Panning the Stream: Yona of the Dawn, Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, InoBato

Fall (much like Tahiti) is swiftly becoming a magical place.

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I’m ready to call this the season of swords and sorcery, as there seems to be a ridiculous number of high fantasy series on the schedule (to say nothing of the low fantasy series like Fate/stay night). While the new shows haven’t had much in the way of “wow” moments so far, I gotta admit that if I had to choose between middle-of-the-road high school drama and middle-of-the-road dragon slaying, I’d choose the latter any day of the week. Anime fantasy is near and dear to my heart, and I’m happy to see it making a comeback on the schedule.

True to the season’s trends, this batch features a trio of stories with fantastical elements, from a pair of very promising (and very different) high fantasies to a bland supernatural school tale. Hit the jump and get excited for these two Meet ‘n’ Greets, as they’ve got the potential to be memorable additions to that lovely catalog of anime fantasy tales.

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Panning the Stream: Gugure! Kokkuri-san, Laughing Under the Clouds, JOKER

Good things come in small (and unexpected) packages.

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After writing yesterday’s somewhat discouraging premiere digest, I sat down to watch my final Sunday series, feeling like Fall was doing exactly what its name implied. Which, of course, was the moment when I turned on Gugure! Kokkuri-san (“Google it, Kokkuri-san!”) and found my first potential gold nugget of the season. There’s nothing like that giddy feeling of discovery to rejuvenate you for the long premiere week ahead.

Outside of that pleasant surprise, we have a series with a lot of (currently unrealized) potential and a standard but enjoyable kids’ show. Can Fall rise? Maybe so. Two Meet ‘n’ Greets and a quickie review below the jump.

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Panning the Stream: World Trigger, Cross Ange, Grisaia, Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Celestial Method

That’s a whole lotta nope, right there.

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After yesterday’s uneven but at least somewhat intriguing premieres, I was starting to worry that I’d end up with another massive watchlist. Now I’m starting to worry that I won’t have very much on my watchlist at all. I’ve crammed five series into this post, and none of them are getting a full Meet ‘n’ Greet. The good news is that (1) most of the more promising shows for this season haven’t aired yet, and (2) a few of these are watchable enough that if we DO have a weak season, I could end up coming back to them.

It’s a wide variety, this bunch, from mecha epics to school stories, and while a couple simply didn’t catch my interest, a couple others were downright infuriating. Hit the jump for some quickie reviews as the nope parade rides through town.

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Panning the Stream: Lord Marksman and Vanadis, In Search of the Lost Future, Fate/stay night

Well, so much for “keeping these posts shorter”…

It’s possible I was just in the right anime-watchin’ mood yesterday, but all three of these shows are getting full Meet ‘n’ Greets, because while only one of them is pretty much a sure thing (Spoiler: It’s Fate/stay night), all three of them had at least enough of a spark to keep me on the fence. I wouldn’t give a full thumbs-up to either of the other two just yet, but, well… hit the jump and read on for details.

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Panning the Stream: TERRAFORMARS, DENKI-GAI, Tribe Cool Crew

In which the Josei watches everything, so you don’t have to.

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After spending much of the last week putting together that massive Summer Review post, I get to take all of a five-minute breather before launching into the Fall season. Who’s ready for this madness?!

I will be doing things a little differently this season. In order to get these posted in a timely manner, I’ll only be writing full “Meet ‘n’ Greets” for the series that made me want to watch more episodes. I’ll touch on the others and why I dropped them, but I won’t bother to give the full run-down on the studio, where it’s streaming, and so on. (And yes, I still only review licensed series, because for all its flaws I love the anime industry and want to support it in whatever small monetary way I can.)

So let’s dive into that stream and see if we can hunt down any gold nuggets, starting with our first trio of the season…

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Glancing Upstream: Summer 2014 Retrospective and Review

This season defied all kinds of initial expectations, for better and for worse.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 41-42

This week’s episodes brought to you by: Ferris wheels!

Well, Ferris wheels and misguided martyrdom, anyway. Man, sometimes Sailor Moon just so perfectly captures adolescence, and all the flavors of adolescence, too. Our characters are often dealing with new-found responsibilities—Usagi’s story arc is almost entirely about that—but they’re also learning about empathy and altruism as they struggle to understand and help other people.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 39-40

Not all filler is created equal.

In Sailor Moon’s defense, I spent a good portion of this week’s episodes fighting with my tablet, which I was pretty sure was dead (turned out it was just mostly dead), and then with my laptop which for some reason hates taking screenshots. So part of my lukewarm reaction to this week’s episodes probably have to do with the fact that I spent them in a constant state of mild annoyance. (There are also fewer screenshots, for similar reasons.)

That said, this still feels like something of a weak, er… week. It’s pure filler—barring some mild progression from Endymion, there’s no real character or plot development from either of these eps—and while it’s nowhere near as irritating or dull as the filler from when plant Nephrite was in charge, it’s lacking the exuberant silliness or unabashed warmth of SM filler at its best.

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