July Updates:

Good news everyone!  The Fate remake is going to cover the Unlimited Blade Works portion of the visual novel, for a total of 24 eps, spread across the fall 2014 season and the spring 2015 season.  Previously UBW was only covered by a single movie, whose air time was far too short to encompass all the necessary details to the story.  This anime remake will not only look better, but it will give the story the space to actually breathe and tell its story properly from beginning to end.

Meanwhile, Heaven's Feel, the third section of the visual novel, will also be adapted, this time by a movie.  So we fix one section of the visual novel by replacing a movie with a tv series, and then we create a new problem immediately after, by giving the same too-short treatment to Heaven's Feel that previously was true of UBW.  Of course this is regrettable.  You would think that the very people who realized UBW in movie format didn't work, would think the same of Heaven's Feel in movie format.  But maybe Heaven's Feel will be adapted in a trilogy of movies or something, which would solve everything.  At the very least, we're getting an additional section of the visual novel animated that previously wasn't addressed at all.

With these two announcements, and with Fate/Stay Night being animated all the way back in 2006, the entirety of the visual novel will finally be animated for all to enjoy.  At this rate the Fate franchise is going to be longer than Index/Railgun.  It's becoming a colossus of the anime world.  It's no wonder I keep improving its overall rank in the anime universe.

My favorite corner of the Fate world is Kaleid Liner, which is currently airing a fantastic season.  However, it isn't much use if it doesn't cover the entire manga, and the third season still hasn't been assured.  My feelings about Fate are thus a mix of melancholy and apprehension rather than pure delight like they should be.  Kaleid Liner Drei and Heaven's Feel still may not be adapted correctly, even if 2wei and Unlimited Blade Works will be.  It's a lottery of hits and misses at this point.

Meanwhile, Pretty Cure DX New Stage 3 has come out translated to English thanks to the hard workers over at Doremi.  The movie features a nostalgic return of speaking roles from Cure Black, Cure White, Cure Bloom, Cure Egret, and Yes Pretty Cure 5, the original 5 seasons of the show.  Overall, I think the later seasons of Precure are better than the earlier ones, but there's just no beating nostalgia.  Thinking back fondly to things that happened long ago is somehow way more fun than reflecting on something fun that happened yesterday, and the movie takes full advantage of that, by drawing some of the most beautiful Marble Screws, Splash Streams, and Forte waves you've ever seen.  Even Cure Echo makes a nostalgic comeback, the phantom Pretty Cure who was forgotten in the 2nd New Stage movie but made a grand re-entrance for this one to my wholehearted delight.  (Who wouldn't love Cure Echo?  She has a beautiful character design and is voiced by Mamiko Noto.  It doesn't get any better than that!)

Pretty Cure has maintained its 4th place position in large part due to its magnificent DX movies.  All 6 are good, and this one is no exception.  Is it the best DX movie?  Not at all.  But it's still a much bigger positive contribution than this awful Happiness Charge season, that's for sure.

Meanwhile, Kizumonogatari may not be available in animated form, but I encourage everyone to go read the book's translation at baka-tsuki anyway.  It will solve a lot of confusion that exists in the current anime, because the series keeps referring back to events that happened in that volume, without ever explaining what happened in that volume, the biggest plot hole imaginable.  Once you've read Kizumonogatari, you'll enjoy the rest of the animated series a lot more than before.  It gives you a huge insight into the character of Araragi, Tsubasa and Shinobu which helps you understand everything that happens from there on (Kizumonogatari is the first book in the series chronologically, so it's the foundation for everything else).

Sword Art Online's 14th volume and Haganai's 9th volume are both nearly translated, so reading whatever you can about them would also be wise.  Who can wait until the whole book is translated when they're both holding such important information that has to be known right now for peace of mind???

Haganai is hilarious and the girls are of course beautiful.  The dialogue is even philosophical and really makes you think.  Even so, it's no match for the heartfelt love seen in PapaKiki.  However, if Haganai were to finish as a book series and get a third season of anime, it would be hard to rate an uncompleted masterpiece against a completed one.  Haganai is rumored to be ending soon, just like Baka to Test has.  Monogatari will be ending in light novel form next volume.  Some of the greatest literature ever is finally reaching its climax.  Now just imagine if these series were animated all the way to the end as well.  How good would they be when their full story gets to be told, instead of just bits and pieces and cliffhangers?  Both Haganai and Monogatari sell well in blu-ray disk sales, so I don't see why this wouldn't happen.  In fact, if Monogatari doesn't get a third season, I'm dropping its rank to some god awful number in retribution, but until they get Hanamonogatari and Kizumonogatari out of the way obviously this isn't the time for a new season yet.

Meanwhile, Saimoe 2014 has begun.  Like always, a ton of beautiful girls are competing this year as well for the crown of most appealing of all.  Unfortunately, the coverage for the event is pretty lacking, as are the vote totals.  It seems the event just isn't as glamorous as it used to be, even though the girls themselves competing in the event are more glamorous than ever.  Still, Saimoe 2014 can be followed at the animesuki forum or at the Saimoe Update page, so all is not lost.  Illyasviel being the winner this time around would not be unreasonable. . .