Darker than Black (22), Bokurano (13), Ergo Proxy (finished-finally)
My summer anime hiatus was punctuated by episodes of Darker than Black and the occasional Lucky Star, but now that I'm back to my normal school routine I am more or less back in my old anime routine...

I'm still loving Darker than Black.  Bokurano and this show were the only two series that I chose to really follow from that smorgasbord of shows I surveyed in the last entry.  I love its format of the two-episode arcs, which gives the show both intensity and a succinct, story-telling quality.  There's a certain degree of sentimentality, but it's backed up well by strong plot elements and fun characters, both new and recurring.  The show is also not afraid to kill off characters--usually the ones that die are the new characters within each 2-ep arc.  In the latest episode, though, they killed off a recurring character who's been there since ep 5, and it hit me hard.  I didn't realize that I liked this character so much until he died--but I think his general cool-ness grew on me, and the death certainly added to the attraction (plus, he looks like a white version of Seishiro).  Pooh.  Also, at the beginning of the episode, this dude was sitting naked and smug in a chair, and I found it extraordinarily funny that at least he gets his sexy moment before they kill him off.

Bokurano is still going along--I didn't keep up with it as well, and I almost dropped it at one point because the melancholia seems so artificial.  The funny thing is, I find myself enjoying the show a lot more if the "chosen" child is a flawed bitch/bastard--the "nice" kids who want to selflessly or selfishly save others get on my nerves.  Still, the giant plot-turn/revelation they threw in at episode 13 is interesting enough to keep me watching.   Now, if only I can find the episodes between 13 and whatever is coming out currently!

I have also finally finished Ergo Proxy.  I started it last spring thinking that it was one of the better series at the time, but with the arrival of summer, I took a break and never got back to it.  The thing was, the show was interesting enough to watch as a routine, but the stagnant/confusing nature of the overall plot made it difficult for me to get back on track once I took a pause.  Still, a good review I encountered last month was enough to draw me back to the series, and its ready availability on Veoh made it easy to finish the show over the span of days.  I rediscovered how much I liked the suspense and ambiguity, and, despite the super crammed/slightly unsatisfying ending, I thought the show wrapped up well.  Unsurprisingly, though, I found myself sympathizing with the supporting cast much more than the main characters--Daedalus' hopeless obsession and Raoul's misguided desire to defeat the Creator (not to mention his last-minute rediscovery of fatherhood) seemed much more human and realistic than Real's declared love for her ever-absent grandfather.

In other news--there is potentially a second season of Genshiken!  This makes my world a happier place. :)