What I'm Watching This August: Shonen Edition!

It's hard to believe that I'm still somewhat on track with my New Year's Resolution to finish series I have left hanging and to tackle ones that have been on my to watch list for quite some time. In August I plan on staying cool while watching (and hopefully finishing) the 3rd seasons of both Gintama and Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

I want this lil plushie so bad!

Though KHR (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!) wasn't initially on my to watch list it is a series that I have been curious about since I got my premium account on Crunchyroll. And of course hearing about it from my peeps on twitter was more than enough to convince me to give it a try!


Other than some new and continuing series from last season I have plenty to watch for the moment. Yet again a few series I was watching on Netflix, that aren't available on anything legal streaming sites, are being put on hold til better days when I'm able to afford Netflix again aka gainfully employed.

Early Summer Anime Kick Off!

 

I know I know I have so many other series I need to finish!

Normally during the summer months I'll find some older series on Netflix to rent but since I will be putting my account on hold, til I find another job, I wanted to find a longer series on Crunchyroll to watch since I plan to keep my account active even while continuing my never ending search for employment. Now that the spring anime season is coming to an end I decided to kick start some series that I plan on watching this summer.
First longer series that I will pathetically try to get current with is Gintama!  This month I've already watched 30-some episodes and have thoroughly enjoyed it thus far and highly doubt I will drop it at this point. I've always seen peeps on twitter talking about the series which ultimately struck my interest to check it out.
I still am in the middle of watching Bleach, after surviving the horrid Bount-Pan Arc *not actually name of arc but will be forever in my heart* I took a much needed break from the series. During the summer months I plan on picking up Bleach again but currently I'm enjoying Gintama so much that Ichigo takes second place, at least for now. Since Bleach currently has almost 100 more episodes than Gintama it makes it seem more realistic that I'll be able to get current with Gintama over Bleach, though I will keep watching my shonen series regardless! When I initially got into anime I would stick with shorter series but now I'm not letting the amount of eps deter me from checking out a series :)

Spring 2011 Anime First Impressions: Round Two!

This season there have been so many shows I want to check out that its hard for this ditzy girl to keep track! Been a busy bee but have finally gotten around to checking out two more great shows; Deadman Wonderland and SKET Dance.

Deadman Wonderland: I was somewhat hesitant to check this series out mainly because I don't have much of a stomach for gory anything anymore, I dropped High School of the Dead like it was hot and surprised myself by watching one full episode. Though after hearing so much buzz on twitter about the manga my interest reached its peak and I just had to watch. And then watch more til I was caught up with the current episode. The blend of supernatural, horror, and a great plot makes this one series that I will keep watching til the end.

SKET Dance: Club organization who's mission is to help fellow students in need? Sounds corny, eh? But lo! It is a really upbeat but not sugary sweet series. Though the tasks they undertake my seem mundane but the sheer amount energy the put into everything they undertake is really fun to watch.

Both these series are currently being simulcast on Crunchyroll and each have at least a few episodes that are now free for all members, and non-members alike, to watch.

What I'm Watching: April 2011

Besides new simulcasts for this season I am watching a few other series either through Netflix, Crunchyroll, or Hulu.
I have one more episode of To Heart to watch through Comcast's Funimation On Demand Channel. Since they added one ep a week (sometimes every two weeks) it's been a slow process watching the show but at the same time enjoyed it that way.
Also forever in the middle of renting Urusei Yatsura from Netflix. Currently have disc 16 at home waiting to be popped in my dvd player. I'm hoping that by the end of the summer I'll finish watching the television series and move on to either the ova or the movies. Since I bumped my Netflix down to one disc at a time, instead of two or three like I used to, it may take even longer than that to finish since it's not top priority on my list of anime to rent.
Strawberry Eggs has been in a Netflix purgatory for quite some time so I plan to mix up my queue with this series along with the above. I already watched the first disc in March so hopefully I will finish this series in April. There are a few winter series on Crunchyroll, such as Level E, that didn't end yet so I will be sure to finish those off this month before getting too deep into the spring line up.

Spring 2011 Anime First Impressions: Hanasaku Iroha and My Ordinary Life (Nichijou)

Since Crunchyroll has much more titles for this season than ever before I am bound to check out more series then I'll be able to keep up with, but I enjoy watching them nonetheless! The first two titles to launch are ones I was curious about so naturally I checked them out this weekend.

My Ordinary Life (Nichijou) was everything that I expected it to be from the previews that I saw and then some. This series is really cute and refreshing to watch and is reminiscent of other series in that genre. Plus it has goats! I'm going to give this series a few episodes before I decide to keep it on my watch list for the spring season or not since there are still a few other series that I want to view.

Hanasaku Iroha has a much deeper plot than I gathered from the previews, which makes me almost instantly fall in love with this series. Though the plot has more substance than I gathered initially that does not necessarily mean that its very intellectually simulating; more of an emotional pull for me as a viewer. I'm saving up money to relocate someday so the aspect of the main character of the story moving to the hot spring inn in hopes of taking on a new persona and getting a fresh start really intrigues me. I'm hoping that I will stick with this series to the end since so far I was very impressed by it thus far.

Both these series are available to watch for premium members on Crunchyroll and in a week free for all members.