Star Crossed Anime

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto – 07 – Soutetsu?

November 18, 2006 by psgels, posted in Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

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This episode definitely was different from all episodes thus far. There was almost no action, it just involved people talking and preparing for the next episode. It turned out pretty well, in my opinion. This was an excellent episode, though I do suspect that the action junkies will be put off by it.

So many things happened during this episode. The most important of them is probably Soutetsu. He’s left the Kakunojou Troupe in order to take care of a few things. He first goes to Akizuki’s home village, and there he lets the local residents bake strange kinds of vases. Apparently, they have to be just perfect, as he rejects quite a lot of them before he finds the vase he’s looking for. I don’t know how, but apparently this is the way to summon a demon. Shouten-sama and his assistant find this out as well. The question now remains: on whose side is he? This gets even more mysterious when we see him meeting up with Nakaiya Juubei, of all persons.

Meanwhile, the rest of the troupe wonders where the heck he went, and they thing back to the time at which he joined them. This provide a few nice flashbacks. It seems that Yuyama and her two companions ended up in the theatre-business, when they found that they had talent and needed money. At a certain point, Soutetsu started following them, and at one point, he asked to be their scriptwriter. Afterwards, the rest of the troupe came.

Nakaiya Juubei, meanwhile, hasn’t been sitting still himself, as he’s preparing yet another demon. With this, he attempts to brainwash Katsu, who was meeting his superior about his recently destroyed headquarter. He succeeds. Kanna plays an interesting role in this. He thinks he’s helping Nakaiya into breaking in the building and holding Katsu hostage, though it seems that his help wasn’t needed after all.

Also, I loved it when Glover gave the Japanese a handshake, and they didn’t understand what it meant. ^^

You’d wonder about the meaning of the red star. I’m not sure whether something about this has already been said in the anime, but I think it’s a crucial part into summoning the demons to the current world.

Red Garden – 05 – Everyone Reacts Differently

November 17, 2006 by psgels, posted in Red Garden

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With some anime, it’s clear to define the theme of the episode. Asatte no Houkou and Otogi Juushi Akazukin for example. You know it’s a Ibara-Hime episode, you know it’s a Shoko-episode, you know the episode is centred around the mirrors. Red Garden definitely is not one of these series. So many things happen in one episode.

If I had to give the theme of this episode, it’d probably be a Rachel/Rose/Claire episode, focusing on the support of others. Kate probably is the strongest of the four girls at the moment. She actually manages to think of everyone, instead of herself. Claire just acts strong. She likes to act nonchalant, in order to convince herself that she’s fine, while instead, she’s just as disturbed as everyone.

Rachel was a huge wreck in this episode. During the previous episode, she really broke down. She’s also not afraid anymore to hide her worries for her surroundings, and actually treats her friends like garbage and her mother is starting to notice that something’s wrong with her. This worked very well in combination with Rose. She actually has a number of siblings she has to take care off, and she actually cried in front of them. It’ll be interesting to see how such small children will act in the rest of the series. Right after Rose starts crying, we see Rachel again, in front of her friends. You would expect the same, but you get the opposite. Quite nice. Especially when you consider that Rose’s scene alone already was incredibly touching.

Sasami Mahou Shoujo Club – 20 – Will Misao Be Allright?

November 16, 2006 by psgels, posted in Sasami Mahou Shoujo Club

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I knew it! Misao finally cuts her hair! During this episode, it also gets clear why the witches were so interested in Misao: she’s got the same kind of power as Sasami. This episode was mostly meant to develop both of them. The witches try to give Misao a feeling of comfort, while Sasami debates whether to go after her (after all, she went on her own will).

As usual, the dramatic moments were awesome. Sasami really has her own way of worrying, and the fact that Misao disappeared, and the police had to arrive only made this better, as rumours started to appear about her. Anri, Tsukasa and Makoto were great, trying to cheer her up. Washuu also tries her best to do something in her own special way. She actually attempts to learn magic herself. She really is one of my favourite characters of this show, with the others being Sasami and Misao.

The episode ended rather interesting, with Sasami, about to head to the magical world and Misao, who got the instructions of eliminating Sasami. The next episode should prove to be an awesome one. But then again, each episode so far has been awesome in a sense. 🙂

Soukou no Strain – 04 – This Series is Turning Out Pretty Well

November 16, 2006 by psgels, posted in Soukou no Strain

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You know, this series actually turned out pretty good. This episode really convinced me to that. The fact that this anime is so incredibly intense did require me to get used to it a bit, but right now, this anime is turning better and better. Also, if you thought that the first episode was intense, just wait till you get to see this one. 😉

We start the episode with Sara, kicking Lotti out of the way in order to fight her brother. It seems that both of them are using special Strains, which means that nobody can really keep up with them. There’s one thing I disliked about this fight: at one point, Ralph Werec has used his Strain to grab Lotti’s Strain. He hits her, but surprisingly, her Strain remains intact, opposed to all of the Strains he wiped out in the first episode with just one blow.

Still, the fight was only meant to introduce the episode. At the end, Sara manages to deliver some small damage to Ralph, forcing him to retreat. She actually wants to go after him, though another Strain pilot stops her (I forgot his name for a bit). She then cries in the same way she did in the first episode, pretty touching. Still, things get even better afterwards, when Lotti meets up with her.

Sara must’ve felt pretty horrible. She’s probably hated by almost each of her fellow-students after this incident. After all, she appeared like she didn’t have a MIMIC, so she had to train extremely hard in order to catch up with all of the Strains. She was already seen as a show-off, but now that she actually appears to be able to fly a Strain, it must seem to the other students that she’s making fun of them.

Lotti also seems to have a very good reason for hating Ralph Werec. She also had a big-brother complex when she was young, just like Sara. It seems that Ralph killed her brother at one point. It’s probably the reason she decided to be a Strain Pilot. We also get to see Ralphs allies for the first time, and our first hints to why he changed. He does work for people, it seems. Whether this is forced or not, I’m not yet sure.

I’m also glad that more blogs have started to speak about this series. Code Geass seems to have gotten a contender of best “mecha-series of the season”. Still, there’s one problem with this series: it’s abundance of fanservice. It seems to do this in order to please the otakus, while it doesn’t even need this. In my opinion, it only hurts the series.

Space Fantasia 2001 Nights Review – 84/100

November 16, 2006 by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

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This one may be from a while back, but it’s a beauty. Like the title does suggest, it’s a science-fiction OVA. But because it’s so old, it actually got the chance to start with the basics of science-fiction, in contrast with the science-fiction anime you see appearing today, which take the basics for granted. Because of this, this anime turned into a beautiful piece of art. Definitely recommended for any science-fiction fan.

It’s hard to tell anything about this OVA without spoiling it (I therefore tried to make the screenshots as vague as possible). It’s really best to just watch this, without knowing anything about it. All I’ll say is that the creators spent a LOT of research into this, and they came up with a number of fascinating theories regarding the space-age. In a sense, you could call this anime partly a documentary.

The graphics indeed look old. But for their time, they look pretty impressive. Still, the thing that really stands out is the background music. It’s a collection of very fitting tunes, which really scream that they’re coming from the eighties. The story, characters and music combined turn this OVA into a huge chunk of atmosphere.

If I had to mention one downside of this OVA, it’d be that it does require some physical knowledge to fully understand it. The creators really tried and succeeded to make everything as believable as possible, but if you’re not into physics or space-travel, all the talk sounds like a bunch of techno-babble.

Ayatsuri Sakon – 16 – Telephone

November 13, 2006 by psgels, posted in Ayatsuri Sakon

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This episode wasn’t like the other episodes. So far, the episodes have been like “who did it?”. This time, it’s different. It’s quite obvious who did it. Isshiki just acts way too suspicious. This episode was more like, “how can we find proof that he did it?”. Isshiki ha been quite cleverly hiding his evidence, and somehow, he’s quite confident that he won’t get caught.

Still, he made one mistake. In order to create his alibi, he messed up the phone, which he predicted that Kisaragi would use, so that it would call Takahashi’s apartment instead. As Takahashi lives very close to the museum, it would’ve been easy for him to run towards that place after killing the director. Quite easy, quite simple. Except for the fact that he forgot to erase this piece of evidence. Sakon should have it solved easily by the next episode.

But there’s something that irks me. Sakon found the solution, his twenty-four hours have run out, he runs to the chamber with Kisaragi and the police and states that he’s found the solution. Five more minutes and the case is solved. What do I say? If they’d hurry, the creators can even solve this in one minute. How do they plan to use the next nineteen minutes? Some background information? But Takahashi is dead, so she can’t really offer any extra thoughts or anything similar.

Still, she does have some background left to be explained. Isshiki was her boyfriend. Apparently, their relationship was secret, as nobody seemed to even mention it. I think this started when the two of them worked together at their previous job. Also, remember that rumours are floating around that Yuuki stole Takahashi’s boyfriend away? If that is true, than it means that this boyfriend could have been Isshiki himself. I think Isshiki used this in order to blackmail Takahashi in order to cooperate with her, as we see her in doubts of the person she loves, right before she gets killed. But still, that isn’t enough to fill an entire episode. Something else has to happen. I just know it.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto – 06 – Episodes 04 and 05, take two

November 12, 2006 by psgels, posted in Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

Interesting. In essence, this episode was just a combination of episode four and five. We have the same play about Hario Genba, in which now the three brainwashed goons attack, instead of Magozou. There’s another ritual, like the one we saw in episode five, we see the same guys, plotting to take Katsu’s brothel hostage, the English appear again, in all of their overconfident glory. Katsu attended the play yet again, along with H. S. Parkes and a few more of his friends (including the two guards we saw in the first episode, being attacked by Soutetsu) and Kanna Sakyou no Suke is yet again the person to save the day.

But there are differences. First of all, the first half of the episode gives some interesting background information. Both about the history of Yokohama, which seems to be quite bloody, as the history of Akizuki’s sword. Nakaiya Juubei also negotiates with Kanna. I’m not sure what he’s up to, though, as he ended up saving the day at the climax of the episode.

This episode also went a bit further than both episode four and five. In episode four, the audience never noticed that someone was trying to kill Yuyama. This time, they did. In episode five, the fighting didn’t reach its climax because of the English and their bagpipes. In this episode, it did. Also in episode five, the English may have made a lot of noises, they never really did anything. In this episode, they did. They killed every single one of the ones who held the people in Katsu’s brothel hostage, and never even tried to prevent the place from burning down to the ground. That’s another one of the differences: Katsu has now lost his main headquarter.

Also, the play was very similar to the play we saw in episode four, with a small exception: the emphasis on Nakaiya Juubei. Kakashi gets dressed up as some kind of weird parody of him. It’s definitely another one of Soutetsu’s statements.

I’m also not sure whether I liked the three brainwashed goons. It’s good that they’re dead now, as they didn’t really have any background. Nakaiya could have sent a bunch of zombies and it still wouldn’t have made any difference. But there’s one thing I do like about them: their entrance. When compared to Magozou, these guys lack any form of subtlety. They were quite funny when they just entered through the front door and their eyes began glowing during their numerous grunts, and not to mention how they appeared on the exact right moment Kakashi summoned them. ^^;

I think that one of the main themes of this anime is the relationship between the Japanese, and the foreigners. I’ve read somewhere that the Japanese are very xenophobic(I think this came from the translation notes of Popolocrois 2003, with Luna being afraid to let others find out her true form), and the way the English acted during the kidnapping puts an emphasis on this. What we’ve got here is two clashing lifestyles, who need to learn to cooperate with each other, but refuse to.

The Third – 22 – OMG

November 12, 2006 by psgels, posted in The Third

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That was such an AWESOME episode! The part in which Honoka held Rona Fauna in her arms was such an amazing moment! Finally Honoka has found someone who’s just like herself: a defective item of The Third. Awesomeness.

It’s also very interesting. The final arc of The Third will also be its shortest: only two episodes! That probably means an insane pacing, which is good for most endings. Especially since a lot has to be revealed in these final two episodes. In one way, I’m really looking forward to it, though in another way, it’s really sad to see this amazing series end. I demand a second season!!!

Honoka also was her typical self again after everything ended. Both Rona Fauna as Joganki were very scared to do her injustice, though she quickly tells them that it was just her job. She did the things she did because she accepted this job. All she wants now is the money, and a repair job on Bogie. ^^;

I wonder what the next arc will be about. Honoka seemed to suggest that she’ll be going on another vacation. Does that also mean that Millie will be returning? And will we also see some cross-references to other arcs? After all, Kanwei is still running along, somewhere in the world, and Gravestone could return as well, perhaps. Ah well, if the final arc is as awesome as this episode was, The Third will really be finishing in an awesome way.

Jigoku Shoujo – 30 – Ramen, marbles and a hospital bed

November 12, 2006 by psgels, posted in Jigoku Shoujo

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This episode and the previous episode both dealt with a person, unable to make the right decisions, in contrast to the second episode, in which we dealt with a pure victim. The main character is Shuuichi. He’s married to a woman who lies in the hospital. In the past, he did a number of very stupid things: he got involved with a shady owner of a host club, and especially one job ended up wrong, with this owner forcing him to kill an accomplice for money. In the end, he ruined his life because of this, and he never even got the money.

Because he wants his wife to enjoy the best treatment in the hospital, he’s forced to work continuously and borrow money from others, in order to pay for her expensive one-person room. He keeps all this a secret from his wife, for better or for worse. He calls for Jigoku Shoujo, and then it indeed seems that he’s aware of the things he’s done, and he’s actually someone who believes he deserves to go to hell. That’s why he doesn’t have the doubts that all of the other characters in Jigoku Shoujo had. He, however, makes one big mistake in his greed. He decides to blackmail his antagonist, before sending him to hell, in order to get the money in the end. The latter ends up telling Shuuichi’s secret to his wife. Because of this, she’s broken and has some kind of brain attack.

The twist of the episode: Shuuichi obviously sends the guy to hell after he’s seen what happened, and he believes that going to hell and working hard enough to pay back his dept will be enough to attain for the sins he committed. Well, that’s not the only thing: when his wife regains consciousness, she seems to have forgotten him.

Also, what’s up with the little girl? Why is Ai so nice to her? What did Ai’s grandmother mean with “I hope he’s happy”? Why is she such an annoying brat? Where did she come from? How many questions can I ask about her!?

Sasami Mahou Shoujo Club – 19 – Poor Misao

November 12, 2006 by psgels, posted in Sasami Mahou Shoujo Club

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This episode was solely meant to prepare for the unfortunate event at the end. Poor Misao. Because she’s grown up without any friends, she’s become so easy to manipulate. Especially now that her powers are actually needed, the witches decided to abuse this fact, and now she’s taken away to the magical world. If I’m not mistaken, it’ll be there where she’ll get her haircut.

The major part of the episode is spent on cooking. Misao for Monta and Sasami for Amitabu, who seems to be paying a visit later on. We also receive some nice background info about him. My lack of Japanese prevented me from fully understanding it, but it seems that the witches failed to seal off the evil in the past. For that, Amitabu had to be used in a rather violent way in order to help seal this evil. This explains why he was trapped in such thorns, but what about the second Amitabu?

If I had to make a prediction, then I think that there are two major arcs left. The current one, in which the main focus will be retrieving Misao from the magical world, and more importantly, make her see that the witches are actually trying to use her. The second arc will then focus on Sasami and Amitabu, and this evil which has been sealed.

It’s a pity so little people know of this series. It’s brilliant. Most people probably seem to think that it’s a show for kids, meaning that it’s not worth it to check it out. Well, guess what? The fact that it looks like it’s meant for children has nothing to do with whether it’s good or not. Muahaha.