Lyzl

 Aoi Bungaku reminds me more of Mouryo No Hako but it does have hints of Kurozuka. It's not just this season that was overall "meh", shows that finished airing shortish-ly ago (new word!) aren't much better. Like Valkyria Chronicles, I am struggling to finish it. It is not exactly bad (if you don't count one of the ugliest ED songs ever) but there is nothing that makes me want to see it through.

 Fortunately my "want to watch" list is almost endless so I am not about to run out of anime to watch any time soon. By the way, I really recommend Gankutsuou. It's an alternative telling of The Count of Monte Cristo only set in a sci-fi environment. The artwork is very original and everything flows beautiful. I am not very fond of the protagonist but that's almost always the case. It may be Gonzo's best production ever.

I actually have no issues with gore. Hell, I watched Elfen Lied and Gantz, all of which are considerably much more gorey than Umineko will ever be. My problems with Umineko are many: the characters are dull, it is horribly repetitive, it's not even violent but just silly, it's not scary and of course...Moetrice. Gah, how I hate her. Studio Deen did a wonderful job with the character design, though. Have you seen the original designs? "Ugly" would be a compliment, really. I was expecting something as genuinely creepy as Higurashi and instead I got a really bad comedy. With 11 Eyes I had zero expectations so it did not appal me as much. It's still absolutely horrible, though

 I'm watching Brotherhood as well and enjoying it but I'm not really a Fullmetal fan. I watched the first anime and liked it but it never climbed to my list of favorites. Probably because there is no character I really love. I actually dislike Al and the rest of the cast leaves me lukewarm. I don't hate anyone either but it detracts from truly enjoying the franchise. As for currently airing anime my faves would be Aoi Bungaku with its darkness and psychological horror and Sasameki Koto because it's funny and entertaining. The second season of Darker than Black is quite nice so far as is the second White Album instalment

 Yes, it is Ritsuka! And what you heard is a 100% true, Loveless the manga is absolutely wonderful. It does explain quite a lot, it is still ongoing so there is still much that remains a mystery. I wish the whole manga received an anime treatment, it would make me the happiest girl alive. As a medium I tend to favour anime and the word spells work so much better animated, not to mention the voice acting. The manga also includes more characters that are fascinating in their own ways and the Zero boys have become more important in later volumes. The very first pair that Soubi and Ritsuka fight also come back, I keep hoping for the lesbian couple to return. They were some of my favorite characters.

I'm bi myself, by the way. One of the things I love so much about anime in general is how fluid gender can be. I also read a lot of yaoi, despite what is often said there are a lot of really deep titles in the genre.

Good luck with Toradora, I am on the fence about starting it. And I decided to keep track of pantyshots in 11 Eyes. I thought Umineko was the worst currently airing anime but this is probably worse. I have watched 3 episodes and it feels like 30. It gets one star and the rating may drop. I am amazed that this seems to be popular...it has nothing going for it.

Ah, that's a shame that it didn't pick up in the end. I'll probably still watch it, but it's now down the pecking order, heh. It seemed like a great concept too, I'm sure they could've done more with it to spice up the pace a little. What next for you on the watch list?

I've officially stalled out on anime, I haven't watched an episode of anything since Trigun ep13 two weeks ago. Uni work hates me. :P

Hi Lyzl, thank you very much for the warm welcome. :) I'm generally having a good time winding down with AP. I've still got to unpack most of my crap even though it's been more than a week, and I'm just feeling really lazy. Hahaha. As for Toradora, I'm keen to see what you make of it. My thoughts are 'bleh' but also deviant for being so. Anyway, back to reviewing Bastard, which I recommend for stupid fun.