Four years into the blog has taught us, to a degree, what works and what needs changing. When we started the blog the season reviews were some of the most popular posts but as time went on we have seen a distinct decline in interest. A large part of that has to do with Anime News Network now doing a seasonal review and in a very timely fashion. In response, we sat down to decide how to revamp the seasonal review to stay relevant. Our idea is to do micro-podcasts instead of a whole article. The premise behind the S.W.A.T. (Season Watching Anime Taskforce) reviews is simple: watch the first episode of a series and then immediately sit down a record a review podcast. The reviews are five- to ten-minutes long and entirely off the cuff. The reviews have been going up on Anime3000 but in case you missed them there we collected them here for your listening pleasure.
Blade: We review the classic tale of a half-vampire VS. vampires. Now with extra Marvel/Madhouse blandness.
Blood-C: We review the OTHER vampire vs vampires anime. Now with CLAMP. Which sadly does not help.
Bunny Drop: We review the tale of an ace sniper and pathological lair who is a brave captain of the sea. Sorry. That is Usopp Drop.
Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth: We review (up soon!) an anime about France that is not The Rose of Versailles. We are as shocked as you are.
God’s Notebook: We review the spiffy keen NEET detective agency. The main character is a Speaker for the Dead.
The IDOLM@STER: We review a show about idols in training that is better than you would think it would be. That does not make it good.
Mawaru Penguindrum: We review the new Kunihiko Ikuhara anime. In fact, we are wondering why you are not watching this RIGHT NOW!
Mayo Chiki!: We review what proves that on all lives a little rain must fall. If you watch this, there shall be a downpour of sadness on your heart.
The Mystic Archives of Dantalian: We review (up soon!) the autobiography of Otaku USA’s Caleb Dunaway.
No. 6: We review the most obtuse remaking of Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner.
Sacred Seven: We review (up soon!) a Tokusatsu show cleverly disguised as an anime. But with maids, butlers, mecha, and Greek mythology.
Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 1000%: We review a show about idols in training that is better than you would think it would be. But is also actually good. We cannot forget to mention: Norio Wakamoto. ‘Nuff said.
Yuruyuri: We review a show of boy-friendly lesbians in training that is just as bad as you would think it would be.
For everyone who has a long trip to Otakon I have decided to give you another Pre-Otakon podcast for your journey. I returned to the Nigorimasen! podcast hosted by Tom alongside Patz from Insert Disc and Donald from Otaku no Podcast. It is like two podcasts in one as we talk about the 2011 Summer anime season in the first part and our Otakon plans in part 2. We start by gushing about the anime we loved this season and cursing the foul names of the anime that hurt us. Thankfully none of us sat through Titty Chop (aka Manyuu Hikenchou) so our brains were still intact for this podcast. After that we strategized for out Otakon battle plans. There is quite a bit to do and see in Baltimore this weekend so hopefully we will give you some good tips and make you aware of events you might have overlooked.
Last week I got together with 
Reverse Thieves 