Ok, that’s sort of a lie.
More like… second half of April and first week of May in review. Ish.
Karneval, episodes 2-4
What the ever-loving fuck is going on in this show? Four episodes in, and I’m still not exactly sure what the point of this story is. I would feel less concerned if the show were slated for twenty-four episodes instead of twelve, but for things to be so fuzzy still a third of the way through worries me. Well, or it would, except I’ll admit that I don’t really care that I have no idea where this show is going nor why it is going there. I’m perfectly content to have bright colors vomited at me in this case.
I did enjoy the revelation that Nai is a weird, stupid-looking creature who has happened to end up with a human form. It makes him so much less irritating than if he were just a human idiot! The end result is the same (he’s kind of dumb), but just that knowledge alone somehow alleviates the frustration factor somehow.
Valvrave the Liberator, episodes 1-4
Speaking of dumb… wow, Valvrave, you are dumb. There’s too much of its stupid to list it all here, sadly, so I’ll have to limit myself to my favorite moments of idiocy. Cellphones working in space. Shoko somehow surviving getting hit with a missile; showing her in a buried car even though there was no way it was physically possible that she could’ve been in there when the missile hit. “WOW POLITICIANS ARE BAD!” The high schoolers deciding to break away and become their own country. Stripping as a means of proving that you’re being truthful. L-Elf having killed 5,000 soldiers all on his very own once upon a time (guess he was, I dunno, nine years old when he did it).
At first, I was all “Wow, this is dumb, ugh.” but then I shifted to, “Wow, this is so dumb, how stupid can they get?!” I’m not sure I would quite commit to saying that I like Valvrave, but I enjoy watching it at the moment, although I wonder how much longer it can keep this up. Of course, I’m also watching in the foolish hope of having some more BL fodder, heh.
Anyway, the best character is easily Rukino. And the best moment in the whole show? Duuuhhhh, the end of the first episode when we first see the space vampire in action! I totally saw it coming that Haruto wasn’t going to be dead for real, but that he suddenly rises up and chomps on ERU-EFFFFUUUU’s neck? Sunrise, you totally caught me off-guard there!
Only Yesterday
Don’t want to talk this one too much since I want to do a full review of it. I liked it a LOT, though, and am tempted to say that its my favorite Ghibli. However, I did only just watch it, and it has been years since I’ve watched the other two Ghibli films I have at the top of my list (Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away). This is, by the way, the only Ghibli film that has never had a commercial release in the U.S. I’m not surprised, as its completely different than anything else they’ve ever put out and I don’t think it would sell (its a pretty quiet film, and its also very Japanese), but its a shame – I’d love to own it on DVD.
GAR GAR Stegosaurus 
Karneval: we’re seeing eye to eye on this show, especially Nai. It’s like the mangaka knew that they made this character too stupid and annoying, and did the perfect thing to alleviate it – make it a g0ddam Pokemon!
Valvrave: again, eye to eye. This is so stupid, I laugh at the other shows people have called stupid over the last five years. At least I could pretend Guilty Crown wasn’t ridiculous bullsh*t for a few episodes. This show refuses to allow you that option.
I’ve never watched Only Yesterday, but I plan to watch every Ghibli film eventually, like a good anime fan should. BTW, what is it about Howl’s Moving Castle that every woman loves? I didn’t think it was terrible, but some of its message got lost on me.