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.

DKJ’s Top 20 Hottest Anime Chicks pt4 (5-1)

So here we go!  My list of who I think are the five hottest women in anime.  Yes, I realize ahead of time that this likely will have some huge omissions for some of you.  But this is my damn list!  And my damn choices, tastes and rules!  If you have a problem with it, then send me a comment and tell me who I missed or who you’d prefer.  Or write your own damn blog post and send me a link.  Because from here, to the end of this blog post, it’s nothing but eye candy!  So shut up, and soak in the sexy!

Check-in Station: DKJ’s annual Harem Hall-of-Fame Induction 2013

I made a post several years ago that I very regrettably never followed up. I think most guys (and some women) have their list of favorite hotties. Their mental list of of people they find most attractive. And it never perfectly corresponds to anyone else’s list. In a funny way, I believe it’s one of the more personal things you can express, when you take that list and put it to paper with pen. Or in the case of a blogger, take your idea from keystrokes to ones and zeros on your screen. I did so in that previous post, and I’m going to do it again this time. This is the list of my nominees for my Harem Hall-of-Fame.

Check-out Station: Rinne no Lagrange (don’t mind us, we don’t have anything else to do)

I’ve sat through some classics in years of anime watching. Gunbuster, Diebuster, Evangelion, Eureka Seven, RahXephon, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, I may even include Star Driver in that list. A list of classic “god” robot anime that have made an impact, or at the very least been intensely devoted their own style of storytelling and atmosphere. Rinne no Lagrange is not one of those shows. There’s nothing intense about it. Matter of fact, despite its dressing as a mecha show with powerful robots and interplanetary intrigue, its really a sheep in wolf’s clothing. And that’s what I think is this show’s problem. It attempts to meld genres unsuccessfully, and to the point of making you wonder why one element even matters in the presence of others. And it trivializes the events in the story and its eventual conclusion.

Rinne no Lagrange ep22: betrayal

The home stretch. In one corner we have the De Metrio army lead by Lord Villagulio. And in the other we have the Le Garite army lead by King Dizelmine.

Well, it looks like the end game has started. Dizelmine, influenced by Moid somehow, has unleashed Le Garite’s full force across their territories, especially Earth. I really don’t get it. Is Dizelmine so in love with his idea of peace through power that sense and negotiations are just thrown out the window? I guess he sees his opportunity and is perfectly willing to kill people for it. Tsk! This show never liked to explain itself very much, and neither does its characters.

Rinne no Lagrange ep21: when boys cry

Episode 20

I keep forgetting how badly Rinne no Lagrange wants to be a slice-of-life show. In the last episode, Moid took off with an important artifact and fled to Le Garite and Lord Dizelmine’s side. Does the show address that situation?  No not really, instead we’re given a going away party for three bland, useless characters; a fever that doesn’t even last long enough to be a plot point; and some drama regarding Madoka figuring out her graduation plans.  Let’s see if I can pull something positive out of this.

Rinne no Lagrange ep20: the real Jersey Club

Episode 19

Soooo, it’s been awhile. I haven’t touched this series in (looks at calendar) – GEEZUS! Seven and a half months! Wow! If this series was gonna get a movie it would be almost animated by now! But I’m determined not to leave my work hanging. And since I’m actually invested in this series one way or another, I’m gonna push through and finish Rinne no Lagrange. Good thing this is one of the more laid back and inconsequential episodes of the series, at least until the end.

Rinne no Lagrange ep19: my lonely loli lily of reincarnation.

[Rinne no Lagrange ep18]

I’ve come a long way when it comes to understanding and tolerating this show.  Though I don’t believe I’ll ever accept it as a true mecha show, I still manage to tolerate it and string together some positives from each twenty plus minutes of animation in it.  I used to harp on how annoying and daft Madoka was.  But I’ve gotten used to her awkwardly pushy and hyper personality.  And I’ll admit that it’s nice to see her actions pay off.  And it’s actually nice to see characters in an anime act a little reasonable with or without the violence.  Though I will say it’s not terribly exciting to watch.

Rinne no Lagrange ep18: a most convenient series of events.

[Rinne no Lagrange ep17]

If by some miracle I could add something to this show (besides a lot more robot on robot violence), it might be Newtype powers.  Because the lengths this show goes to to get people to understand each other is ridiculous.  To make matters worse, you’re not sure after all this how much the characters actually do understand each other.  Rinne no Lagrange episode 18, a failure to communicate.  Rectified with violence and girl power. 

Don KangolJones’ Images of the Week: August 8th (Much love for Muv-Luv)

I enjoy a good mecha production as much as the next Gundam loving, Eva worshipping, Gurren-Lagann inspired guy. So when someone like me gets to enjoy 4 currently airing mecha or mecha inspired series, as well as some good old school Macross, I will say that I’m greatly aware and a time like this awed at the diversity and quantity that is at my disposal. And yet I still have the nerve to pick up a mahou shoujo and read pervy manga. I guess I’ll never be truly satisfied.