Seraphim Call Review – 78/100

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Image Hosted by ImageShack.usImage Hosted by ImageShack.us After Sentimental Journey and Human Crossing, the only natural next step would be Seraphim Call. This one tells the story of eleven girls between ages 12 to 25. I expected it to be similar to Sentimental Journey, but surprisingly, the romance-element is no central theme in this anime, you can only see it in two or three cases. Each of these girls has her own unique story to tell, some of them have worries, some of them have a rather strange quirk, some try to fool themselves, and some are just telling about something that happened to them. But can Seraphim Call call itself equal or perhaps even above Sentimental Journey and Human Crossing? Well, for one, it was definitely enjoyable, but it had its bad points. While Human Crossing was consistently good, Seraphim Call had a few cases which weren’t as good as the others. The first two episodes also were goofy, while the following episodes were serious. I had trouble getting used to that. The music also lacked a bit. Sentimental Journey featured a great soundtrack which just screamed “eighties”, and Human Crossing’s OST wasn’t bad either. But I just didn’t really notice the soundtrack for Seraphim Call. The only interesting thing to point out is that every episode has a different ED, but for some strange reason I caught myself with the highly addictive ED from Sentimental Journey stuck in my head after watching this. The way this anime ended was also a nice idea, bringing all eleven girls together, but there is only so much you can do in a single episode. The final bad point is that about 50% of the character-designs just don’t look right. The hair is way too unnatural, not to mention that nearly every colour of the rainbow is represented in our eleven girls. Still, you have to hand it to Seraphim Call, in terms of creativity, it really managed to beat Sentimental Journey and Human Crossing easily. There are some episodes which showcase some brilliant ideas. One of the best ones is showed entirely through the eyes of a stuffed animal, ingeniously named “Margarine von Half-Calorie”. Another one showcases a girl, and nothing but this girl. We never get to see or even hear the people around her. Another brilliant piece was episode 7, which starts playing with time and paradoxes. Episode five and six are incredibly subtle. They nearly show the exact-same footage, just with a few scenes swapped, and some few subtle differences added. And episodes 1 and 8 are just plain weird. Nearly every case also seems to have a deeper message behind it. The stories are told, and while it’s told, it’s trying to give the viewer some sort of idea or message, which works quite well. There’s also a good deal of symbolism used at times. I’m also glad to see that this anime actually succeeds where Human Crossing failed, in terms of episode endings. Human Crossing just had to end its stories on a good note, while Seraphim Call just tried to make the endings as natural as possible. Heck, one episode doesn’t even have a conclusion, while other episodes are only halfly-solved. Still, this prevents the endings from being rushed, forced or incomplete, and they work really well, in my opinion. Overall, it may have bad points, but if you liked Sentimental Journey and Human Crossing, you’ll definitely like Seraphim Call. Also, if you liked Seraphim Call and Sentimental Journey, you’ll probably like Human Crossing as well, and of course if you liked Human Crossing and Seraphim Call, you’ll like Sentimental Journey as well. Ah well, they were some great series. Next up are some more “normal” series. (Note, don’t pay too much attention to the rating. I’m currently trying to find a good rating-system, as I caught myself handing out way too many ratings between 80/100 and 90/100. This anime was just as good, if not better than Sentimental Journey.)]]>

Animeblogger.net Anime Awards

Bjorn’s Anime Blog Yesterday, I took part in the jury of the Animeblogger.net awards. It was quite fun, basically we made our own choices for the categories of the animereactor-awards. It was great to see that we were with a nice selection of people with varying tastes, so there wasn’t an overly huge emphasis on the popular series. Best Overall: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Best Story: Noein – Mou Hitori no Kimi e Best Character Development: Eureka 7 Best Animation / Visual Effects: Pale Cocoon Best Soundtrack: Mai Otome Best Opening / Ending: Shakugan no Shana Best Action: The Third Best Adventure / Fantasy: Mushishi Best Drama: Honey and Clover 2 Best Romance / Love Story: Bokura ga Ita Best Comedy: Ouran Koukou Host Club Best Fanservice / Ecchi: Joshikousei Best Sci-Fi / Mecha: Eureka 7 Best Thriller / Mystery / Horror Anime: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Best Quick Watch Anime: REC Best Male Character: Atori (Noein – Mou Hitori no Kimi e) Best Female Character: Honoka (The Third) Best Villian: Sonozaki Shion (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) Best Newcomer: Kanon (2006)]]>

Sci-Fi Harry Review – 80/100

Image Uploaded by ImageShack Toolbar Image Uploaded by ImageShack ToolbarImage Uploaded by ImageShack Toolbar Don’t let the title fool you. It may be cheesy, but there’s a good reason for the show to be named like this. Sci-fi Harry is a mystery-drama, focusing at a psychic named Harry. He’s an incredible social outcast, unable to talk even normally in front of people, who discovers that he’s got huge psychic powers. Through pressure of one of his few friends, he ends up in his own tv-show, called “Sci-Fi Harry” because people are so enthusiastic about him. The thing is, however, that he doesn’t know how to control his powers, which causes quite an incident. Ever since then, different people try to obtain his powers. First, let me say that this anime features some great moments. It isn’t afraid to show some disturbing scenes (like people with their necks all twisted around), and Harry works as a great main character, due to his constant worries and inabilities. To add to this, Sci-Fi Harry comes with a multi-layered plot, where nearly every episode reveals a bit about a huge complot which is going on. Lots of storylines happen at the same time, ranging from decent to excellent. A huge theme in the anime is betrayal. Nearly everyone who runs into Harry tries to manipulate him. Because he’s such a weak character, this actually succeeds most of the times. In addition to that, the other members of the rich side-cast also all have one or more instances where they betray, and are betrayed themselves. Especially Mother and Chinori turned into awesome characters because of this. I liked the fact how this anime follows so many different storylines, but there lies also the problem. Managing all these different storylines which split up and get combined frequently is extremely difficult, and in the end, the creators of Sci-Fi Harry didn’t manage to do this perfectly. Because of this, some of the storylines are more interesting than others, and it’s annoying to see the more interesting ones get interrupted by the less interesting ones. John, an interesting main character in the beginning also gets condemned to the role of a mere unimportant side-character after the first half of the anime, which was a pity, actually. The fact also remains that this anime took a bit more on its plate than it could take. Especially the final two or three episodes lose a bit of steam when compared to their predecessors, and yet they continue to introduce more plot-elements which could have been easily omitted. Because of this, the ending left a bit too many questions unanswered, and some answers that were given weren’t really satisfying. The identity of “Accuser” just didn’t fit right, and we never know who keeps sending the text-messages through the computer. The final episode itself also was a bit disappointing. Not because it was rushed, but it lacked a decent aftermath. Something very interesting happens at the end of the episode, and I would so have loved to see how people reacted to this, but instead the anime ends and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Still, despite this, I really enjoyed this anime. If you like dark mystery-stories, then this is definitely an anime that you should check out. Just be aware that Harry’s art style may be a bit annoying at times, but I think that that was what the creators had in mind. He really looks like a worthless person. And Chinori looked too scary at times.]]>

Tempou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi – 01-15

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Image Hosted by ImageShack.usImage Hosted by ImageShack.us Okay, I just finished Lunar’s wave of new Ayakashi Ayashi, and I know I’m not blogging it, but I just had to say something about this series. While I originally thought that this would be just another shounen-fighting series, it has pleasantly surprised me on so many levels. First of all, its characters. It comes with a wide variety of characters, some of them had some kind of problem, worry, which has something to do with their history and the way they grew up. The great thing is that these problems and worries really are different from what you usually see in anime. Never have I seen an anime which put so many emphasis on longing for another place, or different faces of yourself. Not only that, but Ayakashi Ayashi combines this with some very complex storytelling. It’s based on arcs of two or three episodes, but somehow these small arcs end in great multi-layered conclusions. Another thing which makes this anime stand out is its huge roots in Japanese history. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto may have a lot of historical references, that series is nothing compared to Ayakashi Ayashi. While Bakumatsu looks at history from a higher-up’s perspective, Ayakashi takes this a step further when it shows the story from the perspective of people with a low to medium status, and it does this with great detail. For example, I’ve seen my share of anime which involved a brothel, but never did I see it this detailed as in Ayakashi Ayashi. It’s too bad, though. This is an excellent series, it’s got great storytelling, but the fact remains that it’s hard to understand. Because of this, it’ll never be really popular. And still this series has been scheduled to air at the prime-time date of anime, the former place of popular series as Blood+, Gundam Seed Destiny and even Full Metal Alchemist. The result: it got cut down from 52 episodes to 26. -_- I’m actually wondering how this will take out. There’s no doubt that there will be rushed parts, but it’ll be interesting to see if the creators actually managed to pull this off right. The results are noticeable even now, though. The past five episodes have had a sudden increase in comedy, and Saizou often turns into chibi-mode when she’s astounded. Often by Atl’s new found relationship. So far, especially the comedic note has done the series good, the creators actually knew when to use it, and when to keep serious.]]>

Flag Review – 90/100

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Image Hosted by ImageShack.usImage Hosted by ImageShack.us Okay, so I just finished watching the second season of FLAG (thanks to w for pointing out that it already was released). I have to say that it looked much more like an anime, with multiple climaxes, a small break, and a bit more focus at the different characters, but still retaining its original style and narrative. Even though I missed a few points here and there, I have to say that the second season was even better than the first. Mostly due to a few very strong episodes, a great climax and a charming aftermath. For those who haven’t seen its first season, not only is FLAG a unique anime who knows no equal, it also is probably one of the most realistic mecha and war-based anime out there. It’s a war-based documentary-anime, featuring a civil war in a fictional country, somewhere in Asia. Its main character, Shirasu is a photographer, who managed to take a picture of a flag, which became the symbol of peace for the country. Peace is finally about to be formed when this flag gets stolen by rebels. Shirasu has now been asked to report and record the mission of a military team, which has been assigned to retrieve the flag. Among others, this anime sets itself apart from all other anime through its narrative style. The entire anime is seen through camera lenses. It’s basically one huge collection of movies and pictures. Heck, we hardly ever see Shirasu, because she’s behind the camera. The camera-movements are extremely realistic. You can really see that the Shirasu’s camera is controlled by a human, instead of a machine. But that’s not the only thing that’s realistic in this anime. We get treated to a nice dose of politics and we get to see a number of investigational reporters doing their job. Also, the military has possession of a few mechas, which finally make an attempt to deviate from the stereotype that each mecha can just be piloted by a bunch of kids. Especially the first season of Flag shows that you need an entire team behind these mechas to make them do their job properly. The animation also is gorgeous, like mentioned before. The only small remark I have is that the creators didn’t synchronize mouth-movement with the voice-acting, but this is a minor detail. The character design also has been done in a style which bothers to differentiate from the usual, giving some very interesting effects, and the background art is just absolutely beautiful. It’s needless to say that the pictures we see flashing on the screen were very interesting to see. In terms of the musical department, this anime also delivers. Most of the anime doesn’t have a background sound, but when it does (mostly during the climax), it comes with a near-perfect soundtrack for an anime like this. If you managed to sit through the first season, then I definitely recommend you to check out the second season once it gets subbed. I’m hoping for this to happen soon, as this anime definitely deserves some attentions because of all the new things it tried out. Still, one of the few downfalls in this anime is that at times, it spends a bit too much time preparing and building up. Especially the first three episode are just one big introduction.]]>

Human Crossing Review – 86/100

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Image Hosted by ImageShack.usImage Hosted by ImageShack.us Human Crossing tells the tale of thirteen different people. Each episode is dedicated to one of them. All these persons are unrelated, but they all have some kind of worry, or something that occupies their thoughts. Human Crossing features these people, it explores them as they encounter events that make them see the light. We’ve got another highly unpopular series here. So far, only 18 people have voted for it on AnimeNewsNetwork, and AniDB has similar numbers. Does it really deserve this much negligence? Well, people who’ve been reading my blog probably know my opinion about shows like these by now. ^^; The thing I really liked about Human Crossing is that nearly every episode features a heart-warming tale. This is one of the very few anime which features actual adults as its main characters (okay, 12 adults and one high-school kid), and it makes perfect use of this by portraying some of the worries that adults get through. This can go from as simple as forcing your own memories down to your 4-year-old son and being heavily abused by your husband to an old man who teaches younger people a lesson so that they don’t end up like he did. Some of the stories are very different from each other, but nearly all of them were full of atmosphere, and I couldn’t help but feeling along with its characters. It indeed was a good choice to watch this one after trying out Sentimental Journey, as these two anime are very similar. It´s just that instead of high/school girls, Human Crossing uses all kinds of normal people, mostly adults. Instead of past crushes, the main characters are or were already married. Still, I have to say that overall, Human Crossing definitely was better than Sentimental Journey. Apart from a few cases, Sentimental journey never really made me feel the emotions of its characters as much as Human Crossing did. I definitely recommend this anime if you’re into stories, but there’s one point in which Human Crossing messes up at times: the point at which a character sees “the light”. In about 50% of the cases, these work very well, but in the other 50%, the change is a bit too forced. It’s a pity, as the episodes build up perfectly, with many interesting cases. But yeah, there’s only so much that you can do in only 20 minutes. The background music also perfectly fits the atmosphere in this series, but you may have to get used a bit to the character-design. It’s obviously not something this anime focuses on, but it may lose viewers because the character-designs look a bit “standard”.]]>

Spring Season Preview

+ Not Really Looking Forward To + Nagasarete Airantou “Touhouin Ikuto runs away from home at the age of 14 and jumps onboard a ship. He falls off into the ocean and drifts for 5 days until he is swept up in a storm. He wakes up on Airantou, an isolated island inhabited, coincidentally, by girls roughly his age who have never seen a boy before. After being thwarted in his attempt to escape by the fierce whirlpools that surround the island, he decides to accept his fate and remain. One boy to an island of girls? Let the fighting — err, I mean fun, begin!” – Unless the characters decide to REALLY make fun of themselves, then I think that this is going to be the worst show of the season. -_- Keitai Shoujo This appears to be an OVA. The exact synopsis hasn’t been translated yet, but it seems to be based on one of those cell-phone games in which you have a virtual girlfriend, whom you have to buy gifts with real money, in order to keep her pleased. Um… yeah. Exciting. *cough* Hayate The Combat Butler “With a debt of 1.5 million, 16-year old Hayate Ayasaki’s parents sell him to the yakuza to pay it off. Not wanting to be cut up and sold on the black market, Hayate escapes from the yakuza thugs, and finds a very rich girl by the name of Nagi wandering in a park at night. Deciding to kidnap the girl for ransom money, Hayate’s kidnapping speech was wrongly taken as a confession of love to Nagi. She finds out about the debt, and, feeling sorry for Hayate, pays it off, as long as Hayate will be her butler until he pays off the 1.5 million (which will take about 40 years).” – My initial verdict still stands, and the concept remains crappy. Just another one of these popular moe-shows. Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo “This is a heartful school adventure at a high school on the isolated island. They are enjoying their life there, sometimes reacting against each other. – (taken from Himeyashop) – Heartful it may be, but it’s also a harem and hentai-game adaptation. Yawn. Idol Master Xenoglossia You can count on Sunrise to transform a game in which you have to manage your own idol into a mecha-anime. While that is a definite improvement, the trailer makes me suspect that we’re dealing with another one of those unrealistic moe-shows, in which teenage girls are the only ones who can pilot the mechas without a good reason. Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica “The story’s about Folon, who’s studying to be a “spirit contractor” of some sort in a famous school. He meets two new students, the twins Prinesca and Perseti, who are eager to become just like him. Folon, however, is pretty much your average “wimpy good-for-nothing” protagonist. That’s until one night, while the twins accidentally meet Folon who was practicing his arts by himself, he was able to summon a powerful entity who almost killed them and destroyed a good part of the school’s insides. Good thing though, that Folon was able to calm the entity down with the use of his “commedia” (it’s a tad like F/sn’s Mana). It’s then revealed Folon already summoned the entity long ago, and his practice that night reawakened it. The spirit’s name was Cortikarte, and when Folon was still a kid, she made a “contract” with him allowing her to feed off Folon’s “commedia” while providing assistance to him in any way. Though, it has been a long time since Folon properly gave her any, so she was summoned now… in a red-haired loli’s body. The school didn’t punish Folon for destroying a part of the school, as the spirit that he summoned was quite a high level one, and was eventually given a chance to graduate. Some time later, Prinesca and Perseti were accepted into the school. All the freshmen were supposed to have a sempai to guide them, and the one that they chose was poor Folon. Not to mention that Cortikarte was now living with him , and also has begun to treat Folon like a slave… which is a total reverse of what was normal (Spirits are supposed to obey the wishes of their Masters, not the other way around). Thus starts Folon’s life with his new kouhai, his Contract Spirit and the numerous other people around him in the academy.” – summary by meganeshounen – Well, it’s obvious that I’m not really interested in this anime about a girl with an almost unnaturally large amount of hair, who gets to treat our main character like a slave (*wink wink, nudge nudge*). How many times have we seen that again? Kotetsushin Jeeg “The story of Kotetsushin Jeeg takes place fifty years after the original and features a new cast of characters—primarily the new main character Kenji Kusanagi (voiced by Daisuke Ono), a high school student who becomes Kotetsushin Jeeg to fight the sudden reappearance of “Haniwa Genjin” (“Phantom Gods,” or clay robots) from the Yamatai Kingdom ruled by Queen Himika. Other characters include Tsubaki Tamashiro (voiced by Kana Ueda) and Kyo Misumi (voiced by Susumu Chiba). New versions of the Build Base (commanded by Senjiro Shiba, whose relation to Steel Jeeg’s “Machine Father” is unknown) and Big Shooter will also appear.” – Taken from Wikipedia – Another remake of an ancient mecha-series, like Reideen and Giant Robo. I’m not really enthusiastic about it though. Mostly because of the main character. He just looks way too much like your standards shounen-hero. -_- Lucky Star “The story portrays the lives of several school girls attending a Japanese high school with a very loose humour tone. The serialization began with the four main characters in the first year of high school. As the years progress, they move onto their second and third year. Konata, nicknamed “Kona-chan” by her friends, gets bored easily when something doesn’t interest her. She can be smart, but she hates studying so her grades are a bit uneasy. However, she is an expert in pulling an “all-nighter”. In contrast to her studying habits, she loves video games to the extent that she can compete against Kagami on knowledge of games. In addition to video games, she loves anime which is also due to her father’s influence along with the games. Her father also buys ero-games for himself, so she is able to play and enjoy them as well. In fact, When she became 18, Konata was overjoyed since she could now go buy and play ero-games legally. Tsukasa is the younger fraternal twin sister of Kagami and lives in a six-member family household with her parents. She is in the same class as Konata though isn’t good at studying or at sports, but excels in cooking. Kagami is the older fraternal twin sister of Tsukasa. In school, her grades are excellent as studies very hard. She was even the class president of her class in her first year. She is in a different class than Konata and Tsukasa, but she frequently comes to their class during lunch time to eat with them. Additionally, Kagami chose the humanities course in her second year so that she could be with her friends, but she was the only one separated into a different classroom; the same occurred in her third year. Kagami, seldomly referred to as “Kagamin”, is a bit egotistic, but is somewhat weak in cooking.” – Taken from Wikipedia – Strange to see that there isn’t a website of this series, despite it’s being produced by Kyoto-animation. I guess web-design isn’t their strongest point. Ah well, this time, they seem to be doing a slice-of-life series. Ah, it could be interesting, it could be boring. sola Oh, great. A harem. Just when I thought they were gone, one comes, sneaks up and kicks me from behind. Touka Gettan Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabi seemed to be very good, from the things I heard about it. That may be nice, and I’m definitely going to check that series out, but that doesn’t mean that I’m looking forward to Touka Gettan, as it’s another one of those Hentai-game adaptations. + Shows With Small Potential + Kaze no Stigma “The Story is about the Guy, who got kicked out of his fire Clan because he had no talent. 4 years down the road he comes back to Japan and has power to manipulate the wind, and on his return to Japan he is a Suspect in a murder.” – (summary by evil-samurai) – You know, the art on the covers of the light novels looked interesting, but the art of the anime took a huge step back. It’s a bit of a disappointment, the art looks just way too standard. Nothing seems to stand out. Ah well, let’s hope the story is better. Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula “The human race has recovered from the cataclysmic disaster now known as the “Equator Winter”. Now, each country begins to battle one another with robots to establish the new world order. A 13-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl operate Japan’s robot. Now begins their robot battle.” – (taken from AnimeNfo) – Ah, yes. The anime with 14 different people behind its mecha designs. That should be interesting, but I’m really worried whether the creators did right to put a bunch of high-school kids in charge of saving the world with one of these mechas. Saint Beast “In the ancient past, the Highest level of angels, the Six Saintly Beasts reigned supreme as the beast kings. Two of the Saint Beasts disobeyed Gods order and was sealed away in a Hellish place. Now after thousands of days and nights, the barrier has weakened and they escape. So the remaining four must go to Earth and stop them from causing trouble.” – Taken from Anime News Network – This seems to be a prequel to a 2003-series. It’s strange, because I didn’t see anyone talk about this. Heck, it doesn’t even have its own thread on Animesuki. I can guess why, as it seems to be screaming “bishounen”. ^^; Darker than Black “Suddenly anomalous field impossible to analyze appears in Tokyo. As if they responded to the field named “Hell’s Gate”, people that have new powers and completely different from the current human begins appear. They have lost their minds and sometimes kill people cruelly. People call them “Contractor” with fear.” – (taken from AnimeNfo) – “The main character, Hei is some super top-class agent, at ‘The Organisation’. He’s one of the best in this group of people with supernatural powers, called “keiyakusha”. As such he’s an invaluable member of The Organisation. He seems to be a solitary guy who won’t allow others in his heart. Currently he is posing as a timid Chinese university student called Li Shun Sheng. The seemingly lead female, Yin is a support staff in Hei’s team. She seems normal but she’s got absolutely no emotions at all and is sometimes called “Doll”. She’s also blind, but her other senses have been honed to such a level that she can… instantaneously understand the physical situation around her for a radius of 50m.” – (Translated by wao) – Okay, the concept sounds interesting, but that main character… Can he be something other than “perfect”? Lovely Complex “Koizumi Risa, current height 170 cm. Her surname is translated to “small river”. A girl taller than most other girls her age. Otani Atsushi, current height 156 cm. His surname is translated to “big valley”. A guy way below the average height of a high-school boy. They’re both known all around school as the comedian duo for looking like nothing but funny while standing beside each other. Due to this fact, they’ve been on one another’s bad side ever since they first met. One day, a new transfer student shows up and he happens to be very tall! Koizumi immediately gets interested in this boy and Otani suddenly proposes a silly idea to Koizumi. The idea is that they are to help each other out to get their respective love interests by all means! Koizumi undoubtedly agrees to this but as in all other shoujo mangas, things never turn out the way people want it to.” – Ah, the shoujo-romance series of the season. While I like a good shoujo-series, I’m not too much of a fan of the slice-of-life romances. Not because they’re bad or anything, but mostly because they’re just boring because nothing happens. Let’s hope that this one will be more than just a love-story. Overdrive “The story centres around a boy who aims to become the number one bicyclist in the world.” – (taken from manganews) – I’ve never been a big fan of sports-anime, but the strange thing is that I’ve never really had a good reason to. I did see one anime-movie about cyclists, though: Nasu – Summer in Andalusia. That movie showed me how directed sports anime can be. I hope that that won’t be the case here. Princess Resurrection “The story centres on the character of school boy Hiro Hiyorimi who is struck by a car in an accident. Unbeknownst to him, his life is saved by a princess of darkness who feeds him her blood immediately after the incident.” – (taken from Anime News Service) – This will be a really bloody series, but I have no idea whether it’ll be good or bad. Ah well, there’s only one way to find out. + Interesting-Looking Shows + True Tears ” Dreams, hopes, and aspirations … are things that all people draw their visions of what the “future” may hold for them. Some are pastel-coloured; others are darker in hue; still others shine radiant and unblemished like the hands of the rain. What are my dreams? What are my hopes? What do I aspire to become? These are questions that the characters of this story ask themselves. But must all of them turn at last to weeping? Must they all harbour such darkness under the shadow of the wings of their hearts? Some of them carry the wounds of the past with them still, the burden causing them to lose sight of their dreams. Others see insurmountable walls between them and the things they dream of, causing them to walk away and give up. And still others — worst of all — have forgotten what it is to dream altogether. And so they smile, smile warmly and widely, in order to hide away the darkness and pain in their hearts … in order to shut out the future itself. But the moment a girl should step forth and say “no more” — that is the beginning and the end.” – Taken from Insani.org – I have absolutely no idea what this is going to be. It looks like a very sad harem, but this one actually seems to have potential. Maybe, perhaps maybe it’ll turn out good. Devil May Cry “The game revolves around P.I. (Private Investigator) Dante and his one-man devil hunting agency “Devil May Cry”, which he runs in hopes of finding and killing the demons that killed his mother. Dante also has a twin brother named Vergil, whom we however learn little about during the course of this first game in the series. The story alludes to The Divine Comedy in the game’s areas (roughly resembling and representing inferno, purgatorio, and paradiso) as well as in some of the character names; however it is purely an aesthetic similarity, and indeed the game borrows from a very wide range of sources for inspiration. After a less than proper introduction, a woman named Trish, who bears a striking resemblance to Dante’s mother, convinces Dante to help her defeat Mundus, the Emperor of the Underworld, who is the leading antagonist of the game. The duo then sets off to Mallet Island, where Mundus’s resurrection is about to take place, and where the majority of the game plays out.” – I like the dark-gothic undertones, but the question will remain whether this is going to be aimed at the mainstream or not. It could become another shounen-flick, but then again, it could also become very interesting. Gegege no Kitaro “Kitaro is a yokai boy born in a cemetery, and aside from his mostly-decayed father, the last living member of the Ghost tribe. He is missing his left eye, but his hair usually covers the empty socket. He fights for peace between humans and yokai, which generally involves protecting the former from the wiles of the latter. Kitaro has an assortment of strange weapons at his disposal, including: remote-controlled geta sandals a detachable hand, also remote-controlled, a magic chanchanko vest which can protect its wearer from danger, Spiny hairs which can be shot like arrows and another hair which can serve as an antenna for detecting spirit activity.” – taken from Wikipedia – This one probably never will become popular. Heck, I’m sure of it. Apparently, character designs like this are a turn-off to many people. Still, I’m willing to give this one a chance, as the weapons used by the different characters look very promising and creative. Oh! Edo-Rocket “Year 1842, 12th year of the Tenpô era. To the twilight of the Edo era, we follow the steps of a Master bomb disposal expert and his young friend in Tokyo where fires of artifices became illegal with the eyes of the imperial capacity. While the reforms of Mizuno Tadakuni make devastations in main Japon. The bomb disposal expert receives one day a strange request of a young woman of the name of Sora: to carry out a fireworks which will rise to the skies in order to awake the population tokyoïte.” – Taken from Sonhex – This looks like a fun little show, but probably destined to be unpopular. Still, a story about the Tenpou Era about fireworks can turn out to be pretty interesting. 🙂 Seto no Hanayome Nagasumi visits his grandmother near the sea during the summer. While visiting, he goes for a swim, and drowns right after entering the water. Fortunately for him he is saved by a young mermaid. Later as he tells the story to his family, a young girl named San appears at his home and begs Nagasumi to marry her. She’s followed by two large thugs and they take both him and his parents to San`s home under the sea. If that wasn’t strange enough, it turns out San`s parents are mob bosses. Nagasumi is left with the choice of either death or marrying San. He chooses to marry a mermaid. This would likely be that, except San`s father and some members of the mob are not exactly thrilled to have Nagasumi courting San and are determined to bring an end to their relationship–or him. And there is also the matter of keeping it a secret that San is a mermaid.” – taken from AniDB – This one’s being anticipated by a lot of people, and I can imagine why. After all, it’s got everything, a mermaid, mob bosses, marriages, drowning, angry parents. Hitohira “A transferred student Asai Mugi is a painfully shy girl. She is so shy that she can’t speak when she becomes seriously nervous. However, for some reason, she is spotted and recruited as a member of drama club.” – Taken from AnimeNfo – I’m a lot more positive about this show after watching the trailer. There were no signs of fanservice-based character-designs, and I didn’t see anything that hinted at the girl falling in love or something. I suspect that this will turn into a school-based show. While it’s not my favourite genre, a series about a shy girl, can definitely turn out interesting. Blue Dragon “Blue Dragon follows Shu and his friends as they find themselves capable of manifesting their actions through surprisingly powerful shadows. Not long after, the main cast sets off on a grand adventure that, in true RPG fashion, determines the fate of the world.” – (summary by Mr. Sephiroth) – Yup, like expected, this is probably one of the first times in which character designs actually turned me off. It’s such a shame, as I’m really looking forward to this series. Damn you Akira Toriyama!! Gurren Lagann “In the future, people are digging holes in the ground. They build houses and have domestic animals there. They have been living secretly fearing occasional earthquakes and roof-falls for hundreds years. Jeeha is one of such villages. One day, a boy, Shimon, is digging holes to expand their village. He happens to find a small shining drill. On the other hand, Kamina is a guy who believes there is the ground over the village, and he made a gangster to break the ceiling to get out from the hole. In those days, the ceiling falls down due to an earthquake, and a big robot falls. Kamina becomes sure that there is a world over them. Then, to be reckless, he begins to fight against the robot. At the moment, someone also comes from the above. It is a girl Yoko with a rifle in her hand. She is following the robot. However, only she can do is to keep the robot from going. Then, simon shows what he found in the ground to Kamina and Yoko. It is a mysteries robot whose body is only a face.” – Taken from AnimeNfo – You know, I expected this to be just another shounen-flick, but the trailer which can be seen on the official site and youtube actually looked kind-of nice. The art style of the characters definitely looks interesting, the only worrisome element is the main female side-kick. -_- The Skullman There are mass murders and catastrophes all over Japan, committed by a masked/caped psychic madman called the Skull Man, and his shape-shifting aide Garo (named after the manga ninja Garo created by Sanpei Shirato), who can turn into various powerful mutant monsters. The calamities caused by the Skull Man are investigated by the Tachiki Detective Agency, with the help of a young man named Tatsuo Kagura, the son of a yakuza in the Kagura Clan.” – Taken from Monir – The concept still sounds interesting, and there isn’t really anything new I can say about this one. It’ll become a great anime about an anti-hero, period. Claymore “The setting of the story features a fictional world where towns are abundant and Humans live in coexistence with demons called Yoma. The Yoma consider humans as their main source of food, and are capable of concealing themselves among human society until they strike. In response to this horrific threat, a group of skilled warriors formed a un-named organization for defending against the demons. Due to their immense Claymore weapons, the people came to call them “Claymores”. To combat the demons, the “Claymores” have willingly infused themselves with demon flesh and blood, becoming half-human hybrids. The organization hires out their warriors for profit, answering calls from needy villages. The story of Claymore follows the adventures of a beautiful Claymore warrior named Claire, as she fights demons and struggles to hold on to her humanity.” – Also referred to as the “female Berserk”. While that doesn’t say anything to me (I only managed to see the first two episodes of Berserk). So far, the things I read about it sound very interesting. + Definitely Looking Forward to + Heroic Age “Answering the call of the “Gold Race”, all the sentient races launch into space. The human race is the last to launch, and are thus known as the “Iron Race”. Much time has passed since then, and humanity is threatened with extinction at the hands of the more dominant “Silver Race”. In order to save her people, Queen Deianeira sets out on a journey to a galaxy far away, following the prophecies of the Gold Race handed down by the royal family. Then, she meets a boy named Eiji. Their encounter will change the fate of the universe… – Taken from AnimNfo – I’m impressed. Both the newly arrived website and the description have an epic feeling. I like that. The character designs really look interesting. Which reminds me, I need to finish Fafner someday. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Strikers I loved the original two series, mostly due to its deep character studies. Strikers plays a few years after A’s, with Fate and Nanoha who’ve grown up. The series also is going to have 26 episodes, as opposed to the usual 13. I wonder what kind of changes that will make to the formula of the first two seasons. Koutetsu Sangokushi It’s interesting, I know nearly nothing about this show, but for a strange reason, it looks very interesting. And hey, it’s got the guy behind Master of Epic on the staff, can’t go wrong with that, can you? ^^; Flag Second Season “In 20xx, a civil war broke out in a small country in Asia is getting hard in spite of dispatch of UN forces. But a picture taken by accident in the battle field accelerates the peace process. It is a picture of a flag. Although they are enemies, they cooperate together to fly it in a sanctuary, and the flag becomes the symbol of the peace. However, just before the peace agreement is achieved, the flag is robbed by an armed extremist group in order to obstruct the truce. UN decides to send SDC (Special Development Command) and a cameraman to record their activities. The cameraman is Shirasu Saeko. She is the cameraman who took the picture of the flag. At first they think the mission is easy because they wear latest armed suits, HAVWC (High Agility Versatile Weapon Carrier), but they get in trouble by unexpected attacks.” – Taken from AniDB – It’s been almost three months ago that the second instalment of this series started airing in Japan. Unfortunately, this was on a paid channel, so the chance of raws appearing soon was nihil. Fro the first season, the first raws came when the DVDs were released, which was about three months after the original airdate. Based on this, we can probably expect the second season somewhere in half-April. I’m looking forward to it, as the first season was one of the most realistic war-themed anime I’ve seen. Tetsuko no Tabi “This is a slightly odd sort of manga: basically the “story” is that a manga artist is asked by her boss to accompany him and a travel-writer on various train trips around Japan and draw a manga about it. The kicker though, is that it’s completely non-fiction — the creator really did go on all these trips, and the manga simply records what happened, with no embellishment. There’s a little disclaimer at the front that says “This is non-fiction, so I apologize for the lack of drama,” and indeed, it mostly is just about them riding trains from place to place, waiting on platforms, etc.; there’s none of the silly artificial melodrama that sometimes accompanies info-manga. Despite the disclaimer, however, it’s really very entertaining.” – This probably is going to be the Spring-anime with the most original concept. I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but I can’t wait for it. ^^; Shining Tears “In the beginning of the story, an elfen girl named Elwyn finds Xion washed up on the shore of a river. She checks if he’s still alive and as she looks, a ring fell by the water. As Elwyn tried to take it, Xion was on the verge of death so she took him quickly to the village doctor, Pios. When Xion wakes up, he finds himself in The Heroes’ Hearth, the tavern of the town Heroes’ Way. He is then confronted by Pios and Elwyn, questioning him on what happened. He would say he can’t remember and even vaguely remembers his name. The two introduce themselves to him and he finds both his hands with two strange rings. They wouldn’t come off his hands as Pios tries to investigate the rings. The two then explain that the rings could possibly be the Twin Dragon Rings, the legendary rings of power. Discarding the thought, Pios investigates more on the rings as Xion falls asleep.” – taken from Wikipedia – Ah, another RPG-adaptation, and another fantasy anime. If the director doesn’t mess up, this one can promise to be great. Romeo x Juliet I haven’t read the entire novel, but I have read bits of it during classes, and I know the general storyline. It’ll be interesting how Gonzo will portray this, as it seems that the story will get a few fantasy-elements. It’ll be interesting if the characters talk just as poetic as they did in the novel. ^^; Wellber Monogatari ~ Sisters of Wellber “10 years since the great war, tensions were mounting within the country of Wellber, which was barely capable of keeping peace, as war could commence at any time with its neighbouring country, Sangatras. In order to avoid warfare, the king of Wellber, Haidel planned on marrying off his daughter, Princess Rita, to Sangatras` Prince Guernia. However, Rita stabbed her groom to be and ran away. Infuriated, Sangatras` King Ranbahnhof threatens to wage war unless Rita is captured and publicly executed within 14 days. In order to avoid the worst case scenario, Rita decides to head for the neutral country of Greedom. Meanwhile, the woman thief Tina sneaks into Castle Wellber, seeking its treasures, when she happens to witness the stabbing of Guernia by Rita. Whether it be by coincidence or necessity, Tina receives information that the “Wasp Man” she was after is in Greedom, her sworn enemy who took the life of her parents. Tina agrees to become Rita`s bodyguard as they head out to Greedom. Shouldering their fate and destiny, the two meet, leave, and set out on their journey. What awaits them is war or peace, vengeance or death…” – Taken from AniDB – I love a good fantasy story, and something’s telling me that Wellber Monogatari is going to be one of them. Seirei no Moribito “Once every 100 years, a Water Fairy implants an egg into a person who then becomes the Guardian of Fairies. This time, the responsibility falls on Chagumu, the second prince of the New Yogo Kingdom. Chagumu’s life isn’t easy. The king finds Chagumu an inconvenience and attempts to have him killed. As a result, the queen asks a female guard, Valsa, to protect Chagumu. In addition to this, beings from another world, known as Nayugu, constantly attack him in order to eat the egg carried in Chagumu’s body.” – Taken from AnimeNfo – Another very interesting-sounding fantasy-series. If this one actually manages to turn out well, then the spring-season will be something to look forward to a lot for all the fantasy-fans. 🙂 Kamichama Karin “Kamichama Karin is about a 7th grader named Karin Hanazono. Her parents and beloved cat, Shi-chan recently died, she’s getting horrible grades and is forced to live with her aunt. One day, Karin meets a young, orphaned, 7th grade boy named Kazune Kujyou, and discovers that her mother’s ring has the power to transform her into a goddess. She soon moves in with Kazune and his cousin Himeka. She and Kazune, who has godlike powers of his own, have to fight to protect Karin`s ring and Himeka from the evil intentions of Kirio Karasuma (whom Karin calls Mr. Glasses Man), who is also divine. The trio embark on crazy adventures and go on trips along the way. They also meet new friends and people, such as Micchi, who may know a lot of information not only about the divine transformation of the gods and goddesses, but also about Kazune-kun’s long lost father…” – Taken from AniDB – This series will probably be more than enough for my dose of cuteness for the spring-season. The story itself sounds very fun and interesting, despite a bit childish. But that never stopped me from watching a series anyway. ^^ Saiunkoku Monogatari Season 2 I guess it won’t be a surprise that I’ll be watching this. ^^; + Top-5 Looking Forward to + Towards the Terra “Light-years from Earth, where every aspect of life is controlled by the great master computer, if you are a Psychic (called a MU) you’re dead. Hunted tirelessly, the MU have been hiding for centuries from the general populace.” – taken from Anime News Network – I don’t know what it is, but I’m really attracted to this anime. I’ve been getting more and more interested in science-fiction anime lately, and this one seems like a great epic story. Definitely something to look forward to. Kaze no Shoujo Emily “Emily Starr is sent to live at New Moon Farm on Prince Edward Island with her aunts Elizabeth and Laura Murray. She makes friends with Ilse Burnley, Teddy Kent, and Perry Miller, the hired boy, who Aunt Elizabeth looks down upon because he was born in ‘Stovepipe Town’, a poorer district. Each of the children have special gifts. Emily was born to be a writer, Teddy is a gifted artist, Ilse is a talented elocutionist, and Perry has the makings of a great politician. They also each have a few problems with their families. Emily has a hard time getting along with Aunt Elizabeth, who doesn’t understand her need to write. Ilse’s father, Dr. Burnley, ignores Ilse most of the time because of a dreadful secret concerning Ilse’s mother. Teddy’s mother is jealous of her son’s talents and friends, fearing that his love for them will eclipse his love for her. As a result, she hates Emily, Teddy’s drawings, and even his pets. Perry isn’t as well off as the other three, so his Aunt Tom once tries to make Emily promise to marry Perry when they grow up, threatening that unless Emily does so, she won’t pay for Perry’s schooling.” – (taken from Wikipedia) – I’m still in love with this concept. The characters are promising to become really great if they’re going to be carried out well. 🙂 El Cazador de la Bruja “It’s about a girl named Elis, who finds herself on the run from the so called Hunters of the underground society due to being a suspect of a murder. She meets up with a bounty hunter named Nadi who offers her help and guidance to pursue the truth of her past. For some reason the Hunters are now after her as well.” – summary by Monir – The director of .Hack//Sign, .Hack//Roots, Popolocrois, Tsubasa Chronicle and the sister-anime of Noir and Madlax, the music of Yuki Kajiura, what more could you want? Bokura No “On a typical day during a summer vacation, a group of 15 children discovered a mysterious man living in a seashore cave, along with his high-tech gadgets. The man claimed to be a game developer creating a video game with 15 giant robots defending Earth from alien invaders and asked those children to test the game for him. The kids agreed happily at first, but soon they began to find the game horrifying, not only because of its realism but also for the first fatality among them happened right after their first victory. Worse yet, they had no idea how to stop or leave the ‘game.’” – No, GONZO, you can’t do English, so don’t even bother! For those who are wondering what I’m talking about, visit the official site of Bokura No, and you’ll understand. I seriously hope that the series isn’t going to feature the same quality of Engrish, because the concept is way too awesome to ruin. The combination of lots of different, normal children, being forced to play with mechas in a really realistic, gritty view. Sounds awesome. *pokes Gonzo once more and threatens with knife* Dennou Coil – A Circle of Children “It is the year 202x in the mysterious city of Daikoku. Kokonogi Yasako is a 6th grader in elementary school. The Kokonogi family, which includes Yasako, her little sister, and their parents, are a typical family. They move to Daikoku where Yasako’s grandmother lives. It is a historic city with many shrines and temples. Daikoku is also a special political district that has the latest computer facilities.” – Taken from AnimeNfo – This is the series I’m looking forward to the most. It’s still a bit of a wait before it arrives, as it’s scheduled to start airing in the middle of May, but it sounds and looks so interesting that I’m willing to wait that long. The graphics will be done by people who also worked on Beyond, which means that it’ll probably be a visual treat, and don’t forget that this seems to be the child-project of one man. That’s always good for consistency. 🙂 + Blogging List + The question for each season always remains: which shows to blog. For the upcoming season, I’m probably going to blog a whole lot of different series. I can’t exactly say which ones yet, I’ll decide for each series after watching its second episode whether I’ll be blogging it or not, thanks to my handy system of the quick first impressions. Still, I can give a small indication. 100% – 90% Chance of blogging There’s one show I’m definitely going to blog: Saiunkoku Monogatari. I got so far into the series already, it would be a pity to abandon it at this point. And hey, ever since I started blogging it, it’s been one of the biggest contributors in terms of readers to Star Crossed. Dennou Coil also has a really good chance of being blogged. 90% – 60% Chance of blogging With the other series, it’s going to be difficult to decide. Overall, I’ve blogged a lot of different shows in the past year, but I have found that shows with a degree of mystery or a complex story have been really fun to blog. Towards the Terra and Bokura No seem like two series which will be excellent for my inner-mystery fanboy. 60% – 40% Chance of blogging I’m also really enthusiastic about the upcoming fantasy-anime. Seirei no Moribito, Wellber Monogatari, Romeo x Juliet and Shining Tears are all proving to be very interesting. El Cazador de la Bruja also has an iron cast behind its anime, so blogging about could turn interesting. 40% – 25% Chance of blogging Akazukin is going to finish in March, which will eliminate my main dose of cuteness for each week. Kamichama Karin sounds like a very decent replacement for this. If the story has a bit of mystery in it, then I’ll be really happy. Kaze no Shoujo Emily will prove a challenge, as I haven’t blogged that many quiet series, apart from Mushishi and Asatte no Houkou, perhaps. I also really have no idea what’ll be worth blogging about Tetsuko no Tabi, but it’ll be interesting to find out. I also know a bit too little about Koutetsu Sangokushi and Heroic Age, but they seem blogworthy, from the things that I saw. And of course any hidden gem that I managed to overlook. ;)]]>

February Summary

+ Top 11 Anime With One Episode Released/Subbed I was going to scrap this category after last month, but this time, I actually managed to create quite a list, so I decided to keep it for the moment. #11: Afro Samurai Any surprise this little bugger ended up last? Cos was right, the last episode was the worst yet. #10: Yes! Precure 5 I adore a good mahou shoujo. Too bad this isn’t one of them. #9: Yoshinaga-chi no Gargoyle This isn’t a series you need to see once in a month, unlike Ayatsuri Sakon. This really is a series you need to marathon. #8: Ayatsuri Sakon Like I mentioned above, I finally realized that you don’t want to see too many episodes after each other. Once-a-month releases are perfect for this series. It’s nothing special, but greatly entertaining. 🙂 #7: Mai Otome Zwei Call me crazy, but I actually liked the second instalment of Mai Otome Zwei. Probably because it kept a good balance of comedy and drama, in comparison to the series, but also because it focused on one of my few favourite characters from the series. The one who got turned to stone, and ironically, I can’t remember her name anymore. #6: Chevalier I would have ranked this higher, it’s just that I just can’t remember what the episode was about. It was a good one, that’s for sure, and the psalms made people kill each other and stuff, but I really can’t remember anymore what exactly happened. It’s an excellent show, but apparently forgettable. Either that, or the subs are veeeeery slow. #5: Popolocrois 2003 An excellent episode, but a recap remains a recap. Still, I’m pretty excited for the final four episodes. #4: Moonlight Mile Okay, I didn’t understand a heck of it, but it was damn good to see it. I can’t wait to find out what actually went on when the subs arrive. ^^; #3: Rocket Girls Okay, so it may not be the most believable story. Heck, there are so many parts that don’t make sense. But if you ignore this petty little detail, then the first episode started off nicely. #2: Reideen I wonder why no more episodes have been released since the first episode. Same with Giant Robo. Both great shows, but I don’t hope that they only had one episode. Still, slow mechas Rock. #1: Popolocrois 1998 After an absence of six months, this anime returned, and how it returned. Gamigami, Hyuu, Ston and Sanda all were awesome. 🙂 + Top 20 Anime with More than One Episode Released/Subbed I may be the only one, but February was an excellent month for anime. January may have had a lot of good anime, only a few of them were excellent. This time, I saw a lot of different excellent series, scenes and moments. One thing I also noticed was that especially the more unknown and unpopular series took a turn for the awesomeness. 🙂 #20: Juusou Kikou Dancouga Nova Okay, the anime turned out bad. But it sure turned out a great anime to mock and laugh at. So many clichés are used so seriously that it actually becomes funny. ^^; What I did like, though, was how the brat didn’t turn out to be the main character. #19: Naruto Shippuuden It’s been a long while since Paradise Kiss that there was a series where the main reason for me to watch it was the OP. In the end, this series isn’t different from the first season of Naruto in the fact that it drags. The characters have made steps in the right direction, though. I like that. #18: Hanoka Hanoka ended like how it begun: cute. The final episodes were nice, considering that only 2 minutes per episode were really available. Still, that final enemy in the end was a wrong decision. It only made the anime more rushed than it already was and it contributed in no way to the overall story. #17: Ghost Hunt Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate this series, but I’d just wish that Mai would be more than just a damsel-in-distress. Ghost Hunt may be based on a Shoujo-manga, that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve always rather disliked characters who just stand by and do nothing useful. #16: Manabi Straight It’s interesting that this series actually turned out good enough for me to keep watching it. Okay, it may have too much fanservice at times, but the experimental elements in this anime are greatly appreciated. Another thing I really like is how most of the episodes don’t focus on Manabi at all, even though she’s the main character. #15: Demashita!! Power Puff Girls Z I wish I knew what’s going on inside the minds of the creators, but it’s hard to guess, now that they’ve started using common, everyday objects as their main source of enemies. I thought that anime usually went from the less challenging enemies to the more challenging ones, but this is just ridiculous. Still, the episodes in which animate beings were the main antagonists were really enjoyable. And Mojo Jojo really gets better and better with each of his appearances. I like what the creators did with his character. Instead of a hateful maniac, he just wants to be accepted. But because he looks scary and uses unorthodox measures, nobody wants to be near him. 🙂 #14: Tokyo Tribe 2 Galileo owns. Really, his character was really funny in episode three. Overall, Tokyo Tribe has really surprised me so far. I’d just wish that the gore would stop. #13: Code Geass For episodes and episodes, I just couldn’t get into this series. Mao’s comeback after being impaled by dozens of bullets also wasn’t really that good of a plot-twist. But then Lelouch found out about Suzaku. At that moment, I felt that I finally noticed some of the emotions of the characters. Suzaku really is needed to make this anime shine. Lelouch’s mission to create a perfect world where his sister can live happily may be nice and all, the thing that originally attracted me to this series was the conflict of Suzaku’s and Lelouch’s interests. That had been taking the background for the past ten episodes or something. #12: Death Note Not as good as the previous month, but then again, nearly all it did this month was building up to the next arc. “Good Light” also isn’t as exciting as “Evil Light”. L, however, was as good as usual. ^^ #11: Kekkaishi I think that with the arrival of Yoshimori’s brother, this series took a major turning point from episode-based to plot-based. If I also have to believe Whai Whai, this series is about to turn incredibly good. Well, I can’t wait. This month was as strong for Kekkaishi as usual. #10: Soukou no Strain Soukou no Strain ended with some excellent, though predictable final episodes. They really made a big bang out of it. And I loved the little touch with the ending. #9: Jigoku Shoujo The episodes in Jigoku Shoujo this time ranged from decent to excellent. Especially the excellent episodes were so worth seeing, and finally we get some proper background information about Ai’s dolls. But why the fanservice? #8: Saiunkoku Monogatari Shuurei was inside a small dip this month, being thrown off-guard like that. Still, when she got out of that dip, she really shined like no other. Ryuuki, Kouyuu and Shuuei also were great. #7: Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge When I saw the first glimpse of the new OP, I nearly fell off my chair laughing. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge really has been funnier than ever this month. XD #6: Master of Epic Master of Epic has been as funny as ever. I’d just wish the creators would stop recycling characters this much. It gets confusing! #5: Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto Especially episode 18 was awesome. Right now, it looks like this series is all set for its final episodes. They’re promising to be awesome. 🙂 #4: Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi There’s one thing I really, really like about this series: its themes. I can relate so much to having different faces and selves. This series really has been excellent so far. Why the heck is it so unpopular!? #3: Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette Les Miserables turned out amazing, and that this early in the series. It’s too bad this series isn’t getting so much attention. It’s really amazing to see the things Cosette, Eponine, Fantine and Jean have to experience. #2: Red Garden Red Garden has really surprised me this month. With episode fifteen, the pacing of the series switched another gear up and ever since, things really have been like a roller-coaster ride. So many things happened, and we still have nine episodes left. #1: Otogi Juushi Akazukin Otogi Juushi Akazukin = Love. Ever since episode 30, it’s been dishing out one awesome episode after the other. It’s such a pity to see that I’m about the only blogger who still follows this series. + Newly Announced Anime + Not many anime got announced this month, when compared to others. It’s strange, as I expected lots of new series to be announced for the spring-season. Guess that didn’t happen. Ah well, the good thing is that more than 50% of these anime looks worthwhile. 🙂 Kodomo no Jikan Image Hosted by ImageShack.us “Daisuke is a 23 year old new schoolteacher. He ends up being put in charge of a 3rd grade elementary school class since the previous teacher quit, and in that class there’s a girl who’s quite a troublemaker — Rin Kokonoe. You could call her a masegaki (used to describe a kid that acts more like an adult in some ways), and she’s also part tsundere (though more dere than tsun). She’s somewhat similar to Miu from Ichigo Mashimaro, I guess. Besides Rin, Daisuke’s got other problems to take care of — one of the students in his class, Mimi (one of Rin’s friends), hasn’t been attending school recently.” – Taken from Matthew – I can’t really say from the concept whether I like it or not. The whole school-thing doesn’t really appeal to me, but I like a girl who acts as an adult. Gegege no Kitaro Image Hosted by ImageShack.us “Kitaro is a yokai boy born in a cemetery, and aside from his mostly-decayed father, the last living member of the Ghost tribe. He is missing his left eye, but his hair usually covers the empty socket. He fights for peace between humans and yokai, which generally involves protecting the former from the wiles of the latter. Kitaro has an assortment of strange weapons at his disposal, including: remote-controlled geta sandals a detachable hand, also remote-controlled, a magic chanchanko vest which can protect its wearer from danger, Spiny hairs which can be shot like arrows and another hair which can serve as an antenna for detecting spirit activity.” – taken from Wikipedia – Sure, it’s a shounen-fighting series. But it sounds like a damn funny one. The powers of the main characters are hilarious. There’s also a walking eye-ball, who happens to be the father of Kitaro. Then we also have an old hag who throws sand in the eyes of her enemies, and an old man who takes out his victims by clinging to them and turning into stone. ^^; Mushiuta Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Nothing really is known about this anime apart from that it’s based on a series of light novels, and the covers of these novels. So far, the art looks cute, but that may be a bad sign, as it’ll probably turn into a moe-based anime based on those. What I do like, however, is the title. Mushi = bug and uta = song. I wonder what the creators had in mind for this, especially since it’s listed as a fantasy-show. Shigofumi ~Stories of Last Letter~ Image Hosted by ImageShack.us “A story about a miracle, involving Fumika, a quiet but hard working girl who wears a uniform that of a mail carrier, and her talkative staff and partner Mayama. The Shigofumi is a posthumous letter, the last resort of relaying a deceased person’s last message to his/her loved ones: family, friends, and significant other.” – I’m trying not to get excited by this, since the last time I saw a similar concept I got dished with a mediocre Shinigami no Ballad, but whoa. The concept really sounds interesting. And add that to the fact that the character design done by the same guy who did Kino no Tabi. It all depends now whether the original stories feature some interesting enough twists. A strange thing is that the anime for this series has been announced on the same day that the first volume of the novel it’s going to be based on got published. This probably means that the creators are expecting a lot from this story. While this isn’t always a good choice, I like how they didn’t choose the most popular story, but instead went with a concept from which they didn’t exactly know how good it would sell. Code-E Image Hosted by ImageShack.us A story might be known about this anime, but I couldn’t find it. Most probably because it chose such a horrible name to find in Google. 😛 Still, the people behind it sound promising. It’s being directed by the director of Full Moon wa Sagashite, A few episodes of Simoun, among which the amazing episodes 16 and Ginga Densetsu Weed (I seriously had to double-check when I saw this. This guy really likes to do different genres. Full Moon wa Sagashite and Ginga Densetsu Weed… WTF!?), three series with all some amazing moments. Actually, now that I take a look at even more of the cast, I realize that a lot of people who worked on Simoun also work on this one. Woohoo!! Shining Tears Image Hosted by ImageShack.us “In the beginning of the story, an elfen girl named Elwyn finds Xion washed up on the shore of a river. She checks if he’s still alive and as she looks, a ring fell by the water. As Elwyn tried to take it, Xion was on the verge of death so she took him quickly to the village doctor, Pios. When Xion wakes up, he finds himself in The Heroes’ Hearth, the tavern of the town Heroes’ Way. He is then confronted by Pios and Elwyn, questioning him on what happened. He would say he can’t remember and even vaguely remembers his name. The two introduce themselves to him and he finds both his hands with two strange rings. They wouldn’t come off his hands as Pios tries to investigate the rings. The two then explain that the rings could possibly be the Twin Dragon Rings, the legendary rings of power. Discarding the thought, Pios investigates more on the rings as Xion falls asleep.” – taken from wikipedia – I’m really looking forward to this series. Not necessarily because it’s based on an RPG, although that does make it even more interesting. Not because I know it’ll be great. It’s because I’m not sure whether it will become great or not. You see, it’s directed by Hiroshi Watanabe. He’s the genius behind some magnificent anime like The Law of Ueki and Jigoku Shoujo. Heck, he even directed Orphen, which had one of the best fantasy stories I’ve seen. However, he also did a number of failures, like Mär, Ah! My Goddess and Star Ocean Ex, which can still be considered as the king of Deus ex Machina. I’m really hoping right now that he’ll go the right way this time, as a well-executed RPG-adaptation is always welcome. + Top 5 Episodes + #5: Jigoku Shoujo – 44 Jigoku Shoujo has been dealing either hits or misses so far, but episode 44 definitely was one big hit. Even though it was mostly the usual formula, the antagonist was perfectly fleshed out. I could really sympathize with the father who had to make a very difficult decision. #4: Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette – 08 Seriously, for a children’s show, I never expected it to go this disturbing. I can’t believe how Fantine turned out in the end. O_o #3: Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto – 18 Finally, after episode 13, episode 18 came with another awesome episode. Looking forward to how the series will end. 🙂 #2: Popolocrois Story 1998 – 22 In case you have yet to hear my rave about this episode, I LOVED it. This series SO is the perfect example of an awesome neglected series. #1: Otogi Juushi Akazukin – 32 I’m serious about how much I cried during this episode. That was such a sad episode, even though you wouldn’t say it.]]>

Magic School Lunar

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Image Hosted by ImageShack.usImage Hosted by ImageShack.us Okay, that was weird. When this anime showed up, I knew nothing about it, but the title was interesting so I decided to download it to try it out. So, what do I get? Nine minutes of insanity. Seriously, this is another one of those short 9-minute films. It looks quite old, I expect it to have been released somewhere around 1990. It’s another great example of a good old show. I definitely recommend this series if you like fantasy-stories. It’s basically one big parody of the fantasy-adventure genre. Due to its length, it’s impossible for it to get boring. The evil lord Memphis has kidnapped the students of the Magic School Lunar and he demands the power of the Blue Dragon for ransom. The only problem: the head of the school doesn’t know what the Blue Dragon is. It’s now up to our three main heroes to explain this to Memphis. It may be a story, but after the first sentence of this anime, it becomes clear that it doesn’t take itself seriously at all. The best point about this short film? The pacing. It’s really the same as the anime: totally insane, which really becomes apparent in the first scene. A character also warns in advance that this anime may be over before you know it, and that’s the perfect way to describe it. If there ever was a roller-coaster ride, it’d be this one. And guess what, despite the age, the animation is excellent. It makes great use of deranged character designs to accompany the insanity. If you need 10 minutes to burn at one time, then this one is definitely recommended.]]>