New series surprise the market. But are they the good or bad kind?

A Word From Some Jabroni

I'm running behind on this week's post and I really want to get it finished so I can go and do something that's not watching stuff on my computer (weekend seems to be the only time for this), so this word isn't going to be very long (nor checked properly for errors).

I dunno why, but Kanaria from Rozen Maiden Traumend had me laughing pretty hard this week. She's still nowhere near the awesomeness of Suiseiseki, but it's nice to have a ridiculously lameass character in a harem. I think the added dynamic is starting to make sense now...

Speaking of Harems, I finally picked up the Love Hina manga this week. I didn't know which publisher to go with so I got both, and Tokyopop's version beats out Chuang Yi's hands down. I guess this was before CY got it's shit together and pwned Del Rey in Negima.

And in other news, Liz Phair - "Somebody's Miracle" is a pretty sweet album.. None of the tracks really stand out at first glance like on say, "Whipsmart", but at least the production is removed from her last pop effort.

And that's me done.. let's get into the market!

Crayotic Rockwell

The Week In Recap

AIR GEAR 11

Air Gear had less focus than a gonzo porn feature shot by Mr Magoo this week. They began with a continued push from their newly established yaoi department (although many are quick to point out that that is no whip, pretend as they might), and from there just kind of meandered about for the rest of it's trading.

Luckily Air Gear is such cheap tat anyway that it's stock prices weren't largely affected by such a lack in direction for the interim.

And you can have all the scars in the world, but if you have braces it kind of ruins the effect, no?

AIRG dropped 1/4 but most expect it to pick back up.

BLOOD+ 34

Finally Saya v.2 arrived after months of breathless waiting, and... goes aenemic after blading twice?! Aside from that, it was a pleasant surprise to see Saya sporting a different haircut, fashion sense; a new tsuntsun personality, and possibly, even bigger lips than before?

All became moot as otaku chiroptera invaded the house to roll about in Sayas pantsu, leading up to the most climatic battle in the series so far.

Notes:

Julia thinks she may not have made the best decision. What possibly could have prompted this?

Saya may think she's hot shit on toast, but she is still no match for Old Coot Powers!

BLDP leaped a 1/4 point clearing the banister, but still a far way off from the top tier of stocks.

COYOTE RAGTIME SHOW 1 (ADJUST)

Initial stock prices were shown as being off for Coyote Ragtime which went public at 12:20AM, Monday. Reasons for it's original low offer perhaps being that analysts bought into the whole "this will be like Cowboy Bebop" smear campaign put out by people in the tabloid media.

While Cowboy Bebop was entertaining in it's episodic, artfag way; Coyote Ragtime, from it's pilot episode, proves to be just damn FUN. Early scouting due to the ufotable name was a smart play as this delivered all the craziness, little touches (check how the grenaloli had strings already attached to the grenades, or Angelica walking about with food sticking from her mouth), and purty animation, as was evidenced in Futakoi Alternative (heck, they even plagurized the opening credits).

Twelve sisters? (9 pictured here) Not so keen on them being cyborgs or all having similar combat attire, but this kind of specialist comprised team is exactly what the ASX marks for, regardless of what other grumpy poohs blog journalists may say. Say, wasn't she in Final Fantasy X-2? And what the hell is Wendy Garret doing in this?

One stockbroker had this to say: "I can't be sure, but I think the first [episode] wasn't even from the main protagonists viewpoint;" a notion which if true, is sure to impress investors. He later added, "is that little girl Angelica? Coz she sure filled out."

Investors are currently pleased with Coyote Ragtime's first trading day, and expect some good things from them in the future. However, while their success in pulling off the big moments and personalities seems garuanteed from ufotable, whether or not they are able to deliver the same quality of pathos and storytelling achieved previously in FutaAlt will determin just how high this series can truly rise.

RAGT surprised everyone by blowing away their pre-offer expectations.

DAI MAHOU TOUGE 3-4

Fans of MMA were tickled pink when Dai Mahou Touge made a return to the exchange with it's latest OVA.

For the first half of the week, reception to it's product was split; divided between those who get a kick out of seeing magical girls shoot-fight and pulling off wrestling moves and the ignorant masses which don't. However, it's later week product was applauded across the board because you're all goddamn lolicons with Paya-tan bondage and Punie vs. God levels increased on all fronts.

Average kid on the computer had this to say:

"The fight between Punie and Hole Digger Eli was kewl!! It wasn't that dynamic to look at, but it's the best choreographed and technical fight put down to anime that I've seen for a million years!!

Holy smokes!! Someone has to make an avatar of those lolis getting spanked for true lolz!! LISP FTW!!"

DAIMA's stiff 3 point gain was no bit of fakery.

GUN X SWORD 23

Vann got jiggy with a satelite, and the suckers left back on that crappy planet moved into endgame, squaring off against Fasarina's forces of red-shirts (techincally green-armours). Excitement levels were up and Ray being thrown back into the mix of things helped insured that GXS came out with gains this week.

Notes:

Arrgh, and I made such efforts to avoid Mech-Fighting-In-Space shit. I can't believe they managed to slip this in on me!

Poor Carmen. Her feud with Fasarina keeps getting put on ice.

Fantasy Booking: Ray gets taken out, but manages to damage Fasarina's mech beyond repair in the process. Which allows Carmen to go womano a womano against Miss hooker extrordinaire.

A 1/4 rise had everyone feeling a job well done for the constantly shaky security.

HIGURASHI NO NAKU KORO NI 14

It's main star was MIA this week, but Higurashi managed to quickly enlist a replacement that did a pretty killer Keiichi impersonation for the meantime. Analysts expect these meticulous efforts to pay off as Akasaka-san gets pwned in the following chapters.

Friday offered an ultra cute, no-crows-picking-her-rotting-flesh version of Rika-chan, but it wasn't enough to steady investors confidence in HIGU stock, who are becoming increasingly concerned about how long the series plans to chase it's own tail.

News of HIGU's stock drop was not well received from the villiage elders.

KASHIMASHI 12 (DELIST)

That's the ending? FUCK YOU.

9 out of 10 little kids think the ending to Kashimashi sucked.

KASHIMASHI 12 (DELIST/REAL)

Okay, let's see... after getting that frustration out the way, here's the real recap.

To summerize Kashimashi:

Tomari and Yasuna love Hazumu.

Tomari is Hazumu's best friend; they have fun and care deeply for each other, and Hazumu promised to marry her years ago.

Yasuna, she has emotional problems because she is lame.

Kashimashi wasn't a terrible stock. It pretty much delivered to the best of it's capabilities, but that ending blew. Even Ayuki couldn't save it. End of summary.

Replace the finale episode and what they're saying may not be deemed false advertising.

MUSHISHI 18

Mushishi put paint to canvas and constructed another great episode, this time about a weed smoking mountain. It was a rocky road though, as one stray artistic choice raised issues of plaguerism among corporate journalists. All was forgiven in the end however, after Mushishi incorporated a tasteful homage to Kevin Smith stylings within it's classy product.

Mushishi continues to deliver pretty scenary and a solid share price.

MUTEKI KANBAN MUSUME GOES PUBLIC

It's no debate that family violence has been portrayed in a negative light in most forms of media nowdays, but thankfully Muteki Kanban Musume looks set to remedy this when the invincible poster girl called investors to the new company on Tuesday.

With very little said about this during the spring previews and a it's premise leaving a lackadaisicle impression, analysts peg MTEKI to be the sleeper hit secrurity on the ASX for Winter with it's hyper-genki/baka characters, ricockulous comedy, and MSN crossovers.

Those worried that the lack of wacky facial contortions in NHK will bring this season's overall quality down need not fear, as Muteki Kanban Musumi has stated that this is a high priority on their agenda.

MTEKI opened at 40.00 with analysts predicting a peak price of 48.00 for the comedy stock.

OURAN HIGHSCHOOL HOST CLUB 14

OURAN faltered again this week. While the CEO's impersonation of a dog was clearly a comedy highpoint for the stockmarket in general this week, the host club failed to bring it's overall content back up to the benchmark level set by itself in it's first two financial quarterlies.

No matter what they tried, OURAN refused to perform this week, dropping 1/2 of a point.

ROZEN MAIDEN TRAUMEND 5

Business researchers are constantly impressed with just how much content Rozen Maiden manages to fit into each week. The episode was all Hinaichigo's, but everyone else got their own little moments to shine also.

Shinku revealed that her love of Kun-kun is only exceeded by her fear of cats. Suiseiseki dealt with her jealousy of Jun and Shinku (who is like a mini-me of Jun at this stage). Hinaichigo ventured out into the unknown to post a letter, while Souseiseki tried to out-bland a piece of wood.

And Kanaria is starting to grow on us—not only does she allow us access to hotter meganeko than previously allowed, her latest actions reminded us of a smaller Yotsuba (break yo self foo!).

RZNT stood high atop most of the market and doesn't show any signs of faltering.

TSUYOKISS 1 (ADJUST)

Overshooting the mark with it's pre-offer, TSUYO took a bigger hit than Bobby Brown on Whitney when it went public this Monday. Tsundere was low, animatography was drab, and oh hell naw... tell me you di'int just reuse footage from the opening credits!

Actually, the most impressive stunt Tsuyokiss pulled off in it's first day of business was the sheer number of employees it introduced to the public.

After initial analysis, even with the story not yet being set on any forward path, experts don't expect to see Tsuyokiss shaking up the harem industry like it was once predicted, save for the wildcard of a Mai HiME like reprieve.

They do however sense that investors haven't yet seen the best of what the company has to offer, and sense that there is likely some hidden gold to be mined. Early predictions for hot money is Coconut Nagomi, Kanisawa Kinu, and more Yoppi x Kiriya Erika HLA.

TSUYO cracked under the weight of it's own hype within it's first hours of business.

XXXHOLIC 11

Tuesday saw the largest amount of action yet as xxxHOLiC blew 90% of their budget on a remake that was two parts Flight Of the Mokona and one part Teenage Mutent Surfer Midgets.

Notes:

So is Himiwari out and vestal sprites in? Investors certainly hope so.

Once again, Yuuko's omega playfulness was a major factor in XHOLC's steady gains.

XHOLC's 1/2 point rise wasn't anything amazing, but investors ate it up regardless.

WELCOME TO THE NHK! 1 (ADJUST)

Tsuyokiss managed to garner the award for biggest disapointment this week, making many a grown man cry in their boots. At the other end of the spectrum was NHK ni Youkoso! which made a huge leap from it's preoffer price.

NHK proved itself to be far classier than expected, and should be a smart investment for those who enjoy quirky introspective character pieces and pudding.

Special mention must be made of the usage of music. Already it's looking like Welcome to the NHK! is shaping up to have the best soundtrack of the season by a long shot.

GONZO shocked everyone by delivering an impressive first week with NHK.

ZERO NO TSUKAIMA GOES PUBLIC

If you couldn't get enough of Shakugan no Tsukaima a couple of seasons ago, then Zero no Shana may be the perfect security for you. While the premise is completely different (or is it, really?), the character roster feels pretty similar, designs are of the same ilk, and the lead tsundere is voiced by the same actress.

Not to say that these are bad foundations for a company looking to deliver disposable entertainment on a weekly basis. But they're not exactly deal makers, either.

Analysts are indicating Miss Longueville's S&M club, Hiraga Saito's uppity slavery defiance, Louise's zero success/exploding things gimmick, and see-through teddies as early picks for things to keep an eye on when considering the future of ZEKAI stocks.

ZEKAI opened at 30.00, ruffling the hair of many who expected it rock the index.