Update!
Well managed to polish off a 26 episode series called M3. Basically it involves a strange supernatural occurrence that basically turns most of Tokyo into silent hill. Occasionally weird 'grudges' get out and terrorise folk so mecha pilots have to take them on.
Not as good as that premise sounds, it has its moments and is interesting enough to watch. The plot however feels a little thin and perhaps would have been better served condensed into 13 episodes. Also a little too much angst and not enough mecha action. Decent story, great animation and an interesting concept perhaps not used to as full as effect as I had hoped. Certainly if you saw KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA which mixed horror and mecha action far more successfully you will likely be underwhelmed.
Ah well... after that I finished SPACE DANDY.
Perhaps one of the most perfect shows of this last year. Dandy is a freewheeling, funny and occasionally poignant show with a great ending. We get plots as diverse as zombie plagues, intergalactic dance contests and high school musicals over the 26 episode series and its all great. I suspect part of that reason is that a lot of the team that gave us both COWBOY BEEBOP and SAMURAI CHAMPLOO worked on this and the quality shows.
Speaking of which, Shinichiro watanabe, director and part of the creative force of dandy has also delivered a neat little show called ZANKYOU NO TERROR (RESONANCE OF TERROR) an 11 episode tale of teenagers used as guinea pigs by the state becoming terrorists. Very well written and directed I suspect the short length of the series may be budgetary, it could do with more episodes perhaps but what there is is gold and well worth seeking out.
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