January Updates:

Realistically speaking, now that Dragon Ball Kai is three episodes behind, there doesn't seem to be much hope that Baaro fansubs, or any other group, will actually subtitle the whole series, or at least that they'll do so in remotely the same speed/schedule as the weekly tv airing releases are occurring.  This is very frustrating, given that Dragon Ball kai is a huge upgrade over the previous Dragon Ball Z version, which is now unwatchably bad in comparison.  It may be best just to watch the rest raw, given that Dragon Ball never had that sophisticated a vocabulary anyway.  Or we can just wait patiently however many years it takes to subtitle these stupid episodes, long after they've finished airing in Japan.  God knows how many years we waited for subtitled Dragon Ball Z after it aired in Japan, this would just be a repeat of those dark old days.

What it does mean is that our already small viewing list must shrink yet again.  In response to that, I've taken up watching Naruto again, even though it's filler.  This Naruto filler is a special case, since it's about something that actually happened according to the author.  We know that while Naruto was away, all sorts of people became chuunins and jounins through the regular exam system.  What we've never known until now is just how that happened.  A filler segment that fills in this gap in the storyline is a welcome addition to the canon material.  It doesn't interfere with anything in the actual plot, while talking about something genuinely interesting of real importance, the growth of all the other characters in Naruto into adulthood.  This is a unique chance for filler to actually be genuinely good, entertaining, and useful to the overall story's strength.  With Dragon Ball Kai gone, we'll need Naruto to fill in the shonen action niche we all crave.

1.  Shirobako
2.  One Piece
3.  Akatsuki no Yona
4.  Koufuku Graffiti
5.  Assassination Classroom
6.  The Idolm@ster: Cinderalla Girls
7.  Juuou Mujin no Fafnir
8.  Naruto
9.  Sengoku Musou
10.  Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
11.  Durara Shou
12.  Junketsu no Maria
13.  Happiness Charge Pretty Cure
14.  Shinmai Maou no Testament
15.  Sailor Moon
16.  Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail is in a similar position.  It's currently filler, but it won't be continuously filler throughout the winter.   There are at least three episodes of canon material slated for this winter season.  Starting February 7th, episode 219 of Fairy Tail is canon.  Episode 220 on February 14th is also canon, as is episode 222 on February 28th.  For all we know, the episodes in March will also be canon, but they haven't been announced yet one way or the other.  There's plenty of additional Fairy Tail material to adapt, so there's no reason for this filler nonsense in the first place.  A new one shot manga featuring Happy will be released by Hiro Mashima in full color soon enough.  Why not throw that into the pot?  We know the tarturus arc has been green-lit for adaption, which will at least be a good 25 episodes in the making.  Then there's always Fairy Tail Zero. . .

Go! Princess Pretty Cure is replacing Happiness Charge Pretty Cure in just 15 days.  Happiness Charge has actually been getting better in these final episodes, but I'll still be glad to see it go.  It's positively the worst season of any Pretty Cure, even with its recent improvement.  Anything has got to be an improvement over this.  Which means that '13' in my expectations column might just climb up to '5' or so in a couple weeks.  We should expect to see the Happiness Charge movie this spring or summer, and then we can bid this flop of a season farewell for good.

The Yuru Yuri oav is coming out in bd February 18th.  Previously it was only airing in theaters, so it's no wonder there was no English translation of it yet.  This would be a welcome addition to our winter anime season, as well as the last subtitled episode of Little Busters EX, the currently four episodes of Prince of Tennis II as yet unsubbed, and the new bd Tari Tari box set special.

This summer we get Fate/Kaleid Liner Herz and Working season 3.  Even half a year away, these shows are so good they're already worth salivating over.

This spring, Game of Thrones will resume, the only decent American tv show worth watching.