Oh Horo, this scene made me laugh out loud.  Unfortunately I don’t have the time to do individual posts on these shows since I’ll be away till next Wednesday, so let’s go over these rough draft style:

Bakemonogatari

• I don’t think the OP really starts until :45 into this video, and knowing SHAFT they might wait an episode or two before introducing a “real” OP.
• Omg, my baby Hiroshi Kamiya is baaaaack~ <3  I thought I’d have to wait till the Gundam 00 movie comes out to hear more of him.
• Mixed feelings over the visuals: On one hand I really like the stand out colors and smooth animation, on the other it’s typical SHAFT style with random screens of text and I had to get used to the weird “camera” angles.
• Ahhhh, the stapler scene brought back bad memories of when I accidentaly stapled my finger as a kid.
• I don’t really know why you’d want to be turned back from a vampire.  Other than the thirst problem, I don’t see the issue as long as he’s the pure type that can go out in sunlight.
• Also don’t get how losing all your weight = can store pounds of sharp school supplies on yourself.

CAANAN

• Can see the Type Moon influence in the artwork right away.  It seems they have a tight relationship with Maaya Sakamoto since she’s doing this and Kara no Kyoukai.
• Wasn’t sure how deep the plot would get, but all the characters look like they’ll get plenty of development.
• I can tell the mute doormat woman has the highest potential to annoy me.
• Type Moon has this thing about making the heroines eat sweet “girly” things to soften their image: Canaan with pocky and Shiki with Haagan Dazs ice cream.
• The whole thing with people totally blocking deadly situations out of their mind is a little stupid.  Even kids know what dead people look like.
• Great action and gunfights; next episode looks very promising.

Princess Lover

• I’m surprised that this show has a partially serious plotline since the OP animation and song make it sound like Ouran Host Club for Princesses.
• The animation was a little off at times but the fight/action scenes were done well.
• What a surprise, 3 out of the 4 main girls have huge tits.  Oh well, it’s made from an adult game so what can you expect.
• Obviously Sylvia and Charlotte are 50/50 for winning Teppei’s heart or having their hearts broken.
• Just in case you were worried this show was starting to focus on the plot, the ending animation makes sure to show the 4 girls in bikinis.

Spice & Wolf II

• The new OP and ED do not disappoint at all; they’ll be the first songs I hope to get from these summer shows.  From what they show, it looks like there’ll be a lot more supporting characters this time around, which will help the pacing problem from last season.  I think I spotted a new wolf in human form.
• There’s an exponential amount of more romantic tension between Horo and Craft.  I’m talkin’ blatant flirting and blushing galore.
• A flashback to Craft’s past shows that Horo’s village (and wolf friends) might not exist anymore.
• HUGE upgrade on the animation quality.
• I’m most pleased with this show so far, and it looks like there’ll be a better mix of drama + action, and not just the joys and tribulations of economics.

Taisho Yakyuu Musume

• Cute OP song, nice and upbeat
• Holy hell that singing sequence in the early part of the show was unecessary.  I mean it was a cute way to educate people on old Japanese landmarks, but save that for a dvd extra or something.
• I’m all for women standing up for equality, but Akiko was pretty stupid to get a team together without even researching baseball ahead of time.
• Usually baseball shows bore me, but I’m interested in seeing how the overcome the social standards against women with sports.