Random Curiosity Power Rankings - June 2007 RESEED June 23
Based on the responses from the initial Power Rankings post, I’ve updated the rankings and descriptions for each, as well as removed/added shows. Keep in mind that I’m only doing this “reseeding” as a follow-up to the first post – just because a show might have dropped 10 spots doesn’t mean the latest ep really sucked! Subsequent power ranking posts will come about once a month!
Notes:
| June 2007 | Rank (LW) | Title | Comment |
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1 (1) | Gurren Lagann | A great beach episode that not only elevated Nia to the Tessa stratosphere, but also had Yoko using her much-needed screen time well. Notice how Yoko looked a tad bit cuter this episode? The action remained nothing short of insanity, we saw the dramatic death of one of the prime evils, and there was even time for a haircut scene. In terms of sheer volume of enjoyment, the other shows don’t even come close to this. |
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2 (4) | Lucky Star | What’s this…consistency? Even the dialogue-exclusive episodes are really starting to be enjoyable. Whether this has to do with the dialogue getting better (maybe), the subject matter being more interesting (not likely), or just me getting used to this group of friends (there we go), Lucky Star has really, truly, deeply become a special, special show. Episode 11 was pure love. |
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3 (6) | Claymore | One way I evaluate anime is how badly it makes me want to read the manga after a cliffhanger – for those who haven’t done it already, this seems to be an issue that becomes more and more prevalent every week. Meanwhile, the anime is doing a great job of keeping it together and keeping it legit – somewhat of a rarity these days so far into the series! |
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4 (2) | Dennou Coil | While not as bonkers as the previous, episode 5 maintains a strong beat of action while keeping up the intrigue. The believability of the techno-world they live in continues to be a marvel. The plot thickens, but not in the expected direction – looks like it’s going towards more of a kids vs kids situation rather than a kids vs huge mysterious organization. Well, battles have to be fought and alliances formed before a full-scale war breaks out, right? |
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5 (8) | Darker than BLACK | The rabbit hole continues to get deeper and deeper, and now, “finally, we’re getting some more main character story advancement…I really liked the direction this episode is going. It got me really excited for what will be probably an even more interesting episode next week…” Looks to be shaping into a real worthwhile show. |
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6 (9) | Romeo x Juliet | Initial doubts that an anime adaptation would butcher the original seem to have completely dispelled – the anime is a fearsome beast in its own right, not ashamed of using the original material and molding it into something that works in this context. While the early episodes were somewhat weak on how the flurry of emotions surrounding the story were conveyed, recent eps have really stepped it up. Only to rip our heart out later…sigh. |
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7 (13) | sola | Episode 12 finally found a better use for paper - slicing stuff instead of paper cranes. After episodes of continued drivel the characters finally started to shine through – and to think, it took the irony of a movie theater to pull it off. To pose the same question as I did for GL last time – Aono or Matsuri? Either way, having those two duke it out down to teeth and bone for his affection is pretty sweet – lucky bastard Yorito. |
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8 (10) | DEATH NOTE | This show is ending soon – very very soon. It’s fallen from its pedestal since origin-L was written off (ha ha), and while the Near arc isn’t anywhere near as interesting, it’s still enough to keep it aloft. Episode 36 helped the show claw its way back to the upper echelons with its insane SAKUJO SAKUJO and heart-stopping cliffhanger – who will be the victor? I’m almost scared to find out. |
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9 (15) | Seirei no Moribito | As many have claimed, this show really is that good. It stays honest to itself and doesn’t gorge on endless action or show off its stunning animation – there is a calm confidence in its ability to weave a wondrous story, and it continues to impress. Recent eps have seemed like filler, however – the intensity of the first arc is gone, but it’s adapted a standalone style filled with intrigue, similar to Mushishi. Absolutely fascinating. |
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10 (5) | Hayate no Gotoku! | Hoh, the appearance of Nishizawa as Nagi’s rival sure spices things up a bit. More Maria screen time and facial expressions never hurt either – then again, she could just record a cd of her talking for 72 minutes and I’d still be all over it. Is this sort of loose plot going to hold up for so many eps though? Guess we’ll find out. |
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11 (7) | Nodame Cantabile | Nodame’s participation in the Maradona competition was a welcome twist – even the way it ended was quite unexpected. How will she come out of her funk? Is it possible that she joins Chiaki’s orchestra for a piano concerto? Will Chiaki finally make the trip overseas? The pace has really picked up with 22 as seemingly rounding the final turn…there’s still plenty of time to work out a satisfying end, but I’d rather see this show go to 52 eps! |
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12 (3) | Seto no Hanayome | The addition of the Terminator dad is, well, hilarious. Luna’s jealousy shot is reaching an all-time high, and while the humor is getting quite repetitive, it still gets me riled up every single time. Maybe it’s the lack of gag comedies like this one – besides Kanban Musume and Magikano, have there been any comparable comedies of this caliber since Fumoffu? |
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13 (17) | Lovely Complex | The ups and downs of this show…the trap character took me completely by surprise as I thought this show had enough firepower with its manzai combi, and for those eps and the few after that, the gag level was high enough to cover for what has otherwise been a long, dragged out process of a one-sided relationship… until ep 11 when the pace finally picked back up! |
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14 (23) | Terra e… | psgels from SCAB: “…I kept comparing Toward the Terra with Heroic Age, and then I really realized how truly crap the latter is. Both anime feature exiles who struggle to survive, though Heroic Age had to come up with an unbelievably strong Age who keeps on fighting until there is peace, and that’s about all there is to the storyline. Compare that to Toward the Terra and its complex storytelling from three different parties.” |
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15 (NEW) | Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA | Konata-oneesama will have something new to fawn over as this episode piles on as much action as Maria-sama will allow: it’s the sports festival! Not as yuri-stalkertastic as the previous episode, this latest installment chooses instead to show young, nubile, innocent girls sweating it out to represent their class! Not to mention plenty of onee-sama cosplay. Years in the making, the Marimite formula has pretty much been perfected. |
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16 (12) | Kaze no Stigma | To fans of this show – I’m sorry, but this show just doesn’t rub me the right way. Sure, it’s got nice action and a pretty cool protagonist, but the writing is too retarded and full of holes. I’m not even nitpicking – would you forsake your family and kill hundreds of people to get back at a guy who didn’t really kill your brother, just cuz a random bishie told you to? Stuff like that really gets to me. Oh well, it can’t really fall any further, right? |
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17 (16) | Nagasarete Airantou | Much like the dwindling post count, interest in this show has continued to plummet week after week. When a different nosebleed variation is the highlight of the episode, you know we got a problem. Outside of the show turning into a weekly Machi exhibit or IkuIku finally living up to his name, there seems to be little left to save this show. And even then, it still wouldn’t be that good. At least ep 12 was all about Machi~ |
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18 (11) | Heroic Age | Ep 11 finally took the struggle from the politicians’ home court to the soldiers’ home court. The addition of the highly idiotic brother duo is a cheap move though, much like the purple haired idiot in GSD who was set to marry Cagalli. Still, the attitude taken by the commanders was unexpected - are they planning to mutiny? I’m almost cheering for them. The star that’s going to die - the solar system getting nuked from the Nodos’ battle? |
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19 (22) | Bokurano | By now we’re pretty much all in consensus that this is a difficult series to watch – but where do we go after that? The excellent technical aspects allow the discussion to be focused on the story itself, and that’s where opinions can vastly differ. Personally, I prefer shows that are lighter, and well, there’s nothing heavier to stomach than this show. Still, it’s very good, there’s no denying that. |
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20 (18) | Ookiku Furikabutte | Raws have this show up to 10, but the subs are only at 3. Is this a sign of bad things to come? I really hope not – isn’t the big game against his former team the next episode? Really, though, this show seems to have some real potential beyond a loser learning his secret talents for some sport (see Drive, Over), but until more subs come out, it’s sitting in limbo.. |
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21 (NEW) | Oh! Edo Rocket | It’s definitely niche humor. The sub for the first episode finally came out, which was a huge step, as trying to understand this show without subs is hopeless. I’m sure it’s a hilarious show once one falls into the groove of it, but to do so seems to require a certain unique level of… open-mindedness. Like with those messed up shows on Adult Swim that intentionally make absolutely no sense. Flame away if you want - but at least it’s on here. |
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22 (24) | Hitohira | Seriously, it’s kinda boring… even Ayako sounds like she’s falling asleep. Her character’s name, Nono, seems to be a subtle warning to all those who are curious about the show. And she’s the only character that’s actually kinda likeable. To be fair, however – the pace does seem to be picking up…slowly. And it’s really not that bad of a show if you have the patience of a sea turtle. Speaking of sea… summer training camp at the beach! |
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23 (25) | Touka Gettan | I still can’t bring myself to watch this show, but I’ll believe that it can’t be worse than the shows below. The character designs are kinda purty though. Supposedly the reverse gimmick is actually doing some positive things, but is it really worth the confusion and psychological burden? |
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24 (NEW) | Kyou no 5-2 | The first episode of this series would have made it to the top 10 – its semi-worksafe all-titillating tales from the classroom are an absolute hoot, and the punchlines for each story are snappy and rather creative, in an ero sense… anyways, this final episode lost a bit of that creativity and instead went for what seemed to be…character development? |
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25 (19) | Idolmaster XENOGLOSSIA | “...it once again fell flat for me… I’d really like them to introduce more plot twists because the story as it stands just isn’t interesting enough or progressing fast enough. I’m quite frustrated with this show at the moment and would say that I’m considering dropping it, but there’s nothing in particular I’d like to replace it with this season or next, so I guess for now I’ll continue watching.” …ouch. |
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26 (14) | Gigantic Formula | One of the few blogs keeping up with this show has episode 6 rated 8.5/10 – which sounds pretty good, until you see that Nagasarete pulled a 9.7/10. Well, to each his own - but it just sounds like the kind of show one has to make excuses for and try hard to appreciate - why’s it have to be like that? I guess if you’re really into the mech designs it’s a pretty sweet show. |
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27 (20) | Nanoha StrikerS | When this show is supposedly a cult favorite, and the subs can’t even keep within four episodes, well, that smells of “OVERRATED” all over. Minaide Hazukashii sums it up best: “I’m really only continuing to watch this show because of the Nanoha pedigree.” |
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28 (NEW) | Devil May Cry | The main pull with the games was how “sick” it was – the whole idea that you could uppercut slice a demon into the air and keep it suspended with an upwards shower of bullets from twin hand cannons is pretty sweet – but the anime is short in that department (maybe later), and decided to throw in a loli ojou-sama instead. Oh well, there’s a lot of gore, the animation is nice, and the fights are ok… God of War is vastly superior, btw. |
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29 (NEW) | Wangan Midnight | Guy gets obsessed over demonic car that tries to kill him every time he tries to plow through construction signs. I can see why people would like this show – what I can’t see is how it can be considered a good show. Having Mamiko voice the chick is nice, but like many of her roles, it just isn’t enough! |
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30 (27) | Overdrive | I keep looking for a reason to move this up – I mean, how hard is it to do a sports anime? Have a guy learn new tricks every once in a while, have someone that he constantly competes with, and have a cutie keeping him in check and providing him with constant distraction. With the exception of the cutie (I think it’s that awesome hair), this show fails hard on all fronts. Even the comedy, which it tries so hard to pull off, is poorly executed. |
Unranked:
Saiunkoku Monogatari, Kissdum, Emily, Emma, Polyphonica, El Cazador, Blue Dragon, Skull Man, Monster Princess, REIDEEN, Kono Aozora, Precure, Wellber, Saint Beast, Tears x Wind
maglor at 2:51 am on June 23rd, 2007
In Sola, the fight was for much more than Yorito’s affection. Aono’s power was awe inspiring. For some reason, I shed a tear, just one drop, when the movie projector showed blue skies. I don’t care if you call me shallow, but Sola is pushing all the buttons in me.
I believe Saiunkoku Monogatari to be better than 70% of shows ranked here. It promises to get even better as I heard much praise about the book materials for coming episodes.
Timoshi at 3:12 am on June 23rd, 2007
i don’t really like to watch gurren lagann T____________t*
Rasmiel at 3:17 am on June 23rd, 2007
God of War is vastly superior, btw.
*Gets a heart attack*
What is this about God of War? -_-’
Forwho at 3:33 am on June 23rd, 2007
I didn’t like RxJ so much, couldn’t sit through episode 9 without finishing Sumomomo Momomo — wait, I haven’t finish watching RxJ 9! Okay this is quite bad.
I love Bokurano! Even though it seemed to be taking a different direction from the original story. It may be quite deep and dark, but I didn’t find it emo. I think it’s just me.
BROOKLYN otaku at 3:41 am on June 23rd, 2007
1# Gurren Lagann= it’s just fun.
2# seto no hanayome= f@$king hilariouse!
3#history’s strongest diciple Kenichi= .”i know it’s been done, but i like it”
4#claymore/Kekkaishi= “i feel like i’m the only person who watches kekkaishi, it rocks!”
5#hayate/kaze no stigma= wouldnt have put “kaze” but i feel it gets a little better each ep
“nodame” is definitly entertaining/ “toward terra” keeps getting better+rockin op song/and some others…Lucky Star can’t even make my list. BEcause it’s wasted on me. the cultural and referencial humor passes over me like a warm breeze. i can see the seinfield-esq way it roll’s but really doesnt make me laugh..I AM A NIGGA FROM BROOKLYN AFTER ALL. peace
quigonkenny at 3:46 am on June 23rd, 2007
For me, Claymore, Darker than Black, and Seirei no Moribito are the best anime out right now, probably in that order. Claymore just keeps getting better, and probably will continue to keep getting better, at least for me, as I have not spoiled myself with the manga. Darker than Black continues to push all my Bebop buttons, whether it be the pacing, the music, or the standalone episodes with the slowly revealing overriding arc-slash-world background thing (well, standalone episode pairs, at least). And as for Moribito, well, Balsa is just God. The Mushishi comparison is so right on so many levels.
Lucky Star (despite the OP) has managed to completely sway me to its side, as it has gradually gained coherence and shed much of its Azumanga Dash! wannabe image to become enjoyable enough between its (gradually more successful) jokes to keep my attantion. And Lucky Channel is consistently the best 3-4 minutes of anime each week.
Hayate no Gotoku is WIN and awesome as always, is consistently funny, and is just pure gold every time either Kugumiya Rie or Wakamoto Norio speaks.
My inner fires have ebbed a bit for the phenomenon that is GARren LaGARR, as I watched (and enjoyed immensely, despite myself) the hated “clocked” subs to get myself up to episode 8 (best anime episode of the year), and have waited patiently for someone to catch up with the “clockless” subs. Episode 9 clockless has just come out, though, so it looks like the game is back on, if a few episodes behind…
I don’t want to talk about DEATH NOTE, as I am dreading it being almost over, but it has been very good, too.
Myst at 3:46 am on June 23rd, 2007
Where the hell is Ichigo? this power ranking is biased >:( boooooooo
Myst at 3:48 am on June 23rd, 2007
oh huh! i just saw your second point, ooops!
Jay at 3:53 am on June 23rd, 2007
getting a lil better…. it seems you finally realized that Reideen exists. though i doubt you watched it. and DMC should be higher. its first episode was a great one.
have you see skull man?
Yesterblah at 3:53 am on June 23rd, 2007
I just love the craziness of Gurren Lagann…and RomeoXJuliet drives me crazy cuz you know. the lastest episode.
I haven’t watched Bokurano, but I know the overall plot. Which one’s more emo, Evangelion or Bokurano?
Ahiko at 4:08 am on June 23rd, 2007
I wish they continued to sub Saiunkoku Monogatari season 2. :[ Such a good series..
Jay at 4:08 am on June 23rd, 2007
also…. i actually like blue dragon… its very kiddy some times, but it for some reason feels nostalgic to me. i’m ok that it doesn’t have a high ranking, but i recommend watching it if you have free time.
Rein Weiss Ritter at 4:10 am on June 23rd, 2007
Well, technically, 11 raws for Ookiku are out.
My Top 5 so far would be:
1. Seirei no Moribito - The animation is very much top-notch, and the plot just keeps getting better. What hasn’t been praised about Seirei no Moribito that other people haven’t said. They would probably do better than me, that’s for sure. :3
2. Ookiku Furikabutte - I’m a sucker for Seinen series. The animation is good,I like the character designs, and the emphasis on the development of the team and the players themselves leads to a wonderful cast of characters. The show finds a nice balance between drama, comedy,and character development. I commend Tsutomu Mizushima (the director) for a good job, and the original manga, which is very good too. Also, the baseball portion for Ookiku tries to keep things as realistic as possible. Mihashi doesn’t have a super-special-chocolate-fried-chicken super pitch. He relies on Abe and his instincts to throw the right pitches. I could go on, but this is getting a bit verbose :3. The only flaws that I can think of is that the fan subs seem to be in limbo, and there’s enough BL innuendo to cut and feed a third world country (This can be treated as a pro too.) …That’s all.
3. Denno Coil - It’s a very unique concept with a sort of light-hearted nature. I’ve only seen the first episode and a clip of episode 4, but that was more than enough to get me interested in it. It’s cute, the animation is terrific, and the plot intrigues. P.S. Densuke’s cute.
4. Emma - It’s nice to see it back. It’s the same old Emma I remember. Elegant, but simple art, nice music, and a good old fashioned Victorian romance story. It’s a nice relaxer, overall. The opening also helps me relax. It’s also amazing how the setting feels, since the Manga-ka did not go to England when she first started.
5. Nodame Cantabile - It’s kind of a shame it’s ending soon. I would really like a season 2. At first I was very disappointed at it because I thought it would be a sort of spiritual successor to Honey and Clover, which is one of my personal favorites. Once I got over that, I really enjoyed the show. The characters are endearing, the comedy is good, and the music is good. Overall, I would say it’s a solid series. Now i’m gonna be rude to JC staff and say second season plz.
Whee, glad I got that off my shoulder.
Awooooooo~ Howling Launcher, fire!
Owen S at 4:12 am on June 23rd, 2007
Regarding Claymore 12, and the Show Spoiler ▼
, I was like all “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHx10″ for a moment after. What you said about the manga’s pretty true, too — I’ve got 12 volumes waiting to be read, and the temptation to crack them open’s pretty strong at this point.
KK at 4:14 am on June 23rd, 2007
DMC needs help. A lot of help. That loli is annoying. Also, God of War isn’t really better… but that’s probably because I like the dark demon world and playing a half demon in a trench with handguns as opposed to a half naked dude with no long distance attacks. Plus, my God of War game crapped out cause my old PS2 is a piece of junk.
By next month, I fully expect to see Touka Gettan disappear off of this list. I honestly quit the show after about 8 minutes into the first episode, just because it looked so ridiculously crappy (nice art, but still crappy overall, sorry)
You should shorten this list to like 20 (like the NBA “Race to the MVP” lists instead of an actual Power Rankings list) since at 30, a bunch of crap that doesn’t deserve list space ends up on the list. It’s like the problem of playoffs, eh? You just know the first round will suck because half the teams don’t deserve to be there at all (that last comment was aimed at NBA and NHL fans, respectively)
Hard to argue with the list though. C’mon, Ookiku, the manga was awesome, reach that level! Fight-O! Fight-O!
Tokkan at 4:17 am on June 23rd, 2007
I wouldn’t rank Nanoha StrikerS lower than Xenoglossia and Gigantic Formula. Ranking things from 1 to 100 where 1 is the highest, StrikerS would be a 44 and Xenoglossia and Gigantic Formula would both be a solid 500 (yes… 5 times the worst rating possible) for me. I don’t see how “overrated” Nanoha StrikerS is, especially considering it’s rarely rated highly at all. I do like it though and I can’t see how anyone can rate it higher than boring messes of crap like Xenoglossia and Gigantic Formula. But hey, that’s my opinion, and you have yours.
AloneinVoid at 4:19 am on June 23rd, 2007
Well, Claymore is one of these shows, who go up, instead of down. Claymore has a really great story, which improoves and deepens with every episode. I grew to like the character designs(constant animation quality helped alot) and its one of my favorite anime this season.
Sola was a pretty big ride from down to up and again to down and again to up. yes it has its ups and downs,but i really love the character designs and mood used in show(as i said, the color pallete helps alot too…its just gloomy, dark with Evening/morning feel and i really like it)
psychohare at 4:20 am on June 23rd, 2007
i like this ranking thing… it really lets me know how the animes are doing…
glad to see Claymore up there… at first i thought it was boring, but somehow i was drawn into watching it more and more after every week’s episode… the current arc is where things finally get started… from here u can tell that i couldnt resist the manga temptation, since they are so readily available.
Disappointed to see Seto no Hanayome so low now… it’s one of those out-of-the-world wacky animes that picks my spirit up at the beginning of a new week… really enjoy it.
Gurren was good, but somehow im losing interest in it.
Owaranai Destiny at 4:25 am on June 23rd, 2007
Damn it…All the supposedly good shows shown here, and I’m only watching a few of them. Maybe I should just take a pinch of salt and watch Gurren Lagann as well.
I do agree very much with the Claymore ranking, though previously I thought it to be generic, a deeper storyline about the Claymores and what happens to them when they go over their limits is starting to attract me very much to it.
Hylarn at 4:25 am on June 23rd, 2007
You probably shouldn’t have Touka Gettan on the list at all, as the percieved quality of it is vastly subjective.