Star Crossed Anime

Jigoku Shoujo – 29 – A Pair of Swings, Some Kunai and a Credit Card

November 9, 2006 by psgels, posted in Jigoku Shoujo

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I like the new focus of Jigoku Shoujo. Now that Tsugumi and Hajime have buggered off, it’s time for the three dolls to get a bit of depth. Each episode, one of them feels attracted to the case, and starts to investigate. Last episode, we had Ichimoku Ren, this episode, we have Hone Onna. The next episode will probably focus on Wanyuudo. I’m wondering if Enma Ai will also have such an episode.

This episode focused at the love of a teenage girl who went out of control. She’s been living right next to a guy ever since she was born. Over the years, she fell in love with him, but she was too afraid of change. Because of this fear, she just accepted that he suddenly got a girlfriend, and she actually supported him. She even gave him enough cash to fly away with her to Hawai. Her own reason for this is incredibly biased: if she confessed to the boy she loved, the two would get closer and closer together, which would eventually lead to the two of them breaking up again, and she hates to move further away from him. But, because she’s probably been watching too many soap-operas, she forgets the most important thing: if the relationship with his new girlfriend does work out right, the two of them will be moving in together at one point, and they’ll be starting a life on their own. Away from the girl.

Still, things go way differently when the girlfriend appears to be a two-timer, breaks up with the guy, and the main character makes the guy fall out of a window, two or three stories down, which kills him. Afterwards, it gets even clearer how immature this girl actually is: she wastes her afterlife for a moment of pleasure when the hears the ex-girlfriend talk bad about her ex-boyfriend (reference to Gintama 07), moves in to another apartment, and meets up with another guy who looks just like the previous one. With a bit of luck, the exact same cycle will be starting all over again. It just shows how fragile the feelings of girls like her are.

I think I’ve already said this before, but in my opinion, the power of Jigoku Shoujo comes from its formula, and its ability to deviate from this formula. Each episode, there are a few things which you know will happen. Each episode has a basic set of ingredients. But apart from these ingredients, you can see a lot of different elements, some big, mostly small. The fact that the episodes in the second season so far all ended with some kind of twist only makes this better. I really can’t get enough of these stories. ^_^

Soukou no Strain – 03 – A rather ignored show

November 9, 2006 by psgels, posted in Soukou no Strain

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Okay, so This series has been out for a week, even the subs have appeared after only two days, and I’m still the only one who blogged about it? Okay, sure, it isn’t the best series out there, it has its flaws, but it’s not bad, or anything. Ah well, time to give this show a bit more attention.

This series tries to bring an epic tale in only thirteen episodes. If the creators will actually manage to pull this off, the future episodes might get very interesting. Like I said in the quick first impressions: the first episode tried to make us feel sympathy for a one-dimensional character by making her brother kill off her three best friends. Only afterwards, she gets interesting. It may have ruined that moment, though it set a nice base for the future episodes.

I’m not sure whether I agree with Shinsen-Subs’ decision to spell the main character’s name as “Sara”. To me, it sounded more like “Seira”. In any case, I like her. Ever since the incident with her brother, she estranged herself from society. It’s like she’s become afraid to make any friends, in fear of losing them again. Well, that plan failed, as she starts talking to a doll, Lotti got interested in her, and the two technicians (whose names I unfortunately forgot, they were quite difficult ones) started to get familiar with her when she kept visiting Emily, who just happened to sit right next to one of their projects: a huge strain.

Well then, there were quite some things that I liked during this episode. The fast pacing, for example. I know, fast pacing isn’t good for series with a big plot and only 13 episodes, but it definitely does add its good points, as Good Witch of the West showed us. At least this anime doesn’t make the mistake of excluding important explanations. Lotti and her companion were also very good during the fighting scene. Lotti seems to have some kind of grudge against Ralph Werec herself, which does make her an interesting character, who’ll probably end up alongside Seira in the future. Her companion will probably get caught as an innocent bystander, due to the fact that she always follows Lotti around. This episode also showed that she isn’t entirely helpless. Isabella’s death also showed lots of potential, as it’ll be interesting to see how everyone reacts when she’s gone.

Still, there were a number of bad things as well. I still don’t get the use of the MIMICs. They’re supposed to be bound to one person, they were made when that person was born, and can’t ever be replaced. You would think that the person this MIMIC is bound to is the only one who can fly it, but episode 1 showed Seira, who just borrowed the Strain of one person, without any problems at all. How did she manage to make it work? Same with Emily, though that might gave an explanation: Emily is a second MIMIC of Seira.

Still, that doesn’t explain what Emily was doing inside the mecha-pilot-academy. And why did Seira choose this academy, of all possible academies to choose. And why did the two technicians start working on their Strain in the exact room Emily was in. And why they didn’t remove her. I’m somehow fearing that some of these questions will never get an answer. Another thing I didn’t like was the useless fanservice which appeared once in a while.

Red Garden – 04 – Awesomeness

November 8, 2006 by psgels, posted in Red Garden

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Okay, that was an amazing episode. Finally Gonzo has made a really good series. The major focus lies on Rachel, though each of the four girls gets a bit of fleshing out. The thing I really liked about this episode (and all of the other Red Garden episodes as well, by the way) is that it’s just one big chunk of atmosphere. The characters just work so great in combination with each other, and not to mention how each episode continues to flesh them out a bit. If this goes on for the rest of the series, this series can have amazing results.

Kate and Rachel are currently the ones who have the most problems with the people around them. Rachel keeps staying home, which makes her boyfriend worried, while Kate, as a member of Grace, is starting to slack off. Right now, Paula’s protecting her from the other Grace-members, but it has to end somewhere, doesn’t it? Rose actually gets distracted by all of her tasks at home, and doesn’t know that many people who’d be worried about her and Claire just doesn’t care.

Kate and Rose decide to leave school early, in order to visit Claire and Rachel, seeing as they haven’t come to school. Rachel acts like she really is dead. She starts yelling at Kate, though it does make her worried. I think that’s why she went berserk at the end of the episode. When they arrived at Claire’s hose, I was surprise how run down the building was she lives in. Clare wasn’t home, by the way, she was trying to find the mansion in which they were killed. She actually finds it, and the guy who killed them seems to have discovered her. Butterflies are preventing her from entering the mansion. The blond guy can’t see these butterflies, and he also doesn’t seem to know about them. Interesting.

I also loved the fight, at the end of the episode. It was short, but sweet, and knew exactly what its purpose was.

Tsubasa Chronicle – 51 – That Explains A Lot ^^

November 6, 2006 by psgels, posted in Tsubasa Chronicle

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Ah, fake feathers. That explains a lot. Chaos has his own feathers, which are much weaker than Sakura’s ones, but work in about the same way. When you combine a lot of these feathers, you do collect a considerable amount of power, and that was what Fei Wong is after. It also explains why this arc, even though not part of the manga, seriously disrupted the feather count, the reason Chaos went to travel to the Clow Country, as it never happened and why Chaos’ feathers coincidentally appeared to contain his memories. Still, it does not explain why he fell in love with Sakura. I think he fell in love with her because they’re both beings with a huge power.

Okay, only one episode’s left in this series, and the creators couldn’t have found a more fitting climax. Even though Chaos is proved not to posses the powers, equal to that of a god, he still has frozen both Sakura’s body and soul. I also loved Wei Fong’s role in this episode. It’s not yet clear what exactly he’s trying to do, but it’s great to see him get in action for once. The next episode should prove to be worthwhile. And after that, it’s waiting till April for the third season!

Tsubasa Chronicle – 50 – A Fitting Final Arc for The Second Season

November 6, 2006 by psgels, posted in Tsubasa Chronicle

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The episode started with the conclusion of the first battle against Chaos, which most obviously turned out rather bad for Syaoran and his companions. The rest of the episode was an intermezzo. Does that make the episode less awesome than usual? Of course not!

The identity of the bird/powerful entity also gets known: Chaos. He played both as bird, and he is someone who can travel through dimensions at will, and that’s why Fei Wong was behind him. The question then remains: which form is his true form? Is he really a bird who can take the form of a human, or is he a human who can take the form of a bird? Also, how did he get his feathers?

Another interesting question: when you travel through worlds, do you travel through time as well? Chaos case actually suggests this. He got his feathers after Sakura lost them, but he actually visited Sakura in her country, long before she lost them. Another possibility is that, while each country has its own timeline, there is always one time known as the present, and feathers are the only known things who can break through this cycle.

Anyway, Sakura and Syaoran were as cute as ever. For the first time ever, Syaoran is getting selfish, while Fay cheats a bit and uses magic and Kurogane gives him support, even though he doesn’t like it. It’s indeed a nice way to end the second third of the series. I’m also wondering whether the finale will consist out of only one, or two episodes.

Popolocrois 2003 – 19 – Whoa, 600 posts!

November 5, 2006 by psgels, posted in Popolocrois 2003

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Before I continue with the post as usual, yes that’s right. This currently is my 600th post. Yay! Quite an amount in less than a year, don’t you think? (^^)

About the episode: it was a seriously awesome one. Finally this series is picking up, with awesome results. It now deserves to be compared with its 1998-counterpart. The first half of the series really did an excellent job in fleshing out the characters, and now we finally get to see the fruits of this.

Gamigami was amazing. It doesn’t happen often when a character is extremely funny, but extremely sad at the same time, but he’s one of the few characters who can do this. Gamigami really was funnier than he ever has been in the 2003-series, but at the same time, he also finds out that his beloved Narcia has been turned to stone. When you combine this, the results turn out awesome.

Marco also has this effect a bit, though not as extreme. He has the habit of becoming incredibly nervous when tension starts rising, and he relieves this tension by keeping himself as busy as possible. It has a rather chaotic effect, but it provides a nice comical element to accompany the tension. Nonetheless, the effect this has is awesome.

In any case, Momba figures that a hermit in his home country, Croconesia, named Delvoi-sama might know how to get the Lunar Drop back. But in order to get there, they need a ship, which has just been destroyed at the end of the previous episode. Gamigami offers his own submarine, so that Pinon can save his precious Narcia, while he makes sure nothing happens to them. Punpun and Kotaro will accompany Pinon.

The submarine is just full of eccentric details you’d expect when considered that it’s being used by Gamigami, Punpun and Kotaro. The tatami-room is back again. It seems to be built for Kotaro, as he’d be terribly scared otherwise. Three crab robots also seem to be on board (including the weaknesses they showed us in the past couple of episodes), and the secret weapon of the submarine: fart missiles. It sounds childish, I know, but when they actually got fired, the results are hilarious. I’m glad they were fired under water. ^^;

The fight of this episode really was awesome. The monster designs continue to become more gruesome with every monster appearing. This time, it’s a gigantic monkfish. It’s piloted by a small shrimp-like creature who’s a bit too full of himself. Marco and Kotoro set out in order to try and defeat it in the crab robots, while Pinon gets to scared to head out. The three of them played their part perfectly. Especially when you compare Pinon with Kotoro. I think that Kotoro was even more scared than Pinon was, though the fact that he didn’t want people to think bad of him made the former go, while the latter stayed behind.

In the end, Pinon sees this, and gets inspired by Marco’s and Kotoro’s courage, so he grabs the third crab robot, and in the end, he destroys the monkfish from the inside. Luna then saves him when the robot blows up. So cute. ^^

I’m really thankful for Anime-bt for bringing us this awesome series, along with its 1998 counterpart. I’ve almost caught up with their releases on both shows now, and I’m wishing them good luck with translating the final episodes. ^_^

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto – 05 – Fear the power of the Engrish

November 5, 2006 by psgels, posted in Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

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Again, a few new names:

Karasuma Kurouta: He’s the guy with the beak-like head accessory.

Ryuu Kaien: He’s the small guy, incredibly fast, white hair.

Hajizuka Genzai: He’s the huge guy. These three were seen at the beginning of the episode, where they were recruited for Nakaiya Juubei. Suddenly, the supernatural element also returned to the series when they were possessed by another inadequately sealed demon. This caused them to lose their mind, become loyal to Nakaiya Juubei and increase in both power and speed.

Hata Meifuu: he’s under the service of Nakaiya Juubei. He’s some kind of shaman, able to use supernatural powers in such a way that he can try to manipulate the inadequately sealed demons.

A few more things I found out after watching episode 3: Katsu actually holds a very important position. He’s just an unfortunate bystander who got involved with the story as he happened to be near the Kakunojou troupe often. Akizuki’s current mission is chasing after those demons, Shouten-sama probably gave him this mission. But what does Sakamoto Ryouma have to do with this?

Just as with Asatte no Houkou, I’m beginning to see a pattern. First, we have an episode which introduces the new characters, new bad guys, et cetera. The episode afterwards features the climax of that episode. I’m not sure whether this is a good idea, though. I think that an irregular pacing is better for series as Bakumatsu.

Also, one thing that’s been irking me about this series is its bad guys, and most especially the goons who get sent after Yuyama and Akizuki. They just lack depth and background. All we know of Hario Genba was that he once killed Yuyama’s parents, though what he did afterwards never becomes clear. Magozou is even worse, as we never really get to know him. I think that’s a pity, as it really would contribute to this series.

This episode wasn’t really anything special, apart from a number of small details. I liked how Soutetsu actually was discovered, and how H.S. Parkes sent out his English guards in order to scare away the three attackers. Notice how the Japanese officials are enraged by this? Should provide good material for in the future. Still, Parkes’ Engrish is too evident. And why was Nakaiya Juubei suddenly so gloomy at the end of the episode?

The cliff-hanger also was interesting. It’s obvious after you see it, as Kanna Saikyou no Suke does have English connections (after all, he was appointed to Katsu by Parkes).

Otogi Juushi Akazukin – 19 – A Different Side of Akazukin

November 4, 2006 by psgels, posted in Otogi Juushi Akazukin

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Finally an Akazukin/Baru episode! And an excellent one as well. As expected, this episode is the entire opposite of the previous one when Souta ends up in the Lycan main capital. Not much of Turude, but Jedo-sama really played a big role.

But the best part of the episode was Baru, getting injured. The effects this has on Akazukin is great, as finally we get to see another side of her. I loved it how she stays playful, until Baru collapses. Only then she sees what her playfulness caused, and her mood changes completely. She rushes off to find the medicine, but by doing this, Souta runs off on his own again, unprotected.

Baru also played a huge role in this, as he’s related to the lycan in some kind of way. Remember that he is a wolf himself. Does this mean that he’s some kind of special lycan? If he is, does he have a human form as well? He had a small conversation with Jedo-sama this episode, but I couldn’t understand too much of it. *kicks lack Japanese* Didn’t Jedo call Baru Gin-Roh? I also wonder how Jedo-sama’s story will continue. He’s not exactly one of the bad guys, but you also can’t really call him a good guy. Baru currently hates him, but this episode showed that he isn’t really too keen on helping Cendrion.

I’m also wondering… what happened to Hansel and Gretel? What happened to them after Gretel took the unconscious Hansel away from the Forest of Okashi? We saw Gretel at the previous episode, in a rather comical way, though we never saw Hansel again after that. After that infamous episode, Turude suddenly appeared and the story took a whole different turn, focusing on different aspects of the story of Otogi Juushi Akazukin. I like this trick. It makes you look forward to seeing these characters appear again.

The next episode will be a strange one, and it’ll be focused on Akazukin yet again. Finally she gets some real development. She gets some power up, and Turude seems to be coming in action as well (never knew she was a girl). And Akazukin also is a princess. I wonder what kind of princess. Oh, and she looks really cute in her new outfit. ^_^

Death Note – 05 – “Shinigami only eat apples”

November 3, 2006 by psgels, posted in Death Note

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Death Note’s huge power comes from the power of surprises. This anime really is one of the best anime out there when you look at that aspect. But, at the same time, while this is a huge strength, it’s also a huge weakness: because it’s so focused on surprises, it has almost no rewatch value. I’m seeing this from lots of sides. People who’ve read the manga really can’t seem to enjoy this anime, which is perfectly understandable. This is one of these anime you do NOT want to get spoiled on.

There was one thing I didn’t like in this episode: Ray Penbar’s girlfriend. She’s a former FBI-agent, but after she met Ray, he forced her to quit her job and work as a housewife. Emancipation, anyone? Ah well, it seems that she’ll become the next antagonist to cross Light’s paths, so I think we can expect a bit of background from her, which will hopefully explain why she chose to leave the FBI. Another thing I didn’t like about this episode was that L secretly hoped that Light was connected to one of the remaining police officers. It just remains too coincidental that Kira’s father just happens to be the police investigator who’s in charge of his investigation. That’s a chance of about one out of one million (or whatever the amount of people is who live in the Kantou-region and could have a child of Light’s age is).

Okay, those were the things I didn’t like. Now for the things I did like. 🙂 First of all, Light’s actions at the first half of the episode really surprised me, in a very good way. You would suspect that he’d try not to be seen, though he actually reveals to Ray Penbar that he’s Kira, without showing his face, and makes him kill all the FBI-agents who were sent to Japan to investigate on Kira. Never thought that he’d actually attempt to do such a reckless task. It just shows how much research Light is putting into his plans.

Another thing I really liked about this episode was the police. Lights father offers every agent on Kira’s case the chance to resign, as it seems that everyone who stands in Kira’s way dies. This only leaves a total of six people on Kira’s case. And suddenly, the police officers all get their own personality. Something which couldn’t be done with such a huge number of people on the case. I’m hoping that each of these officers will turn into someone significant, later in the story, as they’re really interesting characters. L’s decision to reveal his face also was great to see.

And, of course, a number of small details:
– Ryuk not knowing that you can write the cause of death first, only to write the name of the victim later and the Death Note will still work, and especially his reaction when he found out about this.
– “L, do you know shinigami only eat apples?” A very creative way to tease L. (^^;)

This series is pacing forward really fast. You’d wonder how Light’s struggle versus L can keep up for 32 more episodes. Some strange things really have to happen in order to make this happen. I’m very interested to find out how this story will be continuing.

Asatte no Houkou – 05 – Shoko

November 3, 2006 by psgels, posted in Asatte no Houkou

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After the previous episode focused on Karada, this is another episode focused on Shoko. I think I’m starting to see a pattern. If things go right, the next episode will focus on Karada again, and she probably has to confront Tetsu with the way she’s become. It’s a choice the creators made, and it does make sense. So far, it’s worked out extremely well.

Like I said, the current episode focuses on Shoko. It’s a light episode, compared to the previous ones, but that doesn’t make it less awesome. Karada, Hiro and Shoko now are living in one house, and they’re starting to turn into a family. The episode focuses on Shoko, getting used to the lifestyle of a child again. For starters, Karada now sees her as a little child, and treats her that way, trying to place as less of a burden on her shoulders. You can see that Shouko’s rather pissed off because of that.

We also see Shoko, visiting a child’s playground, trying to imagine what the life as a child would be like. When she used to be a child, she never played with the other children, as they’d often say that she was a boring girl who’d never play with them. During her first visit, she runs into a new side-character. Kotomi. She seems to be an acquaintance of Tetsu, and, as she just thinks that Shoko’s a cute little girl who doesn’t have any friends, she actually asks a couple of playing kids whether Shoko can play along. So cute. ^_^

In the end, Shoko ends up playing till sunset with a bunch of children, and actually haves fun at it. Then it also seems how much Karada has attached herself to Shoko, as she actually starts to get very worried when Shoko doesn’t return home. This’ll probably be used in the later episodes. I can’t wait. ^_^