Completed Series: Donten ni Warau

  Title: Donten ni Warau / 曇天に笑う
  Year: 2014 | Fall
  Episodes: 12
  Production: VAP 

  Official Summary: When swords were outlawed in the eleventh year of the Meiji Era, the mighty samurai population began to dwindle. Those who rejected the ban on blades rebelled, causing violent unrest to erupt throughout the countryside. To combat the rise in criminal activity, an inescapable lake prison was constructed. Three young men, born of the Kumoh line, were given the duty of delivering criminals to their place of confinement—but could there be more to their mission than meets the eye? (via MAL)

  Catie's Thoughts: So I started this because - anime set during a very specific era of Japan's recent past that I'm very interested in, plus a story about brothers, which is my jam. I did not expect: to get slammed in the face with this show and leave me for dead on the side of the road. That official summary up there makes the show seem a lot less heavy than it ends up being, and when a Certain Occurrence happens at episode six, well ....

I really did like this show a whole lot more than I thought I would. The show does suffer a bit from strange pacing, but by the time you reach the end you understand what the intention of the pacing is. Also, nearly all the characters are touched upon and their stories are all integral to the final bit of the show - and while a lot of tertiary characters aren't really introduced, or others have small bits clearly hinting at a larger story, it's still enough to get the gist of the show across. 

On a personal note, I kept cracking myself up because certain characters are expies of Ed and Masayoshi, and, well - that's just hilarious.

  Watch It: Funimation

Completed Series: Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works (tv)

  Title: Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]
  Year: 2014 | Fall
  Episodes: 12
  Production: ufotable

  Official Summary: New anime adaptation of Fate/stay night, following the Unlimited Blade Works route. (via MAL)

  Catie's Thoughts: All I really remember of the original Fate/Stay Night anime was that it was fairly disappointing after a promising start, and that it went into harem territory quickly. Also I seem to remember an onsen episode, but I might be mixing that up in my head with a different series. UBW, on the other hand, eschews all of that nonsense and gets right to business.

Having watched Fate/Zero helps quite a bit, and while it's not super fresh in my memory it's enough that I know what's going on without the exposition. The animation in this show is insane, it's gorgeous - and I'm waiting on pins and needles for the second season, because I want to know what happens next because I genuinely don't know.

  Watch It: Crunchyroll, the land of anime

Completed Series: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun!

  Title: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun! / 月刊少女野崎くん
  Year: 2014 | Summer
  Episodes: 12
  Production: TV Tokyo

  Official Summary: High school student Chiyo Sakura has a crush on schoolmate Umetarou Nozaki, but when she confesses her love to him, he mistakes her for a fan and gives her an autograph. When she says that she always wants to be with him, he invites her to his house and has her help on some drawings. Chiyo discovers that Nozaki is actually a renowned shoujo manga artist named Sakiko Yumeno. She then agrees to be his assistant in order to get closer to him. As they work on his manga, they encounter other schoolmates who assist them or serve as inspirations for characters in the stories. (via MAL)

  Catie's Thoughts: I have no idea what I expected with this show, even with everything I'd seen on tumblr. I cackled a lot, to the point where I had to pause or even rewind because I missed things. It is genuinely hilarious - and while Nozaki's obliviousness does get a little old, the supporting cast is fantastic. I want to see more of all of them.

  Watch It: Crunchyroll