Check-out Station: Farewell Fall 2010 season! (I stayed a bit too long.)

Fall 2010 of the anime season was the first (and probably only) season of material I tried to follow almost completely as it aired.  Some may call it ambitious, I call it a f*cking chore (sorry, I watched Zero Punctuation before writing this so I may be a little “snarky” i.e. a bitch!).  But regardless I had a lot of fun, watched plenty of quality anime, and some horrid ones as well.  And normally I do goodbye post for every series I complete.  And normally I’d have time to do that.  But, and let me count, ….. ELEVEN anime means nearly eleven posts (obviously several are still ongoing) and I just don’t have the time.  Not to mention the then ongoing series that completed at or near the end of the season.  So I decided to roll everything up into one fat, American mega post and give a mini-Check-out for each and every one of these series.  Here we go!

Check-out Station: Highschool of the Dead (don’t look away, it’s gloriously tragic)

Wow!  That’s finally over.  A popular opinion I’ve been hearing on the interwebs is that the Summer season was one of the most horrible ones that they can remember.  That however does not mean that there was nothing to watch.  Sometimes it’s fun to watch a trainwreck or disaster as well.  There are actually movies out there that are legendary and popular because they are so bad.  There’s a reason Court TV turned into Tru TV and started showing all those horrible “Worst”, “Dumbest” and “Most Dangerous” tv shows where they show real life footage of  people in dangerous, or ridiculous situations.  There’s a reason Youtube videos of people getting hurt or hurting others or just making fools of themselves get so many views and make people so much money (just look up the Bed Intruder phenomenon).  And there’s a reason people slow down to stare at carwrecks as they pass by.  People are just naturally compelled to look at the outrageous and unbelievable.  I saw a video the other day of a motorcycle getting hit by a truck.  The guy (formerly) on the motorcycle was flipped in and through the air when he was hit.  HE LANDED ON HIS FEET!  The guy walked back to the site of the accident and exchanged insurance information with the truck driver.  I’m showing that video to any and everyone who will let me.  You can bet on that.  And that’s what Highschool of the Dead capitalized on, our natural inclination to observe a disaster and tell everyone about it.  Like it or not, this show was a terrible success.

Check-out Station: Heroman (there’s plenty of time for average, later)

There’s potential, and then there’s reality.  There are the hopes for Heroman, and then there’s what Heroman really turned out to be.  Seeing as this show was a mecha from Studio Bones, you have to forgive me for having high hopes.  With shows like RahXephon and Eureka 7 under their belt, and my desperate need for a new mecha to satiate my desires I stuck around with Heroman, hoping for some great moment that would make this series memorable.  I like to compare my anime to women and relationships with them (this isn’t the best habit, I admit).  To say that I was sticking with the homely girl so I could have something secure and get some regular loving when I wasn’t sure where else I could get it would be accurate.  Heroman was me sticking with the mediocre because that was all I had.

Check-out Station: Bakemonogatari (It was never really a harem. He’s just an awesome guy.)

Everyone has problems.  Everyone has stress.  Everyone has a weight they have to carry with them wherever they go, whatever they do.  It reminds me very much of a scene from the movie Up in the Air where the lead character gives a seminar on life and his philosophy towards it.  Basically, it boils down to freeing your mind and traveling light.  It’s not that easy for most of us though.  If it was, the world would be a happier place.  Now imagine all that weight, all that stress, all those problems and attach an apparition to them.  Something that feeds on what ails you.  Do that and you generally get an idea of the problems addressed in Bakemonogatari.

Check-out Station: DonKangolJones’ End of Summer Movie Special (Paprika & Summer Wars)

I don’t watch anime movies very often.  It comes down to strange combination of having an already short attention span, it being almost impossible for me not to get interrupted (at home or work) for two hours and/or the  realization that often, minus a few Miyazaki films the movies tend to be bad (Naruto) or depressing (End of EVA).  I prefer my short bits of  anime goodness.  But for some reason the past weekend became a perfect storm for me to pick up two movies I’ve been waffling on for a good while now.  With Satoshi Kon’s unfortunate death, I told myself that I would finally sit down & give one of his movies a proper watch, and once I finished with that, and the near end of summer, I decided to check out the incredibly hyped Summer Wars.  I wondered if I was about to validate my summer of anime watching, or ruin it.  I mean I could’ve always just watched Iron Man 2 or Inception again, right?

Check-in Station: Strike Witches 2 eps1-6 (Aliens hate lolis & panties, and I hate them!)

Welcome to the world of surprises, our world.  It has become plain and simple to me why I never bet on anything.  It’s not just because I’m genuinely miserly.  It’s because too often people just are incapable of telling the future.  A perfect case in point, Strike Witches the anime.  Loli-like girls without panties?  There’s no way this will fly!  Oh boy was I wrong.  I loved it and now it’s back for a second season.  I wonder, is Strike Witches 2 a rehash, verbatim of the first season?  Or is it going to build on that success?

Check-out Station: Cleopatra (“Queen of Retarded Failure”)

Has anyone ever had a friend, or been that friend who watched horrible, campy material just for the laughs.  I used to be one of those.  I would watch terrible low budget (or big budget) horror movies and my friend and I would laugh heartily at them.  Seeing things like

Check-out Station: Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (“The Decadence of Akuto”)

I’m not a big fan of the now popular twelve to thirteen episode format of most anime adaptations.  It works well for certain types of shows.  Comedies and incomplete manga adaptations get a more fair shot at showing their true potential in this format.  But too often I feel like there aren’t enough slow, enjoyable moments for the characters to develop and distinguish themselves.  It’s a good thing that this show is such a fun, senseless ride that you don’t really notice.  

Check-out Station: B Gata H Kei (“Ya-Yamadaaaa!”)

I rarely over the course of a season make a complete 180 while watching a show.  And when I say that, I mean I go from loathing the concept of a series to loving and even recommending it.  It managed to entertain me in a way I thought was only possible in the manga with the pervier series I read.

Check-out Station: Durarara (Love, it’s all about love.)

Looking back, this may be the best show I’ve watched this year.  Along with Baka to Test to Shokanju, Kimi ni Todoke and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I’ve consistently looked forward to each and every week of it.  This show did a wonderful job of blending a large and likable cast into an intricate and driving plot.  And it showed me some very interesting things like: