But even then, being a shounen comedy, how exactly would they execute it? That was the primary question I had going into this first episode.

Gosick Episode 1

Gosick was one of the three anime I anticipated for the most this season. After all, a really good mystery will absorb you into the whole experience and leave you on the edge of your seat wanting more after each episode. Although I wasn’t expecting something would let my imagination run wild with predictions and theories, I did have somewhat high expectations for this anime. Frankly, it didn’t quite keep that grasp on me like a good mystery should, but nonetheless, it certainly wasn’t boring.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Episode 1

I’ve never been a fan of magical girl anime. The stupid clothing transformations and the innocent nature of the genre just don’t interest me. However, I was drawn in by this one for a number of reasons. First of all, its timeslot. Though magical girl anime are generally directed towards children, this show is airing at 1:25 AM. I don’t know a lot about Japanese life, but I’m assuming that most Japanese children don’t stay up that late. Secondly, it’s being produced by Shaft. I’m not a Shaft fanboy or anything, but their direction style is certainly unique, as evidenced by Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Arakawa Under the Bridge, and Bakemonogatari. Lastly, the promotional images. In those images, the girls were carrying some pretty atypical weapons for a magical girl series, holding swords, guns, and bow and arrows instead of the standard wand. These indicated that the show would have a slight more violent nature to it. But honestly, going into it, I had no idea what to expect, and yet, due to the hype, my expectations were fairly high. And indeed, it delivered.

Winter 2011 Anime Season Thoughts

Well, it’s officially the new year. This will be the first anime season I’m actually following. Many new shows and seasons are going to premiere starting from January 4th. Most of them just seem to have that moe or fanservice crap. Typical otaku pandering I suppose. However, a few anime have piqued my interest to varying degrees, and I’ll be blogging about them extensively, giving my thoughts to each episode and such. Here they are: