S.W.A.T. Reviews: Fall 2011 Pt. 1

With the success of the S.W.A.T. reviews last season we’re trying it again with the autumn line up. The premise of these reviews is simple: watch the first episode of a series and then immediately sit down to record a review mini-podcast. The reviews are five- to ten-minutes long and entirely off the cuff. As always we only review new shows (so no sequels or continuations) and try to avoid anything that just looks outright awful. These are the first four of the new season:

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Listen – Episode 1 of Phi Brain – Puzzle of God is from Sunrise with the opening “Brain Diver” by May’n.

Listen – Episode 1 of Chihayafuru from Madhouse with the opening “YOUTHFUL” by 99RadioService and is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Listen – Episode 1 of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere from Sunrise with the opening “TERMINATED” by Minori Chihara and is streaming on Anime Network.

Listen – Episode 1 of You and Me from J. C. Staff with the opening “ByeBye (バイバイ)” by 7!! and is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Bonus Round – An Encore Performance

We return to the Kaleido stage in this episode of the Bonus Round on Anime3000 in which we talk about the second season of Kaleido Star and the accompanying OVAs. In season 1, Sora is able to perform the Legendary Great Maneuver with Layla and save the Kaleido Stage. In season 2, dubbed “New Wings” we find that due to her injury Layla has retired from the circus and become a full-time actress. Now Sora must find her own way on the stage but she is unsure of what direction to head in. A rival by the name of May Wong and the icy perfectionist Leon Oswald join the troop and bring further complications. Does Sora have what it takes to be a true Kaleido Star? Then it’s Extra Stage and Legend of Phoenix, OVAs about Rosetta Passel and Layla Hamilton respectively. As a special bonus we have a shocking in-depth expose about May Wong at the beginning of the review.

Anime3000 – Bonus Round – Kaleido Star Season 2 + OVAs

Fate/Zero TV #001: This Kirei Kotomine Seems Like a Trustworthy Chap

This is not a review. If you want an objective review you can check out ANN or any of several dozen episodic bloggers. This is a love letter to Fate/Zero. I am sure I will complain about one or two things, as is the nature of picky fans, but I’m mostly here to sit back and raise a glass to a series I love. So if you are here to celebrate the prequel to Fate/Stay Night or maybe try to make heads of tails of the fandom pull up a chair and join the celebration. Just remember that most of these people we meet in this series don’t show up in Fate/Stay Night. And it is not because they all decided to run a wacky pizza parlor after the events of Fate/Zero and are too busy getting into hijinks to take part in the 5th Holy Grail war.

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