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As stated elsewhere, if you have a problem with yuri then you'll probably want to avoid Kanamemo. If you don't, however, while at times the comedy can be very crude and "slapsticky" the series is very much in the style of ARIA. The humor is truly funny but is never hurtful, the characters may chastise, criticize, and scold but you never get the feeling they don't genuinely care about each other. To me there's an aura of kindness about the series and a respect by the production staff for both the characters and the viewers.

A series of short vignettes, each basically an animated version of a 4-koma comic strip, I don't wonder if this isn't a collection of pieces that aired individually but were put together to form this single piece. The humor is very dry of the "Oh, I get it" variety, once again pointing to its print origins. It's been my experience that the drier humor becomes the harder it is to translate (even some British humor is beyond most Americans and vice verse and they, theoretically, speak the same language) and this seems to be what's happening here - to western tastes it's just not that ... funny.

"Air Master" is a satire and since a lot of folks don't "get" satire they gave it a "1". And those folks, by their reasoning, would be correct:
- the story is non-existent
- the art is all over the place
- the animation sucks
- the character design, well, the lead (except in flashback) is a hulking sort of Amazon; there's a "psycho supporter" lesbian who wears a bra with a cup size so large only Dr. Seuss could come up with a letter designation for it; a dwarfish creature that appears to have escaped from "Spirited Away" or, more likely, was exiled; and there's also "those ... two characters who are always hanging around the lead character"; and then there are the other characters who show up, disappear for no apparent reason and then resurface several episodes later for the same no apparent reason.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!

So it's understandable that the folks who watched "Air Master" assuming it was about an outsider girl "finding her way to acceptance by being the bad ass-est fighter on the street" would be upset and think it deserves a "1". It's also understandable that they missed the point entirely; they were clearly watching the wrong anime.

"Air Master" works on two levels: it's a satire but, also, in the grand tradition of "Usagi-chan de Cue!!", it's superbly silly. There is about one really decently animated fight sequence per episode along with quite a few good jokes including satirical comments about anime in general (note "the two characters who are always hanging around the lead character").

That's it nothing more, nothing less. "Air Master" is a fairly sophisticated satire presented as a silly action anime.

You could call this series "The Melancholy of Torako Kageyama" and not be far off. If you like Kyon, Mikuru, Yuki and Haruhi you'll probably enjoy Tatsuki, Ayumi, Suzume and Torako almost equally. Normally, Torako would be the the character in charge of slapstick comedy - loud, boisterous, and embarassing like Tomo, Himeko or Kana but here she shines. But Hyakko revolves around Torako no less than MoHS is centered on Haruhi, as a matter of fact if Haruhi were a "normal" human she'd probably be Torako Kageyama. In Torako's world there's too much to do and too many chances for fun and entertainment to ... spend your time worrying about the sadder aspects of your life. Torako hates sitting still, grasping both life and her classmates with both hands she pulls both along in her wake blithely ignoring complaints and criticisms. There are other "slice of life" school girl comedies that are "funnier", Azumanga for instance, but I doubt if you'll find one with more fully developed characters in both the lead and supporting roles; particularly Torako Kageyama.

Add two points to the score if you're a girl between 10 and 13. The first half of this is series is pretty enjoyable; after episode five I'd have given it at least a 8. The story is far fetched but the characters are fun and the writing is crisp but after that the story goes from far fetched to ridiculous to absurd. Major characters vanish from sight, others are introduced but add nothing and the lead character turns into just another plucky girl adventurer. It's rare to see a series self destruct as quickly as this. Rocket Girls is to science fiction as Scooby ... Doo is to ghost stories.

If repetition is the soul of comedy Dokuro-chan would be very soulful I just found it tedious. Watch Dai Mahou Touge instead a much smarter, funnier send-up of the magical girl genre.

There's kind of a weird juxtaposition needed to fully enjoy the series of 8 12 minute segments arranged in four episodes. To find it really funny you have to be pretty familiar with magical girl anime but, at the same time, you have to really dislike magical girl anime. If, as I do, you fit this category, you're really gonna like this one. Or, if you're a fan of Hayate no Gotoku you'll probably get a kick out of this one, also.

I thought the first half of the series was quite enjoyable. In the tradition of "George of the Jungle", "Beverly Hills Ninja" etc, it's the story of a guy who's strong on heart but weak on execution. The twist of having the standard adventure types of warrior, thief and holyperson portrayed by competent women works well and the series never descends into a harem comedy although it hovers close every once in awhile. The situations are strong and the humor fast paced. Unfortunately after the about the 11th episode it falls apart rather quickly - like the creative team wanted to move on to other ... things and just kinda wrote some stuff to fulfill the 24 episode obligation. The stories are pretty cliche - the humor is weak - it becomes disappointing. The first ten or so episodes are definitely worth watching though.

"Baccano" has 6 (by my count) main relationship/story arcs that weave in and out of each other and bounce back and forth through almost continuous flashbacks. Because of this it is totally non-linear, if you like a story that goes from A to B to C with only a few detours forget "Baccano"; rather than watching it you are probably better off just experiencing it at the moment and puzzling it out afterward. All the stories make sense in the end and the characters and their voices are exceptional as is the music. I gave the story a 7 because there is a really ... irritating penchant for post exposition; explaining a characters motivation after the event even if there is no need for the explanation. This is like a comedian explaining a joke: either he feels the joke wasn't strong enough or the audience wasn't smart enough either way it's an insult to the audience. Second, scattered throughout where little vignettes that had the fell of "well, it seemed like a good idea at the time" which would have been removed with tighter story editing. That aside or in spite of it I feel "Baccano" is a good time investment.

Aria the Animation is a series of beautifully gentle science fiction tales - some are whimsical, some are strange, some are mystical and none are scary - combined with the most consistently spectacular art I've ever seen; and the music is right behind it. If you are a male under 25 years of age odds are you won't like Aria the Animation. If, on the other hand, you like sitting on a pier on a beautiful day and watching the world go by you'll probably love it.

The central character is Akari who has come to the water world of Aqua to be an apprenticed gondolier ... to the Aria Company of New Venice, the planets major city. In each episode she discovers a person, place or a time presented to her and the viewer as a simple treasure on her adopted planet.

(I'm going to reference the Minami sisters if you haven't seen the series, I recommend you do as a warm up before watching Aria.)

If Akari was a Minami sister she would be between Haruka and Kana. The reason I mention the Minami's is that that the three other major characters are, indeed, the Minami sisters minus most of the gags: Alicia (Haruka) who is the lead gondolier of the Aria Company; the gentle, wise, patient mother figure; Aika (Hana), Akari's best friend, apprenticed to the Hime Company is the broad comic character,she insists that she must the best in everything and keeps telling Akari she should be much more serious; and finally Alice (Chiaki) is the character constantly bemused by the others, apprenticed to Orange Planet Company, she's a prodigy, several years younger than her two friends and serious beyond her years.

Of the 13 episodes about half were wonderful to watch and about half were very good, there was one that was too talky and too static, although still beautiful to look at. Aria the Animation is kind of like a basket of beautiful, delicious fruit - only have a piece or two (maybe three) at time, don't attempt to consume the entire basket at once, take a moment to appreciate each for what it is and savor it.