Her hair is usually in the way, okay?

After all these years, I somehow never noticed this obvious detail: Asuka has a giant God damn 2 on the back of her plug suit. Perhaps I did notice it before, and simply forgot until this latest Evangelion Re-Watching Project, but either way it's inexcusable.

Can I get my membership card back if I suggest the macabre satisfaction in Asuka's voice when she utters (mispronounces, really) ERSTE after dismantling the first Eva Series flunky in End of Evangelion is likely related to her intense loathing for Rei? (Recall that Asuka usually refers to Rei as "First," rather than by name.) Dag.

Just so you know, the top three mecha pilots of all time are as follows:

1. Shinji's mom.
2. Kira Anime Jesus Yamato, Gundam SEED Destiny edition—as long as he isn't piloting Strike Rouge
3. Sagara Sousuke, assuming Bonta-kun qualifies as a mecha

Mecha, powered armor, odious fursuit...it's a fine line.

That is all.

News of the He Is My Master mangakas' divorce reminded me that I never finished watching the anime. Being a Gainax whore and loathe to drop any series on a matter of principle (neverending shounen series aside), this seemed like a good excuse to start over and marathon the show in one fell swoop.

I would have been all smiles at a Gainax ending.

Turns out He Is My Master is just as awful as I remember. I blame Shaft, mostly because the He Is My Master anime is so conventional and uniformly lousy. The only interesting features were the occasional Gainax references.

Even Kawasumi Ayako's appearance late in the series couldn't save He Is My Master. AYAKO DOCTRINE aside, I have to say that this was one of her weakest roles. If I had to guess, I'd say she phoned this in and was only involved for the Mahoromatic Gainax maids show association. Maybe she was contractually bound. (Or should I say indentured?)

Ice.

Snacks.

Beer.

The best ass shot in history.

Ice, snacks, and beer. Does anyone really need anything else? Actually, I could probably get by without the ice, but I'm sure Misato has a good reason for keeping it around. I won't question her methods.

Makina does all right for a dead girl.

Since I've only watched the first three episodes, it may be too early to tell (especially for a Gainax show), but I'm not too impressed with Shikabane Hime Aka so far. To tell you the truth, it seems rather insipid. I wouldn't have started it at all were it not for the Gainax involvement, but there's nothing to suggest they had anything to do with it if you just consider the content of the show itself. In fact, the most Gainax-type part as far as I can tell is the character design for Makina.

You can't fool me, Kamika. I bet that's you in the OP.

I'll probably keep watching Shikabane Hime Aka out of general principle, but I've got no reason to prioritize it at all. This is not to say there aren't any bright spots. Horie Yui lending her talents to a mature, adult character is a pleasant departure from her typical teenager roles.

Makina deplores your despicable taste in music.

So, there are reports Shikabane Hime: Aka will get a sequel, Shikabane Hime: Kuro, starting in January. I already knew Gainax wouldn't be handling the sequel, but I didn't know the second season would start in January. That means both seasons combined should add up to around 26 episodes. Or does it?

Makina's disguise is infallible.

Watching the first four episodes, I get shounen jive vibes that suggest a Shikabane Hime franchise could run on indefinitely like Bleach, long after my interest has waned. At least so far there hasn't been endless exposition by various characters discussing power levels, so that's good. Maybe I'll be able to make it to the end.

Makina does all right for a dead girl.

To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure why I look forward to each new episode of Shikabane Hime. I think it's mostly because of the angela OP and partly because it stars a purple-haired character without a squeaky voice. I'm a little put off by Makina's choice of spray-and-pray submachine guns as her preferred method of dispatching the undead. I would have preferred a shovel.

19:01:50< Evirus> I figured out how Shiki keeps her apartment so clean.
19:01:50< Nakar> She never puts anything in it?
19:01:50< Nakar> She doesn't even have anything but water in her fridge
19:01:52< Evirus> I can't tell you. I'm saving the answer for a blog post.

Misato takes a bath.

I have begun augmenting my showers with a bath component. It's not the first time I've tried emulating the Katsuragi lifestyle.

Nodame is more than a little imperfect, but
she makes up for it by being a sweetheart

Autumn 2008 did not produce any stellar shows¹, meaning there wasn't a Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, Honey & Clover, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, or the like. There wasn't even a Lovely Complex. However, it did have some very solid titles and a few shows that demonstrated mid-series potential as they resume during the Winter 2009 season.

Not fully pictured: Saki's ridiculously enormous hammer.

Final rankings for shows I watched this season follow:

Kannagi > Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter > Hyakko > Toradora! > Shikabane Hime: Aka > Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight OVA > One Outs | Dropped: Kemeko DX (4) > Kurozuka (4) > Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka (?) > Casshern Sins (1) > Mouryou no Hako (1) > Toaru Majutsu no Index (4) > Michiko to Hatchin (1) | Worse Than Cosprayers: Kiss x Sis (1) > Macademi Wasshoi (1).

Torako is more than a little imperfect, but
she makes up for it by tormenting people.

Two big surprises this season. First, I had dismissed Kannagi based on its pre-season description, but it proved to be the cream of the crop. Second, I wasn't expecting to still be watching Shikabane Hime at this stage. Thankfully, it has kept shounen jive (e.g., too much standing around talking about powers instead of fighting) to a minimum. By the way, I totally called that Yui Horie twist even before I finished watching episode one, just so you know.

I went 10 episodes before noticing Makina's bare ass in the OP.
Now I can't not see it. It's Shikabane Hime's FEDEX arrow.

To give you an understanding as to how much I loathe shounen jive, bear in mind I dropped To Aru Majutsu no Index after episode four despite fully supporting the Shizuka Itou character's decision to wear half a pair of jeans with her kid sister's t-shirt. I just couldn't take any more speeches about Not Thinking About Other People's Feelings or any more boasting about fine nuances of Special Techniques and Powers. Criminy.

I think I've actually seen people in L.A. dressed like this.

Many of the shows I dropped early on (for example, Casshern Sins) might actually be very good, but just didn't capture my interest. This is the same reason why I dropped Kaiba a couple seasons ago after watching no more than two episodes despite almost universal acclaim, for example.

Note 01: I'm not counting any of the Kara no Kyoukai movies as belonging to the Autumn 2008 season. Any of the films in this series would certainly qualify as stellar.