It's not anime, but I've been watching various Super Sentai (Power Rangers) shows recently and am thoroughly enjoying it. Especially the most recent one, Enjin Sentai Go-Onger. Talking Zords, brilliant.

So I figured it was about time I expanded my anime beyond Akira and Cowboy Bebop (both of which I definitely enjoyed) so off to HMV I went and bought a few of their cheapest DVDs. £17 for 2 films (Sky Blue and Kai Doh Maru), Volume 1 Elfen Lied and a free sampler including 2 episodes each of Bleach and Naruto. I couldn't possibly argue with that sort of value.

I really didn't like either of the films. I just couldn't get into Kai Doh Maru at all and Sky Blue felt rather too much focused on looking good rather than developing a decent story, but actually I felt that the mix of pre-rendered backgrounds and animated foreground was way off for the most part.

Elfen Lied is probably the most visually impressive animation I've ever seen, but I was left a little unfulfilled by the cousin-jealousy story and the ultraviolence is really my thing. I'm a fan of big explosions and action scenes but all the body parts being ripped off and all the blood doesn't really appeal.

What really surprised me was that I thoroughly enjoyed both Bleach and Naruto. I guess I must still have a mental age of 15 or so, but I was instantly hooked by their 2 episodes each.

115 Episodes of Bleach later... and I'm still hooked. It feels very much like Buffy, but with more slayers and no vampires, although the storylines do drag on and on a bit, with huge chunks of indiividual episodes devoted to repetitive fight sequences, but I guess that's to be expected in a 20-minute show aimed at teens.

finally caught deathnote and am so loving it is it just me or then something shinsumgumi about L?

red garden vol 3

Thank God. Sometimes I think I'm the only one around here...

Anyway, besides that:

Code Geass R2 (as well as playing catch-up on S1)
Nanoha StrikerS (catch-up)
Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's
D-Kids Adventure (which gets dubbed as Dinosaur King).
Kamen Rider Kiva
Pokemon

Paniponi Dash - Vol.5
Utawarerumono - Vol.5, the end is near for both but the ending are so...one day i will find the right words to describe Utawarerumono

I watched the first 4 episodes of Deathnote last night before sleep claimed me and WOW! In fact I think I'll go and watch the next 4 now!

just watched the first disc of Wallflower, very strange anime. Sunako Nakahara is a very strange woman and this is coming from me!

First 4 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist. Bloody brilliant!

I bought the complete series of Full Metal Alchemist the other day. I'm up to episode 23 and it's still one of the best things I've ever watched.

Egads. I was watching some Enjin Sentai Go-Onger in Tokyo last week and it was utterly nonsensical.

"OMG! The bad guy has totally shrunk all our vehicles to tiny size! We are helpless! Little holographic vehicles, is there anything you can do?"
"Sorry, no."

Ten minutes later the situation magically resolved itself by them doing something they'd tried ten minutes previously, and they went off to whup ass. Whut?!