I’ve been dearly enchanted by some of the gems from the recent anime seasons. These titles are so astonishingly charming, I just have to write something about them.

Mahou Tsukai Ni Taisetsu na Koto - Natsu no Sora

The second season of Someday’s Dreamers may have discarded its former English title, but it didn’t lose a single bit of its magic. Natsu no Sora follows the same flow as the first season, with Kikuchi Yume surrendering the lead role to Suzuki Sora, also a young apprentice Mage.

I instantly fell in love with the beautiful renditions of Shimokitazawa, the lovely OP, ED and insert songs and above it all the beauty of stories told through the eyes of professional, working-class Magi. I’m not sure if many people can appreciate this lovely show.

Amatsuki

This is one show that I found rather strange. The establishment of the premise is quite far-fetched. I mean, a boy gets sent back through time back to feudal age Japan by visiting, of all places, a high-tech museum. Still, I chose to disregard the little oddity and went ahead with it. Amatsuki plays around with youkai and ayakashi, always an interesting plot device, which also lends credit to the equally interesting adventures.

It only spanned for 13 episodes, but the plot-twist ending appeared to be promising a second season. Honestly, I’m not singing praises for this one, but somehow, I just can’t wait to get more of it.

Bounen no Xam’d

With virtually unlimited budget from Sony, Bones is going all out on their latest venture, and Bonen no Xam’d looks to be aiming to be the most epic show of the year. Xam’d follows the story of Takehara Akiyuki, a typical schoolboy who received an enchantment from a mysterious girl after she triggered a schoolbus explosion. The enchantment engulfs and transforms him into Xam’d, a rampaging beastlike humanoid creature with superhuman strength and agility.

He is rescued by a sky-riding girl who calmed the beast and nursed him to health aboard a postal service airship. Akiyuki finds himself struggling with his strange curse, all at the dawn of a mysterious war.

I know, my synopsis absolutely sucks, but there’s too many things going on in this show, and the fact that it’s only been made available on the PlayStation Networks makes it even more exciting to wait for proper re-encodes.

Animation and art direction simply looks stunning in 720p. Bones has yet to disappoint, and at the rate they’re going, they’re just gonna keep dropping bombs on us fans.

Natsume Yuujinchou

This is one of my favourites of this new season.

Mushishi was the first anime that showed me how a youkai-themed anime could be so emotionally moving and beautiful, as opposed to the stereoypical action-adventure commonly associated with the genre. Natsume Yuujinchou is the second title I discovered to have achieved the same effect as Mushishi. It tells the story of Natsume Takashi, a teenage orphan who is capable of seeing youkai, an ability he inherited from his late grandmother, Reiko.

He also inherited the Yuujinchou, The Book of Friends, which contains the names of many youkai who gave Reiko their names [allowing her to summon them at will] after she defeated them in odd duels, as Reiko had particularly strong spiritual powers. The story follows Takashi as he finds these long lost friends.

With the aid and tutelage of a powerful youkai in the guise of a maneki neko Takashi returns them their names and sets them free. In the process, he experiences Reiko’s memories and learns of how she befriended [or defeated] these youkai and often the stories describe youkai as gentle, peaceful and lovable creatures, who just happen to be misunderstood for their strange habits and appearances.

As the name implies, Yuujinchou is a story about love and friendship that transcends time and space. Even after her death, the youkai friends fondly remember Reiko for her quirks and for bringing small moments of bliss in their lives. One of the things that makes the anime adaptation special is how they got Hiroshi Kamiya to voice Takashi, recreating those magical ‘Takemoto Monologues‘ that we enjoyed so much back in Honey and Clover.

You want me to tell you how good this show is? I cried at the end of episode two. It’s that moving. BSS is doing an awesome job, so go and watch it.

Kaiba

Ah, and we arrive here at last. One of the best things I like about my pastime of anime appreciation, is when I stumble upon something, download it on a whim, and it turns out to be abso-fucking-lutely spectacular. This season, Kaiba is my surprise favourite.

Kaiba follows the story of a protagonist of the same name. We find him waking up suffering from amnesia and he sets off on a journey to rediscover his memories, and the truth of the world that he lives in today. Kaiba is an amazing piece of art. The creators described it as a sci-fi romance, and I only understood why as the series approaches its climax at episode 9.

In this age, human memory can be stored as chips and extracted from your body. In other words, even if you are physically killed, your memory may be salvaged as a chip which can be implanted in another body. The hero, Kaiba, goes on his journey swapping one body after another due to various circumstances. Slowly, the mysteries began to unravel as Kaiba rediscovers his memories and sets out to complete his destiny.

It is dramatic, it is suspenseful, it is romantic, and it is heart-wrenching. However, you may only notice these things if you choose to look beneath the surface. Kaiba is animated by Madhouse [Black Lagoon, Chi's Sweet Home], and judging from the astounding art direction, you can tell that the studio is having fun. It looks extremely ridiculous, but at the same time, the ridiculousness greatly extends its charm by a hundredfold.

In a subtle way, Kaiba asks its viewers to read between the lines, see beyond the superficial, and understand the true essence of beauty that lies underneath all things. It’s a strong message that was powerfully delivered through brilliant art, character designs and breath-taking music.

The best part of all? Nobody close to me is watching this jewel. That just makes it all the more special.

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