First, let me wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope you all have a good one.

As we head into 2007, I am not really seeing a lot of new titles that just run out and grab me for the winter season. That’s fine because I have a large backlog of stuff to watch and there are some reviewers from C.A.R. (Devil Doll, Stretch, Forbin) who can steer me to or away from potential titles to watch.

That said, there is one title that I’m looking forward too and I’m almost ashamed to admit it. What is this shameful title? Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny. The initial Ikki Tousen (see my review here) wasn’t really anything special and I certainly didn’t care for the fanservice or ecchi content. Still, there was just enough to the story to have me interested enough to keep coming back. Since I found TokyoPop’s domestication of the manga (which they’ve named Battle Vixens) unreadable, I guess the only way to see where the story goes is to watch the sequel to the anime.

Deltora Quest is a title I think I’ll check out since it is of the fantasy genre. Of course, I think of how I’ve struggled getting through the Record of Lodoss War TV all year so just being a fantasy title doesn’t mean I’ll enjoy it.

I always at least try to take note of titles Gainax puts out. Gurren-Lagann is their latest project but I can’t say it is really gripping me from what I’m seeing. But I may still give this a look-see just because it is Gainax.

Some titles I plan of finishing/continuing this year:

• Tsubasa Chronicle — At least it has the xxxHOLiC references in it (I guess they really couldn’t get rid of them since Yuuko-san is an important player). Sadly, the first season was soooo slooooow and after .hack//SIGN, I can’t say that I am a fan of this style of story telling. GET ON WITH IT!
• Record of Lodoss War TV — The OAV was pretty good despite its flaws. The TV series, not so much. Still, I have to press through if I want to do a proper review.
• Keroro Gunsou — I enjoy this a lot, but only in small doses. It is very funny and I like to watch an episode or two to take a break from watching other titles. Since the series is still ongoing in Japan (with over 132 episodes), I’ll press into episode 27 soon enough. Clearly I won’t be finishing it though.
• Mai Otome Zwei — The first of four OAV episodes have been released, so I’ll be watching this as they come out.
• xxxHOLiC — I love the manga but the anime has sure disappointed.
• Pumpkin Scissors — Nothing special about this Gonzo title so far, but it is one of the series airing in Japan that I’m watching.
• Kanon (2006) — I’m rather enjoying this one, having loved the original Kanon so much. It is another title currently airing in Japan that I’m watching.
• Negima!? — This is the last of the actively airing titles in Japan that I’m watching. I love the manga and was sorely disappointed in the first anime. However, the new one has been a bit better in some regards since it is not worrying about telling the manga stories.

At some point, I really need to rent Uresei Yatsura and finish it. But I got to tell ya, I am not very enthused about it and seriously wonder how this series is so popular in Japan (beyond Lum-chan of course).

Well, Lord willing, here’s to another year of anime viewing and manga reading.