The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

I was teasing Erik yesterday because of the unbearable cheesiness that was Spider-man and his Amazing Friends. I was reading Swan. The irony did not escape me.

I've concluded that there are far too many shows that pander shamelessly to male deviants, and not enough that pander to me. I want to be pandered to, damnit! More shows like Meine Liebe would be a good start, even though I'm only about seven minutes into the first episode.

Some thoughts on recent shows I've watched:

Brigadoon:

Brigadoon is cruel, cold, heartless, and brutal. Also amazingly heartwrenchingly good. And none of this is apparent from the first couple of episodes. It looks painfully cutsey and annoying, and then it rips your heart out of your chest and stomps on it when you're not looking. The dub is decent, but suffers from an abundance of Wendee Lee, especially in the first volume.

The closest thing I can think to compare it to is Now and Then, Here and There, which is another show where the art style completely does not reflect the vicious contents of the show. I can't decide if NTHT is more or less brutal than Brigadoon, if that tells you anything.

Best Buy and Amazon (I think) have this on sale right now for $8 a disc. It has my stamp of approval, although I recommend getting at least the first two discs.

Kaze no Yojimbo:

Why has no one heard of this show? If you can get past the animation, which is not the best by far, it has one of the most compelling stories I've ever seen told in anime. The episode that introduces Rin (at the end of the third disc) is by far one of the single best episodes of anime I've ever seen. You have mystery, suspense, action, and layers upon layers of story to peel through slowly. An utter delight for anyone, especially those bored with kids with super powers.

Kaleido Star:

I love The Fool. With great love. And there needs to be more shoujo sports anime. Especially ones based on Cirque du Soleil. If they were out looking for a formula that would make me fork out cash blindly, I don't think they could have done a better job. Excellent character development, a really compelling story, and an ending that makes the whole ride worth it. And there's another season to go!

Maison Ikkoku:

I have to wait until May to get more? This is one of the best comedy-romance shows out there, bar none. Love Hina is but a pale imitation.

Saiyuki:

Such a guilty pleasure. I liked the second half/season even better than the first. The dub is first-rate, too, and features all but one of my favorite voice actors in prominent roles. And Chris Patton shows up frequently enough to keep me happy as well. Why do I like this? I have no idea, I just do.

I'm currently working my way through Zeta Gundam and GTO, and have the first half of Orphen Season 2 couresy of my rental service. It's decent, but I don't enjoy it as much as the second season thus far.

In concusion: Pander to me, damnit!