Shana scenes suck when her hair isn't on fire.

I generally strongly discourage people from skipping seasons. Typically they do it so they can follow something shiny and new and/or watch something at the same time as their friends so they'll have something to talk about. This can lead to very poor decisions, such as watching Diebuster before watching Gunbuster, or watching Shikabane Hime: Kuro without watching Shikabane Hime: Aka. I have less of an issue with people skipping previous Mobile Suit Gundam seasons (at least for series in different continuities) since there are so damn many of them, or skipping previous Macross iterations, although I do insist on people watching the original Cho Jiku Yosai Macross; do not be tempted to lean on Do You Remember Love? instead. Good movie, but really not a substitute for the original series—not at all.

Carmel's head thingy had the best lines.

But while I feel it is wrong on principle to skip seasons, especially when one's reasons for doing so fall in the "shiny and new" camp, I can make an exception for Shakugan no Shana II. I watched 24 episodes of this second Shana season because I enjoyed the first season and wanted to give the upcoming third season a try. This may have been a mistake. Shana II is every bit as awful as its reputation warned me. Shana II is 24 episodes of tedium occasionally interrupted by insipid fights. It is WORSE THAN COSPRAYERS, I finished Shana II with great reluctance. It was never ever actually BAD in the way Limeiro CROSS or Macademi Wasshoi! were truly bad; it just wasn't ever compelling, or even interesting.

Kazumi has a little trouble with her jeans.

To put things into perspective, the multi-episode climactic battle at the end of Shana II kept giving me flashbacks to the Demonbane anime. Now, Demonbane is by no means good, but I have to say that it was at least more interesting than Shana II. This is especially true of the fights. I've long harped on J.C. Staff and its poor track record when it comes to animating fight scenes (excellent Azumanga Daioh snowball fight notwithstanding), but I remember even the worst Demonbane fights against the shrieking mad scientist to be more engaging than climactic season finale fight scene against the shrieking mad scientist of Shana II. And I'm not just saying that because Mr. Eroge Protagonist from the Demonbane anime had to soul kiss a book every time to make his giant robot go. Well, he didn't have to, probably. He just did. But I digress. Shakugan no Shana II is a horror, and I will be amazed if Shana III requires any foreknowledge of its preceeding season's events. Yeah, I'll still at least start Shakugan no Shana III. It's too late to turn back now. Who knows, maybe the odd-numbered seasons will be good.

Shana is a different person when her hair is on fire.

I am on record as saying the first season of Shakugan no Shana is "great." The problem is I can't remember why. To tell you the truth, I hardly remember anything about the show at all. I know Shana I was one of the backlogged shows I marathoned based on Internet-type recommendations after an extended anime sabbatical. It was highly regarded by people whose opinions I trusted, anyway. To be honest, the only things I remember at all about Shana I anymore are my disdain for the insipid antagonist twins, my amusement that Pyoro from VanDread voiced a loudmouthed book, and something about "TADA NO FLAME HAZE." Things I don't remember include why Shana's personality is so awful when her hair is not on fire, why the voices in (on?) Carmel's head offer taciturn color commentary for everything that happens, why J.C. Staff is so god-awful when it comes to fight scenes, what the plot was, and who any of these people are.

Alastor needs more scenes.

Despite my current amnesia over nearly all aspects of the show, I trust that my own positive impressions of Shakugan no Shana were reasonable at the time, despite the series' current baggage. Shana and the abusive small Kugimiya Rie-voiced Modern Tsundere stereotype repeated ad nauseum via Louise, Taiga, Nagi, and assorted similar roles has become a bit of a joke. Moreover, nearly every opinion I've seen regarding Shakugan no Shana Second is profoundly negative. Through 16 episodes of Shana II, I can understand why. These episodes have been mostly rudderless filler with tedious exposition and, quite frankly, a bunch of lame stuff going on for characters I don't care about.

Carmel is actually a terrible maid.

Usually I try to find some positive aspects of even bad shows, or at least identify specific shortcomings in shows I don't enjoy, but the best I can muster for the second season of Shakugan no Shana so far is "it sucks." It's not unwatchably bad, or even below the Worse Than Cosprayers Line, but Lord, it's not good. It's just not very interesting, and it makes me wonder if it really is substantially different from the first season (which I'm sure I liked), or if I just gave season one a pass because I really liked the first ED—the Takahashi Yoko one. Whatever the case may be, I intend to power through the remaining Shakugan no Shana II episodes so I'll be prepared to watch Shakugan no Shana III, which hopefully will contain whatever it was that made me like the first season, and not be a hot mess that's a complete waste of time, fire hair be damned.

There's also a lot of nudity in Mahoromatic.

I waited too long to buy Mahoromatic DVDs, and by the time I did the beautiful art boxes were out of print and I settled on the Sentai Filmworks six-episode-per disc collection of digital artifacts. (I figured I'd buy Blu-rays eventually anyway.) Even so, I waited over a year before actually re-watching the show.

Just stay down, Minawa.

Unfortunately, I don't care for the second season Mahoromatic as much as I initially did. I always did like the first season better, and Kawasumi Ayako is still wonderful as Mahoro, but I like Minawa no more than I initially did. Actually, I think I like Minawa even less this time around. If I remember right, Minawa is responsible for my intense dislike of dojikko "adorably clumsy" girls. Since I also hate Retard Moe (think Chii from Chobits, Stellar from Gundam SEED Destiny, and Yui from K-On!), this means I basically can't stand any scene Minawa is in. It doesn't help that this time around I'm fully aware of the Minawa-based spoilers from the end of the season. I've never forgiven her.

When they point the finger it means you're a rival.

Shinryaku! Ika Musume is surprisingly funny and charming. It's sort of this season's Kannagi in the sense that both shows are simple silly concepts playing way over their heads. I might even give Ika Musume the edge over Kannagi. The two shows don't really have that much in common, but I feel they strike some of the same chords. Perhaps Shinryaku! Ika Musume is a little simpler and maybe more pure with its comedy.

I think the umbrella segment was my favorite so far.

I love how squid girl herself is a complete idiot when it comes to certain things, but a freakin' genius in unexpected spots, with hardly any middle ground between these two extremes. Through eight episodes, this is easily the best show of the season, even ahead of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. On the other hand, I'm a little dismayed Kawasumi Ayako's character basically doesn't talk.

Try a little tenderness, Urashima.

The Ayako Doctrine doesn't compel viewership, but it does compel consideration. In the case of Ookami-san, being the only source for Kawasumi Ayako in the summer of 2010, I stayed with the show too long. Granted, it had an amusing first episode, but that second episode was God awful—easily the single worst episode of anything I've seen this season. The third episode was actually a nice bit of storytelling with some parallels to the fable about the ugly duckling, and the fourth episode even focused primarily on Ayako's character, but it's not enough. I stayed with the show through five episodes—long enough to determine Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi just didn't have anything worth watching, even with the Kawasumi Ayako + Horie Yui + legs-that-go-up-to-her-neck trifecta. I'm done with it.

Asobi ni Iku yo! is awesome because it is preposterous.

On the other hand, Asobi ni Iku yo! is amazing. Why didn't anyone tell me this show was actually good? I was sold when I found out the Girl Next Door was a crazy stalker. Also it has guns and cars. And swarming robots with "..." signs.

Nice lobster bib.

First, I fully expect Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi to be a J.C. Staff layup. It's got Yui Horie sweetness and, oh yeah, THE AYAKO DOCTRINE going for it at least. And the scenario seems interesting enough. As long as they don't Index it up, it should be okay.

Looks like Ryuuji's and Taiga's kid attends J.C. Staff boarding school.

Second, Tall Taiga has legs that go up to her neck, and you're nuts if you think I'm going to pass up a chance lengthen my "legs that go up to her neck" tag count.

I liked the manga version of this scene better, though.

Cross Game and Kimi ni Todoke went down to the wire as to which show would claim the top spot, but Cross Game pulled ahead for the win at the very last episode because it had a great ending and Kimi ni Todoke didn't have an ending at all.

Ume > Sawako.

To be fair, the Kimi ni Todoke manga is still running, so there wasn't much else the anime could do without making Kazehaya a vengeful bounty hunter years in the future after a sudden timeskip. On the other hand, Cross Game took a good manga ending and adapted it so well it's better than its source.

Damn, Chiaki, give the kid a break.

I already said why I like Nodame Cantabile: Finale so much.

Here is a screenshot of Ed instead of Winry
again since it is technically his show.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood remains as solid as or better than the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime. I'm still perplexed why so many viewers who were excited by the first anime are apparently completely uninterested in the current show. I guess maybe they outgrew it. Brotherhood continues during the Spring 2010 season.

The Book of Bantorra needed more Noloty.

I liked The Book of Bantorra mostly because it was so different. Imaginative and perplexing at nearly every turn, The Book of Bantorra kept me interested because I never knew what to expect from any episode. That, and I liked how the most powerful and dangerous librarian's primary weapon consisted of hucking very small rocks. I was also amused she spent a good portion of her spare time embroidering little bunny rabbits. Hamyuts was pretty well-rounded for a sadist.

I promise not to make any head jokes.

Durarara!! is a good show that I would enjoy more if I cared about any of the characters. They aren't badly written characters by any means; I just don't find them interesting for some reason. I don't even care about Celty—probably because she gets flustered so easily. It's like finding out your hot date is infected with moe. Yeah, you can get a shot to clear it right up, but sometimes the burning sensation just isn't worth it. I guess I kinda like the girl who smiles in every single one of her scenes and the perpetually angry dude who throws vending machines at people. DRRR!! also continues Spring 2010.

Cure Berry needed more funnels.

Fresh Pretty Cure really took a dive after the Cure Passion arc. The ending was completely lackluster. When you compare it to the ending of the original Futari wa Pretty Cure series or the ending of its Max Heart sequel, it's blatantly obvious the Precure franchise is playing it safe and taking no chances anymore. The ending of the original Futari wa Pretty Cure was a complete downer that probably didn't traumatize many children but doubtlessly left many of them sad. Too bad, kids; life is real. The ending of Max Heart was a multi-episode fist fight between Zakenna dudes that didn't fight fair and the outnumbered Cure Black and Cure White. (Shiny Luminous was on the bench with too many fouls at this point.) Then they basically had to fight Lilith from The End of Evangelion. It was awesome. The Fresh Pretty Cure finale, on the other hand, faced off four Cures against a bad guy Kirk and Spock would have outwitted without leaving the bridge. And they received battle costume upgrades in the form of angel wings for some reason. Except for Cure Gundam Berry. Just had to be different, didn't you, Miki?

Okay, there was some misinformation in Chu-Bra! as well.

I didn't expect much from Chu-Bra!! at all. This was my PSP experiment show. Results from the experiment were inconclusive in this case, but I believe it would have made a difference with a show where the video and audio mattered more regarding one's enjoyment of the series. Instead of the fan service bonanza and a lot of pandering, Chu-Bra!! instead turned out to be the low-brow anime equivalent of a +5 Informative Slashdot post. It wasn't especially ambitious, but Chu-Bra!! surprised me by not being crass. Honest. Many of the underwear scenes were drawn extremely simplistically to presumably minimize the amount of fan service in the show. In fact, I think there were fewer gratuitious T&A scenes than there were underwear lessons in the style of the Gunbuster science lessons. I kid you not.

Hirano Aya is perfect as Katja.

Seikon no Qwaser is basically porn that's not intended to titillate. It's anime one-upmanship. Episode one: Junior high kid sucks high school tits to boost his shounen fighting powers. By episode 11 the show moves on to twincest lesbian S&M rapists. I'm dead serious. And it's planned for 24 episodes. I, for one, am looking forward to another cour with a great Hirano Aya character and the only Kawasumi Ayako game in town.

I guess Hinagiku was all right since she had a yakuza posse.

Hanamaru Kindergarten was the least Gainaxy Gainax show I've ever seen. I would have liked it better if it had Gainax kicks, or if the lead characters weren't so despicable. I swear, Tsuchida could have learned a lot about ambition and guts from Love Hina's Urashima Keitaro. Yamamoto was supposed to be a Belldandy-type perfect woman, but she's dumb as all Hell.

Vamp and Kayoko should get married.

Astro Fighter Sunred is about as good as it ever was, I suppose, but 40+ episodes of essentially the same jokes over and over gets a little tedious. I'll keep watching it if ANBU keeps subbing it, but Sunred really should have been a 13-episode series. I'd still rather watch a Kayoko + Vamp cooking show about bachelor chow.

Cure Kero-chan.

Heartcatch Precure appears to be the most popular Pretty Cure series thus far, at least as far as mainstream acceptance goes. I'm really unimpressed by it, however, probably because Cure Blossom is a dojikko and her worst-Cure-ever shtick is not endearing at all. Needs more Dark Precure and Cure I-Know-It's-You-Hisakawa-Aya Moonlight. A mid-season replacement for Fresh Pretty Cure, look for Heartcatch to run at least another 40 episodes.

I bet Dark Precure's original designation was Cure Sunshine.
[Update: Oops, there's already a character called Cure Sunshine.]

Final Tally: Cross Game > Kimi ni Todoke > Nodame Cantabile: Finale > Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (50) > The Book of Bantorra > Durarara!! (12) > Fresh Pretty Cure > Chu-Bra!! [PSP] > Seikon no Qwaser (11) > Hanamaru Kindergarten > Sunred II (40) > Heartcatch Precure (8). Dropped Winter 2010: None.

Nodame glances at Chiaki.

I wanted to write about the end of Nodame Cantabile: Finale, but what can I say about a show like this? Finale is basically the second half of Nodame Cantabile: Paris, so nobody should watch Finale if they haven't already seen Paris. And if they've seen Paris, they'll already know whether or not they want to watch Finale no matter what anyone says about it.

Nodame's non-CGI hands.

This is not to say that Nodame Cantabile: Finale is an exact continuation of Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter; there are significant differences. First, J.C. Staff has deemphasized the CGI orchestra in favor of regular animation that focuses instead on the expressions of the musicians and the audience instead of the technical aspects of the music. Second, the attention is back on Nodame and Chiaki instead of the supporting characters.

Nodame and Chiaki share some music again.

One complaint about the post-Japan Nodame arcs is that the supporting cast is not as interesting. I don't know that I agree necessarily, as I never found any of the supporting characters in Nodame Cantabile especially endearing. The Japan-centric cast may be more eccentric, but that doesn't mean I care more about them than Frank, Tanya, and company. Comparing Paris with Finale, however, I can say the supporting cast in Finale is not there to drive its own stories. The stories belong more to Nodame and Chiaki; the rest of them are just along for the ride.

Tiny pictures are the way of love, Chiaki.

So what else is there to say? Well, for one thing, it's the third-best show that aired Winter 2010 behind Cross Game and Kimi ni Todoke—first, if you only count series that began Winter 2010. From the looks of it, I enjoyed Nodame Cantabile: Finale much more than most people. I wonder if it's because I have never read the manga? Or if it's because I've come to view Nodame Cantabile as a story about Nodame's love affair with music instead of her love affair with Chiaki?

Paris in 3D.

Paris in 2D.

In other news, there are a few artistic liberties taken with the Nodame Cantabile: Finale locales. For example, the above setting does not really exist except as a composite of different (albeit admittedly nearby) views:

Paris in 3D.

I'm guessing animating on location is even less convenient than shooting on location, what with all the staring by tourists and locals and prolonged exposure to the elements and whatnot, so it's excusable.