I didn’t feel a point in blogging all the season’s episode ones, because I realized so many bloggers would do so long before I got around to watching the episodes in question (and sure enough, that’s what happened ^^). But now that we’re a few episodes into the season, I figured it was time to offer up some impressions.

The cream of the crop:
The shows that I’m most likely to tell you to watch.

Ghost Hound: (watched ep. 1) Ghost Hound is not the kind of series that blows you away. Rather, it sucks you in with its atmosphere and makes you feel that you are a part of its fascinating world. The focus of the series rests on three boys, one of whom was kidnapped as a child along with his older sister. His sister died in the incident, and he still remembers the details of that time in his dreams. Ghost Hound’s pace is leisurely without wallowing in exposition; the characters are now established, but there’s plenty of mystery. This was definitely the best first episode of the season, in my opinion.
Recommended for fans of: complex supernatural series like Paranoia Agent and Boogiepop Phantom (and probably Lain, but I haven’t seen it yet)

Gundam 00: (watched eps. 1-3) Mecha and pretty boys and politics in high definition splendor. That’s about all there is to say about this series so far; the flashy battles overshadow the plot and characters, but expecting amazing character development of the first few episodes of a series that will likely run to 50 is probably asking too much. That said, there’s nothing awful about the way the first few episodes were handled; the characters and conflicts are more or less introduced. The reason I’d recommend Gundam 00 right now is its potential — and because it’s pretty eyecandy, plain and simple.
Recommended for fans of: bishounen/mecha — Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, etc.

Shugo Chara: (watched eps. 1-3) Shugo Chara is everything I could hope for in a magical girl series: a spunky protagonist who has a brain, a unique (if hokey) premise, irresistibly catchy theme songs, and a catboy for a villain. Yeah, Amu’s powers come from midgets hatched from eggs. Yeah, this show is made for little girls. It’s so much fun that I don’t care.
Recommended for fans of: mahou shoujo and/or Peach-Pit — Ultra Maniac, Sugar Sugar Rune, Zombie-Loan

Moyashimon: (watched ep. 1) So now there’s a show about a boy at an agricultural college who can see microbes. And you thought there was no originality left in anime! Moyashimon scores biggest for being different from the crowd, but beyond that there’s something genuinely charming and funny about this unique tale. Anyway, it’s educational. What more could you ask for?
Recommended for fans of: cute bacteria?

If you’re still hungry …
You might try some of these decent shows.

Kimikiss: (watched eps. 1-2) Let’s get this straight: I don’t usually watch dating sim adaptations. I hate it when all the girls in a series fall in love with one guy, who usually turns out to be an idiot/loser/pervert. Kimikiss is different. Although we get the childhood friend (Mao) moving in with the main character (Kouichi), their relationship manages to stay platonic on both sides, with the shy Kouichi more interested in his longtime crush, the likewise shy Yumi, and Mao cheering him on. Mao herself wants to get to know another boy at school, while Kouchi and Mao’s friend Kazuki has his own problematic love life. Kimikiss could still slip, but right now it’s a fairly enjoyable slice-of-life romance.
Recommended for fans of: Honey & Clover, Boys Be

CLANNAD: (watched eps. 1-3) I’ll be honest, if it weren’t for the amazing ending theme, I wouldn’t be watching this show. But Clannad is another game adaptation that I’m starting to like, mostly because I’m growing fond of the main characters: the delinquent Tomoya and the quirky/dumb/innocent Nagisa. I’m interested to see how their relationship develops. Tomoya in particular is much more interesting than any other harem lead I’ve seen; he has a startlingly rough home life, but it doesn’t show in his blunt, friendly at-school personality. All the other characters might as well go die though, because they’re dang annoying (especially Fuuko, who is so dumb that she makes me feel ill).
Recommended for fans of: KyoAni, cute girls, mentally disturbed girls, cute foodstuffs

Rental Magica: (watched eps. 1-3) Sporting nice character designs, a magic-heavy supernatural plot and Jun Fukuyama voicing a kid in an eyepatch, Rental Magica should be instant win. Unfortunately, it has some serious pacing issues and harem tendencies. Still, there are plenty of good elements, and if the writers can get things more organized, this could be a really good series.
Recommended for fans of: supernatural hijinks and a la Mythical Detective Loki or a less-serious Aquarian Age

Night Wizard: (watched ep. 1) Night Wizard was a show that didn’t particularly stand out to me, but it wasn’t awful either. The animation was good, the characters were decent, and the self-conscious stupidity was somewhat refreshing. I liked the silver-haired loli with her “yes or hai” act. This show could be good or it could be mediocre, but I don’t have much more to say about it.
Recommended for fans of: goofy fantasy — Kyou Kara Maou for guys

Unfit for consumption:
By my reckoning, anyway

Dragonaut: (watched ep. 1) It’s sad that this was one of my pre-season picks, because Dragonaut was really disappointing. The animation/art was awful, the characters were dull, and the plot felt like it was borrowing from about 10 different series that used the same concepts better.
Recommended for fans of: ridiculously big boobs (ouch, the back pain)

Not yet tasted:
Series still on my “to watch” list: Shion no Ou, Jyushin Enbu

This season is actually a lot better than I expected based on the pre-season buzz. But how will it fare in the future? Only time will tell. I’ll try to give my next update on the season at about episode 6. See you then!

All screenshots capped by yours truly.

Tags: clannad, dragonaut, episode synopsis, fall season 2007, ghost hound, gundam 00, kimikiss, moyashimon, night wizard, rental magica, shugo chara

Category: Episode Synopsis

Senna is a college student majoring in English and minoring in Japanese. Her favorite anime and manga include Escaflowne, Please Save My Earth, Scrapped Princess, Nana, and Boogiepop Phantom.