Nina Fortner having a good day.

There is another reason to watch Monster that I haven't mentioned: Nina Fortner may be Noto Mamiko's best role. It allows her to play against her typecast with a good character in an excellent series. (Monster isn't Witchblade. Okay?) Nina is pretty easy to like because she's the damsel in distress who can take care of herself but is still limited by what she can accomplish herself. I.e., Nina is vulnerable, but far from helpless.

Nina Fortner having a bad day.

As an aside, I think Noto Mamiko should do more Nina Fortner-type roles. There's no question she is typecast by her outstanding Shimako and Yakumo-type performances as gentle and well-mannered, unapproachably beautiful girls. Her enthusiastic Narue in Narue no Sekai is unusually chipper, but usually any other departure from her usual mold leaves Mamiko either playing left field for a sinking ship (e.g. Witchblade) or as unassertive male characters (e.g. Girls Bravo) that could really would have been just as good if not better had they been female (e.g. Full Metal Panic!).

When Nina Fortner has a bad day, you have a bad day.

I'm not going to go so far as to say that nobody besides Noto Mamiko could have played Nina Fortner as well, but I do believe the softness of her voice contributes a great deal to the role and helps balance the dichotomy of the character that makes Nina so engaging. It's MAMIKORE.

I like the original Toradora! character designs.

Against my better judgment, I'm looking forward to Toradora! There's a good deal of hype surrounding this show, mostly involving the tiny hyper-tsundere lead girl, Aisaka Taiga.

The presumptive anime character designs, not so much.

Surprising nobody, I'm sure, Kugimiya Rie will voice Taiga. I mentioned how Noto Mamiko suffers from frequent typecasting. Well, Kugimiya Rie is so typecast as the stereotypical tsundere dervish that she banks on it.

Kugimiya Rie GPS demo. (No audio first 13 seconds.)
Don't you dare make any wrong turns.

Looking for a backseat harpy driver who sounds too young to drive? We've got just the thing.

Ueda Kana's cat is pure evil.

Just so you know, Ueda Kana is a blogging fiend. She doesn't update as much as, say, Hirano Aya, but she definitely updates a lot more than I do.

I noticed you didn't mention the AYAKO DOCTRINE for Scrapped Princess, I must say even though Winia was a secondary character, it deserves mention.
-Epi

Ah, quite right.

Not actually Haruhi. Not that Haruhi either.

I've been meaning to mention for more than two years that Ouran Host Club is a pretty good series, although one that could not have worked without Maaya Sakamoto in the lead role. Despite the delay, I still managed to post this (admittedly lackluster) Ouran Host Club entry ahead of Maaya Sakamoto fanboy Zyl. How hontou ni sou omou? doesn't have an Ouran Host Club category, I have no idea.

Actually Renge. But not that Renge.

In other news, Renge is the Best Girl in Ouran Host Club. By far. And I'm not just saying that because the rest of the cast is predominantly male.

Miu has serious hair.

I still can't believe RightStuf licensed Piano. I hope I'm not the only person to have bought the DVDs. Piano is a 10-episode series that seemingly few people watched to the end. I'm not saying Piano is boring, but it's very slice-of-life, not a whole lot happens, and Miu spends most of the series mildly unhappy the way only a young teenage girl can be. So it's a hard sell even if Miu has the second best hair in the history of anime.

The Piano DVD collection also features a number
of shaky-cam interviews with Kawasumi Ayako.

I originally watched Piano because of the Ayako Doctrine. The Ayako Doctrine applies to Piano a bit more than it typically does since Kawasumi Ayako (a skilled pianist) not only voices the main character, she also composed the opening theme and presumably plays the piano as Miu.

Yuuki also has serious hair.

There's not much else to say about Piano. It is a pleasant little show about family and relationships. Miu doesn't really have her act together, but it's forgivable since she's still a kid. Her greatest challenge during the short series is struggling against the temptation to just give up when things get tough. To that end, she performs much better than say Satou from Welcome to the N.H.K. Beyond that, there's not much drama. You're not going to see anyone bent over a baby grand, for example.

Miu's stern piano teacher.

Is Piano still worth watching? Well, I like it. And if you follow the Ayako Doctrine, viewing at least the first two episodes is compulsory. Despite starring Kawasumi Ayako in a piano-based series, there really aren't many similarities to Nodame Cantabile. In fact, there aren't many similarities to very many shows now that I think about it. I suppose you could say that's its main draw: Piano is unique in being so ordinary.

Pandora Hearts celebrates Alice's thighs as Kannagi did Nagi's.

I started watching Pandora Hearts for three reasons. First, the AYAKO DOCTRINE. Second, Kajiura Yuki composing the musical score. Third, Savage Genius contributing the ED.

Warning: Alice will boot to the head without hesitation.

After seven episodes, I'm still not really sure what to make of the show. The music is great, but it isn't as memorable as Kajiura Yuki's best work. The style and appearance of the show remind me a little of American McGee's Alice—or at least remind me I never finished it. It's probably all the clockwork and Victorian madness. Kawasumi Ayako does play a character named Alice, and there are definite influences from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but Pandora Hearts has less to do with that book than Soukou no Strain has to do with A Little Princess.

Alice is displeased.

Alice is my main reason for liking Pandora Hearts so far. She has great hair and insane grins and so much verve. I get the feeling Ayako is having a lot of fun voicing the character. Alice makes every scene she's in captivating, even if it's just about her eating chicken.

Oz about to get fucked up by some dolls. Good luck, guy.

Curiously, despite the numerous groups fansubbing Pandora Hearts, I am the only person I know actually watching it. Then again, I'm the only one I know watching Cross Game, the fifth season of Major, or Fresh Pretty Cure. Everyone's too busy watching K-On! over and over, I guess. Anyway, if you feel like giving Pandora Hearts a try, the widescreen versions are up to episode three now; you'll need to watch that far to see Abyss. The video quality on the HD upscales are horrible, though.

Reina is always back-to-back with Death.

Queen's Blade is awesome. No, wait. It's horrible. Actually, it's awesome because it's horrible. Or is it horrible because it's awesome? You kinda have to see it for yourself. On the one hand, it is wall-to-wall fan service. And I don't mean soft core Hatsukoi Limited fan service, I mean hard service of the "Look at all the tits! There must be...57 tits!" variety. And also the snake-rape and acid-lactation variety. No, really. And it goes on like that.

I wonder if Tomoe even knows what kind of show she's in.

But it also has A-List seiyuu in nearly every role. Kawasumi Ayako plays the lead girl, an inept middle-child named Reina who manages to lose nearly every single fight. (Really, a victory for Reina is a loss during which she doesn't piss herself.) Ayako isn't in Lafiel mode by any means, but she's taking it a lot more seriously than her He Is My Master role, for example. And it has Noto Mamiko playing an absurd miko character, also dead seriously. I guess it's a chance to get away from her Shimako typecast.

Of course there's a maid character.

And it has Hirano Aya yammering at a thousand words per minute about all sorts of insane crap related to this "Queen's Blade" reality television show she's trying to promote, albeit with only dubious success. That's what Queen's Blade is technically about: a ridiculous contest, but none of the characters seem especially motivated. I can't really blame 'em. Nanael is crazy.

I still think Nanael is making it up as she goes along.

On a whole, Queen's Blade isn't a show you watch for its merits—you watch because it's a curiosity. Still, it's a freak show, not a train wreck. If it were a better show, Queen's Blade would be boring and pointless. If it were any worse it probably wouldn't be any fun. As it is, it's brilliant slack-jawed entertainment and I can't stop watching.