Also, as mentioned in an earlier comment above, Winter Sonata might be something of a long, tedious ride so be careful, don’t expect all too much.

Edit: I loved Minami-ke, the first season – but the second just weirded me out with its utterly shitty design and second-rate jokes, so I dropped it. I would have given the third season a try if only Asread had just given up on it.

Letter Bee…as you mention, opinions are purely subjective. While that single particular screenshot may (or may not) have been exceptional, it has developed a personal bias against Niche’s character design, and the expressions that she makes (in selected screenshots). Quick research on wiki has been counter-productive in killing this bias. From the blog which is http://ghostlightning.wordpress.com/, episodes 3 and 4 should be ‘interesting’.

Minami-ke would so have been a must-watch if Asread hadn’t been on the job again… meh. Old story now.

Well my synopses reflect my own views on these anime, and while I try to remain as objective (or unbiased) as possible, I still go very subjective at times, especially when there’s the slightest hint of facepalm-inducing fanservice. I think I’ve been a little harsh on Railgun, but then again my logic kicks in; I keep wondering what else that anime has to offer besides riding on the current popularity of Biribiri, and then I come to the conclusion, “nothing, since there’s already some fanservice linking to a possible yuri subtext to make up for it”. I know I’m saying this at the risk of sounding hypocritical, since I do remember that scene in the beginning of Index where Index’s gown got torn to pieces, but at least the story there was fresh and interesting.

More than having found ‘essential’ anime which are really outstanding – because I think many of my picks aren’t all that revolutionary – I think that this season, I mostly went for the series that surprised me the most, like Winter Sonata and Kaidan Restaurant for instance. Guess it depends on the overall quality of the lineup, and the actual amount of series ditched into this season.
After all, it’s hard to guess the path of a certain series in the first episode, but then again, that’s exactly what this is all about – first impressions, making a pick, hopefully going through with it and not be disappointed.
(And you’re scaring me a bit about Letter Bee, guess that’s what I will be catching up first then.)

You’ve actually found heaps of “essential” anime this season! I tend to judge by the synopsis and have nothing I consider “essential” this season. That doesn’t say much because only 2 of the 9 series I followed/ing this year have been “must watches” – Minami-Ke and Bakemonogatari, the rest being disposables if time doesn’t permit. That said, I don’t mind the quiet phases at all.

Letter Bee, got put off by some questionable images involving Niche in another blog. Synopsis looks decent nonetheless.

My suspiciouns on Railgun is confirmed – blatent fanservice. At least make it creative like SHAFT and I’ll be interested.

Which leaves me with Blacksmith. Very fluffy but Luke/Lisa’s backstories should be interesting – which is why they’re holding it back. Nonetheless, I just like this guy and the fantasy RPG-like setting to keep watching this pile of mediocrity as a timewaster. “Guilty Pleasure” perhaps.

@Reltair: And apparently, Winter Sonata is due to have 26 episodes, so yeah… I wonder. lol @ Otoshimono, glad I’m not watching on.
About Yakitate!! Japan… I didn’t stop, sadly. I remember I loathed the end, that Yakitate 9 contest or something was just ridiculous, and the last showdown was so boring I almost slit both my wrists at once. Back then I let such a big rant on the fansubber’s forums (I didn’t know blogs at that time) that they ranted at me for complaining about their subs, but I was just disappointed at the anime, is all…
Actually, in retrospective, I think that it played a huge influence in my creating of a blog later on. Someday, I shall find that rant and revisit that anime… if ever.

I’m behind on Sora no Otoshimono mainly because it just became so gg with its focus on fanservice.
Winter Sonata needs to have more episodes released. I think it’s been quite some time already?
Hmm, I like Nyan Koi more than I expected when I first started viewing it.

Anyways, Yakitate!! Japan? I stopped watching that randomly 2/3rds through the series when it was airing. =/

Kinda what I’ve been figuring and reason I’ve been a bit reluctant to try it out.

Damn, you mention 3 series here that I’ve had a growing interest in: Letter Bee, Yumeiro Patissiere, and Thriller Restaurant.

I’ll likely pick up Letter Bee, sometime, not sure if it would be something better experience weekly or in batches :/ As for Patissiere, I really don’t know. If I had extra time, I’d totally be all over this in the raw; likely a passive <3 watch. Thriller Restaurant is going on the fence… hopefully I'll have time to mix it in before year-end, et al.

So as for the other stuff. Winter Sonata was a really big K-drama in Japan, not sure how I want to go about it though, so I might wait for some more reviews.

Blacksmith is on hold after episode 3, I just kinda lost interest and the production values aren't that spectacular. Just doesn't seem essential.

Railgun, well I’m on that just because the production quality is nice, and I like the characters. Still, not an essential ^^ but it fits into my lightly habitual watching atm (Fridays/Saturdays).

As things get closer to Dec, series that roll over to 2010 will likely get de-prio’d.

BTW, glad you have been outside XD