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Dated 30 August 2007: There is a specal place in Hell for people who diss Narue no Sekai

Narue
It's Narue's world. We're just living in it.

Given that ani-nouto's viewing habits appear Netflix-driven instead of bandwidth (or DeepDiscount.com-driven), I hope he gives Narue no Sekai another chance, if only to appreciate the many magical Mamiko Noto commentary tracks and the glorious cosplay episode (which tragically does not contain a commentary track).

Dated 23 September 2008: Narue no Sekai 1, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 0

Narue
Narue is pretty tolerant of Kazu's hobby, all things considered.

Just so you know, the episode-ten-cosplay-cafe episode of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu falls far short of the standard set by the episode-10-cosplay-contest episode of Narue no Sekai. First of all, the cosplay contest of Narue no Sekai is AWESOME. But more importantly, I can't abide stories that rely on dragging out simple misunderstandings—especially when they could be easily resolved with less than two minutes of conversation.

Haruka
Chase the dream, Haruka.

Even still, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu is good enough to serve as my low-expectation series this season. I've compared it to Narue no Sekai before, but Nogizaka isn't quite as good, unfortunately. Comparing it to other low-expectation shows I've watched, I'd say Nogizaka is not as good as Tokimeki Memorial ~Only Love~, but better than Da Capo.

Dated 14 February 2009: In re Girls With Bats

Shimizu Kaoru
Kaoru is the Best Girl in Major. Ryoko has more game, but Kaoru is a peach.

Kasumi
Kasumi from Hand Maid May is one of anime's All Time Babes,
and only partly because she's a natural right-hander
who takes baseball seriously enough to bat left.

Minori
Minori also deserves special mention for batting left and throwing right...

Minori
...and for being kinda broken inside.

Chidori Kaname
Chidori vents some aggression.

Narue
It's Narue's World. We're just living in it.

Mamini
Mamini is this post's Mendoza Line.

Sakaki
Sakaki is pretty athletic, but I'm scoring that at bat E-9.

Iizuka
Iizuka also bats left, but she's a natural southpaw.
I doubt she can hit, but her on-base percentage is pretty good.

Momo and Daniel
I guess Daniel isn't technically a bat, but it's kinda academic, since
you can't really let Momo from Shinigami no Ballad play ball.
People would die.

Dated 21 February 2009: Girls Playing Baseball is the new Girls Piloting Mecha

Koharu
Koharu is a witch.

Actually, that's not true. Girls Playing Baseball isn't really the new Girls Piloting Mecha because girls playing baseball isn't really a new thing at all. At a minimum, there's Princess Nine. Maybe I should have titled this post, "Princess Nine Xenoglossia."

Ryoko
Ryoko is a beast.

Really, this is just an excuse to talk about Not Idolm@ster Baseball (real name, Taisho Yakyuu Musume), which, quite frankly, can't get here fast enough.

Shimizu
Shimizu is a peach.

Realistically, this will probably be the Sky Girls of 1920s Japanese girls baseball, being a J.C. Staff production and all—meaning that it will probably be about interpersonal relationships instead of actual baseball service-service, but that's okay too.

Taisho Yakyuu Musume
Taisho Yakyuu Musume is Not Idolm@ster Baseball.

I'm calling my shot: The Best Girl in Taisho Yakyuu Musume is going to be the one in the front, swinging the bat. I can tell because she looks the most serious.

Narue saves Kazu
Narue is a Mamiko Noto tea kettle.

One thing that troubles me about Taisho Yakyuu Musume is the apparent lack of wooden bats. In fact, that seems to be the prevailing deficiency in anime baseball. Even Narue uses an aluminum bat during Narue no Sekai despite carrying a wooden one in the ED. Kasumi from Hand Maid May alone uses a wooden bat among anime girls playing ball that I know of, although the sound effect used in the show is wildly incorrect, alas.

Kasumi
If only those kids knew how easy Coach Tani was going on them.

Metal bats are quite an anachronism for 1920s baseball, although I doubt Not Idolm@ster Baseball will make any attempt at depicting realistic baseball of that era—or any era, for that matter. Not that I expect this to impair my enjoyment of this upcoming series. Surely it will be more important to keep a relationship chart than a scorecard for this show.