I know the season is not over yet, but I thought it’s good chance to quickly review the boatloads of new anime series that have come out in season.

Favorite anime list:

1. Kanon 2006 Remake
Okay, so I’m a sucker for Harem series but this is gotta be the best written show this year (except for Haruhi of course, All Hail Haruhi). Kanon 2006 is a slow paced anime, often spending air time on slow panning beautiful scenery with a tranquil melody in the background. Kanon 2006 is made by the same animation studio who produced Air, so the animation is top notch stuff. Kyon’s voice actor from Suzumiya Haruhi is here giving an excellent performance once again. He was also the male lead on Shuffle! last year, but it wasn’t nearly as funny because the writing was lacking. While Kanon is a harem genre anime (it’s based on an ero game after all), the anime is more story and character driven. No fanservice here, but expect to laugh out loud watching the rivalry between Yuuichi and Makoto.

2. Death Note

This anime truly lives up to the legacy of the Death Note manga. The voice acting’s superb and the suspense, drama really live up to the original story. My only complaint is that the animation quality seems to vary in the later episodes, maybe they shouldn’t have spent it all on episode 1.

3. Black Lagoon

The Black Lagoon Second Barrage anime even surpasses the first sson in terms of action, thrills and shock. The first two episodes involve psychotic twins straight out of the Shining. They wreck havoc on the city totting a heavy machine gun and a nasty looking axe. It was one of the only anime this season to truly freak me out. Great stuff.

4. Pumpkin Scissors

I wasn’t expecting too much from the series but it’s been continuously an anime series I look forward to every week. I normally don’t care much about military themed anime but the lead character, Alice, has me spellound for some reason. Perhaps I’m undergoing Saber withdrawal. The Pumpkin Scissors anime OP is also awesome.

5. Sumomomo Momomo

You know, they could have picked a better name for this anime. Every time I try to type Sumomomo Momomo, I need to count how many “mo”s I tapped, gets annoying over time. But that aside, this was another surprise hit this winter. Momoko is a hilarious character, and her schemes to try to get Koushi to get into bed with her never gets old. This show has a mild dose of fanservice and I think it’s just the right amount. I’m still waiting for that horse ninja girl to make an official appearance – she’s got a super hot costume.