The first episode of Tamayura received an early broadcast, which is disappointing in a way since I won’t be able to see the next episode for a while.

This series is directed by Satou Jun’ichi, who some of you might know from his work on Aria. There’s the same tranquil feeling present plus some light humor to spice things up.

Tamayura follows Fuu Sawatari, a somewhat clumsy high school girl, as she takes photos while exploring the town with her friends. Watching this was a nice change of pace from the typical anime I am used to.

The various expressions the characters put on also add to the fun. I expect they’ll run into Momoneko-sama again soon enough in the next few episodes.

There’s nothing like a calming series after a hard day’s work. Tamayura easily makes the list of anime I plan on following for the Fall season.

Rating: Very Good

This season hasn’t been very impressive overall. The only two series that stand out are Amagami SS and HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD.

Otherwise, everything else has been mediocre. Here are the rest of my first impressions (even though it’s the middle of the season already).

• Asobi ni Iku yo! – Better than I thought it would be, but the story is still a bit too ridiculous.
• Mitsudomoe – The main characters are elementary school kids that do random things. The art style and setting don’t suit my tastes.
• Nurarihyon no Mago – A solid series about demons that is worth watching if you’re a shounen fan.
• Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi – A high school drama filled with characters that have eccentric personalities and issues. The plot isn’t engaging enough.
• Seitokai Yakuindomo – An inferior Seitokai no Ichizon that focuses on using crude jokes for humor.
• Shukufuku no Campanella – An adventure series that feels a lot like watching a RPG. I stopped early on since I wasn’t in the mood for this.
• Strike Witches 2 – Sequel to Strike Witches. More of the same as before. Personally, I preferred Sky Girls over Strike Witches.

Of course, there’s still Giant Killing and K-ON!! continuing from last season along with the monthly Katanagatari, all of which are good.

Fantasy/adventure series has long since been one of my favorites to watch.

Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (The Legend of the Legendary Heroes) first caught my attention with its title that suggests a grand story waiting to be told. However, the first episode left me disappointed with repeated gags and not much happening in terms of plot.

Then I watched the next three episodes.

These episodes serve as the real start of the story. They reveal the past of Ryner Lute, the easy-going male lead who is also the strongest mage in the kingdom. He is accompanied by Ferris Eris, a female swordmaster, as they quest to recover heroic artifacts.

If you didn’t like the first episode, watch a few more before calling it quits – you won’t regret it.

With 26 episodes planned, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu might be able to impress me enough to give it an “Excellent”.

Rating: Very Good

After watching Sora no Woto, I’m always ready and waiting for more Anime no Chikara projects.

Sure it takes more work to craft an original story, but their latest project titled Occult Academy demonstrates that it is well worth the effort. I find it far more compelling to watch an anime series where the story isn’t simply a carbon copy from a manga that I’ve previously read.

Of course, this is all assuming that the original story is actually good.

Occult Academy is about the daughter of the former headmaster of the Occult Academy (a school where they study the occult) and a time traveling agent from the future working together to essentially save the world. I know it doesn’t send shock waves with its plot, but it is decent enough.

For those fans of K-ON! out there, Maya (the headmaster’s daughter) is voiced by Hikasa Youko (Mio from K-ON!). Her character’s personality is that of a violent tsundere who makes it well known that she hates everything occult.

From the initial illustrations I saw for this series, I thought that Fumiaki (the time traveler) would be more submissive and wimpy. However, he actually seems to be quite capable but only loses his cool around Maya.

Solid animation paired with personable characters and tidbits about the occult make Occult Academy one of my top picks for this Summer season…so far. Let’s see what they can do with 13 episodes.

Rating: Very Good

HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD is without a doubt the most violent action anime series this season.

The first episode already showcases gruesome carnage (most of it offscreen) as zombies kill students who then become zombies themselves. The story follows a group of students and their struggle to survive this apocalypse. Yes, it may be a standard zombie survival premise, but the focus lies on the characters and their interactions with one another. Who knows what plot twists they might also throw at us?

From the initial episodes, we can already see that the characters are not of the static one-dimensional breed. They must all make difficult decisions that have direct consequences on their chances of survival, especially the main male lead who is already forced to take action in episode 1. Notable voice actors such as Marina Inoue (Kyoko in Skip Beat!) and Eri Kitamura (Yui in Angel Beats!) will be voicing the characters Rei Miyamoto and Saya Takagi respectively.

The animation is very fluid, with the motions and behavior of zombies captured very accurately. Some scenes almost feel like it’s straight out of a video game. But to be honest, I have been playing Killing Floor (Co-op survival horror FPS game) recently. There are hints of fan service throughout, but it’s okay as long as they don’t overdo it.

I loving the series so far despite the apparent failure of the majority of the student population in defending themselves from melee attacks (come on, don’t we all know what to do in the case of a zombie outbreak?).

Rating: Very Good

Despite being biased against anime adapted from dating sims, I actually somewhat liked Amagami SS.

There’s none of your typical fan service, nor a clueless male protagonist unintentionally building up a harem. This series has more of a KimiKiss feel to it, both in terms of content and animation style.

It’s nice to see each heroine getting her own story/route animated and also singing their own versions of the ending song. I find this adaptation method more attractive since all their endings will be shown instead of the usual “nothing is resolved” ending we see in this type of anime.

The voice actors for the characters are quite impressive (Source: Wikipedia):

Junichi Tachibana – The lead male protagonist of the story.
Voiced by: Maeno Tomoaki (Toya Fujii from White Album)

Tsukasa Ayatsuji – The class representative, who is both a hard worker and a person who is willing to take on any task that no one else will. Although outwardly she appears kind and friendly, her real personality is manipulative and cunning.
Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Mai Taniyama from Ghost Hunt)

Rihoko Sakurai – A girl with a big appetite.
Voiced by: Ryōko Shintani (Rachel Benning in Red Garden)

Kaoru Tanamachi – One of Junichi’s childhood friends.
Voiced by: Rina Satō (Mikoto Misaka in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun)

Sae Nakata – A friend of Miya’s (Junichi’s younger sister).
Voiced by: Hiromi Konno (Potato in Air)

Ai Nanasaki – A classmate of Miya’s.
Voiced by: Yukana (Teletha Testarossa in Full Metal Panic! )

Haruka Morishima – A very popular girl in her final year, who has many fans in the school. Her best friend is Hibiki Tsukahara.
Voiced by: Shizuka Itō (Hinagiku Katsura in Hayate no Gotoku!)

The first story is that of Haruka Morishima. Her best friend Hibiki Tsukahara (shown above) is voiced by Yū Asakawa (Rider in Fate/stay night), which is neat since I just met her at AX this year.

So far I’m predicting that it’ll be 4 episodes per heroine, for a grand total of 24 episodes. Plot-wise, it’s nothing special; it is what it appears to be – a high school romance series.

However, Amagami SS has clean character designs paired with solid animation and voice acting. My only concern is how they plan on implementing the multiple versions of the story. It could either end up feeling somewhat repetitive, or flow along just right.

Rating: Good

As I would expect from a slice of life anime based on a 4-panel, the characters have remained the same for the most part.

The series focuses on the unique quirks that each character has and plays with them to create amusing interactions amongst the restaurant staff of Wagnaria. Each worker can be easily identified by the “unique” trait associated with them, making it a simple task to predict the outcome of their encounters. As usual, some of their past histories are revealed during the anime while others aren’t even mentioned (I guess they weren’t interesting enough). With the late introduction of Matsumoto in the last episode, you just assume that they’re planning for a second season.

The main plot development was rather weak and mostly revolved around the relationship between Takanashi and Inami. I felt Inami’s extreme fear of men was overused and too much screen time was devoted to her. It would have been nice to see more development between Takanashi and other members of the staff. I was leaning towards Takanashi x Taneshima.

I do realize that this was a 13-episode deal, so Takanashi x Inami probably did not get as much screen time as I felt they did. Still, their formula worked for me. This was easily the most enjoyable series to watch this season.

As an added bonus, its OP is really catchy…

Rating: Good

I take back what I said during Winter’s midseason impressions about there not being many anime series this Spring.

I’m keeping up with just about every anime this season and the overall quality so far is more than satisfying.

Angel Beats! – My favorite series this season. It has it all: comedy, drama, action, and tragedy all rendered with superb animation and flanked by lovely OP/ED songs. Every episode gives me things to think about and to theorycraft on with others.

Arakawa Under the Bridge – Despite having some similarities with Bakemonogatari, I just can’t really get into this series. I prefer the supernatural stories over this under the bridge homeless setting. Plus, tsundere is greater than alien. It’s still entertaining enough though.

B Gata H Kei – This series is still the lighthearted comedy romance that I was expecting. It’s definitely fun to watch the perverted but innocent female lead get into troublesome situations.

Giant Killing – I was expecting them to dominate all the way to the top, but reality deems otherwise. The heavy focus on characterization and overcoming obstacles in their way makes this soccer anime one of the most realistic and engaging sports series I have ever seen.

Hakuouki – Shinsengumi Kitan – The animation and battle scenes leave me with no complaints in that area, but the way that the female lead constantly rushes into combat and has to be saved by one of the many bishounens accompanying her is a major turn-off. Why even bring her along on a mission why she has shown no combat ability whatsoever?

Heroman – American superhero anime simply isn’t my thing. I gave the series a chance since Bones was the studio behind it, and it’s okay I guess, but I’m not impressed.

House of Five Leaves – Watching this anime is starting to bore me. The entire series feels slow, and the main character’s meek personality doesn’t help.

Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou – It would be nice if they toned down on some of the fan service. Your typical harem series taking place at a magic academy.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama! – Both the male and female leads are easily likable. I look forward to seeing their (romantic) relationship develop more.

K-ON!! – I didn’t do a first impressions post for this, but K-ON!! requires no introduction. The original cast is still going strong with their tea time antics. Azusa and Mio ftw!

Mayoi Neko Overrun! – There’s so many seemingly filler episodes that I treat the entire series as a filler.

RAINBOW – So many messed up things that they had to go through and put up with. I can’t wait to see them all released and what they end up doing in the future.

Senkou no Night Raid – I feel I was a bit harsh on their Mandarin, and I think now it’s actually great that A-1 Pictures experiments so much with having other languages spoken in their anime. Their ability to craft an immersive setting with beautiful backgrounds is simply astounding.

Working!! – Who could have known that working at a family restaurant is so fun? A prime example of comedic slice of life done right.

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei – His “friend” seriously looks like some type of monster. I can’t help thinking that every time I see him on the screen. Otherwise, the rapid fire narration continues to amuse and delight me. Some of their antics fall on the epic threshold.

Two series that I also watch, which are still continuing from past seasons, are Durarara!! and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. FMA: Brotherhood leaves its predecessor in the dust while Durarara!! is still going strong with an all-out war imminent.

Well, this covers almost everything that I watch on a weekly basis.

After playing the StarCraft II Beta for a while, it still holds up as a solid successor to the original StarCraft.

Battle.net has been completely revamped with Achievements added in and a ladder/match-making system similar to that of World of Warcraft Arena.

New teams play 5 placement matches that will land you in a league ranging from Copper to Platinum. I love this new system since it saves me the trouble of finding matches against players of around equal skill level. You can still play private matches against friends, but those aren’t ranked.

My only gripe with the new Battle.net is that you invite your friends to a “party” and you get a tab that pops up into a small chatbox. I miss having the channels in the old Battle.net where large groups of people could meet up.

As for the game itself, it’s mostly the original StarCraft with updated graphics similar to WarCraft III. There are of course new units, abilities, and structures, but the core gameplay remains largely the same. The pace of the game feels quicker with units and buildings being destroyed more easily.

Protoss is my race of choice, and I must say that Void Rays are amazing. They’re basically flying glass cannons that annihilate buildings in a blink of an eye, but can easily be destroyed itself. I haven’t played Zerg or Terran much since I was mainly a Protoss player in SC1, but I’ll still give them a try.

Look at how long StarCraft has lasted. StarCraft II will be played for many years to come, making this a definite purchase for me. I can’t wait to do some 4v4 matches with my friends!

It feels like I’ve been doing a ton of first impressions for the Spring 2010 season, but this should be the final anime.

Rainbow is about a group of delinquent youths in the Shounan Special Reform School around 10 years after World War II. You are presented with the above disclaimer right when you start episode 1, which got me interested in what they meant.

Be prepared for lots of brutal violence and despicable acts of cruelty. The sad thing is, you realize stuff like this is still happening around the world today. The things some humans are capable of doing is just horrendous.

In the first episode, I was surprised they all got put into one cell. I guess that’s how they did things in the past maybe due to a lack of resources? Seven people versus two people per cell in prison nowadays, but in the anime they were in a “Special Reform School”, which looks like just a fancy way of saying “prison” to me.

The series is about them bonding with one another and dives into their unfortunate personal histories. I don’t usually watch anime to depress myself, but I’ll let this one slide.

Rating: Decent