Check-in Station Year in Review: Spring 2013 (Where the Biggest and Best Come to Play)

Welcome to the wonderful Spring season!  The season of juggernauts –  literally!  The more I heard about this season in previews, the more excited I got.  The Spring season was the reason I still looked forward to watching modern, new anime.  So without further hype and hyperbole, I’m gonna tell you the story of the Check-in Station’s journey through anime’s Spring of 2013.

Check-out Station: Karneval ep13 (I came here to see action and kissing)

And daggonnit – I’m not getting any of that!

So here we’ve come to the end, of the season anyway. I have no idea if this will get another season, but I will say I’m a tad disappointed. Is it because I’m wading into unfamiliar waters? I rarely view josei, yaoi or any other material that is geared towards females or written by them. So perhaps my disappointment is due to misguided expectations and a lack of understanding. Then again, that hasn’t stopped me with other series, so get ready for some b*tching!

Karneval ep12: I’ll be your eyes, hands and feet, and we’ll be their nightmare

And here I was sure that Karneval would just be a bland disappointment all the way through. And overall, I may still be right. But with these last two episodes, it looks like the show is going to blow its load like- well, I won’t be vulgar. Let’s just say that this show is taking the phrase, “save the best for last” to heart.

Karneval ep11: a pretext to do better

I’ve come to grips with why I’ve yet to drop this disappointing show. It’s not because it’s bad, it’s not. And it’s not because it’s boring, though it certainly can be at times. It’s because of Gareki. If they don’t make his character awesome by the end of this it will be an unforgivable waste. At least this episode gives me the pretext to believe that that will be possible.

Karneval ep10: I’d appreciate full disclosure

I have to say, I’ve completely underplayed a certain aspect of the story of Karneval.  But to be fair, this show has a habit of underplaying things.  And when I’m not sure if a character is dead or not, and it’s not because I don’t see the character die, then I think something is being done wrong.  There’s a break in communication.  With that cleared up, let’s move on.  Though you’ll have to forgive me this time.  As usual, I have a terrible member and this time I’ve lost my notes.  That’s right, I have and have always used notes.

Karneval ep9: the worst of luck

Well, if that wasn’t a let down. Not the episode mind you, but Yogi’s non-rampage. Regardless, there’s still plenty to digest here as we see a bit how the “other side” of Karneval lives.

Karneval ep8: visions of Kurama dancing through my head

What is going on?  First Majestic Prince, now this show?  Is episode eight the designated episode for bland shows to show out?  I’m not saying this is a great show, and the episode wasn’t spectacular either. But at least it had an interesting ending.

Check-in Station: Mid-Season Review (Spring 2013)

This has been quite honestly, my most successful season since I started blogging.  I’ve watched several anime before, but I wasn’t attempting to write about all of them on an episode by episode basis.  Even better yet, I used to just watch a series in bulk.  I’d either get a DVD or find a batch of files and watch until I got tired, or I ran out of material.  The only time that ever backfired was when I was watching the original Code Geass (why would they have a six month break between episode 23 and the end of the series?!).  Now I’m watching seven (maybe eight) series at the moment, and their pretty much all to the halfway point.  So instead of doing a “Check-in” post on all seven, I’m gonna give the run down for the majority in one post, right here.  That way I can get on with whatever other projects I’m working on at the moment.

Now then, let’s get started.  I’ll do this in whatever random order I choose.  I will not be assigning score or rank.  I will just be assigning opinions.

Karneval ep7: faffing about! I label this show, a faffer.

There’s a time for mourning in all things.  My buddy who loves the Office just had to cope with the fact that the show will only live on in syndication now (though I personally thought it should’ve ended years ago).  No longer will he be able to do his little guitar strumming bunny-hop to the break room for his lunches to see his favorite show.  There will be a mourning period, an unavoidable time of reflection, sadness and coping.  Of course he’s a person though, not a TV show.  And Karneval has done a great job of not doing much at all, so I’d appreciate it if this show would stop faffing about and get on to the main points of the plot as some point!

Karneval ep6: a life wasted is a life thrown away

I gotta say, if I’m gonna die I hope I get to go in a haze of sparkles.  It just appears to be so much less painful than the usual die with a gaping hole in your body kind of way.  Or the slow, cold death of bleeding out.  And it’s gotta be a hell of a lot better than drowning or being burned alive.  Though I’m not sure it matters so much to the people left behind.  This is a weird way to start, I know.  But episode six of Karneval is a dour, yet strong one.