Check-in Station Year in Review: 2013 (Summer)

There are some anime seasons that are just good.  There are seasons that are memorable.  And then there are seasons that are legendary.  The Spring 2006 season saw the debut of the most influential anime since Evangelion, Haruhi.  On top of that, it had Higurashi, Ouran High School Host Club, Gintama and Aria!  The Fall 2006 season aired the beginnings of Death Note and Code Geass, two juggernaut series at the same time!  Fall 1995 saw the debut Neon Genesis Evangelion and the first Ghost in the Shell movie.  And yet, I look at this Summer 2013 season and wonder – does this rank as one of the best seasons of anime ever?!  It’s insane to think about how low the expectations were going into this season.  My own expectations were near rock bottom.  When it came to what hype I had, it was all regarding the two returning series and nothing else.  Even then, Bakemonogatari‘s second sequel was getting a lot of hype from the anime community because of the mixed reactions Nisemonogatari received (I loved it).  And there was no telling if Symphogear G was going to be able to live up to the hype,pacing and expectations set by the first season.  But what we got this season was an ever rolling, ever growing ball of quality, memorable anime.

Summer 2013 was the little engine that could.  It was the nerdy kid turned super star.  Summer 2013 was the best of 2013!  And I’m proving it here!

Check-out Station: Watamote ep12 (Dreams, delusions and great direction)

So sad, we’ve come to the end.

We begin (or end) things with a bit of a refresher. The school year has moved on, the cultural festival is over, and Tomoko is still stuck in the same rut. Though it seems she’s adjusted rather well to her circumstances and position. Though, truth be told, she really hasn’t made any progress aside from avoiding the usual trap of falling into bad situations because of her delusions. That said, the delusions don’t go away; they’re only sadder more internal ones. Tomoko tries again and again to imagine the fun she should be having at this point in her school career. But every time she imagines something happy and ideal, the cruel, cold reality of life swats down her imagination.  And when she tries to recall exactly what she’s done up to this point, she nearly dies

Watamote ep11: she’s very good – at cutting up!

The episode, and Tomoko’s day start off with her trying to avoid work as much as possible. With the festival right around the corner, her class, just like everyone else’s, is hard at work building and crafting what they need for respective attractions. Tomoko rangles up the duty of cutting up a few flyers, with the plan of avoiding as much work as possible by padding out this one simple activity. Unfortunately, her plans are ruined twice, once

Watamote ep10: to the bitter end

Hope springs eternal, but it’s only despair that seems to last forever. Tomoko wishes for nothing more than a fresh start with a new semester starting up. And that’s exactly what she gets, as she’s moved from prime loner territory (the back of the class by the windows) to square center in the middle of the classroom, surrounded by the very students she’s loathed from the beginning of the school year. What burns inside of her is a seething desire to see justice be done, and by justice she means Battle Royale style murder. Adding to her discomfort, the Culture Fair (something any anime watching veteran should be familiar with by now) is right around the corner. What this means for Tomoko is that she’s going to be forced into group activities.

*shudder*

Watamote ep9: your desires should not equal your expectations

The home stretch! Tomoko is in the home stretch now. With summer nearing its end, she’s running out of chances to make an impression and lasting memories. Though looking back at her past two episodes, I wouldn’t say she’s accumulated much in the way of stories worth bragging about, nor positive memories. So I can’t totally blame her for falling into a few more delusions while the summer heat is still frying her less than common sense.

WataMote ep8: liar, liar, life on fire!

Let’s stop pretending. Shouldn’t this show be given a different, but equally ridiculously long title like, A Series of Unfortunate Failures of a Unfortunate Fool? No? Yeah, no. That was a failure all by itself.

Liar, liar, lick spit,

Your tongue shall be slit,

And all the dogs in the town

Shall have a little bit

– some old book of nursery rhymes

There’s something to be said about the ability to consistently fool someone. And that’s that it’s a commitment.  Everytime you lie to someone, you have to make the decision

Watamote ep7: it’s best to make sure you always stick it in the right hole

What a sad, sad episode. And I thought episode six was depressing. We’ve already been shown how lonely Tomoko is, she honestly hasn’t a friend in her school. And the bright lights of summer just expose her even more. It’s almost like leaving a vampire out in the sun, except she melts more slowly, so the death is longer and more agonizing.

It’s all just one terrible series of failures after another. She starts by spending the first few days just in her room on the internet, doing every

Watamote ep6: ANT you had enough yet? Heh, heh heh!

I’ve seen some dumb ideas, especially in this show, but a crusade to secrete more estrogen sounds more like a problem that should be solved by a fifty year old woman, not one who’s fifteen. Tomoko somehow takes the ass-backwards logic that she specializes in, and links her nights of playing dating sims, to nights that equate to pseudo sex. And because she half-reads an article in a magazine, she feels especially validated. So instead of bathing, going to bed at a reasonable time, or picking up a hobby that doesn’t suck away her chances at sunlight; she takes the opportunity to game as long as sloppily as she can, thinking that it will cause man attracting estrogen to literally ooze from her pores.

I like women – A LOT, but this disgusts even me.

Despite signs that

Watamote ep5: it’s just not that easy!

I should feel ashamed of myself for looking forward to watching the shattered dreams of this girl on my screen. but they really are too hilarious. Here we go, week five of Watamote.

Watamote ep4: awkward erotic asphyxiation

I’ve read a lot of interesting articles, but it’s rare that I put them into practice. Also, I’ve usually taken as personal advice, that you shouldn’t immediately try out things that you’re told about early in the morning. Your brain isn’t working at full capacity, and usually when you hear or read about stuff that early, you’re also either drunk or a little bit high. But this doesn’t stop Tomoko