Have managed to watch a few things these last few days:
Nisemonogatari (with my brother whilst he was back from Uni)
7/10
Not a bad show, and Kanbaru steals the show every time she appears, but fundamentally, I felt just wasn't as good as Bakemonogatari; the fact that a single plot arc which actually didnt feel that indepth got stretched over more than half the series didn't really help here.
That said visually its still an interesting if very 'Shaft' show, and if you enjoyed the first show it's nice to see a continuation and more of the characters, many of whom seem to have decided long hair is no longer in vogue (for shame!!).
It also seems quite unsure as to whether it actually ended on episode 11 or not! Certainly I felt the TV ending of Bakemonogatari was far stronger, even if that is influenced by me being a sap for romance subplots getting some closure etc.
As a show it also seemed to rely on mild fanservice a little bit too much, for no particular reason.
Kizumonogatari, given the subject matter, will hopefully be a little more fulfilling, as the relationship between Shinobu and Koyomi and its formation, and how Hanekawa ran into Koyomi are probably going to be of more interest to fans of the series and characters than the sisters whom are not really THAT interesting.
Redline - 8/10
Wacky races on some form of Japanese crack...that's all I can say about this one. The story and ending is a little mmmm, ok whatever, but visually it's stunning, especially for it's classic style that could almost be something out of a 60/70's comic book or graphics novel.
Definately worth a watch with a decent screen and surround sound if you get a chance. The level of bass activity this movie's soundtrack threw my subs way is almost unparallelled compared to almost anything else I've watched in recent memory, so I would perhaps avoid a late night watching with the sub turned up!
Musashi - Dream of the Last Samurai - 8/10
Not so much an anime or anime film as such, as more of a look at the life and what is known about the relatively famous Musashi, with some animated fight scenes and other scenes depicting some of what is described.
Interesting though, I've not seen many of this sort of film, and it's certainly an interesting way to try and spice up a documentary. It's not the most indepth documentary ever, but as something to watch in the evening as a bit of a change if you like history or Japanese culture, it's worth a watch
****
I've also been trying to make it through Shaft's version of Negima, but it's really not been grabbing me that well, so I'm only about 1/2 way through now even though I started before my week off started!
Oh also Moribito's £9.99 on AOL's deal of the week. Heard a lot of good things about that show so might be a worthwhile pickup for a few of us, I'm certainly thinking about it
Was lookin forward to that for my ecchi fix. 
