"The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya"

I recently bought the DVD/Blu-ray combo pack for "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya."  It's getting a bit scarce to buy, so I decided to order it before it's some outrageous price on Amazon.  Kyoto Animation really hits a home run with this feature as part of the continuing story of Haruhi that began in the two television series.  I have not read the novels that the Haruhi television series is based upon.  I can forget the ugliness of watching the "Endless Eight" episodes in the second season after watching this movie.  It's beautifully animated and has a time-twisting plot that manages to make Kyon less of a whiny character.  It's sort of like "It's a Wonderful Life" from the point of view of one of Jimmy Stewart's friends.  The setting is at Christmas time which also fits with the "It's a Wonderful Life" feeling.  In fact, now is the perfect time to watch the movie, since it's set in the 10 days or so before Christmas. 

"Yowapeda" (or Yowamushi Pedal)

This is a refreshing sports series that has you cheering for the whole cycling team at Sohoku High School, especially freshman Onoda Sakamichi (the wide eyed guy above).  Onoda begins high school hoping to join the anime club to get some friends, but ends up joining the cycling team after discovering that after all his biking to Akihibara to buy anime goods, he has a real talent for bike racing.  It's a sports shonen show (i.e., lots of racing), but the real draw is seeing Onoda bloom into a racer and making friends, especially with Imaizumi and Naruko, two other talented freshmen.  Each show has lots of laughs and makes you smile.  Everyone is super earnest and it's fun to watch.  I'm up to episode 10 and each show has been great.  Looking forward to more.