(no subject)

[niko]

Logging some recent DVD-viewing from rentals and anime meetup.

I've had two straight months of Netflix/Greencine rentals go by where I didn't watch a *THING*.  I need to get on the ball and quit wasting money.  Should probably cancel Greencine altogether, but I have a few older series on my queue there that Netflix doesn't carry, and I'd really like to get through a few of those.  *sigh*
 

Baa Baa Black Sheep:  Season 1: Disc 3
This is a fun show.  It's very much a 1970's Stephen J. Cannell adventure, of course, so you're not talking "Band of Brothers" or "China Beach" or anything... but the characters are charming, and I'm really surprised by how well the plots are holding up for me.  I like that the members of the unit all feel like unique individuals, even though several of them don't really get to *do* much in any given episode. 

I also can't believe there's not some teeny pocket of fandom out there for the show.  Not even one fanfic?  No Yuletide requests?  Nothing? Come on, guys!  If this show was on today, it'd be primo slash-bait.

I may have to enter Yuletide next year and punish some poor requestor with my pathetic fic, just so I can request this series. :)

DearS: Vol. 2 - Second Contact

I'm not sure why I like this show, but I do.  I usually groan at the "hapless schmuck saddled with an alien/supernatural/mystical hottie" formula, but DearS has a certain charm to it.  I think it helps that the emphasis is mostly on Takeya having to figure out what the heck is up with the DearS mindset, rather than *just* on the usual misunderstandings and hijinks (of which there are some of those, too.)   It probably also helps that there were only three episodes on this disk, so I didn't have time to get overexposed to the formula.

School Rumble, Season 2 - First few eps.
The wargames episode was a classic!  I think they squeezed every war cliche *EVER* into one 23 minute episode. :)  I was getting a bit weary of this show when my viewing group got to the end of season 1, and I'd really like there to be some forward movement for the characters (which I know isn't really the nature of this show *sigh*) but I am pretty impressed at the consistent quality.

(Aside: I didn't see it during the first season, but the ending of the wargames ep. made me suddenly quite enamoured of the idea of some Harima/Hanai fic.  Again: WTF, fandom! Where's my fic? How can nobody else have been pinged by this? :) )

Ouran High School Host Club - Eps. 1-2
I've seen this before, but we watched the dub, which was a first for me.  I'm not terribly happy with it.  The dub cast just felt a little too restrained or something.  Tamaki wasn't over-the-top enough or something, and it threw off the comedic timing, imo.  It's too bad, because some of the gags in this show are golden.  I adore it muchly.

Bleach - Some eps.
Blah.  Some of the people in our group love Bleach, so I do *try* to summon an interest, but it's all sooooo bland.  The endless inner-monologues and tossing around of arcane phrases that are supposed to make the show seem like it has such deep world-building...  Other shonen series - even Naruto - I can usually sorta see the appeal, even if they don't interest me personally. But Bleach is just a giant snooze-fest.  And we're in the midst of what is supposed to be the "good" part.  *sigh*

Darker Than Black - eps. 1-2
Quite enjoyable.  I like the character designs a lot (though I think the one character that caught my interest most is probably going to be a bit player) and there's some interesting mythology being referenced.  Definitely intrigued to see more.