Even the genki fall into despair sometimes.

Baccano! ran for an unconventional 16 episodes. Through the equivalent number of Durarara!! episodes, I give Baccano! the clear edge with the deciding factor being its superior characters. (As both shows have large ensemble casts, I'll address relatively few of them herein.)

Besides, Baccano! has much snappier dressers than Durarara!!

This is not to say the characters in Durarara!! are lousy, just that I don't care about any of them. I do enjoy the crazy antics of stalker girl extraordinaire Mika (seriously, she's Cocoa Puffs), but that's about it. I thought I'd like Celty more, but as I mentioned earlier, I don't like how she's so easily flustered. She's also not very smart, but I guess that's not a nice thing to say about a girl who does not have any brains.

Takashi tries to sweet talk Anri.

Okay, I do actively dislike Mikado, Masaomi, and Anri. Even Mikado's big moment suffered from two huge Angel Beats!-level flaws that pretty much sapped any coolness out of the triumph. He's lucky it worked out, I guess. Actually, Anri is a special case. Through 15 episodes, Anri's biggest problem was a complete lack of charisma (unless you measure charisma in cup sizes). I was left hoping she'd give in to her predatory teacher's obvious efforts at grooming her for sex. Really, what did she have to lose? But after episode 16 you have to be curious what else she has hidden under her clothes. Anri's school must get its uniforms from the same company as Iriya's. [P.S. Spoilers.]

These two have the dirtiest pillow talk.

Baccano! is superior to Durarara!! because it has Isaac and TOP FUEL GENKI Miria. [Yes, more spoilers, I know.] Despite Miria's horrifying voice, every scene those two are in is pure gold. Baccano! also has Chane doing wonders as a girl who doesn't talk. Durarara!! also has a girl who doesn't talk, but it's just not the same. Chane far surpasses Celty even if Chane probably spends most of her free time honing her knife fighting abilities instead of chatting idling on a computer. If she's going to spend so much time screwing off on her computer, Celty should at least check eBay once in a while for her head. Make a token effort, sweetie.

Sometimes Goro is still the punk-ass kid he was in season one.

I still can't figure out a way to discuss the current season of Major. Episode four featured the return of Alice, the ever popular Bats owner. Unfortunately, that likely means nothing to one-hundred-point-all of the people still reading this post.

I think we can count on seeing more cosplay during season six.

Shorter shows really are more suited for anime blogs, as the barriers to entry are far less daunting. I know I, for one, have started watching some shows because an anime blog entry piqued my interest in something I knew would require only modest commitment.

Gotta feel bad for Shimizu, the poor kid.

Nevertheless, I shall continue to encourage people to give Major a try. Just be forewarned that the show can be a little cruel at times. I suppose I realistically need not worry. People willing to pick up an epic baseball anime are likely already accustomed to how cruel baseball itself can be in the real world.

Get a room.

I was expecting a lot more cockblocking in B Gata H Kei. Although it is rather unlikely Yamada will realize her dream of screwing 100 guys before the end of the season, there has been much more progress with regard to her relationship with Kosuda than I anticipated. For an anime sex comedy, it's almost unprecedented to reach this stage by episode four. Thank you, Queen's Blade and Seikon no Qwaser for resetting the curve as far as levels of mainstream acceptance are concerned. Actually, I suppose Kanokon deserves a mention as well.

Someone needs to tell Japan about car sex.

I'm glad to see the show remains consistently funny, but I wonder if it will manage to keep it up as the plot develops. 13 episodes really isn't long enough to get things going without trying to cram everything together all at once at the end. Considering how many characters in the OP remain unidentified, it makes me fearful Yamada's cases of Demon Seal condoms will go to waste before the show is over, alas.

Even this is a spoiler.

It's difficult to talk about the sixth season of Major without revealing numerous spoilers for the early part of the series. Major is epic, with long story arcs and characters that first appeared as small children now returning as young adults. In fact, if I remember right, Kaoru's little brother Taiga is the only character still in high school.

Wow, an anime high school kid who isn't late for school.

To tell you the truth, it's a little difficult sometimes keeping all the names and faces straight. There's a running gag where Goro occasionally has to get old acquaintances and teammates to reintroduce themselves because they've been out of the show so long.

I'm calling my shot. Shimizu is going to be Goro's Girl in White
during Major season six à la Glenn Close in The Natural.

Speaking of long-time characters, I wonder how they are going to keep Shimizu Kaoru in the story for season six. I certainly hope 2009's Girl of the Year stays in the game. I feel a little bad for her, since she's too good.

Try a little tenderness, Honda.

It's hard to even discuss the OP with much detail since Japan loves to put spoilers in its OPs, EDs, and episode previews. I'm told Legend of Galactic Heroes is notorious for having massive spoilers in its next-episode previews, for example. I also remember one episode of Monster with a helpful warning from Soldats to avoid the next-episode preview due to spoilers. Them is some solid fansubbing ethics right there.

Honda father and son jerseys.

But I digress. I'm pleased Major season six begins with a new arrangement of its very first OP. I still prefer the original arrangement more, but this new version appropriately sounds more mature and I enjoy the numerous parallels found in their respective sequences. I don't know if this will be the final season of Major, but wrapping things up by coming full circle wouldn't be a bad way to go.

No, not her.

Don't get me wrong. Through three episodes of B Gata H Kei, Yamada is wonderful. I'm certainly rooting for her and Kosuda to figure out they like either other. Maybe it's the deretsun trope reversal, or maybe it's the way Yamada appreciates the things Kosuda does for her—appreciates them enthusiastically, to her little sister's despair. It must be traumatizing having the bedroom next door to Yamada's.

Kosuda's SLR.

The real star of B Gata H Kei is Kosuda's camera. All his photography club jazz makes me want to buy a Nikon F3 even though I haven't touched any of my film cameras in years. Somehow it's endearing when B Cup sports product placement and base when K-On! does it. Even if B Gata H Kei is about challenging double standards, I still have my prejudices.

Yamada views Kosuda's photograph.

I am glad to see B Gata H Kei take the time to develop a character's gimmick into a Honey and Clover-type moment where Yamada wonders what it's like to see the world through Kosuda's eyes, albeit briefly. Now if only she would simply realize how he sees her. I'm getting Hatsukoi Limited flashbacks.

The only Angel Beats! character I don't dislike
is the one that doesn't talk or do anything.

I'm not going to call Angel Beats! a lousy show, but it's not one that I can take seriously without feeling foolish. Nevertheless, Angel Beats! generates more discussion than any other show at a certain IRC channel where idling slowly is preferred. Granted, approximately one-hundred-point-all percent of this discussion is derisive, but everyone seems to acknowledge that it is interesting to discuss even if they don't necessarily enjoy the show. (I sort of felt the same way about Gundam SEED Destiny.)

Tenshi's room is depressingly drab. I guess it's
still better than Minori's spartan bedroom.

My favorite part about episode three was discovering Tenshi apparently lives in a painfully normal and somewhat boring dorm room that she keeps immaculately clean. As far as I'm concerned, this just lends credence to my theory that Tenshi is the actual protagonist of the show, a fact that is sure to be revealed in some melodramatic twist two-thirds of the way through the series. It probably has to do with snow and piano recitals.

Does this count as a spoiler?

I'm not really a fan of B Gata H Kei's Girl Next Door. It's probably because she's also a Clumsy Girl and I despise dojikkos as a whole. Besides, they don't even call her a Girl Next Door in the show; they call her a Childhood Friend. I don't understand why Japan doesn't get this.

Holy crap. THIS CHAIR.

In other news, if B Gata H Kei keeps this up, Yamada is seriously going to challenge Aoba from Cross Game and Shimizu from Major season six as Girl of the Year, 2010. This is most unexpected. Takeshita is also going to place well as the clear voice of reason à la Nobu from Lovely Complex.

Potato-kun Otonashi and Yuri flirt some more.

I can't fight the hype. All the Angel Beats! talk, both for and against (mostly against) made me curious enough to watch it just to see how derivative it really is and find out whether or not Jun Maeda really is a snow-cancer-writing hack. Full-page Haruhi palette swaps aside, Angel Beats! isn't really any more derivative than most anime. You can't tell me there aren't shitloads of cookie-cutter shows every season.

Yuri introduces Iwasawa, Otonashi's enlistment bonus.

My biggest problem with Angel Beats! is I have zero faith in Yuri. I'd follow Haruhi on an ill-conceived Crusade any day of the week, but Yuri is just going to get soldiers killed for cafeteria food someday—even though they are already dead so they won't die if they are killed.

Shiina tries really hard to be goth even though
she has to wear a school uniform in Hell.

On the other hand, were I caught in the Angel Beats! battlespace with my loyalty up for grabs, I'd be fully on board with whatever Tenshi orders. Take that hill? Buff that floor? Clear that building? Police call all these God damn meal coupons and NPC condom wrappers? Got it, ma'am. I'm all over it. Whatever it takes to not be on Yuri's side with the rest of those yahoos, deadbeats, and douchebags. Hell, I'd be pissed enough the afterlife means being stuck in a Japanese high school until the career counselor turns me into a barnacle on Mio's side of Tsumugi's boat. Might as well stick a feather in my cap and join up with the winning side.

Poser Haruhi

VERSUS

The Shrike.

Dude, this is a no-brainer.