Summer’s here!

Summer’s here and my exams are finally over. Gone are the cold days of revision and stress, replaced now by longer weeks of warmth and relaxation. And, of course, anime. It seems that during my time away from the weekly barrage of new episodes, I’ve managed to let many series completely pass me by. However, not one to be discouraged by little hardcore watching, I’m doing my level-best to catch up.

My favourite series of the Spring-to-Summer season has definitely been Itazura na Kiss. In spite of its unpolished animation, the brilliant story is where this series really shines. Clocking in at half-way through, episode thirteen managed to build up emotional tensions to a previously unsurpassed height. We found out that it was Irie who kissed Kotoko whilst she was asleep under that tree, and also that Kinnosuke’s devotion to Kotoko can become frighteningly violent. As the characters are being fleshed out more and more, my eagerness to find out what happens next is also growing. With so many fragile hearts in play, the next thirteen episodes are sure to be just as good, if not better, than the last.

From the best, we move along to certainly the most shallow series of the season. There’s no doubt in my mind now at all that ToLoveRu serves only as an excuse to shoehorn as much fanservice onto Japanese TV as possible. The episodes have practically no continuance, and the stories seem as though they were thought up after it was decided how to get Lala naked this week. And as if that wasn’t enough, ToLoveRu is very quickly descending into harem-hell as almost every episode a new and spookily well-endowed contender for Rito’s love seems to appear. At twenty-six episodes long, I really fear for the future of this series! That said, though, I did watch the first ten episodes, and I probably will the next… Just as well the characters are cute!

I’ve also caught up with Special A, which has developed nicely so far. At first I was terrified that this series would flop due to a worn-and-torn premise (Ouran High School Host Club, anyone?) and annoyingly 2D characters (ah, the wit!) who were all about their “thing” and nothing more (Kei - rude and obnoxious, Akira - likes tea, and so on). Luckily, whilst the premise has remained, the characters have improved. The romance between Hikari and Kei has been well handled since Kei, your standard “I hate everything”-type of guy, has also been shown to feel lonliness and passion. Y’know, like a real person. Akira’s dark secret too hasn’t yet been completely divulged, ensuring that there’s plenty to look forward too. That is, however, only if they can sort out those horrible (”Ah! My ears are bleeding!”) OP and ED songs.

So yeah, all in all, I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far. I still have Kurenai to catch up with, which apparently finished whilst I was gone. Moreover, I think I’ve recovered enough from my last viewing to inject some Chi’s Sweet Home sweetness into veins once again. Aside from those, Mnemosyne and Kyouran Kazoku Nikki have also managed to grab my interest, so I may give them a go yet before the season’s up. Would you recommend them?