Every season, there’s at least one or two shows that I simply miss out on that I try to go back and watch at a later time. Usually it’s the romantic comedies, which I misinterpret to be simple harem shows after one or two episodes. Honey & Clover, Welcome to the NHK, and Toradora are good examples of this, as I spent many a weekend just blazing through the series in 3-4 hour batches. Usually, this is caused by there being too many shows airing in a given season that it’s difficult to pick out the cream of the crop before too many episodes have aired.

This season, however, there’s at least half a dozen shows that I would normally follow, but a tight work schedule has thwarted this desire. And even moreso, I’ve been unable to blog about all the shows that I am following. So, let’s just have a short recap of what I’ve been watching the past few weeks:

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 6: Yay, DEEN can actually make two decent episodes in a row. I’m also really starting to pick up on small details that the anime thinks is important to the backstory and overall mystery and it’s fun to compare notes. I’m very excited to see how they handle the rest of the Turn of the Golden Witch, and how much Meta they involve.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu 18: I have a feeling that the last 6 minutes of this episode wouldn’t have been as epic as it was had there not been 7 previous iterations of that scene. It was definitely way more dramatic than it was in the novels, but it was well executed. Now to see if we’ll get Disappearance anytime soon.

Bamboo Blade: The latest series which I passed up while it aired, and have come to really appreciate. Maybe it’s because I’m starting Kendo classes, but I found all the cheesy corny ’sports-manga’ cliches to be rather endearing. It had me tearing up near the end, and I totally fell in love with the characters. Tamaki’s otaku moments were a riot. And never has an anime series made me actually get up and start practicing and exercising after each episode.

Bakemonogatari: This is an amazing series that I have no idea how to describe. “Shinbo being Shinbo to the max” is probably a good starter, as it tells you right away if you’ll love it or hate it. The plot is right up Shinbo’s alley, with very little in the way of formal structure, but enough plot there to realize that there’s something going on beneath it all. The dialog in this show is timed perfectly, and Senjogahara is a wonderfully enigmatic character. I am a bit disappointed that there’s a summary episode only 6 in, but I do know that SHAFT always cuts things close to the deadline (e.g. Hidamari Sketch), so maybe it’s good that they’re giving themselves one extra week.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0: The first thing I noted about the show was how Mira’s character was so easy to relate to. Made me realize just how emo I’ve been these days. Need to catch up on this show before it gets lost in the Queue of Doom.

Other shows that I wish I had the time to watch: Taishou Yakyuu Musume (J.C. Staff does a timepiece), Aoi Hana (J.C. Staff does yuri), GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class, Canaan, Kanamemo.

And I thought the Japanese anime industry was on its way down. Here’s hoping fall quarter will be less packed and allow me to catch up some of these summer shows.