Of the many series I was anxious for, Aria stood out as one of my favorite. I was already a big fan of the manga, which made me wonder how an animated version would turn out. Unlike Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Aria made an extremely good transition between print and screen. The anime does well in capturing the simplicity and charm of the manga, while preserving the message of the simple life. In today's wide range of magical girls, giant robots, sorcery, and in-your-face comedy, Aria stands out as a break from the norm. Less is more, or so they say.

As a testiment to the quality of the show, it is the only anime where I watch each episode from beginning to end without skipping. Each opening sequence is different and the ending theme brings the story to a close.

Thus far, My-Otome hasn't completely impressed me. It's a fun show to watch, but doesn't contain much content. I'm interested to see where the story will go, as well as what other twists are in store. Who knows, perhaps the second half of the series will pick up in much the same way HiME did. I certainly hope so. At this juncture, Otome is entertaining at best. There's been a lot of fan service and suggestiveness about the nature of the characters.

Coincidentally, My-Otome is also an interesting play on words. Where "hime" was Japanese for "princess," "otome" is the Japanese for "maiden." As My-HiME could be read as "my princess," My-Otome could be read as "my maiden." This reading also seems play into the responsibilities of an Otome.

Katamari Damacy is hands-down one of the most addicting games I've ever played. It has very high replay value in that it is a game that I can play for 10 minutes or 10 hours at a time. It doesn't have much of a learning curve and can be learned in a matter of minutes. Mastering it, on the other hand, is a different story. The other thing I enjoy about this game is the guilty pleasure it gives. I find it strangely satisfying to pick up a large building and hearing people scream.

Overall, Katamari Dmacy is extremely simple, something I applaud in today's market of extremely complex games. There really are only two controls (left analog, right analog), the story is very basic, and the graphics aren't too shiny. Simplicity, however, doesn't detract from fun or challenge.