The spring season is slowly running out and it's time for some profile updating ^^ .
*Gargantia is out of the list.
It had a fairly popular run due to beautiful and colorful visuals, but there was a lot of confusion in the directing department. It seemed like Urobuchi wanted to make a tranquil adventure story of one's acceptance into society, but didn't set up any proper content for it and half way trough the team figured the show will get boring, and decided to just throw some action in it.
*Oreimo roamed into my extended favorites list.
I'm referring to the 1st season though, the 2nd one was more like a bonus addendum to the former. It was fun and upon return I realized that I've missed Oreimo dearly, but the 2nd season doesn't really try to tackle any underlying themes (like the 1st one did with acceptance of otaku in society). It's all good in the end, there were plenty of cute moments with Kuroneko.
*Wolf Children is out of the list.
It's a powerful movie in many regards, but just lacks a bit of resolution, especially towards the end. Mamoru Hosoda is a very promising talent, he just needs to polish his works a bit more and make them really complete.
*Tales of Earthsea is out of the list.
It has a special place in my heart, but I can't really include it in my favorites list. It's always nice to see Miyazaki's art from the 80's, when he started with Journey of Shuna and other works, which were the base for all of his later works. The thing is, his son Goro Miyazaki worked on this one and as he tried to combine the Earthsea novels with his father's artwork and ideals, he created a mediocre mix that doesn't really stand out.
*Valvrave moved to my "recently admired" list.
It certainly was the surprise of the season. Even though it's well within the bounds of recent mecha/high school anime trends, each weekend it managed to deliver - almost without fail - heaps of hype, silly comedy and nonsensical turnarounds. The 2nd season looks like it's going to be extra bonkers.
*Little Witch Academia remains in my "hot" list.
It gained an avid popularity boost after studio Trigger published it on Youtube. Sadly, they said they're taking it off, since it's getting a BR release. It's a splendidly crafted piece of work and we may see it reflected in Triggers next project Kill La Kill and hopefully it will inspire other studios as well.
*Death Billiards moved to "recently admired".
Another Anime Mirai project, but not nearly as popular as Little Witch Academia. For shame, since it's so wonderfully satirical and philosophical, not to mention hysterical.
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