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So I guess with the new season a few weeks in, I should post some thoughts on what I’ve seen so far. Let’s get the regular Studio DEEN abortion out of the way first.

Vampire Knight: I think I said this one would be a hit and a miss. Turns out whoever was shooting was blind, deaf and dumb, because it was a huge miss. The animation isn’t bad, and the hair is way too detailed (DEEN seem to have a habit of this, see Shion no Ou), but I think this says it best:

[it’s] aimed squarely at the creepy yaoi fangirl demographic

Now, with that out of the way, the stuff that doesn’t suck. And I’m pleased to report that if you steer clear of the obvious bad shows (To-LOVE-Ru and Kanokon, I’m looking at you!) there’s a lot of good coming out of this season.

Code Geass R2: Needs no explanation. Everything is once again a 10/10. Well, almost everything: Sunrise seem to have the cliffhanger-at-the-end-of-every-episode technique down to a science. As much as I hate that, I’ll still be watching the hell out of this all season. And on that note, I just wonder what would have happened had the show been written by GAINAX: Lelouch killed off at episode ten, anyone?

Soul Eater: Looked very odd at first, but I was hooked on episode 1. The animation is crude, yet effective, it’s funny, it’s got a semi-interesting plot. And it’s got a catgirl with huge… tracks of land. What more could you want?

Tower of Druaga: Here’s one I missed in the leadup, but it’s one of the best shows of the season. GONZO are the first brave studio to step out and put their shows, subbed, online for free - effectively beating the fansubbers at their own game. I applaud them for this, and here’s the crazy thing: it’s the best thing to come out of GONZO since Kiddy Grade or Last Exile. The whole show is basically a pisstake of Namco’s Tower of Druaga game, and fantasy role playing games in general. It’s funny, it’s well animated, the voice acting is top notch and I’m in love with the character designs. If and when this is out on DVD, I won’t hesitate to buy it. That is, assuming GONZO don’t pull a Bandai on the fans. But then again, if they’re already giving it away for free, fans have no incentive to buy the DVDs unless they’re well priced.

Real Drive (aka RD Sennou Chosashitu): Here’s one of the series I’m reserving judgement on this season. It’s started off a little slowly, and the concepts are up there with Ghost in the Shell in terms of being difficult to wrap your head around. But all the signs of it being typical Production IG and Masamune Shirow quality (i.e. excellent). Once again, animation and voice acting are top notch.

Library Wars (aka Toshokan Sensou): Another one I’m reserving judgement on - funnily enough, another Production IG series too. I love the animation style and the Read or Die feel to the series, but there’s something about the characters that just irks me, especially the lead character (Iku). Then again, I’ll probably see this one through, as it’s only twelve episodes long.