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Usually I like to post brief reviews of shows I've been recently viewing. I very much enjoy introducing people to new series I hope they will find as pleasing as I have. Recently I haven't had anything good to post. I was waiting to come across a gem and give me the incentive to say "Hey guys, look what I found," but it never came.

Kaiji. I was interested in this series because it is written by the same author who created Akagi. Akagi is an alluring series centered around mahjong and gambling. The character Akagi himself is so captivating because through a combination of skill, cheating, and luck. He is a gambling demon, Akagi is the Alucard of mahjong. Kaiji is not Akagi. Kaiji, the character, a a down on his luck twenty some year old who cries nearly constantly and blames his situation on lack of money. He always plays the safe strategy. Gambling is still a focal point of the series, but instead it takes the place of three different mundane games. What I give Kaiji credit for is taking what would otherwise be an incredibly boring situation and making it tolerable to watch. The six episodes spent on a balance really didn't bother me, really. But there's only so much that can be done with such terrible source materiel. If you want to watch a work by ******** then watch Akagi, not Kaiji.

Bartender. I like anime that deeply explore a subculture, but Bartender leaves much to be desired. I watched up to episode five before I decided to stop. The show is incredibly boring. Each episode is a standalone with Sasakura helping a customer with their personal problems by using alcohol. Bartender is dressed up stylishly, but weak on substance. It sells Sasakura as an expert bartender poorly. He is apparently good at what he does and helps everyone, but it is not clear why. All teh characters seem far too interested in alcohol. Sure people like to drink when they're done, but why is everything immediately better once you are served the correct drink? The saving grace of the series is that you are able to learn a little about a variety of different drinks, but not enough to make the show interesting.

Sky Girls. Lolis who fly poorly armored mecha that leave far too much of the pilot exposed? I didn't want to judge this series base don a few pictures. Simoun had a similarly cheesy premise and yet turned out to have fantastic depth in character relationships. Gunslinger Girl could be summed up as "lolis with guns," and yet is far more. Sky Girls is exactly what it seems. I started to watch the first episode, decided it was terrible and then pick another random episode to see if it stayed terrible and it did. I really don't feel I need to justify why I think this is a terrible series. IF you have any doubts, just watch it.

Minami-ke. I don't believe there is anything wrong specifically with this anime, but rather it stands out as an example of a genre I've long since grown up of. Minami-ke is a slice of life series much like Lucky Star. I don't udnerstand the interest some fans have for slice of life series. Nothing happens but mundane activities, and supposedly I'm supposed to find some humor in that. Characters never develop, rather they are revealed. Nothing changes and there is no constant plot. Humor is presented the same way as it is in many other slice of life series, in long, drawn out, and overly predictable scenes. Yes, I get it, the cross dressing character is confused about which hot spring to enter (men's or women's), I got it the first three times you made that joke. I watched the first episode and then read a review online to see if every single episode was exactly like the first one. Yes, apparently they are.

Xam'd. Xam'd is almost over; there is still yet one episode to be aired. Xam'd makes this list not because it is a bad series, but because it could have been a much better series. Bones is an excellent studio, the character design and animation are top notch. Too bad the series makes so little use of it. Both of the two major fights I've seen so far have been plagued with overly sociable antagonists. It's worse than typical Bleach or Naruto chatter because it's not even about teh fight, it's about their feelings.The second problem Xam'd has is that it doesn't explore many of the story elements it creates. With the way the story is ending there was very little reason for Akiyuki to spend the first half of the series on that postal ship. The end essentially because Deus Ex Machina because it felt so very underdeveloped from the start. Xam'd is a decent series, but nothing great.