The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

Despite the fact that I went to bed resonably on-time last night, I completely and totally could not sleep. At all. So I picked up Crone's Moon, since it was the first book I grabbed that looked like it fit the "no thinking" criteria. Oy.

I'm about two thirds of the way done with it, and while it's not bad, exactly, it's caused some severe strain in my eye-rolling muscles. I think the only thing making it readable is the fact that I have an inexplicable weakness for paranormal mysteries. Why? I don't know, since they almost universally suck badly, but there you go.

So I stayed up way too late reading, then couldn't sleep, and decided to read some more. Only to have the bulb in my headboard light blow out on me. Ugh. Probably for the best, because I'm damn tired today.

Oh, and I suspect that any book that contains "the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch" in the title is OK by me.

I think I'm going to read Shadowmarch tonight. I keep meaning to so I can see how it changed from the online subscription version, and Stacey's been wanting to read it, and I know, at least, that it's not going to make my head hurt from trying to ignore logical fallacies.

But for some reason Tad Williams has no books coming up that have been listed at Amazon - nothing since Shadowmarch, in fact. I wonder why that is - the ostensible reason behind discontinuing the Shadowmarch subscription service is that it was taking too much time from other projects and not making enough money. And, dammit, I need more Shadowmarch, since there's clearly much more to the story than shows up in the first book.

(Yes, I realize that "watch Maison Ikkoku" was the overwhelming response, but I'm trying to draw out this box since the seventh set isn't coming out for...forever. At least it's coming out.)

Somehow, the list of titles I actually preorder every volume of has crept up from my self-imposed limit of five to seven. And this discounts the titles where I've preordered the remaining volumes but they have not yet been released, like Stellvia. Yet, somehow, I can't bring myself to be too unhappy about this situation, given the titles in question:

-Gankutsuou: I don't think I need to say anything here. My views on the Count should be clear by now
-Kodocha: Sheer, unadulterated, insane crack. Plus, I feel like I have an obligation to support shoujo titles in the US as much as humanly possible, given the titles on my licensing wishlist. Plus, I've been rewatching the hell out of these discs, which I couldn't do if I was renting
-Kyo Kara Maoh: I don't know why, but I'm enjoying this title way, way more than I probably should be. Plus, the shoujo + high episode count/low price point is an experiment I highly approve of. However, this will likely be the first title I'll drop if my budget becomes a concern
-Melody of Oblivion: *drool*
-Planetes: SO good, I can't wait to see how people react to some of the emotional gut-punches the later volumes boast. Like the Cliffhanger of DOOOOOOM. I can't remember which episode that was (anyone know?), but a very evil part of me hopes it comes at the end of a disc
-Princess Tutu: Do I really need to say anything here? Of course, the current release schedule has been easy on the budget, if not on my nerves, but that looks to be changing. Thank god!
-Ultra Maniac: Not the best show in the world, but I really like the second half, and Geneon seems to be testing the shoujo waters, and I want to support that.

I was talking to a friend earlier, and was inspired to make a list of shows I've watched on R1 semi-recently that are overlooked, underrated, really good, or some combination of the above. These are all ones that have been judged worthy to enter my permanent collection.

Shura no Toki: What, real (if incredibly badass) martial arts in an anime? Say it ain't so! This follows three generations of the Mutsu clan, who fight without weapons and duke it out with famous swordsmen like Musashi, Yagyuu Jubei, and the Shinsengumi. It works really well. The dub is nothing to write home about, but the outtakes are fun.

Petite Princess Yucie: Incredibly cute, incredibly well-written story about a girl who just wants to look her own age. A fantasy-adventure with some of the best characters pretty much ever. It's fun in Japanese, but the dub is one of the best out there.

Figure 17: Alternating between sweet slice-of-life and dramatic alien fighting drama, Figure 17's episodes run for close to 45 minutes, which gives a lot of room for some great character development. Prepare for at least one emotional suckerpunch - except I can almost guarantee you won't be prepared. Also boasts an excellent English dub.

Cromartie High School: Random on a stick, frequently described as "Azumanga with ugly punk guys," there just aren't words to describe this. There really aren't. Better in English, I think - Jay Hickman as Mechazawa rules.

Boys Over Flowers: While not quite on the same melodramatic level as Oniisama E, Boys Over Flowers combines angst, pathos, teen romance, likable characters, unlikable characters, absurd situations, and music that you have to hear to believe to make one hell of a fun show. The English dub starts out on the weak side, but I loved it by the last volume.

Gunslinger Girl: DOOOM! I thought I would hate this - girls with guns are boring, bland, and overdone. I was wrong - this is a show that takes your preconceptions and checks them at the door. Very powerful, very well written - some weaker points in the middle volume, but I have no complaints at all about how the first and last volume played out.

Jubei-chan (both seasons): This wins my vote for most kickass use of a violin ever. Ignore the goofy title and even goofier premise - this is a first-rate combination of goofy humor and badass action scenes.

Gilgamesh: Don't let the character designs stop you from watching this dark dystopic story of a post-cataclysmic Earth. It's fun, in an end-of-the-world sort of way.

Fighting Spirit/Hajime no Ippo: I don't care if you don't like sports, or sports anime. I don't care if you don't like boxing. Watch this anyway - take my word on this if you do on anything. Just watch the first disc and see if you can withstand the tsunami of awesomeness that is Ippo.