Currently Watching: Impressions

Ojamajo Doremi
This show has really grown on me. I'm really enjoying it. The wacky predicaments that the characters get themselves into always put a smile on my face. Some episodes are really emotionally charged, like the one about Aiko's mother (even with the ridiculous gender bias, aka little Aiko says, "Who will take care of dad if you leave? Who will make him dinner? Do the laundry? etc." and Aiko's dad saying to Aiko's mom, "You should quit your job to take better care of Aiko" I'm serious, these were the words each one said, well roughly). Excluding these little hiccups, the show is lots of fun. Doremi can still get a little annoying, but the funny results make up for it. The only character that really gets on my nerves now is Pop. God, she is so annoying and stuck up. Every time she talks I want to strangle her, Doremi is right, she is the unluckiest girl because she has Pop as a sister. Episodes with very little Pop are the best episodes in my opinion. Of course, I love to point out annoyances, but really I am enjoying this show a lot. I'm glad there are like six seasons all with 40-50 episodes; means I'll be enjoying Doremi, Hazuki and Aiko's hijinks for quite some time. =D

edit: Finished season one. The ending was very sad, but season two cheered me right up. But I got to say, Hana-chan is getting more annoying than even Pop! Yeah, I know I know, she is a baby, but my dear god, her wailing is annoying and loud. Maybe if the first three episodes didn't portray her as crying every few minutes, I wouldn't get so annoyed every time I heard her crying. Onpu was also not a favourite of mine, but she grew on me a little in the last episodes of the first season.

KARAU: Phantom Memory
The description sounded interesting, and it is, but it's been dragging lately and interactions between Karau and Christmas are not those of equals, which was the premise of the whole story. The two beings can only exist in pairs, yet Karau dominates Christmas, and refuses to let the her into her heart. Christmas is also very passive, often not saying anything when she wants to, for example the fact that Karau doesn't tell her things. However, some stories have evolving characters, and relationships, so I'm willing to continue on with this one to see where it will go.

Konjiki no Gash Bell!!
After the last arc with Zofis and Koko finished, I decided to take a break until now. The new arc now focuses on a strange demon structure that appeared and then disappeared in the human world. The Gash look-alike also made an appearance, so I'm guessing this arc is going to finally be about him. A new pair was also introduced, Ted and his human partner Jido, while the two are mostly shown as comic relief, it looks like they will become a part of the growing group that Kiyomaro and Gash fight with. The episode where Mizuno interpreted Megumi to be Kiyomaru's girlfriend was very funny. Overall, Gash Bell continues to be a wacky anime with a good chuck of action. I am looking forward to the new arc.


Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch
It has finally happened, I dropped it. After episode 24, I couldn't bother to watch it any more. Episode 24 united everything I hated about the show. First Kaito decided to pretend to marry this little girl (who is in fact a mermaid from Hannon's kingdom). By doing this he is not only being insensitive to Lucia but also to Meru; he is basically disregarding her feeling because he feels she is a child and thus her feelings aren't real. A good person would have explained to Meru that he has someone else he loves instead of toying around with her because she is a child. My god, what the hell would anyone see is a jerkface like Kaito! Second is Lucia, who, instead of spying on Kaito and Meru, should have told Kaito exactly how she felt or dumped his dumb ass! Finally, what is this business of weddings being a girl's dream?! Sure girls, just as much as boys, dream about finding someone that can love them, but a wedding being only a girl's dream and just this one dream is ridiculous and sexist. This is why this show drives me crazzzzy. I know that I dreamed of falling in love when I was little (who didn't), but I dreamed of a lot of other things as well (like being a veterinarian, adventurer, etc.). I hate when shows do this, making it seem like getting married is the only thing girls want, and it's only girls who want it. Agh. I am so glad I dropped it. I think if I continued I would have died of a heart attack brought about by extreme stress at how foolish the characters and the show are.

~Joanna

Currently Watching: Impressions

Bleach
A series has really fallen from grace when you are more entertained watching filler arcs then reading the actual manga. Really, this filler arc about the zanpakuto is far more interesting then what is happening in fake Karakura town. I do admit, half of why I find this so boring is because most of my favourite characters are in Hueco Mundo, but the other half is that the current fights seem so half assed. I mean Shunsui's first release was enough to defeat number 1? really? I get that he is one of the most senior of the captains, but even Ukitake wasn't able to do that and both of them joined Seireitei at the same time and both were tutored by Yamamoto. It really did feel like Kubo did it to get the plot moving, so I guess he knows that the fans don't like this part at all. Anyways, the filler arc is pretty interesting. I really liked Renji's fight with Zabimaru, it was basically his fight with Byakuya all over again, except this time he won. I wish Renji would get more fights, I really miss him. I was very disappointed with Rukia's fight, or lack of. While Rukia's fight with number 9 was amazing, so I was disenchanted with the Sode no Shirayuki fight. Although I guess Rukia would not want to fight her own zanpakuto.

EDIT: Chapter 338 just got back to Hueco Mundo! Hurray! My interest level when from 4 to 7 (on a scale of 1-10). =D

Ojamajo Doremi

I started watching this series because it was a magical girl show, and I tend to like these. Doremi isn't Tutu, or even Cardcaptor Sakura, but it's still entertaining. The biggest problem with Doremi is that the characters are walking archetypes. Doremi is the good-hearted but dumb and goofy leader in pink, Hazuki is the soft spoken book worm with glasses, and Aiko is the blue tomboy that excels at sports and isn't too bright, but is high above at Doremi's level of dumbness. Most episodes are self contained and usually feature one of Doremi's classmates who has a problem and comes to the shop to buy a magic item to solve their problem. Often the person will buy Doremi's deformed item and the girls will have to follow the person to make sure that the item doesn't malfunction. It can get a bit repetitive, but Ojamajo Doremi usually changes up the formula just when it is getting stale by making the next episode about the girls's magic exam, or their family members. So far I'm yet to be bored of it, and it has a certain charm that keeps me coming back, even when the characters are so badly made and used.

Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch
Sometimes I really wonder why I continue to watch it. The plot moves at the pace of a snail, the filler episodes are boring and uninspired, and the main characters (except Lina) annoy me to no end. I should probably drop it, but I end up deciding to give it another chance because it's a magical girl show. I think Lina also helps me keep my sanity when watching this show, because the other characters are so unbelievably shallow and cliche and dumb that I cannot fathom anyone relating to them and their plight. Yes, angry rant is coming up! For starters there is Lucia, she's suppose to be a mermaid princess, but she NEVER takes her responsibility seriously, even after realizing that her kingdom is in real trouble. Nope, she rather day dream and chase after Kaito, who is awful. The guy has 'feelings' for both mermaid Lucia and human Lucia and doesn't know they are the same person. Sure he likes the same person, but if it so happened that they weren't the same person, he would be two-timing them. Most the time it seems like he only keeps human Lucia around because he knows he can't have mermaid Lucia, and during the earlier episodes he was really mean to human Lucia. But Lucia, being the dumb brood that she is, forgave him because he loves her in the end, even though he doesn't yet know it. This is kind of absurd because he is 'in love' with a mere image and recollection, and not a real person, any self respecting individual would have realized Kaito isn't worth the effort since he is a self absorbed shallow prick. The anime's awful perpetuation of masculinity as seen through Kaito and femininity as seen through Lucia and Hanon often brings me nausea. The only saving grace is Lina, who takes her responsibility as a mermaid princess seriously and is unwavering in her dedication to freeing her kingdom. Often episodes featuring her give me enough hope to keep slogging through the anime, but I am beginning to question how far my love for maho shoujo, and Lina's character can take me to bear the god awful atrocity that is Mermaid Melody. I guess we shall see how long I can bear to watch it. Currently I have watched 20 episodes out of 51. It's a contest then. ;)

Lucky Star

I must say episode seven was far more entertaining then the previous episodes. Konata's lady imitation was genuinely funny because it is such an overused anime cliche. However, the rest of the episode was rather dull, like the six episodes before it. Lucky Star is bordering on being dropped like Mermaid Melody, but for now, I'm still willing to watch another episode (maybe not in the near future because like Mermaid Melody, I can only subject myself to something I do not particularly like, but something I feel may get better only so often.) Any ways, like Mermaid Melody I will have a little contest to see how far I can watch, Lucky Star has an advantage as it is much shorter, but then again it's even more dull then Mermaid Melody. I don't know about other people, but I do not find four demure (possible excepts are Konata and Kagami) girls discussing food, clothes, cell phones, and other trivial matters to be entertaining. But we shall see how much I can endure.

Endure Anime Test:
Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch - 24[NOW DROPPED]
Lucky Star - 7/24