On that note… here’s the scanlator’s IRC channel.

A recap, in case any of you are even more out of it than I was: there’s an Aniblog Tourney happening. That’s right, bitches, aniblog.

“This is the first time!!! SO EXCITED” scream countless aniblogosphere sycophants. But no, sadly, this is not the first time. We had the Anime Blog Awards in 200…8? Lemme check my sidebar. Ah yes. Best Satire Blog 08. To give credit where credit is due, there are two original things about this Aniblog Tourney: first, it’s sucking on Jason’s cock by being set up in a sports-esque bracket (which Josh so kindly SGML-ized); second, I’m not in it.

Am I bitter? Fuck no! Being excluded from this sham of democracy is the best thing that’s happened to me all month!

This also means that I can kibitz from the sidelines with impunity. I won’t look like a narcissistic whore and I won’t look like an emo loser! I’ll just be me, you know, just be me. And then no one be judging me, except me.

All this said in various shades of verbal irony, I shall now move right along to the first round of the Aniblog Tourney without further ado.

My picks are winning for now, but will it all be meaningless in the end?

Every day, two pairs of blogs are voted on. Today, it’s… well, you see the names in the above-srced image. Calamitous Intents and The Cart Driver are winning so far today. This is good, because those are the two blogs I voted for. Why did I vote for them? Funny you should ask!

I voted for Calamitous Intents because that’s where Choux resides. For those not in the know, Choux is a lovely lovely artist who did the female character designs of CCY-senpai wa 17sai. Yes, this is a plain case of personal bias. What? How much did she charge me for the artwork? Zero dollars. Fuck, this looks like corruption in action. So much for democracy!

As for The Cart Driver, I was unfamiliar with the blog prior to today. I was also unfamiliar with its opponent, Sekijitsu, but the choice was pretty easy to make after a quick peek at both sites. First, Sekijitsu has about 600 pixels of the HTML equivalent of drivel before you actually get down to business and read their posts. That’s a big no-no in my book. To make matters worse… well, I’ll let the blog speak for itself:

Do you remember what I said about the originality of the Aniblog Tourney earlier in this post?

Okay, okay, so something can be 100% unoriginal and still be epic, but this is really pushing it.

Moving right along, The Cart Driver is… well, you remember how Code Geass R2 ended? Remember how a certain Mike was orgasming over the idea of Lelouch still being alive at the end? Remember how, grasping for whatever straws he could, he came up with a 4chan rumor that zomg the cart driver is Lelouch!! ? Yeah. The Cart Driver is that cart driver.

Negative points in my book, but said aniblog quickly shoots to the top of my list of good blogs due to the number of pixels between the top of the page and the first post (maybe 100? something sexy like that). All this pored over, The Cart Driver carts home an easy win.

Am I suggesting that my votes are important in any way?

I suppose I am. Please forgive me, oh aniblogospeers.

P.S. just for the record, if rankings in the Aniblog Tourney are primarily based on blog age, how is notdotq not even featured? I was around before half of the participant blogs. ghostlightning? You gotta be kidding me.

I’m so unsure that I have time for this shit that watching and blogging it made me recall a term from AIR: ‘hima-hima seijin.’

I’ve now subjected myself to seven of the Spring 2008 shows. I can’t wait for Holic subs. I also finished Darker than Black for a second time last night, and for some reason, the ending STILL doesn’t make any sense. Everything that had been unexplained was suddenly explained with NEW METAPHYSICS that made no sense and weren’t explained. It was well-executed and classy, yeah, but substance-wise, it was absolutely nonsensical.

Itazura na Kiss

Itazura na Kiss looks AWESOME. AWESOME like Bokura ga Ita. I might be the only person on Earth to like the Bokura ga Ita anime, though, so maybe Itazura na Kiss will suck. At least while some jerks hate, someone seems hopeful. Oh, and someone else, too. I don’t actually know if I’m going to follow this. It seems like it’ll be fun but I really am strapped for time.

And now I need to praise this show, and not for any strengths on its part. I told Impz once before that I had forgiven him for [the terrible things he subjected me to in the past] but this… this is different. Impz has gone above and beyond the call of duty because of this show, writing an EPIC blog post that has secured itself a place forever in my hall of aniblogging legends. He may not know it… his readers probably don’t… but he has said something, because of Itazura na Kiss, that has made me fall head over heels for him.

Ladies and gentlemen, Impz.

I don’t think anymore needs to be said.

Kanokon

I’d pull my “there are no words” thing again, but I think it’s getting old, and who wants to read a blog the entire contents of which sum up to “I have no content?” Yeah, no one. Sooooo, thoughts. Well, it pissed me off like to-love-ru did. The foxgirl’s brother(?) was a total cock-blocker, too. Too bad he didn’t die when he got defenestrated (“defenestrated” is used here loosely—there were no windows involved, just COLD FIRE and walls); the two leads won’t get another good chance to lose their virginities. The rest of the show is going to go something like this:

Introduce new girl. New girl falls in love with Kouta for no fuggin’ reason. Foxgirl tries to have sex with Kouta. New girl interferes.

So yeah, gg hot hot sex. The kissing was pretty good, though. Also…

… is that some Skitch?

Two paths of shota and foxboobs intertwining… the union of trap…

And yes, I will be watching this show for at least one more episode. Color me Kouta.

P.S.—when you can enjoy something only by making fun of it with fellow animebloggers (read: the scum of the Earth), it’s pretty fuckin’ terrible.

Amatsuki

Yeeeeah, no. Sorry. The OP brought Kannazuki no Miko to mind with its sequence that screamed “this is the show’s plot!!” but failed to follow up with delicious yuri. It also doesn’t seem to have a character that can be nicknamed ‘USSR.’ These things are important and so this show is not. Good night, Amatsuki.

Also going against this show… according to Tenka Seiha’s Aroduc:

Druaga

For the first time in far too long, I agree with Kurogane on something. Druaga is absolutely amazing so far. I’m kind of afraid that they might lose a bit of their momentum, though, and there’s always the unfortunate possibility of becoming another Lucky Star if references are not kept in check.

The only downside of this show thus far is that I may be forced to hate it by a blogosphere that adores way too easily.

Wait, what?

From Cinnamon Ass:

I may be forced to hate the show by it actually being bad. :(
On the other hand, we’ve got some judgment from Josh of Josh’s Anime Blog:

I think today’s a day for “first in a long time”s as I find myself disagreeing with Shirukii about something other than the quality of Shakugan no Shana and Da Capo He says he’s not brimming with excitement. Whether or not the show turns out to be good is just one more thing to be making noise about! Now is the time to be excited, because with thirteen episodes, it’s now or never.

Majime na Lolikit

Itazura na Kiss is standard fare that doesn’t seem to be particularly interesting or terrible. Kanokon is total shit, as admitted by its strongest supporters (they’re total shit as well). Amatsuki I can’t honestly judge right now and I don’t suppose I’ll ever take the time to change that. Tower of Druaga is definitely the most interesting of the shows I’ve taken a look at so far this season, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it will unfold.

Quick note: I’ve been writing this post for 13.5 hours.