Short Synopsis: Tina learns of a rumour which might have something to do, and decides to investigate.
Good: Very interesting battles.
Bad: Could use a bit more realism.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10
I admit that Wellber no Monogatari does have its flaws. Rita and Tina have less excuses to linger around than Nadie and Ellis, so seeing the two of them get involved in random cases doesn’t work as good as with El Cazador. It’s also surprising that nobody recognizes the giant tank which accompanies the princess. This probably means that vehicles like Bergerac are common in the world this anime plays in, but so far I’ve yet to see any of them. The fixing-shop did suggest, though, that Bergerac doesn’t have unique design, otherwise it wouldn’t be so easy to fix it. And yes, “decievereting” is probably the worst case of Engrish since Gonzo’s “Garally”.
Still, despite this, I like Wellber no Monogatari. Not only does it have the best OP of the season (imo, at least), the potential for a great storyline is there as well. The current episode also fleshed Tina nicely, while Rita has had a nice share of character-development, which usually is a good sign. This episode, we get some full details of Tina’s perception of her parents being murdered twelve years ago. Something tells me it’s that Galahad-guy. After all, he’s the only blonde guy in this anime. But I think there’s still a twist to this.
Accompanied by an unconventional, but actually very catchy soundtrack, the fights also were quite interesting. I like how brains have to be used to win. I’m not too sure about the ending, though. We first see Rita and Tina, in a burning building with no way out, when suddenly the screen blacks out. In the end, they got out by making a huge bell drop on top of them, protecting themselves from the fire. Cute, but why didn’t they end up with a terrible headache, due to the huge sound-waves caused by the bell, smashing into the ground? You’d also wonder why they were able to not suffocate inside of that.]]>
Author: psgels
El Cazador de la Bruja – 03
Short Synopsis: It starts raining, so Ellis and Nadie take refuge in a house whose owner died long ago.
Good: Great combination of comedy, characters, mystery and thought-provoking elements.
Bad: Will Rozenberg be doing other things than just sitting on his chair?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I just realized that I’m blogging quite a few series who feature a strong female lead, who travels along with one companion. It’s interesting to see that each season does have its distinctive features. It’ll also be interesting to see which of these series will turn out the best, as they’re all very good so far. El Cazador has its mystery, Wellber no Monogatari has its setting, Seirei no Moribito has its attention to detail and Claymore has its tragedy.
And really, ever since Eruhe (spelling?) emerged from the back of the car, I started to really like him. His obsession with Ellis just isn’t healthy, but he’s on one side very funny, and he has to have some kind of reason to be so obsessed over her. Ellis and Nadie are the same, in a way. Ellis herself has quite a few sides, a clueless girl, a murderous one and a compassionate, for example. Nadie, meanwhile, acts cheerful and level-headed most of the time, but she is actually hiding some kind of sad past. I love how balanced these first three episodes have been so far.
El Cazador also comes with a nice amount of symbolism, which doesn’t feel out of place at all. The main theme also is quite interesting: how people live their life after killing someone, and the aftermaths of the death of a person. I also love the addition of random cases of random people Ellis and Nadie run into. For some anime, it may not be a good idea, but it’s perfect for El Cazador. Again, a very good balance is kept between the story of the person who gets featured in the episode and the main storyline, unlike stories as Mushishi and Jigoku Shoujo, where Ai and Ginko take a step back in favour of the other characters. I’m glad I decided to blog this, as this episode gave me lots of inspiration and topics to write about. Now let’s hope that this series doesn’t go down, somewhere in the middle.]]>
Bokura no – 02
Short Synopsis: The second episode centres around Takashi Wako, as he gets to be the first to play the game.
Good: Gosh…. that ending.
Bad: Still no real bad points.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I never understood what people have against slow mechas. Okay, they’re less testosterone-inducing, but slow mechas are far more realistic than these fast ones. I mean, where do they get the energy to swing a sword of roughly 3000 kilogram along with the speed of 400 km/second?
Anyway, before I start with the episode, I think it’s best to make a small list of the characters, as I just know I’ll forget their names if I don’t, especially with such a huge cast.
Takashi Waku, he’s probably the most stereotypical character of the cast, but even he easily defied the clichés in the second episode. He’s impulsive, likes to say what he thinks, and he’s really good with football. He used to be in a top-team, though I think his father made him quit.
Masaru Kodaka will probably cause a lot of conflict in the future, as he likes to get into arguments with others. I believe he was the one who tried to burn the crab in the previous episode.
Kunihiko Moji is about the opposite, and he likes to be on the good side of everyone. He’s also one of the more mature members of the cast.
Isao Kako is playful like Wako, but less innocent. Wako never really insults others, though Kako doesn’t really care whether he does or not.
Daiichi Yamura is probably the most level-headed of the cast, I like him.
Kanji Yoshikawa is sortof like a combination of Waku and Yamura. He’s carefree, though slightly mature at the same time.
Jun Ushiro is your typical elitist, he regards himself above the others, and doesn’t talk much, and when he does, it’s without a lot of respect.
Yosuki Kirie is an interesting character. He’s overweight and incredibly shy. Especially Kako likes to yell at him a lot.
Now for the girls:
Mako Nakarai hasn’t had a lot of screentime, and my memory is a bit fuzzy about her. More about her later.
Aiko Tokosumi, the one with the blonde hair and the hat is one of the more talkative females. Probably one of the more normal ones as well, I like her somehow.
Chizuru Honda seems a bit like a shy girl; with her my memory is fuzzy as well. The second episode was more about the boys than the girls.
Takami Komoda has the most objections out of everyone. Judging from the OP, she has a really high status at school, and likes to play piano. I think she’s trying to keep her reputation the way it is.
Maki Ano is the more care-free of the girls. She’s playful, but unlike Wako, she doesn’t try to force others, and unlike Kako, she never really insults others as well.
Yoko Machi also didn’t really get much airtime in the second episode, but from what I remember, she’s also more level-headed, but she doesn’t like to be proven wrong.
Kana Ushiro has been involved with this totally against her will. She’s the little girl, and she was just transported along with everyone else. It also seems that she’s Jun’s sister.
Kokopeli was the reason the kids got involved with everything in the first place. I wonder if we’ll see him again, now that he disappeared.
Koemushi (spelling?) took over Kokopeli’s role in guiding the children. He’s, to put it bluntly, completely arrogant.
Chiasu is the mecha that’s been hiding in the sea, and that will be piloted by our characters.
About the episode, like I mentioned above, it’s all centred on Waku. The episode itself was quite good, but I really liked the ending, in which Ushiro just pushes Waku off of the top of Chiasu, through the use of a simple joke. I can’t believe the first character has already died. At least, I assume he did, as so far, he seemed to be the main character of this story. I also can’t believe he just slapped his sister afterwards. I believe that that’s just a preview of things to come.]]>
Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette – 15
Short Synopsis: A Jean-episode. Will he really be able to give Cosette happiness with Javert after his head?
Good: The second half was as touching as usual.
Bad: The first half was rather quiet.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10
This episode was really meant to develop Jean some more. While Javert is searching all the roads leading to Paris, he and Cosette have taken a detour to a small city with a huge church, from which he plan to go to Paris. And this is the point where he starts to have his doubts. He’s got the police after him, so he’ll have to continue to hide for a long while. That’s not exactly the safest assurance of Cosette’s happiness, now is it? The first part of the episode mainly builds up for this.
Then the second, and far more enjoyable half comes, and shows that Jean may be worrying a bit too much, as he loses sight of Cosette when he desperately tries to find a guy from Montreil-sur-Mer, who can take care of her. That results in some very touching scenes, by the way. Cosette was so sad (I loved how she took off her shoes after so much walking). The policeman was also quite interesting, right before he reveal why he’s been following Cosette, I realized it as well. He never realized Jean was a fugitive, so Jean’s worries weren’t necessary. But then again, the possibility of the policeman recognizing him also exists. I’ll be looking forward to seeing how he’s going to solve this.]]>
Some quick first impressions: Kaze no Stigma, Ookiku Furikabutte and Kaibutsu Oujo
Kaze no Stigma
Short Synopsis: Kazuma has been kicked out of the fire-clan because he sucked at throwing fireballs at people. Now, three years later, he’s back with wind-powers to prove the meanies from the fire-clan wrong.
Good: Interesting, this anime already starts off by killing its major characters
Bad: Someone please teach the writer the basics of human nature.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 4/10
Ever since I saw the plain and ordinary character-art, I sortof feared that this anime would never become good, and this episode indeed proved my fears. The bad points also don’t limit themselves to the bad character-designs, either. Most notably is the hugely unbelievable behavior of the characters. The girl’s comrades have just been killed by the main male lead, and what does the girl do? She acts as if he just insulted her. She never even looks back at her former friends who just died, and instead she shows the behaviour of a standard tsundere. Sorry, but with a start like that, I don’t feel like checking out more of this series… Oh, and grown-up guys throwing fireballs at each other definitely isn’t cool. Heck, the entire episode made it look like there was not thought whatsoever put behind the concept.
Ookiku Furikabutte
Short Synopsis: A not-so-typical loser gets assigned as the pitcher of a local baseball team.
Good: Surprisingly down-to-earth.
Bad: The main character does remain a looser, and I’m fearing for the girl we kept seeing flashes of.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10
Like Kaze no Stigma, I never had big expectations of this, especially after the horribly boring Overdrive. But what do you know, this sports anime actually turned out interesting. First of all, we finally have a loser who doesn’t suddenly get introduced to Baseball, so that he can become the best baseball player ever. This episode also hinted at tactics, rather than raw power like most sports anime tend to dabble into (or so I’ve heard). We’ve also got quite an interesting cast, like the orange-squishing trainer, the very shy main character (probably one of the shyest characters I’ve seen thus far), and the other new guy. Even the girl who watched from the side-lines was quite funny, though I fear her becoming a main character.
Kaibutsu Oujo
Short Synopsis: A typical loser gets to live together with a bunch of supernatural beings, who quite conveniently all end up being cute girls.
Good: Thankfully, the ALI project didn’t turn this into a complete failure after all.
Bad: So…many….stereotypes…
Overall Enjoyment Value: 3/10
I couldn’t help but compare this series to Murder Princess, both feature a blonde princess who likes to kill others. I do have to say, though, that Murder Princess is infinitely better than the rubbish that this series tried to present. First of all, ignoring the clichés for a moment, the main character’s sister has invited her brother to come live with her. Why the heck doesn’t se get worried when he doesn’t show up? Why doesn’t she call the guy’s cell-phone to ask what happened to him. Sure, okay, she’s just a completely stupid and irresponsible girl, okay. I can forgive that. What I can’t forgive, though, is the hospital-people who don’t even notify the guy’s family-members after he died, for goodness’ sake! Now, if you add the clichés to that (big-breasted sister in maid-clothes, cold princess, small uberpowerful girl who keeps beating up the main character, a typical loser male who has been pasted right from another random harem-anime, the metal bar who chose just the right timing to fall down on the princess, and of course the fact that this princess just can’t let the guy die and I can ramble on forever like this) the result becomes nothing other than garbage.]]>
Deltora Quest – 08
Short Synopsis: Thaegan’s thirteen children come to take revenge for their mother; afterwards, Lief, Barda and Jasmine run into Tom’s shop.
Good: What the heck were the shopkeeper’s intentions?
Bad: Lief and Barda may have been a bit too gullible, but still: what the heck were the shopkeeper’s intentions?!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I was secretly hoping for Shining Tears X Wind to be a bit like Deltora Quest, but unfortunately it decided to prefer fanservice and unexplained events above cleverly thought-out stories. I guess that Deltora Quest wll remain my main fantasy-adventure-fix for this season. It’s such a pity that I’m probably the only blogger who’s still watching this, as the series is quite good, and not at all like an all-fighting shounen anime.
Lots of things also happen in this episode. The scene of Thaegan’s children, beating each other up was quite intense, and good as well. For the first few episodes in this, I had my doubts, but this series has proved to feature some great climaxes. The second part of the episode also first seemed to be another trap Lief and Barda just walked in unsuspectingly, but I just can’t help but wondering what those intentions of the shopkeeper were. At first sight, he’s out to make a quick buck, but he does provide a couple of useful supplies, including horse-like creatures. And he does warn them of dangerous roads. But then again, he probably knew they wouldn’t listen to his advice. But on the other side, a serious-looking guy did buy the strange-looking rope without ever questioning him. Hrmm….
It’s also quite interesting that Thaegan’s children still don’t know that their mother has been brought back to life. I also wonder if they’re really dead now. I suspect not, due to one of the general rules of anime (which says, unless you actually see a character die, and it’s confirmed he’s really dead, he lives). Oh, and I’m glad to see that the music still is as awesome as ever]]>
Towards the Terra – 02
Short Synopsis: Myu are those, gifted with special powers. They’re shunned by society, and Jomi happens to be one of them.
Good: Despite his brattiness, I like Jomi.
Bad: He does have annoying points, though.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10
For Saturdays, I also planned to blog Shining Tears X Wind, but the second episode just lapsed painfully into clichés and fanservice. I’m not sure if another show is going to take its place, I’ll decide after watching the third episode of the shows with potential. Towards the Terra, on the other hand, is proving to be quite interesting. This was another one of those episodes which served as explaining the current situation.
So, with the help of Wrex’s summaries (he doesn’t seem to like the show that much, though), I managed to find out the following. The Myu are a special kind of human being. I’m not yet sure if it just appears on random humans, but the fact remains that Jomi is one of them. His parents looked like perfectly normal people, so I guess this is true. In the current society, the Myu are shunned. Probably out of fear for their powers, and they hide in a large space-ship in the clouds. If I had to guess, then they’re planning to return to earth.
The powers of the Myu are quite diverse. Most involve telepathy, though. Leo, for example, can’t talk, and has to use his thoughts to speak to others. Blue can travel through machines and virtual reality at will (or so it seems), and I suspect that Jomi has a power that will greatly work in the advantage of the Myu, we just haven’t seen it yet. The Myu also have really weak bodies, as a fight between Jomi and one of them showed. The guy was out-cold after just one punch.
Speaking of Jomi, he spends the entire episode rather causing havoc and yelling at every Myu he meets. While it was annoying, I do admit that it’s better than him agreeing with their plans immediately, after having been taken against his will, with his whole future he had in mind ruined. It’s probably a very natural reaction for him. I did like how Blue attempted to solve the problem of Jomi’s behaviour, as it’ll be very interesting to see Jomi see his parents again. After all, he’s probably got no future whatsoever, and I think that everyone in his former surroundings now knows that the guy is one of the Myu.]]>
Kaze no Shoujo Emily – 02
Short Synopsis: Ah, it seems that Emily will be living together with both Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle (?).
Good: Clashing personalities for the win.
Bad: The music seemed to be a bit too dramatic at times
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10
Now that I started comparing Seirei no Moribito with Wellber no Monogatari anyway, I also began to notice that Kaze no Shoujo bears some similarities to Les Miserables. Both feature a young girl, losing her parents, they’re both taken in with people whose personality clash hugely, and they’re both HUGELY underrated. Seriously, I can’t believe how little attention this anime is getting. It’s quite good.
I’m not sure though whether Emily can ever equal the brilliance of Les Miserables, bit it’ll be interesting to find out. In any case, Kaze no Shoujo is lighter in terms of storyline than Les Miserables. Still, that doesn’t mean that there were some dark parts in this storyline. I especially loved when Emily and Elisabeth had a conflict with one another, like when Elisabeth planned to cut Emily’s hair, or when she locked her in the room with all the scary paintings. She’s also not a totally evil bitch like Thenardier either, her personality and views just clash hugely with those of Emily.
So far, we’ve yet to see a lot of the cases of the other characters. Perry was present in this episode, though nothing was revealed about his background, other than that he’s often involved in dirty work. The end of the episode also introduced the third character, and so far, I love her. I’m looking forward to the cases of these different characters a lot, as according to Wikipedia, they seemed very interesting. :)]]>
Seirei no Moribito – 02
Short Synopsis: Barsa asks her friends to get her some supplies, while the king sends a number of assasins after her and Chaggumu.
Good: Yet again, this episode shows how much thought has been put in this anime.
Bad: Incredibly long dialogue by the king and his servant x.x
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I just realized something. Seirei no Moribito is very similar to Sisters of Wellber. Both feature a normal person who takes care of someone of royalty. Seirei no Moribito definitely is the more realistic of the two, though Wellber no Monogatari is allowed to take more risks because of its light-hearted nature. It’ll be interesting to see which of the two ends up better. So far? Seirei no Moribito. This’ll be one of the shows I’ll be blogging for Saturday (Saturday is going to be busy!). Ooedo Rocket, meanwhile, remains hilarious, but I don’t see what’ll be worth blogging it. Kamichama Karin is cute, but it lacks the degree of mystery that mahou shoujo as Otogi Juushi Akazukin and Futago Hime did have. Koutetsu Sangokushi’s second episode was worse than its first, and I’ll be dropping Touka Gettan. Not that it’s bad, or anything, but I’ll watch it when my schedule isn’t as busy as it is now. Same with Hitohira.
Anyway, I liked this episode of Seirei no Moribito a lot. The only thing is that the dialogue between the king and his servant was really hard to follow. If I had to guess, then the king knows that a water spirit has laid an egg inside of his son’s body, which seems to be very bad for his reputation. Because of that, he sends some of his men after him. Barsa, meanwhile, spends the episode hiding, while her friends get some necessary supplies for her. Wellber no Monogatari skipped this, and went straight on with showing how Rita acted now that she doesn’t live in the castle anymore.
Chaggumu was much more silent than Rita was. While Rita chose her path herself, he probably has no choice whatsoever, and is being attacked all against his will. Because of that, he tries to be as independent as possible. It’s interesting to see, considering he’s a child (also notice that he’s carrying the majority of the supplies when they leave the city?). Next episode will start quite interesting as well, as we’ll see Barsa fight again. Another department where lots of thoughts went into, as we see Barsa actually take care of her weapon. I’ll be looking forward to it.]]>
Death Note – 26
Short Synopsis: Now that L is gone, the second half of Death Note starts. But first: recap!
Good: Hmm…I guess the punishment-scene.
Bad: Obviously, the recap-part.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10
Ah, of course. The recap-episode. Thankfully the final part of the episode did show plot progression, the majority of the episode was just boring. I also noticed an inconsistency with the fansubbers, who suddenly shortened the fifty days that Light spent in confinement to a much more bearable fifteen. If you still haven’t seen this episode: skip to the second part, as there’s nothing new in the first one.
The second part of the episode closes L’s story, while it lightly introduces the second half of Death Note, considered by manga-fans as much weaker than we’ve seen up till now. If I had to guess, then the grown-up Light will have no personality at all, making him boring. And yes, I do hope that the five years that have been skipped did develop Light more than just making him more insane.
The next two “antagonists” also are introduced in this episode. Eleven episodes remain after this, which means that they’ll have less opportunity for fleshing out than in L’s case. They look interesting, though their voices are annoying, from what I’ve heard. I also have no idea why it took this long for them to get alerted about L’s death, and why Light never noticed that timer.
I’m also disappointed in one thing: that for five years, nobody ever got the idea of going after Kira. Someone who watched the tv-programs regarding Kira could easily have obtained quite a few clues about what went on. I mean, I was surprised that nobody tried to send him messages after this and to try and manipulate him. It’s also a wonder of heaven that Misa never once screwed up in all these five years. I dislike how the new antagonists just have to be L’s acquaintances. But we’ll see if these new guys can actually become interesting.]]>