Holy Jesus Again! Darker Than Black OVA Trailer

Well, I thought saying Holy Jesus for Ryuusei no Gemini would be enough; but apparently I was wrong. I need to say HOLY JESUS many many more times. Because look at the trailer for the Ryuusei no Gemini OVA!!!

Right?!?! I want to watch it NOW!

If you don’t already know (yes, I’m really slow regarding information about things like this), the events of Ryuusei no Gemini (season 2) take place 2 years after the last episode of Kuro no Keiyakusha (season 1 – which I’m starting to miss due to the new, cantankerous Hei). BONES, the production stupio, has announced that Ryuusei no Gemini will be 12 episodes long, and that an OVA (!!!) will be released AFTERWARDS which covers those 2 years that we have to be clueless about for the remaining 4 episodes of season 2.

The OVA will be a DVD-only release, it will be 4 episodes long, and the first episode is being released with the Ryuusei no Gemini DVD on January 27.

!!! I’m having a bit of a fangirl moment here, and so should you!

I’d already heard about the OVAs on MAL, but from the way their summary is worded (“side-stories”, they said… “side stories”) it sounded like it would be a bunch of fillers. Um, apparently not!

Kimi ni Todoke: Episode 8

GEHHHHHHH Rivals… *↔*

Words can’t express the pain in my heart when I think of how the sawayakyaaa Kimi ni Todoke is going to be mauled by the horridness of rivals.

For further understanding, please see THAT’s Kimi ni Todoke post. Most specifically, the part directed at the one they call “Kurumi”. *Shoots daggers out of eyes*

From the loveliness of episode 7…

To the ominous brewing rivalry of episode 8

D:

Darker Than Black – Ryuusei no Gemini: Episodes 01-04

HOLY JESUS. I finally decided to get back in line with watching the currently airing Darker Than Black second season. I’ve been putting it off because I don’t want to get to the point where I’m biting my fingernails waiting for the new episode every week and then having only 25 minutes to last me to the next one. However, I realized this is dumb. It is nice to watch in marathons though… Anyway I got up to episode 04 and HOLY JESUS.

I knew the format for the second season would be different; I mean it makes no sense to have it be episodic NOW. But still, due to the shortness of the season, it’s SUPER action packed.From here on I’m not gonna be able to write this spoiler free, so fly away if you’re even more behind on this than me.

By the way, I figured out how to take screenshots with Media Player Classic. Eheheh. I feel accomplished now. Of course that doesn’t mean I’ll stop being lazy; so the pictures on this blog will most likely still be stolen. On to spoilers!

Grahhh this show is as impossible to keep up with as ever. I still can’t figure out whether I’m the stupid one, or the show is the smart one. However, what I’ve gathered as of now is:

• Something terrible happened between Yin and Hei
• Hei is a broody, alcoholic jerk with a small beard now
• Hei has been working for the CIA, but now they along with some Russian group and “Section 3″ from Japan are all trying to find him and Shion
• Everyone thinks Suou is Shion
• Where the hell IS Shion?!
• WTF? Why is Suou now a contractor and Hei not?
• Because Hei definitely tried to use his ability on Tanya and was surprised when he couldn’t; plus his star disappeared
• Hei and Suou seem to be a different breed of contractors
• Why is Mao back? Resurrection…
• July is awesome now; he and Suou are actually quite adorable together
• OH YEAH! Inspector Kirihara is back in the game! XD
• Suou’s necklace seems to be some sort of Meteor Fragment
• Never did understand what those things were all about anyways…
• As of episode 4: Hei, Suou, July and Mao have teamed up seemingly with the intent to find Shion and they have traveled back to Tokyo

So that’s where things stand. And how is it all shaping up? Really, extremely, overly awesome. Hei’s broodiness is quite aggravating for now, but it just makes me excited to find out what happened to Yin. Suou is going to turn into an amazing character, despite the fact that BONES pulled an Utena and had her ability be to manifest a huge sword-like gun out of her chest. I’m also pretty glad to see the party back in Tokyo, because I HAVE quite missed Kirihara and her reunion with BK201 is definitely going to be something to remember. Hopefully.

Anyway, I like the direction this is heading and it’s great to see it’s still the same old Darker Than Black. No hesitation in killing off characters, comedy strangely but fittingly mixed in, music being awesome. Speaking of music; yes, I really miss Kanno Yoko. But the new guy seems to be doing a good job maintaining the atmosphere and I’ve decided I like the OP.  However… where’s the old OP~?

Now I’ve lost it, I know I can kill. The truth exists beyond the gates.

After looking through the old opening sequences, I’m realizing all over again how different the new season is. But is different always a bad thing?

So the verdict is: Good. More than good. Excellent. And while I miss Yin and Huang a bit, I think Suou and July are more than adequate payback for depriving us of Yin for a little while.

Remind me to download ANBU’s batch when the show’s over for archiving I’ve been watching BSS, but ANBU’s a beast.

PS: We need more Russia in anime!

The excellence of Toradora! Spreading some love

I’m quite behind on this one, both in terms of people in general blogging about it and ME blogging about it. I watched this over the summer of 2009 after it finished airing. It just never got my spirits up for a post. But then, a sudden development: rewatching Princess Nine led to some WEIRD connection in my brain which led to me rewatching TORADORA! And now I feel the need to continue spreading the love for Ryuuji and Taiga. Since I know I would have trouble being objective on this one, I finally get a chance to do an essay style review again!

Toradora is one of those shows that when you divide it into categories like Plot, Characters and Music it just seems to fall apart in your hands and you start to wonder “Why the HELL is this good?” One of the mysteries of the universe, my friend. So let’s approach Toradora from a different angle.

I’ve often seen this compared to Lovely Complex, probably because of the original set-up where the main characters like each others’ best friends. But while it pains me deeply to say this, Toradora does this WAY better than Lovely Complex (which sounds like a hentai name, and is beginning to make me feel awkward; time to shorten it to Love*Com).  Love*Com just uses this as an obvious prop to get Otani and Risa together. Hell, it only takes like 2 episodes for Risa to realize Otani is way cooler than his friend. However, in Toradora this is not the case. Ryuuji and Taiga actually become friends. Like really friends. Not “We’re the awkward couple” friends. And while it’s still quite obvious that they’re supposed to end up together, it’s done in a gradual and more realistic way. For some people this is just aggravating, and there are cases where it would be aggravating for me too. But it works with Ryuuji and Taiga.

There is definitely drama in Toradora, but it never gets to the point where you’re throwing your slipper at the screen. The characters are rational, praise the lord (though Kitamura did kind of suck by around episode 15). Maybe you could call this a more man-ish shoujo. Damn, that sounds like I’m saying men are more rational. Not even slightly what I mean. Forget that, okay? What I’m trying to say here is that in Toradora the classic shoujo cliches are noticeably missing. No uber-bitch jealous rivals. No god-awful misunderstandings. If there are misunderstandings (damn the things to hell) the characters behave rationally and more like how I would than Momo from Peach Girl would. And though Ami might first appear to be an uber-bitch, we soon see how that turns over. AND it only takes one episode. Because of Ryuuji and Taiga’s kick-ass-ness, it’s not even slightly painful.

Speaking of TAIGA’s kick-ass-ness, let’s move on to the best anime fight ever. Screw mecha, this is what deserves the awards.

Obviously they weren’t prepared to have the budget for a fight scene so the animation was  bit weird, but it didn’t bother me too much. Especially since the rest of the show had quite nice art and animation for something of this genre. And about genre… would this be the same genre as Suzumiya Haruhi? Because it definitely doesn’t feel like shoujo, it almost feels like it’s aimed at guys or at least both. I don’t usually like to classify things into genres obsessively, but Toradora made me wonder.

The fight was just… classic. I felt like the whole show was sort of classic, but at the same time it felt really fresh. A new classic? Or maybe just my whole avoidance of popular mainstream shows again? It’s true that if you never watch mainstram stuff it feels fresh at first.

One other thing I wanted to mention about Toradora was the element of parents and family. Now with most shows you have either overwhelming, American soap opera-like family drama between kids and parents OR you have the shoujo parents that never, ever appear or get mad when their kid is out all hours and never seems to do her homework. You know what I’m talking about. It’s that habit many authors seem to have of leaving out pieces that are inconvenient for them. It’s kind of like when you were little and you wondered how come people never went to the bathroom in movies or books. Toradora avoids both these fates with finesse. A big part of the ending is the realistic dynamics between both Taiga and her parents and Ryuuji and his mom. At first it might seem merely like pointless added drama. But in my opinion it all supported the realism that keeps showing up in Toradora. Like this is what would ACTUALLY happen. Of course it’s a little exaggerated, but it IS an anime for crying out loud.

Anyway, I’m not trying to bring up new points here, or pick apart the show and bitch about the little irritating parts. I just want to spread the love a bit for a show that’s been widely debated over when it’s best just watched and enjoyed.

The Tragedy of Natsu no Arashi: Akinai-chuu!

I’m writing this as of episode 6, but if something changes in the next few episodes I will hastily stuff all my words back into my mouth and pretend this never happened.

GAHHHHHHHHHHH Shinbo I hate you SHAFT I hate you WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? Original manga author  Kobayashi Jin, is this YOUR fault?! What happened to my favorite summer show? What the hell made it so BORING? I’m putting my money on Shinbo, seeing how he couldn’t manage to maintain balance with Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and turned it into a repetitive monotonous panty flashing fest after the first season.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is mainly going to be a bashing party, so leave now if it bothers you.

I actually really liked SZS season one. It was fresh and funny and unique. What Shinbo needs to learn is that it’s NOT fresh after three seasons and countless extra episodes. Same thing with Natsu no Arashi. When I heard there was going to be a second season, I was mainly just excited. But now that I think about it, isn’t that kind of surprising? I mean, all the characters had been introduced, and that was mainly what the show was about. Introducing new characters, traveling back to World War II to help them, having World War II touching moments in really surprising places. So… what did I think they were going to do? Just keep introducing more and more ghosts as the second season went on? Fill up Hakobune Cafe to the brim with em? Start a Ghost Convention? What, would they call it Summer Gho-Con?  Unless they were really bold and insane, the producers wouldn’t do that. So what the hell was the point of continuing production then, HUH?

The only thing left for this show is the Jun’s cross-dressing side plot and scenes at the Hakobune reminiscent of the widely hated first episode of season 1. While I was a little dismayed by the beginning of the second season, thinking it was ONLY going to be about Jun’s crossdressing, at least that’s a PLOT. And hey, I’ve been known to go for crossdressing shows. Hana Kimi Jdrama anyone? But this was just oppurtunities for fanservice. So they tuned down the fanservice after episode 3, but after you take THAT away, the only thing left is the Hakobune. And for some series, this type of set-up is fantastic. It’s subtle, with a little comedy and maybe some character development tossed in. But we all know that doesn’t sound like Natsu no Arashi.

Let me say here and now that I was actually one of the proud and few who didn’t think the very first episode of Natsu no Arashi was complete crap. It was entertaining. But the reason I ended up following and loving Natsu no Arashi was because that first episode was supplemented by some many other things. The interesting NOT YET OVER STYLIZED animation technique, the weird but cool concept, the slightly cheesy narration of Hajime, the nostalgic feel… ALL OF THAT. Zenbu. Now ruined by season 2.

Season 2 is just over done. It’s trying too hard to be cool, it’s monotonous, the bagkground music is really irritating and adds to the repetitive feel, the time-traveling is dumb and boring, the World War II element has been completely taken away, all the episode set-ups are exactly the same, the OP and ED are dull, the OP animation was interesting once, but now it’s monotonous like the rest of the show. It’s completely tasteless. WHAT THE FUCK. Shinbo has now screwed me over twice. This is the tragedy of Natsu no Arashi. Akinai-chuu.

Remember when it was like this?

And now it’s like this… although they don’t look that different, remember it’s whats inside that counts. And what’s inside Akinai-chuu is bull crap. Thanks, Shinbo. Thanks a lot.

Ayatsuri Sakon

I’m doing this in 2 parts. Part 1 I wrote when I was in my initial excited fangirl stage after watching the first 7 episodes, Part 2 I wrote upon completing the series and is hopefully more rational and helpful.

PART 1

(11/9/2009)

Okay. First impression upon watching seven episodes: KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Ayatsuri Sakon is the newest show over which I am fangirling. HUH? It doesn’t seem like the fangirly type show… but let me explain why I find it so awesome.

1) It’s obscure. In my opinion, obscure is usually good. It’s different, and original.

2) IT’S WEIRD. The main character is a ventriloquist who carries around a puppet all the time. I think that alone would send most people packing.

3) After Ayashi no Ceres, I seem to have developed I strange obsession and love for 90’s style anime. The bright colors… the still frames where the camera is just panning while a soundtrack plays… the sharply drawn bodies and pointy facial features… the lack of CG… I LOVE IT ALL!

4) The music. Both the OP and ED are awesome and fit very well with the series. The OP is so catchy! It’s so 90’s anime like, too. Reminds me of Kenshin; and it helps hype me up for the following episode.

5) Sakon is the best teen detective ever. He’s just ridiculously unusual and cool. Plus I love his aunt.

6) Umm… it’s like a combination of Rurouni Kenshin, Ghost Hunt and Ayashi no Ceres. What more could you ask for?

PART 2

More rational it is. One of these days I’ll write an essay-style review, but for now I’m gonna continue doing it the easy way.

Plot

Or plot…s. Ayatsuri Sakon is indeed a mystery, arc-based show; and there’s no real ongoing background story. However, I think for this show at least, that worked out just fine. While the quality of each arc varies – both in animation and plot – the characters are lovable and odd enough to keep you from losing interest. All the arcs are murder mysteries, most of which involve some sort of curse or supernatural seeming element. But are the curses REAL or are they all just a hoax? I dunno… *wink wink* So anyway this feel of “MAYBE it’s really a ghost” makes Ayatsuri Sakon reminiscent of Ghost Hunt. My favorite arcs were the one at the House of Puppets and the last one, of course. The House of Puppets one I actually had no idea who was doing it. Other than that – barring the first arc – I usually had a pretty good guess at what was going on. Jesus, the first arc I was like “Whaaa…?” But I’m the type who likes being able to figure it out every so often, so that was nice. I definitely wouldn’t say the mysteries are simple or childish, though. Definitely not. Well, this brings us to the REAL plot…

Characters

Yes, the characters! In arc-based shows I always find that I’m more interested in finding out more about the characters than the arc (not to say that the Ayatsuri arcs were anything less than fascinating). So the characters are basically the plot for me. And let me say that Ayatsuri most definitely surpasses Ghost Hunt in filling out a bit of character background story.

1. Sakon is amazing. I’m not sure why, but he totally won me over by the second half of the first episode. Maybe it’s just that in America he would be SO WEIRD. Like the outcast of the century. But in this show, he’s not. He solves murder mysteries and he performs with puppets and he has a double personality. I think if you want to watch this show, you have to accept Sakon as one eccentric character and just not give a damn. Anyways, as a combo he and Ukon may be one of my favorite pairs.

2. All the minor characters that show up for one arc are quite believable. They have little stories and their personalities aren’t completely cardboard cutouts. Or maybe they are but I didn’t notice because I was distracted by Sakon being cool. Plus you get the feeling that they don’t just disappear or walk of the screen into some other world when the arc ends; like some people reappear or have prior relations with Sakon. So I never lost interest with these characters either.

3. Sakon’s aunt. Um, best side character ever.

I think I’m biased. There are definitely some people who would be bored by this or over their heads in eccentricity. I guess I am just not one of them.

Music

I think I mentioned this before, but the OP is super fabulous and Rurouni Kenshin-esque. God, I miss that show. Everytime I clicked open a new episode, that song would just get me all hyped up for the next story. I also found the BGM to be quite effective. It was pretty normal and all, but it had a sort of traditional sound, which fit in with the idea of all the Japanese puppets. The ending was also pleasant. Very calming after an episode of intrigue and murder.

Animation

Well… it was basically a 90’s anime that was aired a little late. So we know what that means, right?! YES! My favorite! Pointy faces!!! Ahhh I love it. It’s so nostalgic feeling. But yeah, it’s old school.

In conclusion: Is this anime right for you?

Ayatsuri Sakon just had this charisma, this je ne sais quoi; something about it that made me immediately fall in love with it. And I’m still not sure I can put my finger on exactly what that was. But I think I can safely recommend this to you if you enjoyed Ghost Hunt and you’re up for some old school style murder mysteries. And are prepared for a little eccentricity… However, I wouldn’t watch this expecting a lot of fighting action, romance, insane character development, or beautiful animation.

Darker Than BLACK

OMG~~~~~~~~~~ I should have started this post as soon as I finished the first season of Darker Than Black, but I kept debating whether maybe I should wait until the second season was over and I’d finished watching that too. But now that I’ve finally watched the first episode of Ryuusei no Gemini, I AM ON A FANGIRL HIGH~!

Maybe helped along by Honey & Clover season 2 episode 5, which I just rewatched and has plenty of NOMIYA x YAMADA! Plus, watching Youtube videos of Honey & Clover insert songs! So THIS is why I love anime~ eheheh.

Anyway, the point is that I was definitely not satisfied with the original ending of Darker Than Black; and so I became incredibly happy and relieved when I watched the first episode of the continuation today and loved it. But wait, on to the REAL point, which is to write a review of the first season.

Part 1

Darker Than BLACK – Kuro no Keiyakusha

Ah the first season of Darker Than Black, “The Black Contractor”. I fell in love with it because…? The characters, the awesome music, the pretty animation, the intriguing setting. I think the reason I first started watching this was actually because of the music. I’d just finished Wolf’s Rain, and while I wasn’t too enthralled with the way the plot wrapped up, it didn’t stop me from loving the music. And that was how I discovered Kanno Yoko. She also did the music for Darker Than Black, and after Wolf’s Rain just her name was pretty much enough to get me interested. So I downloaded and clicked open the first episode… WOAH. I was thrown into a completely confusing and slightly different modern Tokyo. The interesting thing about Darker Than Black is that it’s based on 2-episode story arcs, which you’re thrown into the middle of right from the beginning. Even the main characters aren’t completely revealed to you until later; the details of the setting and the plot take basically the whole series to be understood. And if you’re often struck dumb by the awesomeness of certain characters and forget to pay attention, you might not ever completely understand the details of the setting and plot and be extremely grateful for the overview you get at the beginning of the next season.

Plot and Setting.

The reason I put plot and setting as the same category is because for Darker Than Black, they’re basically one and the same.

At first you don’t get much of a background story, only the words “the syndicate”, “Heaven’s Gate” and “contractors”. Then you meet your four main characters: Hei, Yin, Mao and Huang. Yes, they are supposedly Chinese. They appear to be a team working for the mysterious “syndicate”. Their goal: uncertain. Basically, they deal with events that have to do with contractors; a sort of person with super-powers (?) that has appeared along with “Heaven’s Gate” in Tokyo and “Hell’s Gate” in Brazil – two mysterious areas where reality appears to be distorted. That’s right, everything is extremely mysterious.

So the “background story” turns out to be in the process of the viewer learning more about the setting. I’m sorry if this is really confusing, but since the actual series itself is quite confusing, it’s fairly impossible to explain it in a short paragraph.

Arcs.

Not really going by standard review categories here… just trying to organize my brain a bit.

You could say Darker Than Black is episodic, but I don’t think I would. It does (for the most part) follow a sort of formula where over every two episodes, a contractor is introduced, and various issues have to be dealt with. However, I REALLY didn’t want to use the word formula there, because Darker Than Black is in absolutely no way formulaic. Nuh-uh. Just no. Each arc has its purpose in revealing more to you about the characters and setting, and each arc is always interesting since you know so little about the characters and setting.

Characters.

This is what really caught and HELD my attention about Darker Than Black. Yes, the music is awesome, as I expected with Kanno Yoko. Yes, the setting was intriguing. But it was the characters that really made me want to keep watching. At first I just wanted to see more of them; now I shamelessly love them and will still love them even if they grow small beards like Hei does in the second season.

Hei is an excellent and versatile main character; being a contractor he’s suppossedly a heartless killer (or IS he?) but he also has a fake identity… yes, the mild-mannered and clumsy Li Shen-shung! Don’t you love secret identities? I do. Yin, Huang and Mao are also all interesting characters in their own right, and each get their own dose of fleshing out and background which never seems forced. You know how in shounen you start out with the main character, and then the first people he encounters end up becoming his companions for the rest of the show? And each time he meets a new one he gets their background and then they just do nothing? Darker Than Black is the antidote for that.

In addition to all THAT, the characters in the arcs are also well-done; which is hard when you know they’ll probably only be around for 2 episodes. Plus, you have your side characters, as well as the characters that you recognize from previous arcs. And they never get completely ignored, which is awesome. November 11, April and July are a tidy unit that make their appearances just when you want to see them; and the foolish detective pair also show up from time to time. As for the one I haven’t mentioned yet… YES, the lady police officer! She is so cool. She reminds me of the days when I wanted to join Interpol. And I’m hoping she makes a comeback in Ryuusei no Gemini.

Art & Animation.

Always fluid and pretty. Sort of in the style of Phantom, I guess; but I think I might tentatively say it was even better. I liked the chara designs, too. They were simple, but definitely recognizable and unique in their own way.

Music.

Did I mention it’s awesome? Again, Kanno Yoko magic. I loved both OPs, and I particularly liked the first OP animation. The EDs were also both nice, though I did like the first one better. The BGM was the opposite of cliche. One background track that definitely stuck with me was the track from the Next Episode Previews.

Atmosphere.

I used this category back in my Spice and Wolf review, but I haven’t had to bring it back until now. Darker Than Black has a very unique, original and enjoyable atmosphere. It’s not happy-go-lucky, and people die; but it’s not always like OMG-WTF-Splat-Blood-Gore-Depressionnn either. It’s a mixture of comedy at times, though definitely not the classic anime humor that involves hitting people with paper fans; along with action and original ideas and details and human interaction under interesting circumstances. Of course, the music helps. Basically, the thing is that normally when I watch something I’ll be like “Oh this reminds me of such-and-such show” but Darker Than Black doesn’t remind me of anything. And I think that’s cool.

Part 2

Darker Than BLACK – Ryuusei no Gemini

As if this post isn’t already long enough, I’m still gonna have to be adding in more when I finish Season 2. For now, all I can say is… OMG Kyaa!

Honey & Clover Anime: Attempt at a review of both seasons

Gosh, this is becoming the weekend of endless posts. I finally have a weekend where I’m not busy~ And I’m FINALLY doing a real review of Honey & Clover. Although I might not even call it “real” since I don’t think I’m going to be able to review this objectively. However, I will do it in the usual categorical fashion.

This came up again because… hm. I was watching something… yadayadayada… I wanted to rewatch Michiko e Hatchin? That reminded me of Spring, which reminded me of Honey & Clover… listened to the OP; thought I HAVE TO REWATCH AND REVIEW THIS! So over the past few months I’ve sort of been rewatching Honey & Clover. I’ve almost finished the first season for the second time. I think it’s (sadly) helped me see some of the faults, and why maybe it’s better to wait like 3 years before rewatching Honey & Clover (rather than 6 months, which is what I did…) Anyway, ANDALE.

PLOT

This is slice of life. It centers around Takemoto, and his friends and their life at art college in Tokyo, and where they’re all going with their lives. It sounds melancholy and reflective. You have no idea. It is UNBELIEVABLY melancholy and reflective. Like Fruits Basket times 100 minus the cute animals. That’s not to say it will drag you down to the point of collapsing with the weight of the meaning of life. There are definitely comedic moments, too. Aughhh this is too hard. I can’t review this. To quote myself of last spring,

“Ahhh I love Honey and Clover. Happiness in a box.”

CHARACTERS

I’m realizing now that you can’t review Honey & Clover. You just have to watch it. But I will continue to half-heartedly try, by stealing stuff from my posts from last spring.

“I’m so happy to see this after the slight train-wreck of a Jdrama that it was… I should have ditched the drama and watched this lonnggg ago (the only thing that kept me watching back then was Ikuta Toma). All the characters are so wonderful (especially compared to their drama counterparts!) Okay, I’m gonna stop comparing this to the drama, because there’s no reason to. They are completely different. Hagu still gets on my nerves a bit, but I like her.”

So by now upon my second viewing, I have discovered that hearing all those monologues again isn’t the best experience. And Ayu has also become a bit irritating to listen to AGAIN. However, I do still love them all despite their melancholiness. Okay, let me just remind you here that this is a review upon a SECOND VIEWING. I’m not caught up in being a fangirl anymore. You will still love this the first time around. I am just being a party pooper.

“Anyone else notice that while Mayama, Takemoto, Ayumi, Hanamoto-sensei and even Nomiya all get their chances to narrate a bit, Morita and Hagu never do? You never know what they’re thinking. You might know what Takemoto THINKS their thinking… Haha. Well, I don’t have much else to say for now, other than yeah HAPPINESS IN A BOX.”

Oh, can’t have a Honey & Clover post without mentioning NOMIYA x AYUUUU! Best H&C pairing ever. For some reason my computer still sucks at screenshots of MPC playing files, so I’m just stealing profile pictures from MAL. I feel guilty, though.

ART & ANIMATION

Quite nice, classic JC Staff-slice-of-life style (see Nodame Cantabile). At first I disliked the washed out colors, but I got used to it. It’s relaxing to look at.

MUSIC

I love all the OPs and EDs from both seasons. The first OP was so weird; with the food and everything. But it’s now a part of Honey & Clover. This has a BIG soundtrack. There are a lot of insert songs. AND, I actually remember a lot of the BGM melodies, but NOT because they were bad. They’re just the sort that stick with you in a nice way. So THAT’s good. I particularly like the track that plays when Takemoto does his little “When I was still little I used to ride on my blue/green (still haven’t figured out which color aoi is… the subs say green, but that bike is definitely blue! Such a mystery) bicycle and I would wonder how far I could go without stopping, etc etc” spiel. Amazing that I remember it. Also the second ED “Mistake”, if only because of the performer’s name: “THE BAND HAS NO NAME”. LOL.

AWHOOPS

This is kind of spoiler-y; you probably don’t want to read it if you haven’t seen the second season. I stole this from my old, silly post about Honey&Clover II that I wrote in the spring after finishing it.

One thing I really liked about this continuation [Of Honey&Clover] was that it kinda let you understand Hagu more. At first she seemed kinda personality-less… and I didn’t like her. But by the end, I like her better. OMG I totally predicted that would happen with Shuu-chan! Because it was pretty obvious she wasn’t going to end up with Takemoto, or anyone necesarily. And Morita… just didn’t seem to work out. So I was like… But wait… She likes Shu a lot, righttt? So what if he’s old and her cousin? She’s totally dependant on him no matter what she says!

But nobody was really paired off for good like “We are now together. Let us kiss and smile and be happy forever.” I liked that. Who knows what’ll happen? I like to think Yamada and Nomiya end up together.

OVERALL

Well, I tried. Honey & Clover does not lend itself to easy reviewing. I think you really just have to watch it. You’ll probably know by the second episode whether you want to continue watching it. I would say the likely suspects to watch this are those who miss Natsume Yuujinchou or Nodame Cantabile and want to be relaxed. As for rewatch value, I would definitely wait awhile to rewatch. The second time around is considerably less fangirl-ish. But I still love it, the music is still relaxing and lovely, and it’s still happiness in a box.

For my slightly more fangirl-y intial reactions, I link:

Michiko to Hatchin, Honey & Clover and MORE + Spring Anime

Honey & Clover again; Skip Beat; and excitement~

Honey & Clover II: Season 1 on crack

Also the drama… grrr… first I was deceived, I was petrifie–wait, I didn’t say that. Anyway, the reason I initially liked the drama was ONLY because the material it’s based on is good. I quickly learned otherwise.

Honey & Clover

EDIT

Upon rewatching Season II, episode 5:

Screw this review! I love Honey & Clover and so do you! Nomiya X Yamada forever! *Still a fangirl on the inside*

Full Metal Panic!: Complete Series REVIEW

Okay, I’m writing this after finishing FMP Season 1 and Fumoffu. I’ve decided before that it’s silly to review different seasons of the same series seperately, but I that’s actually what I’ll be doing here. Fumoffu kind of has to be reviewed seperately… also I haven’t watched The Second Raid yet, and I’m getting a feeling that if I wait to blog AFTER I watch that, then I’ll lose momentum. I’m getting better at thinking up stratagies to avoid losing momentum. Anyway, this’ll be in 3 parts: Season 1, Fumoffu and the Second Raid. Will definitely add in TSR later. For now, SEASON 1~

Part 1:

FULL METAL PANIC!

Well, for some reason I feel ashamed, but I really did enjoy this. So I’m going to try and figure out the source of both the shame and the enjoyment here. I’m thinking I got kind of a Ranma 1/2 feeling from this. Plus I’m kind of (purposefully) shounen deprived, and this was a little shounen-esque at times. But I don’t think I would classify it as shounen. At least not cliche shounen. Yes, the amount of pantyshots in the first 6 episodes almost made me stop watching. Anyway, I think it would help if I went about this in a more organized way.

PLOT

I don’t even want to go here. The plot is random and unlikely and it’s DEFINITELY not the reason I continued watching. But you know what might have helped keep me watching? This was my first MECHA ANIME! So exciting! I’ve always found mecha to be cheesy and wondered how dressing up in a gigantic mechanical armor suit could fascinate so many people. My curiosity about why it’s so enthralling for those legions of fanboys (and fangirls) made me continue opening up the next episode. Part of it was also that I actually don’t watch this type of anime very often. So it was kind of (oddly) fresh. To much fresh anime leads to extremely un-fresh anime seeming fresh. Interesting.

Anyway, the basic plot premise is that Sagara Sousuke, a Sergeant for a secret seigi-no-mikata-like organization called MITHRIL, is assigned to be the secret bodyguard of Kaname Chidori – a teenage girl who lives alone. Hrm. Violent, hilarious antics ensue as we discover that Sagara, a genius when it comes to war, is totally lacking in social skills and common sense. The main villain is Gauron, your classic cardboard cutout never-dying villain. Turns out Chidori is a “Whispered” who has subconscious knowledge of black mecha technology imbedded in her mind which evil people want. But who cares about that when you can have a) mecha fights or b) comedy between Sagara and Chidori.

Basically, it’s random and I didn’t really care.

CHARACTERS

Possibly the real reason why I kept watching. Nope, they’re not deep. Do they develop? Not really. Are they amazing and completely, totally uncliched? Not that either. So why don’t I hate them? Let me see if I can explain this rationally and not turn into a fangirl.

Sagara Sousuke

Not completely like any cliche guy character I’ve seen. He does have uncommon skillz at war and fighting. Aaaand he’s only 17. But let’s ignore that. It’s his total lack of common sense that makes him charming. In short, he’s an idiot. He seems oh-so-competent during mecha battles and he always knows how to deal with dangerous issues. But apply the same character to regular life and he just ends up paranoid and ridiculous. I would think “Is this getting old?” and then I’d be like “…nah” and keep watching.

Chidori Kaname

Her main cliche is probably tsundere, the hot-tempered kind. Yes, she yells at and hits Sousuke with a paper fan when he’s being ridiculous. Yes, this gets old. But she’s also sort of rational. She does need to be rescued often, but not because she’s incompetent. And of course Sousuke is better at fighting than she is, he’s in a secret organization for christ sake. I have Balsa if I need an amazing female fighter. Anyway, the thing that allows you to put up with her damsel-in-distress problem is that she also helps Sousuke out with her “Whispered” skillz. They end up becoming more of a combo than a guys-rescues-girl thing, especially later on. Plus she has to help him out of all the situations he gets into in the real world. I’m really happy with how they turned into a partners/combo relationship. It’s cool.

The rest of the characters were pretty standard, but I did like Melissa Mao and Kurz Weber as side characters. Oof, and Tessa was a bit hard to take at times, but in reality some people are like that. I dealed.

ART/ANIMATION/MUSIC

None of these 3 categories worthy of its own paragraph for this show. The art is classic early-2000’s. The animation is completely normal. The music is Jpop-like. Nuff said.

IN CONCLUSION;

There’s not much worth mentioning in this show other than the characters (Chidori X Sousuke SPECIAL COMBO ATTACK) and the fact that it was a little funny at times. It’s diverting. It’s the new Inuyasha.

Part 2:

FULL METAL PANIC? FUMOFFU

Fumoffu is basically a side story to FMP, leaving out any millitary action or real villains. This gets more like Ranma 1/2 since there really is no main plot AT ALL. But I actually managed to enjoy this equally if not more than the first season. First off, the focus was on comedy; one of the parts I liked more in the original series. I’ve been comdey-deprived in my anime lately… Also, there was no stupid never-dying villain lurking in the background. And while the episodes definitely followed a formula (something strange happens, Sousuke does something ridiculous, Chidori smacks him with a paper fan, everything is solved) there were only 12 of them so it didn’t get tiring.

Also, I actually surprised myself at how much I laughed when Bonta came on. Of course the first time Bonta appeard was the funniest, but I was really quite happy to see him appear again later on. One more time and it could’ve gotten old, but I was enjoying it too much.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to rationalize, but I think this is really just something I liked because I was comedy deprived.

Part 3:

FULL METAL PANIC: THE SECOND RAID

 

As of first episode: IT’S. SO. PRETTYYYY!

Ahem. Well, I have now finished TSR. Gahhhh I really want another season. What about Amalgam?! You just introduce this new organization with Tessa’s brother as the leader and then leave us hanging? WTF? Moar!

Plot

Strange to say, but TSR actually had something of a real plot. It was like someone injected steroids into Season 1’s plot. If Fumoffu was Season 1 minus the action, then TSR was Season 1 minus the comedy. Basically we have some new villains: this creepy psychopathic  hairy Russian guy with side-burns; Chinese yuri twins; and the mysterious leader of Amalgam, the organization they all seem to be affiliated with. Then Sousuke gets removed from his side-job of being Chidori’s bodyguard. Also, he sucks at piloting the Arbalest, which becomes another main point of this season. So Chidori has to fend for herself, which is AWESOME and you see a side of Sousuke that’s not completely ace at everything military. Pretty cool. I could still see where the plot was going most of the time, but at least I actually noticed that there WAS a plot, unlike the first season.

Characters

I guess I covered this in plot, but basically TSR develops Sousuke a LOT more; and Chidori is not without her moments as she now has to protect herself. It was pretty depressing that the two of them were on opposites sides of the series for practically the whole season. It would be like Chidori episode, Sousuke episode. It changed things up though, so it was all good. Anyways, they both still rock. I’m not being objective… damn.

Sound + Animation

Same ol’ Full Metal Panic! The music is all really similar throughout all three seasons. The three OPs and EDs are carbon copies of each other. But it helps keep the atmosphere intact, so I didn’t mind. But OMG the animation and art was SO MUCH PRETTIER. It was incredible. Kind of like the difference between the old Inuyasha and Kanketsu-hen. Don’t you love that? Seeing some show you liked but that had lacking animation get a new studio? It’s like a makeover.

Random

Augh I missed Fumoffu. This really was a bit too serious for me. I love serious; but I find it difficult to take mecha seriously. So I need my mecha to be comedic. But who cares; this is probably the only mecha-ish show I’ll ever watch. Though I HAVE been meaning to watch Escaflowne. Man, I want another season. TSR had no Chidori and Sousuke combination action moments, they still haven’t even scratched the surface with the “Whispered” thing, and hello? What about this whole “Amalgam” organization?! But I have faced up to the fact that getting a new season is extremely unlikely. Possibly even more unlikely than getting the Saiunkoku novels translated to English (hey, if they’re doing Spice and Wolf…) since it’s already been 4 or 5 years since TSR aired. Sad…

IS FULL METAL PANIC! THE SERIES FOR YOU?

I realize that this review is pretty lame since there’s really not much you can say about Full Metal Panic and I basically only wrote it because I was hyped about watching action comedy again. So in order to make this worthwhile, I’ll list carefully who I think would enjoy Full Metal Panic!

• Do you tend to watch fresh, unusual series?
• Are you unafraid to indulge your guilty fan side?
• Have you been feeling deprived of comedic action lately?
• Did you enjoy Ranma 1/2?
• Do you scoff at mecha but harbor a small curiosity regarding it?
• Are you looking for something diverting to distract you from the tragedy of Rose of Versailles?

… Full Metal Panic! may be the show for you!

Kimi ni Todoke: Episode 3 (with a slight chance of 4 and 5)

Wow, everyone loves Kimi ni Todoke now, right? I confess… IT’S WON ME OVER TOO~ There are still some parts where I think to myself ‘Now if I were writing this, would I have put that in? Or does it justtt cross the line of cheese?’ but DEFINITELY nothing as awful as the awkward Ioryogi moments in Kobato. I can’t believe I gave that a higher first impression score. And I think I’m quickly getting over that acquired aversion for shoujo, if only for this one show. Yessss if I wanted I could think of some more issues. BUT I DON’T WANT TO. It’s too lovely~ Plus I’m gonna have to do that for my series review anyways, so at least now I have to relax and forget about critique.

Because after episode 3, I just got this tiny urge to wach the next episode (I had gotten behind). And then episode 4. Nnnnext one too! Gahhh why is episode 6 not out yet? I just now realized that what they’ve done is they’ve built in some drama to keep me watching! But they did it so slowly I didn’t even notice! Those sneaky bastards XD!

Ahhh my shoujo fangirl has resurfaced. After so long… (not really, actually…) but in my defense, this definitely has something over regular shoujo. And that is the plot doesn’t feel driven by the need to get Kazehaya and Sawako together as quick as possible so they can be thrown into dramatic situations. Some shoujo avoid seeming this obvious by using a sideplot to distract you. At first glance it could look like Kimi ni Todoke is doing that too. (Hopefully) Alternate Situation: Ohhh Sawako needs to make friends (sideplot). But KAZEHAYA is here. And here. And he’s over here too! FORGET THE FRIENDS, here’s KAZEHAYA! However, I’ve crossed my fingers and I’m practically convinced that Kimi ni Todoke has avoided this. I sense there WILL be rivals, though… grrrr… Peach Girl has kind of traumatized me when it comes to rivals. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay calm. Twitch.

Anyway, fall season has turned out okay, I think. We’ve got some interesting sequels, and 2 refreshing/relaxing series. Plus, Aoi Bungaku which I haven’t watched yet but I WILL and seems like it will be good.

So.. yeah. That’s Kimi ni Todoke for me, as of episode 5. Maybe subsequent episodes will inspire me to post again? No matter what, I’ll definitely end up writing a review. Urgh just reminded myself of Phantom... must review… must review…

One last thing:

ONCE AGAIN PRODUCTION IG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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