Short Synopsis: The moment is finally there: Cosette leaves the Thenardiers.
Good: Cosette was as touching as always.
Bad: How long is Jean planning to keep Fantine’s death a secret?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10

That was beautiful! I don’t know what it is, but Cosette and the other characters are incredibly touching. I especially loved how Jean gave Cosette some better gifts than Eponine’s and Azele’s combined. Not only because it was probably the first time Cosette got such a treatment in years, but it also angered Eponine and Azele even more. And something tells me that they’re still going to play some kind of role in this story. Same with Thenardier. For the first time, he actually got angry.

It surprised me that Jean didn’t break the news of Fantine’s death yet. But then again, I bet it’s extremely hard to tell any girl that her mother died, let alone Cosette. Still, the more he puts this off, the more it’s going to hurt when the finds out in the end. And he also has to make up some kind of excuse why they can’t immediately come go to see her. I really wonder when he’s going to tell her, as I’ve got absolutely no idea about this.

And thus ends the first quarter of Les Miserables. I’m actually curious about how the rest of the series will continue. After all, the Thenardiers can’t make Cosette’s life horrible anymore. I suspect that Javert is going to play a big role in the future episodes, as he’s got to find Jean some day, hasn’t he? So far, this series has been beautiful. I’m hoping for the rest of the series to be even better. :)

The Yoshinaga-family has won a rather strange prize in a local lottery: a talking gargoyle who acts as their gatekeeper. Through the course of 13 episodes, it explores the lives of the Yoshinagas, this particular gargoyle (also hilariously nicknamed “GAR-kun”) and the people from their neighbourhood, with some very strong references to the practices of ancient alchemy. With a lot of writer’s freedom, that is.

My main problem with Yoshinaga-chi no Gargoyle is that it has a number of the most excellent characters, but refuses to use them well. Futaba is a true delight to watch when she is in action. Too bad that this only happens in three or four episodes. Osiris and her owner make a perfect team. Unfortunately, they never get the chance to truly show their personalities for more than ten seconds. Gar-kun is one of the most original characters I’ve ever seen. Too bad he also has a dull side, which he shows more often than not. Futaba’s mother and father also make a perfect team. It’s just too bad that it’s only till the final episodes that the two of them get any decent development. Takahara Iyo works great if she’s the main focus of the episode. Too bad that only happens once of twice.

Ironically, most of the time in this series is wasted on a character who actually works best as a side-character: Hyakushiki. His background is also one of the more unbelievable of the series, and especially the middle episodes keep on dabbling about useless things that don’t even matter. Other episodes focus on rather dull cases, and only the first two episodes and the final two episodes are the ones in which the characters are really showing the best sides of themselves.

If there ever was a series in need of a remake, it’d be this one. It’s got some of the most amazing characters. If they’re actually used well, they’ll definitely make for an awesome series. But because it dabbles away too often in dull elements, it turned out merely above-average. Still, this anime was definitely worth seeing. The good episodes were a delight, and even the bad episodes showcased at least a bit of the different characters’ brilliance, making them a tiny bit enjoyable after all. :)

Nice batch. Not an awesome one, but these three series definitely have potential for the future. Let’s hope that the spring-season will be much better than last year’s fall-season.

Seirei no Moribito

Short Synopsis: The main character, Barsa, who spends her life as a hired bodyguard, accepts to protect Changgumu, the second prince of the Yugu-Kingdom after he has been implanted by the egg of a water-spirit, and his father is after his life.
Good: Great animation, AWESOME background art.
Bad: I expected more of the music, but it doesn’t really stand out until the final scene.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10
I was quite surprised when I saw this appear on Tokyo Toshokan. After all, it’s supposed to arrive in a week. As it’s one of the series I’ve been anticipating, I eagerly checked it out. So far, it looked quite interesting. I can’t say much about the overall story yet, as this clearly was an episode meant to introduce the story. In the next episode, we’ll see a bit more of Changgumu, and how the two of them will spend their time in this anime. Barsa, so far, has proved that she’s quite a strong and intelligent character. I didn’t quite get why the palace in the end had to be burned, though. So far, it’s been a solid episode, but apart from the amazing background-art, I’ve yet to be surprised. Let’s hope this comes in the next episodes.

Murder Princess

Short Synopsis: Nah, won’t tell you. It’s best if you find out yourself.
Good: Rocking music!
Bad: Can the rest of this OVA be worthwhile without its shock-value?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Murder Princess started out rather dull, with a castle being run over by a number of monsters and cute girls. But then a very nice twist in the middle made it all worthwhile. It’s something I didn’t expect to happen, and it’s really best if you watch this OVA without knowing anything about it beforehand. After this twist, the second half of the episode turned out very interesting. Okay, it may not be the most serious story, but it was definitely entertaining.

Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann

Short Synopsis: Our main character is a boy who’s lived underground for his entire life. He digs a lot, and during one of these diggings, he finds the face of a mecha. Lots of destruction ensues afterwards.
Good: Very interesting characters. Great style.
Bad: Contains every element of the shounen-series-formula.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10
Okay, it may be a shounen-series, but it’s a damn entertaining one. Sure, the main character is a wimpy boy, but the main side-character definitely is worth watching, and he even makes sure that otherwise dull characters turn interesting. I love the style of this one, even though it’s filled with clichés. The main character may have found the robot on pure coincidence, he may have run into a beautiful girl for no apparent reason, he may live in a world where people absolutely never get dizzy, but the way this anime is presented definitely made for an entertaining episode. Oh, and this anime may have one of the shortest ED’s ever. :P

Short Synopsis: The detective survives the attack, while Takuma and Hotaru get captured by the sinful village people.
Good: Excellent episode, great climax. :)
Bad: None.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10

With this, I’m convinced: the climax of the second season is better than that of the first season, and the final episode has to be really bad in order to change that. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that the second season overall is better. Personally, the cases in the first season appealed to me more than in the second season. Hajime’s and Tsugumi’s differences of opinion were very interesting to see, but the climax itself was more focused at showing Enma Ai’s background than resolving the conflict between the two of them. And they also just disappeared afterwards.

With Takuma, however, things are getting really interesting. The focus of this climax is much more interesting, and it seems like the entire series has been building up for this. It’s not the background of Ai’s dolls, like I originally thought. These were just some necessary episodes in order to flesh out their characters a bit. The real focus of the second season is to show people getting more and more lenient in sending a person to hell. Overall, I found the cases in the second season far less extreme than those in the first one. And I have to say, that while I originally thought it a bit unbelievable, I do admit that I really like the way this turned out.

Another thing is that Jigoku Shoujo is starting to become selfish yet again. This time however, it’s far more interesting, as unlike the first season, she doesn’t feel hatred, but compassion. Takuma and Hotaru were very interesting in this episode as well. Especially Hotaru freaking out in the boat was awesome. And even though the detective disappearing in the end had it coming, the results of this were so worthwhile to see.

It also becomes clear now why Kikuri showed Hotaru the pot full of candles. She knew that Hotaru would understand that Takuma has never sent a person to hell, so she’d get close to him as well, so that Takuma would lose another person who got close to him. I also assume that she alerted the detective of Takuma’s whereabouts. The next episode will be very interesting to see, as she’ll finally reveal her plans. Takuma obviously is going to do something to make Hotaru stop cursing him, after which she’ll probably make herself really hated.

One thing that’s too bad: Hell Boy not returning. It seems that the climax will really be about Kikuri and Takuma. Ah well, there’s always hope for a third season somewhere. In any case, I’m glad to see that Jigoku Shoujo still shines as bright as usual. :)