Yerocha’s 2012 Anime Awards – Part 2

[previously on 2012 Anime Awards]

Most Under The Radar

Kuroko no Basket

A while back, I started the manga version of Kuroko no Basket and attempted to catch up on the series before the anime came out. At only 30 or so chapters, I failed hideously. I honestly didn’t think the series was that great in the beginning, since it had a rough time capturing the team aspect of basketball properly. Hell, I still have trouble telling some of the other Seirin players apart. When I later switched over to the anime, I was surprised with how everything managed to be so much more exciting. I would say this is just due to Production I.G. knowing how to direct a sports series, but I can’t because those were the people who made the Prince of Tennis anime. I think what made it better is that the source material is very action intensive, and those types of series can work much better when we get to see the characters move. Plus I felt the characters were all acted well, so each of them became a lot more interesting. For all of that, I feel I should thank the anime for rejuvenating my interest in a series I might have dropped a while back.

12 Days of Christmas – Day 5 – Worthy of a Greek Goddess

It wasn’t until fairly recently that I managed to read all of Hayate the Combat Butler, though I’ve actually been trying to catch up for quite a while now. Got my first volume back in December 2009, if you can believe that. So I felt it was a good time to talk for a little bit about what I and most other readers consider the biggest and best part of the series.

Hayate the Combat Butler – Who the Hell is Suirenji Ruka?

You’re gonna have to get in line.

Anyone who watched the recent Hayate anime for more than a few seconds would likely have noticed the presence of an idol singer who wasn’t in the series before. That girl’s name is Ruka. She’s like Hayate in a suspiciously large number of ways, up to and including the need to work off a 150 million yen debt her parents dumped on her. Her method for dealing with this debt, however, was to take on the role of an idol. While she has been trained in how to become a successful idol from a young age and seems to enjoy her work, the busy schedule has both given her serious health problems and gotten in the way of her secret goal of publishing manga. So she’s also like Nagi in a suspiciously large number of ways.