I’m not entirely sure what I’m supposed to think of Maria+Holic. On the one hand, it’s SHAFT and it’s Shinbo and it’s the sort of comedy that appeals to me: completely jarring and random. On the other hand, it doesn’t really go anywhere and, unlike Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, it feels like it should. At first, I was apprehensive about taking a look because the summary didn’t interest me in the slightest. I obviously ended up taking a look and staying.

Why did I stay? Partially because of the crazy SHAFT style, with its schizophrenic style, its ADD scene cuts, and the walls of text that the characters go through. I also really liked some of the characters. God, Matsurika, and Mariya made the show for me. As for the other characters, other than Kanako, the episodic nature of the show didn’t really help develop them. Unlike in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, the other side characters aren’t distinct enough to be interesting by showing up once in a while.

But really, the most awesome part of the show was the OP and the ED. KIMI NI MUNE KYUN (KYUN). It wasn’t really bad and I don’t really regret watching it, since it was a lighter season for me. If you like Shinbo, it’s worth a watch.

In which I give my impressions on shows that everyone’s already talked about for the past week.

Maria+Holic

Maria+Holic doesn’t fall in my target radius for stuff I’m really interested in. The main characters are a closet lesbian who falls for a guy who’s crossdressing for reasons that haven’t been made apparent yet. But, I really like SHAFT, so I decided to have a look at at least one episode. The show is still awkward to watch, but the trap character is a lot funnier than I expected him to be. We’ll see how the rest of this goes.

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou

One of a billion sequels this season, this one is for a show that most people didn’t follow from last summer. This second season starts with the advantage of having the characters already gone through some development. This is a really character driven show and the first episode gives us a Natsume and Nyanko that are comfortable in their relationship already and who know how to react when problems show up. It’s a nice watch that’s pretty much only for those of us who liked the first season.

Minami-ke Okaeri

I really didn’t like Okawari and I was unimpressed upon learning that asread would be doing Okaeri. But, it looks like they’ve listened to a lot of the criticism of Okawari. For one thing, the writing and direction is a lot closer to that of the first season. There’s no constant barrage of Mako-chan, there’s no annoying original character, and the glimpse of the Minami brothers in the OP gives everyone hope. On the downside, it looks like the animation quality took a hit. I guess it’d be too much to ask for them not to screw anything up.