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Hey ho.

So you're watching Gintama that's great.

Well let me give you an advice.
Just for the information.

The first Episodes and the following first Episodes can be quite average.
I know that it can be for many people. So maybe for you as well.

But it will improve a lot afterwards.
So I hope you will keep on watching Gintama.

Kyoko is your favorite? That's surprising, but I understand your reasoning.

I couldn't possibly choose a favorite character at this point, because my choice would probably change with every episode. Prior to episode six, it would have either been Madoka or Sayaka (or even the ill-fated Mami), but episode six really elevated Homura in my eyes and now she could possibly end up as my favorite character.

Bad news first, in case you haven't heard... The Twin Spica manga will be going out of print in English due to poor sales:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-03-22/twin-spica-manga-likely-to-go-out-of-print-in-english

Ugh. That was a series that I was looking forward to reading, as it really sounded interesting, but with my pathetically small manga budget there's no way I'll be able to buy it before it's gone.

***

So we're halfway through Madoka at episode six, and I still have no idea how the plot will play out. Will Madoka become a magical girl and save everyone (good ending); will she become a magical girl and pay a terrible price (tragic ending); will she not become a magical girl at all (seems unlikely, but who knows)? Great stuff!

I really like how the characters are developing. Madoka is the one you empathize with, of course, but episode six has made Homura into a really interesting character (just what is she up to?), Sayaka is practically a lead character herself at this point, and I suspect that there's more to the new girl than just her current one-dimensional antagonism.

***

I agree that Princess Tutu didn't have much actual fighting, but it had a lot of "conflict," with bad guys and evil plots, etc. Fancy Lala doesn't have any of that... it's practically a slice-of-life magical girl show (strange as that sounds). That's probably why I like it, as I love slice-of-life stories.

The ending of Princess Tutu does take most people by surprise, and I can see that some might be disappointed at the way it turns out. Fancy Lala, on the other hand, has a lot of sad things that happen in the last episode that can leave you in tears, but the ending itself is OK. That is, I think most people would call it a good ending, but a lot of sad things happen because of it. But none of it is tragic, and it doesn't take you by surprise the way the last scene in Princess Tutu does.

Well, that 3rd episode of Madoka was rather shocking; definitely not your typical magical girl show! I caught the 4th episode last night, and I'm really liking this show so far.

Back when I watched the first episode, however, Madoka seemed awfully familiar to me, even though I had never seen any clips or trailers for it. It eventually dawned on me that I have two of director Akiyuki Shinbo's earlier shows in my collection, and elements of his visual style are present in all three.

Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, a 3 episode OVA from 2004, has wonderfully surrealistic art and a soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura, both similar to Madoka, but as a horror/romance it's quite a different type of story: often disturbing, occasionally gory, with a complex, convoluted plot.

The SoulTaker, from 2001, is a very frustrating show. It's one of the most visually impressive shows that I've ever seen... but the story is just a generic shonen fighting story. It's not that the story is bad per se, but magnificent art demands a magnificent story, so this was a big disappointment in that respect.

I'm having fun comparing both of these shows to Madoka. I finished a re-watch of Cossette last week, and I'll start a re-watch of SoulTaker later this month.

You mentioned that you enjoy the magical girl genre; you might want to check out Fancy Lala if you ever get the chance. It's unusual in that there are no frilly dresses/uniforms, there's no fighting at all, and you don't have to sit through the complete transformation sequence in every single episode. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it is decent entertainment with a wonderful bittersweet ending.

I see. I will give it a shot, after I clear a few series off my list. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

Ah, alrighty then. Kinda reminds me of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but I am sure it's not as random, hehe.

I have not watched Baccano, although I heard it has like a Chicago vibe to it. Guess I'll read the synopsis to see if it piques my interest. Thanks :D

Oh, how is Durarara? I've been meaning to watch it, but trying to catch up on my current watch list of series. I heard it has a unique storyline. :)

I guess that I don't need to tell you that Puella Magi Madoka Magica is going to be streamed on several different sites... as you watched the first episode today as well! What did you think?

I thought it was a very impressive first episode; easy to see why it's been getting so much critical acclaim. I hadn't really been paying much attention to the show because it's *way* out of my price range - and I generally don't care much for the "magical girl" genre - but I'll be following this one as it streams.

I would agree that the Kaleido Star episodes overall have pacing that's quite different from that of a typical action series. As long as you are enjoying the show, I wouldn't worry too much about the frequency with which you watch the episodes. Remember that they were designed to be watched only once per week (when originally broadcast), so watching only one or two a month isn't a whole lot slower.

Also, the main story hasn't really started yet. These early episodes are just introducing the cast & building the show's world, and they are mostly self-contained. Later on the story arcs will start stretching out over several episodes, and there will be some "cliffhanger" type episode endings that might really tempt you to "watch just one more episode"... or at least not wait so long before you do watch the next episode.

Welcome to the NHK never appealed to me for some reason, even though it has a good reputation. I doubt that I'll ever bother to watch an episode or two to see what it's like.

But I have had the opportunity to recently check out a couple of other shows that you like, with decidedly mixed results.

First up was Fairy Tale, which seems to be really popular at the moment. The premise of magic guilds sounded interesting, so I watched the first three episodes on Hulu. Unfortunately, it's not a show that will work for me. I liked Lucy quite a lot: an interesting character, an appealing character design, and an intriguing method of using magic... but that was pretty much it. I immediately disliked Natsu, and was fed up with him by the end of the second episode. The episodes as a whole just seemed too silly, too superficial, and too similar to too many other shows that I've seen. I like silly shows, but Fairy Tale's humor felt like it was aimed at a younger audience, and that I was just too old to fully appreciate it.

After that disappointment, I figured that I should actually try a couple of episodes of Soul Eater, since it was certainly possible that I wouldn't like it either. But Soul Eater proved to be a lot of fun! I really like the art style that they use... it's visually a great show to watch. And I like the unexpected little twists that some of the stories have. It's probably just as silly as Fairy Tale, but Soul Eater's humor works for me whereas Fairy Tale's humor just fell flat. In terms of characters, I really like Maka and Tsubaki, but Black Star and Death the Kid are borderline annoying with their respective obsessions.

So Soul Eater remains a show that I might buy if the price was right, but it's not a "must have" by any means. Hulu has the complete series subbed, so I'll keep watching it and see if I make it to the end, or if I eventually get tired of it and drop it. Right now, with 7 episodes completed, it's still a lot of fun.

Yes, Kalos is the owner. You figured him out quicker than I did... "tough love" is pretty accurate. He's an interesting character: He doesn't actually do all that much in the show, and much of what he does do can seem confounding at first, but he definitely has a reason for everything that he does.

I don't know if I have a favorite character in Pumpkin Scissors; I like them all. I'm a little partial to Alice for a couple of reasons. First, I just always seem to like "idealistic but naive" characters... they can be a lot of fun when they are handled right. And then Alice is a chance to hear Kaytha Coker in a leading role. I've liked her since first hearing her hilarious performance as Mune-mune in Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, but she hasn't had too many big roles.

After watching Pumpkin Scissors twice now with the English dub, I think that the next time I watch it I'll try the Japanese audio with subtitles. Subtitles can sometimes give you a more detailed translation, since they don't have to match the exact timing of the Japanese audio. I'm not sure it will actually make much difference for Pumpkin Scissors, but it should be interesting regardless.

TODAY'S USELESS TRIVIA: The old ADV originally paid $780,000 just to license Pumpkin Scissors, which was far more than other, more popular, shows like Welcome to the NHK ($240,000), Air TV ($145,000), and Sgt. Frog ($408,000).

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-30/adv-court-documents-reveal-amounts-paid-for-29-anime-titles

How did your re-watch of Pumpkin Scissors go? Were you able to enjoy it more, or were the annoying parts still annoying?

And what did you think of Kaleido Star's 3rd episode? I recall being kind of puzzled by it when I first saw it; Kalos is an enigmatic character, and it can take quite a few episodes before you start to figure out what he's up to. The 4th episode, however, is a good one: two new supporting characters are introduced, the drama level rises sharply as Sora learns that not everyone at the Kaleido Stage has happy memories, and there's a nicely done heartwarming moment (the first of many to come) towards the end of the episode, although it happens so fast that it's almost a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it moment.