This may be the weakest season ever (or rather, since I started paying attention to such things.) The recession is probably a factor. Fewer anime series are being produced (though still an amazing number by American standards.) Also the studios seem less willing to take a chance on crazy new ideas, preferring to stick with tried and true formulas which are inherently less interesting but probably have a guaranteed audience.
Nevertheless there are a few shows that may be worth a look:
Likely Winners
Bakemonogatari (Ghostory). Probably the best of the lot, distinguished by the arty animation expected from Shaft. Stories of the supernatural, more amusing than scary, enlivened by extensive though mostly tasteful fan service and a sharp-tongued tsundere armed with a stapler.
Reserving Judgement
Sora no Manimani (Sky Mania). This seems like a fairly routine high school slice-of-life, but I like the relationship between the two main characters. Think of Kyon and Haruhi, but with nicer people.
Umi Monogatari (Sea Story). Cute story with two magical girls. One is a mermaid (actually she looks more like a nereid), the other is a grumpy human girl. They are forced to fight a twisted lesbian evil spirit whose plan to conquer the world involves sending nasty sea creatures that try to kiss them.
Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou (Properly Understood Modern Magic). More magical girls fighting some sort of evil power (I think). The episodes are presented out of sequence and I’m still not sure if there really is a story here. Crunchyroll is streaming this but unfortunately omits “Episode 0”, which at least serves to explain who the characters are.
Interesting, but Probably Not for Me
Taishou Yakyuu Musume (Taisho Era Baseball Girls). Nicely drawn, and probably a very inspirational story for preteen girls. Unfortunately it doesn’t have a lot to offer for anyone else. If only it were darker or funnier or more interested in historical accuracy this might be pretty good.
Still Watching
Cross Game, Kemono no Souja Erin, Mainichi Kaasan.