If this is it for me and Hitsugi no Chaika, there are certainly no hard feelings.

Gundam Build Fighters Try – 02

I’m starting to remember why I didn’t blog Gundam Build Fighters, even though I did end up liking it an awful lot.  I like Try, too – probably just about as much – but there isn’t really a whole lot to be said about GBF in a blogging context.  It’s just fun, trading on its irreverent take on the Gundam franchise and likably plucky characters and avoiding anything profound.  And I’m not interested enough to talk about the various minutiae of which Gundam shows up in which battle and where it was first seen and how they match up with each other in battle – that side of the series doesn’t really interest me all that much.

So, more than likely I’ll end up just watching this one once again, and no doubt enjoying it.  And so far I’m enjoying it more than Reconguista in G, even allowing for the fact that it’s such a trainwreck that it has a certain grim fascination.  GBF adopts the K.I.S.S. formula as well as any anime in a long time, playing up the same themes over and over and gently mocking Gundam geekery while still managing to be a very effective 22-minute commercial for Gunpla.

My favorite in this bunch is still Sekai, though most of the focus this week is on Yuuma (we even get a China cameo, via flashback).  He’s a bit of a wet rag but not in an annoying way, and every show like this needs an emo character somewhere.  Watching the three leads interact is fun, especially when Mr. Ral or Mirai get involved and things get really silly.  Mirai (I’m still not sure what her relationship with Sekai is, but it smacks of something different than simply sibling) is definitely the doujin-bait character this time around, and she manages to turn the heads of every male in the vicinity (including Yuuma, though it would be hard to imagine he and Fumina aren’t a lock).

Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle – 02

I’d have to double-check, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d proclaimed a post to be my last regular Chaika post before.  I mean it this time, though.  I think…

Chaika is what is always is – a pretty good show that never quite reaches the compelling level, but almost always manages to avoid the more undignified traps of most anime in its segment.  I respect the fact that it forces the audience to pay attention and doesn’t explain everything, and I find the Engrish spellcasting to have a goofy charm in its utter absurdity.  I have affection, but just not enough to keep coming up with stuff to say about the show.

I was hoping there might be a miraculous level-up (or a tanking) in Avenging Battle, but so far it’s pretty much more of the same.  Claudia was a likeable enough guest star of the moment – certainly a lot more helpful that her predecessors – but we’ve seen the basic drill already.  I’ll stay tuned to see what happens now that Chaika has changed her focus to finding Gaz’ mysterious island and placed her hunt for identity over that for his remains, and the continued goings-on of Team Gilette.  There may be check-in posts from time to time, if we get exceptionally good episodes, but I think this is it as far as regular ones.