1 I'm a lot more optimistic about this season after reading Sea Slugs and THAT.  There's half a dozen shows I'm interested in now, and probably at least three that I'll follow all the way through.

2 Same thing here, every season. In fact I never have enough time to watch everything I would like.

3

I was not very optimistic about the summer anime season when the list of titles initially came out, but despite a lot of people's negative comments about it, I have been getting excited for Sword Art Online, which looks a lot more promising on second glance.  The franchise seems to have a fairly devoted following in the English speaking world, because it is one of the few light novels series where the English translations are caught up with the volumes released in Japan.  I found the novels to be very enjoyable reads, and the writer seem to have put a lot of thought into the details and background, as well as the story.  If A-1 Pictures can keep fairly well with the light novels and not get too ambitious in trying to sequeeze more the plots from the novels into 24 episodes, I would seriously consider endorsing it as the best of the year.  And maybe Aniplex can license it for US release.

C.T.

4 After skimming the preview write-ups, a question came to mind:  Are any Japanese freaking out over the whole "end of the current Mayan calendar" thing, or it is just Western nuts that are into it? 

I do not recall seeing any mention of the Mayans in any of the anime I've watched, but then I don't watch very many each year...

5

I don't think it's a very big thing over there.

That kind of stuff did show up in Keroro Gunsou now and again. The third movie begins with a trip by Fuyuki and the frogs to Macchu Picchu, for instance. (Which is Incan, not Mayan.) Partly that's because of Fuyuki's obsession with the occult. And partly it's because a lot of "ancient astronaut" visits to Earth were from Keron, and they left all kinds of artifacts behind which Keroro thinks might help with his invasion.

Movie 5 was on Easter Island. And Movie 4 included a visit to Mont Saint-Michel, which turned out to have unusual properties.

It wouldn't surprise me if somewhere in the KG canon they had gone to Central America to visit a Mayan site of some kind. Likewise it wouldn't surprise me if the Egyptian Pyramids were in the show.

6 I have never been able to hear the name "Macchu Picchu" without wincing since Dr. Heinous committed the atrocity "Macchu Pika-chu" in my hearing.  Truly a crime against humanity and Pokemon everywhere. 

Think of the children, Dr. Heinous, think of the children!!

7 My personal beef with the Mayan calendar:  No pin-ups.