Gundam Wing

I first saw this anime on the Cartoon Network many, many years ago.  I only caught an episode here and there so it didn't make much sense to me the first time, but now that I'm watching the series on DVD in order it's plain what a great series it is.  Even though I'm not much of a Gundam fan (I've only ever watched Gundam Seed and the first half of Gundam 00) it's quite clear that Sunrise went all out with this title.  Even though he is an antagonist, I have a lot of respect for Zechs.  He seems like a good person all things considered.  Granted, I haven't seen the entire anime yet so things could easily change, but so far I really like him.  The fact that he's voiced by Takehito Koyasu probably helps to sway my opinion.

No. 6

After watching Manyu Hikenchou anything would seem like a masterpiece, however No. 6 truly has the potential to be one of the best series starting this season.  The first episode introduces us to one of six seemingly utopian cities, where one of our heroes attends a very prestigious school and the other hero is an escaped convict trying to flee his pursuers.  The first hero is most definitely going to have his life turned upside-down on him, because in the opening and closing sequences his hair is white, whereas in the show itself it is a tawny brown. 

There are many mysteries so far, as we have only gotten a glimpse of the current status of the world and its hidden, dark underbelly.  Yet the suspense isn't distracting or confusing.  All in all, I am eager to see the next episode.

Manyuu Hikenchou

Don't watch this show.  That's really all I can say about it.  If I tried to say more this would quickly become a rant.

YuruYuri

I've been busy sampling the new shows of the Japanese summer anime season.  The first series I took in was one called YuruYuri.  It's about four girls in middle school who form a club that exists mainly as an excuse to goof off while fulfilling their school's requirement that they join a club.  It is based on a 4 panel manga by the same name.  It isn't a bad little show, it's just sort of lackluster.  If I had never seen K-ON, A Channel or Softenni (which aren't exactly amazing shows by themselves) maybe YuruYuri wouldn't have seemed as unoriginal.  The aforementioned shows all have four girls in a club or group of some sort who do cute or silly things that are supposed to amuse the viewer.  This formula is successful in that it's lighthearted with little to no plot, and the viewer does not have to invest themselves emotionally in the characters since they tend to echo common genre tropes.  As a result, this would probably be a show to watch when unwinding from a stressful day at work, but not one to watch if you are more inclined to like thought provoking series.

I didn't hate YuruYuri, nor did I think it was bad.  It's just not exceptional.  And since there are quite a few potential exceptional anime series airing this season, I feel my time is better served watching those.