Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Birthd - HALLOWEEN! Wait, what was it again?

While I don't usually do these celebration posts, aside from the New Year, since well, I think the New Year is important everywhere in the world, and if I really wanted to do it I'd have to celebrate every single special day in the world, only to be fair, it appears Halloween is special.
Mostly because it's a fun celebration and because I'm totally not going to do a celebratory post for Halloween.
(On the other hand, I am going to post an Halloween anime selection tomorrow over at Organization ASG)

What I was trying to post about is a reminder that Tiger&Bunny is great and that you should all watch it. As well as the very useless information today is Barnaby's birthday and that he deserves to be wished a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
And also that I love the fans, I love the fandom, I love fucking everyone and I LOVE STERNBILD

Now that I've totally outed myself as a creepy fangirl, I shall leave and rewatch Tiger&Bunny to celebrate.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Kuuki's crazy anime watchlist corner desuu~ #24

Before tomorrow's "Halloween" special let me present you with yet another edition of my crazy watchlist!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Guilty Crown 03 - What are friends when there are idols?

Trying to wrap my head around the fact that I may not post a Penguindrum impression this week because said Penguindrum was probably the less impressive episode since the serie started I decided I'll post about Guilty Crown instead.
Because posting about Guilty Crown is making fun of every possible aspect of the episode.

Help me, an idol's living in my appartment. 
Talking about Guilty Crown is talking about the two main characters, obviously. It has been established that Inori "looks exactly like a doll". But that's because she has as much personality as a dead frog.
It would also appear, judging from the wonderful dialogue she had with Shu in his appartment that she is only able to perform basic animal functions, mainly, feed, fight and probably fuck. (I know there is no clear evidence for the last aspect but when you tell someone you just met "Use me I'm yours, you are obviously inclined to think that way)

As for Shu, his precious feelings must be protected. He's a poor high school student after all, can't he be happy about anything? Can't he stop worrying for a bit? I mean, he probably cannot help it but his mood swings are annoying, he's all courageous for a second, then change his mind and goes back to be a scaredy cat.

Help me, I'm fabulous. 

This, was probably the highlight of the episode, because Gai, who just broadcast an announcement about the existence of Funeral Parlor and who's probably the most wanted criminal at the moment goes around, meet a high schooler whom I wouldn't trust and is probably having meetings with important people or he wouldn't wear that kind of clothes (As noted by Shu in this very insightful piece of dialogue "Thanks for coming." "You have great clothes") 
Which puts even more emphasis on the fact that, even if he's fabulous, I don't understand how this character thinks, I don't see the logic behind his actions. At all. 

I do understand why he warned Shu though, after all he has more to loose than him and he might have thought it would bring Shu to his side. 

Help me, my best-friend tried to kill me. 

Since he was warned by Gai who possess the mysterious power of seeing people's Voids without physical contact (I still don't quite understand how the hell this works, even with the rules laid before my eyes) Shu embarks on a journey to find the mysterious student who saw him on that fated day.

On the road to a shocking truth he finds people whith hearts shaped (because that's apparently what a Void is) like a vase, pliers or a fridge. And the only thing he finds relevant to be surprised about is that Inori's is a sword. He saw weirder.

Anyway, much to everyone surprise, actually it was so obvious I thought they couldn't have done it on purpose and almost didn't believe it, the guy who saw them is one of his bestfriend, whatever his name was.
And, as the anime was about to close on a very sweet moment "I felt like I've met him for the first time", said best friend pushes him in the arms of the very bad guy who apparently likes to torture people and ... somewhat acquainted with Shu's mother who works for the bad guys too. Life sure is a bitch isn't it?

And as a conclusion, everything felt forced and  I have to say that the only good thing of the episode (aside from Gai being fabulous) is Miwa Shirow's Inori.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Kuuki's crazy watchlist corner desuu~ #23

Looking for internships in the middle of nowhere is hard you know? Well you can probably imagine.
That being said, I just realized there's a convention near my place next month, will try to go.


Sunday, October 23, 2011

Kuuki's crazy anime watchlist corner desuu~ #22

I'm starting to wonder if saying a word about Gundam AGE is worth it granted I watch them one week late, what do you think?

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Mawaru Penguindrum 15 - Freudism paradise

Driven by my hope of finally learning Yuri's secret and, well, learning something, anything really, I jumped right into this week's episode of Mawaru Penguindrum. What I got is, once again, more theories and fail French, which got me wondering, did you understand it?

Yuri
She is once again the Queen of the episode, to the point I start to be a bit sick of her, but nevermind, she's more interesting than I thought.

To start with, I don't quite understand her logic. She wants to revive Momoka, that much is easily understandable, but how?
Why trying to rape Ringo and then not go through with it when she could? Is she trying to get Momoka's spirit to possess Ringo? How does she intend on reviving Momoka in the first place?
Well whatever, to me, this part of the anime lacks some necessary logic.

As for her father, I guess I'll start by saying the obvious : he's a psychopath. He has all the symptoms, the lack of strong emotions, the abuse, the egocentrism, the anti-social behaviour.
I am not really sure about what exactly he did to Yuri, I am wondering about exactly he did to her body (though, if the incredible amounts of phallic objects is relevant, well, he probably raped her), but he obviously messed up with her mind.
And last but not least, whether she's a boy or not, who knows? Yuri is both a girl's and a boy's name in the first place. Also, judging from her father's apparent obsession for ancient greek style art and how Greeks viewed homosexual love as purer than straight (because it's not tainted by the need of breeding) then it's totally possible he wanted to turn her into a boy.


The Takakura 

I wanted to skip the section for today but I wanted to say how cute Shoma's love for Ringo was and how adorable the two idols were with their gifts.
Though it makes me wonder more and more about their relationships and how it's relevant to the plot. Just like it makes me wonder more and more about who Sanetoshi really is and his motives.
I'm still convinced he's in love with Himari/Boshi-sama though.


The diary, Momoka and Tabuki

I bet you wonder why Tabuki is interesting as far as this episode is concerned since he didn't appears. That's exactly why.

Exactly, Tabuki wasn't there, he was supposed to be there, didn't he go to school with Momoka? And if he went there with her in the mornings then why didn't he go home with her at night too?
Where the hell is he?

In any case, hello there Momoka, glad to know you and your pink hair, very natural colour indeed. She somehow reminded me of Haruhi except that Momoka knows she has the power to change the world.
She was the first owner of the diary of Fate, which has the power, not of predicting the future but of changing it and such power comes with a price, so, who did she make disappear/appear for her to loose her life?
I first thought about saving Tabuki's life, but, she nearly died for saving Yuri (and making a building and a person disappear) there's no way she was going to completely die for saving Tabuki, the scale is not as big. So, what has she done? And if she had that power, why didn't she prevent the attack in the subway? Is there another Penguindrum/diary that could have countered her?

Which leads to the next question, is it possible for the Takakura parents' disappearance to be caused by a diary? Could it be Tabuki's doing? He had the diary. He had the injuries. He obviously used it, so, is he the one who wrote everything Ringo was religiously following? Because he loved Momoka, and he wanted to have her back, thus trying to turn Ringo into her dead sister by using his knowledge to his advantage?

In the end and once again all I have is even more questions than when I started. Great Penguindrum. Really great.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Kuuki's crazy anime watchlist corner desuu~ #21

You know, aside from my crazy list, Genshiken is a great anime!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fall 2011 : the (huge) wrap up post

As I have finally gotten my hands on everything I wanted to watch (except Coppelion but I shall assume the project is dead or delayed) have the final recap of what I'm going to watch and how much I love them! (or not) (Truth be told, I find myself hardly captivated by anything, it'll thus be a matter of what I don't dislike as much as the others. And the reason why I watch so many? Hope I'll find something amazing. I'm hopeless.)

THE top 3 favorite (a.k.a. watch if you want to live)
3 - Un-Go 
A detective story that seems good (it didn't even bother me to figure out who the culprit was before the crime was actually comitted, mark the date!) and surnatural put together. It's like Yondemasuyo Azazel-san the serious version. 

2 - Fate/Zero 
It came as a surprise since I didn't like Fate/Stay Night that much but this is really enjoyable, I finally figured out what Noble Phantasms were and what it was all about. It's also very creepy and characters are somehow deeper and more interesting than in the sequel. 

1 - Working 2
Their antics never cease to amuse me and the more I see Yamada the happier I am. 



The guilty pleasure(s) (a.k.a. Don't judge me but these are so bad they're addictive)
- Sekaiichi Hatsukoi 2
As much as Onodera deserves to die a painful death, he somehow manages to amuse me. It's a very bad BL and a very good comedy. (Actually, the kiss scenes are the funniest)

- Ben-To
The more I facepalm at the stupidity of the show, the more I seem to enjoy it. Go figure. 

It could have made it to the top 3 but ... (a.k.a. I'd like to discuss these with you but it's OK if you're not into it)
- Last Exile etc
Seems like a good fantasy anime, in the same vein as Fractale, I hope the end will be better though. 

- Persona 4 
The second episode bore me to death. I don't really understand what happened there but yeah, as much as I loved the first episode the second was a bit boring. 

- Bakuman 2 
As much as I love it, I know the manga nearly by heart, and the anime is really heavier on the love stuff, I'm not much of a fan of love stories. 

- Mirai Nikki
Same as above. I've finished the manga and I know everything that'll happen, which makes me look forward to the love stories (yeah, miracle happens)

- Tamayura Hitotose
It has the big drawback of being a slice of life, a genre I don't particulary affectionate and that needs to be perfectly done for me to like, so I'll stay forever wary. 

- Guilty Crown
Still wondering how they'll make things work from now on. I hope their writers are good. 

- Phi Brain 
It has good moments but also boring ones and somehow feels ridiculous. But I like Gallileo!

- Gundam AGE 
It was less boring than UC but less awesome than 00.

I don't even know why I'm watching this (a.k.a. no but seriously, I don't)
- Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
It is a harem anime. And the second episode was boring. Sadly. But the characters are itneresting.

- Chihayafuru
I don't like love stories damnit.

- HunterxHunter
I fail to see anything worth mentionning, it's entertaining at least?

- Kimi to Boku
I count the cats instead of focusing on the anime, slice of life done wrong. (Though it is better with the new character)

Dropped (a.k.a. Damn, I am less masochistic than I thought)
- Horizon
I can't look at this anymore, it hurts.

-MajiKoi 
Harem anime done wrong, it had lots of guys in the cast too, why not use them more? It would have been much better.
To be honest, the only thing worth anything at all in the anime is the very first minute. (Concumber anyone? /shot)

17 this season.
With continuations from before I'm now following 22 anime. Help?

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Kuuki's crazy anime watchlist corner desuu~ #20

*the smart introduction has been eaten by a hungry tamayura*
Hell, these things need to eat too don't they?

Mawaru Penguindrum 14 - Is Yuri into yuri?

It feels quite strange to write this that late, but hey, life happens?
And in the end, the episode wasn't even that shocking/interesting/full of revelations. Well it didn't make my head go as crazy as it did the past weeks.

Anyway, I have a few, very few points to explore. First, for once, Lily Hoshino's illustration didn't make me imagine things. It was all drawn by her. (I had no idea she could do yuri that well <3)
But aside from this and more seriously.

Yuri 


While I was pretty sure she had an hidden agenda, I didn't think it was this twisted.
From the beginning of the episode I am now convinced she is a man.
I thought for a good half of the episode that she was in fact Momoka but no, she's/was just in love with her, in a very very Ringo-like fashion on top of that.
On the other hand I understand where it comes from, more than I understood Ringo's stalker tendancies.

I now wonder two very interesting things :
- Will Shoma save Ringo? (Or someone else? Tabuki? Masako in her mission to fetch the diary?) Because as much as my perverted side wants to see it there's no way they'll make the story goes toward this route.
- Did she consume her marriage with Tabuki? If they didn't , well, Tabuki is even more suspicious than I thought. But if they did I am curious of her reaction to her "true self".

The Takakura.

*Shoma and Ringo were adorable. The more it goes the sadder I feel for them, obviously they'd be outcasted and avoided by everyone. And now Shoma finally found an outsider he actually cared for (more like : was forced to care for) he had to realize his parents killed her sister and obviously he can't imagine she'd really want to stay his friend.
Their fate is sad.

*Himari finally finished the scarves and, well, the two idols were wearing scarves of their color in the last ED, I kinda knew it.
On the other hand, the more it goes the more I think there's something else between her and Sanetoshi. He looked overjoyed to have them, and who else would be more than a lover?

*Kanba is really really involved with shady people. Masako was incredibly sexy.

And Kanba on the other hand is everything but a gentleman when it comes to his sister sake, he even hit a girl.
That part in the train convinced me there are more than one organization involved, the guys giving the money to Kanba aren't the ones who gave Masako her weapon, she'd have no reason to try killing them otherwise.


Friday, October 14, 2011

[1st episode]Guilty Crown

It's interesting how you always can tell whenever there's a a big convention somewhere in the US. Subs are always a bit late.
I don't complain though, was busy today anyway and usually Saturdays always come bearing one single show (and it's Sekaiichi ^^), I'll have a bit more things to watch tomorrow!

Anyway, I was trying to talk about Guilty Crown. Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured what this is all about.
Apparently some kind of guerilla group fight the established power in a post apocalyptic Japan that's suffering a very dangerous disease.

I'll admit it, I braced myself for the worst, in the summary it just sounded like so many things put together I never thought it would hold. In the end it's not as bad as I thought it would be, it barely holds but it does.
And I don't even know why I started my review by my general impression. Well, since I'm at it, it's not bad, not the best anime of the century but not that bad.
Ah and it was pretty too.

Now that I've stated the good, let me tell you what was bad about it.
Mainly, the multiple "influences" from everywhere. It wouldn't be a problem if they weren't so numerous.
The post apocalyptic setting has been done and redone (Evangelion for starters), the guerilla vs. established power is the same (the Gundam serie), the powerless main character who's in fact special is the basic setting of every shonen, Japan being "occupied" by a foreign country (Hello Code Geass), the protagonist being the singer of a popular band reminded me of Chaos;Head and the virus who's supposed to be named Lost Christmas according to the summaries I've read is totally from Bloody Monday.
It's so many elements thrown together that I fear it will crumble when they'll keep on adding more.

Sadly, I'm starting to have a hard time with Kaji Yuuki, his voice is a bit flat to voice a main character, not enough variations. (Main character who didn't interest me much either)

Oh well, should be entertaining enough and if worse comes to worse, I'll just shut my brain off.


[1st episode]Un-Go

One of the two Noitamina thing of the season, the first I've seen and, I'll tell you right now, my favorite. Only that Last Exile thing and Coppelion (if it still exists since we haven't uncovered the mystery yet)

So, what's Un-Go, with such a name you'd expect some futuristic thing about aliens and such. You're wrong, it's a mystery anime, set in the near future yes but without the aliens.
Or maybe (s)he's one?


Aside from the very annoying and a bit too innocent girl who probably will be a recuring character (even if I truly hope she won't) I have to say I quite like the characters.
The detective/assistant couple has been done and re-done, that one is rather classic in its execution, they're hiding their real relationship and get along rather well for a human/surnatural being couple. Aside from the little panda (for convenience I'll call that ... thing the little panda) the human is pretty generic and surrenders easily to politics, it's like he doesn't care at all for his reputation.
I can't help but wondering what their goal is because as things stand, they're not gaining anything from the mysteries.

I have to say that, so far, it is a nice mystery anime. Much better than what we've recently seen on screen. For once, even though the solution was obvious from the moment Rie fainted, it didn't bother me. They gave the viewer the elements to solve the mystery and then laid out the whole thinking process while examining fake solutions. It even put politics into the pictures.
I really liked that. When compared to other recent detective stuff, Gosick didn't show all the necessary elements to solve the mystery and KamiMemo showed them so much it was pissing me off whenever they couldn't seem to put things together, in that aspect Un-Go did a very good job.

The only problem I have had with that episode was the pace. I barely had the time to register it was starting that it was already finished. I hope they're going to fix that, it could have been a bit slower.
But I guess that's the sign I was bored so I should be happy?

I have hopes for that thing, mostly because it's adaptated from a novel, an already old novel, I'm not saying that what's old is superior, I just wanted to point out that since it's old and still remembered then there's something worthy of interest to it.
The only problem left now is how they'll adapt it because no matter how good or bad the original material is, an adaptation is only an adaptation.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Kuuki's crazy anime watchlist corner desuu~ #19

Today is finally the day when Guilty Crown and Un-Go air. I was getting tired of waiting for the last shows to air before I could my wrap up post.
Still, does anyone know whether or not Coppelion is airing and when? I was actually quite interested in that but can't find any further info anywhere so ...

Anyway, as usual, beware of spoilers!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

[1st episode]Mirai Nikki

Another thing I was looking forward to this Fall season, unfortunately I've read the manga so it's a bit less interesting for me to watch.

So, Mirai Nikki tells the story of Yukiteru, a very normal young boy who's first and only hobby is to observe everything around him and note it in his phone diary. He doesn't have friend aside from the imaginary Deus Ex Machina who once grants him the power to see the future thanks to his diary.
Unfortunately things don't go exactly as planned.


The problem in this is simple : I have read the manga. I know exactly what will happen and how things will go from now on and everything.
It takes away the fun.

So I'm just going to tell you the story is fucked up but awesome and there are many more interesting characters to come.

I'll just concentrate on telling you what's nice with the anime.
- Norio Wakamoto makes everything awesome.
- They move and talk (but that goes without saying)
- Yuuno is ten times creepier in the anime.

However, there are things that are less pleasant.
- The atmosphere is less dark than it is in the manga (at least at this moment of the plot)
- It makes Yukiteru ten times less bearable.

The manga was awesome. I'm definitely continuing this.

[1st episode]Gundam AGE

No matter how many times I read or write it, I misread that title as "Vanishing Age" every. Single. Time.
It's the sign I miss Star Driver a bit too much.

Anyway, have the first impression post of Gundam AGE, the newest edition of the popular franchise.
The story is pretty much the same as always, a young boy and his Gundam are supposed to save the world!


Unfortunately for this edition (or fortunately because it can be damn confusing) it doesn't seem that the show has all the political implications the others had, for now things are clear, we know who're the good guys and we know who're the bad guys.
But since we're in a Gundam I can't help but wonder if everything is exactly as it seems.
I know it's supposed to be kids friendly and such (though I wonder when it airs exactly) but I'm pretty sure there's more to it than meets the eyes.

I'm not going to spend time talking about how unbelievable it all is that Flit is so much smarter than everyone (including the top military commanders), more skilled than everyone etc. He's just a bit too special.
At least in the other Gundams there was some kind of explanation as to why the pilots were chosen (in Wing the scientists just took the most skilled people they could find around and in 00 it was all Veda's calculations)
Well, Flit is chosen because he's the son of the last Gundam makers but I don't see how it's a valid reason and it definitely isn't a good lesson for children (I thought we said it was aimed at children)

I don't like the character design, nor the mecha design and, as far as seiyuu are concerned, the only very notable thing is how Flit is Toshii. I love Toshii! I'm glad he's finally in something I can watch again!

In the end, while something just isn't right with this anime I'm just going to turn off my brain and enjoy.
It's less boring than Seed and UC so ...

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Kuuki's crazy anime watchlist corner desuu~ #18

First edition of the now famous corner featuring the anime of the Fall season 2011. Man, time goes fast doesn't it?
It's nearly Barnaby's birthday Halloween too ...

As usual, beware of spoilers if you're not up to date with things!

[1st episode]Ben-To

As every day goes by we're getting closer and closer to the end of things I'm looking forward to.
The irony? The things I'm loiking forward to the most haven't even been released yet. I'm cursed.

Today, I've finally had the pleasure of being acquainted with Ben-To which I have dubbed as "Battle Royale in the supermarket" (pay attention it's not a combini ^^)
If you were looking for a more detailed summary I am afraid I won't be able to deliver. I still don't know what the hell I have just watched.


The anime opens on our unfortunate main character "dying" in the middle of the supermarket, his mistake? Trying to grab a half priced bento from the store.
What he didn't know however is that the half priced bento of that store are so famous (for some reason) that customers are putting their lives on the line for them.

The next events are quite blurry, well, not that there are more notable events, aside from his second (he ended up unconscious, still an improvement, he didn't need to go to the hospital again) and his third attempt, which he failed again.
As you imagine, main character is a weakling. He should be thankful to have big breasted girls around willing to teach him the in and outs of these daily battles.

In the end, while I still don't know what the hell I have watched it has good aspects.
- The megane girl is an awesome weirdo.
- Hiro Shimono is awesome. I could swear it really was Norio Wakamoto talking.

Going to continue this for sure. Even though I'm not that enthuisiastic.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Mawaru Penguindrum 13 - Sleeping Beauty

It's quite thrilling to blog about an anime weekly. The main reason I usually never do it is because I never have anything interesting to say, on the other hand, Penguindrum does such horrible things to my brain that I need to write about it to sort it up. 
I love that anime. 

So, as expected, Himari is miraculously saved by Sanetoshi, apparently some kind of representative of Fate on Earth, or so I believe. 
Obviously, he doesn't do it out of sheer kindness. Dayo ne~

Why saving Himari? 
They said it was because the longer it lasts the funnier the punishment is. But, what if there's something else? Sanetoshi is quite a twisted character and he appeared twice so far, I'm not too sure I have quite grasped his character yet so everything I'm going to say is subject to caution. 
- Himari is special. That much we know. Being the bride of Fate and all. If I was Sanetoshi I wouldn't want Fate to have a grudge against me. Definitely not. 
- Boshi-sama is his lover. I've been saying countless time that they're probably of the same kind, given their eye color and eyelashes and such. He said he finally found someone of his kind. Himari got into the library, that other person did too. 
Now, either he did something to her when he got rejected and somehow split her personnality into two hats, either there are more of their kind. 
- He's just an asshole who likes playing with people. He's helping Natsume too after all. 

Either way, Sanetoshi probably knows more than we thought. 

The twins
Is it me or doesn't it seem like everything goes by pair? 

See, Kanba and Shoma, the two Black Rabbits, the two idols, two hats. 
I wonder if it has a deeper meaning or if it's just coincidence. 

The apples
You probably noticed for quite some time now that the symbols are different. 
And I have no idea what to make of it. So far, there have been 2 penguins symbols and Sanetoshi's, that makes it 3 symbols. There should be 3 organizations, 3 is too much, 3 doesn't work in that world, one of them has to disappear. 

As usual, it doesn't make more sense than it did last week. 
Which is why I'm enjoying myself quite a lot! 

[1st episode] Persona 4

Finally another show that got me as excited as Fate/Zero (aside from the second seasons) While Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai wasn't bad, it's not exciting, just entertaining.
Anyway, I've seen Persona 4 and I loved it.

Unfortunately I never played the game so the summary may be a bit off. Basically, a high school student has to transfer to a new city, he makes friends at school and at some point and for some reason they're attack by a strange entity and they're saved by said transfer student because he has the power to summon a Persona. Fear the power of glass!


To be honest I have lowered my expectations for everything to the lowest level possible, not to mention that I feared for something that was so hyped up I couldn't even access the website on the day of the annoucement.
I've been very pleasantly surprised.

Not having played the game I can't compare, all I can compare it to is to Persona - Trinity Soul, the first attempt at animating the franchise. Well, if you, like me, liked Trinity Soul you'll like Persona 4. The premises of the serie are the same, I wonder why they always feel to make one of the hero's family member a policeman.
Well, whatever.

I really liked the opening scene, it really did feel like you were playing a regular RPG, quite a nice idea, I heard they used the music from the original game too and the seiyuu kept their roles. (That means we're getting Daisuke Namikawa as the main character, I wondered for most of the serie why they chose him to voice such an apathetic character, but I understood at the end, it fits him perfectly)

Talking about the characters, well I have nothing to say, your regular high schoolers, quite surprised by Yu in the end though, thankfully.
For now it's easy to understand even if you're not familiar with the franchise, though it's obviously a bit better, if only to know what the Persona are exactly, not that it really matters.

To sum up my impressions : it was creepy. I loved it.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

[1st episode] Chihayafuru

It's finally the middle of the week, the moment when there's nearly no anime broadcast or if there are they're re-runs. I'll complain again about my boredom next week I promise.

Until then, let's talk about Chihayafuru, another one that didn't make it to my initial watchlist but managed to catch me off guard.
It's the story of a high school girl, dubbed the "beauty in vain", because she's beautiful but kind of a klutz, add to that that her greatest passion is karuta, quite a rare card game and you'll get what that anime is about.
(On the other hand I understand the passion, I once played a game similar to karuta except with regular cards and it's quite entertaining and pulls you into it quite easily)

Another slice of life anime.
A josei on top of that.
Not that I particulary mind, it's just that I'm afraid I'll get fed up of the genre real fast. What's with the slice of life trend to start with?

Anyway, I quite like the main character so far, she really kicks ass, and she already did as a child.
We don't know much about the main two boys yet but I hope they'll be a bit interesting too.
Granted, the black haired one must be at least a bit, his goal is to become the world top karuta player. That's quite the original dream isn't it?

All in all not exciting but not bad either. Will probably continue to watch.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

[1st episode] Tamayura Hitotose

Seems that this season has quite its share of slice of life anime, the genre is growing on me it seems.

Tamayura Hitotose fits the genre perfectly, it's the story of a girl who lost her father, who loved photography. Her family and her move back to the father's hometown and the meantime she picks up photography using the same old camera her father used.


First, photography is one of my hobby and the reason why I picked this up in the first place. I like to hear why it is interesting for other people and why they like it, what they see in it and how they see their work.
I liked her vision of fixing happy memories in photographs. It's a very positive vision.

Second thing I liked in this is the theme of loss. I like to see how this very unhappy subject is treated in anime and other forms of entertainment that are supposed to be entertaining, not make the viewer feel down.
I find it cute, not very realistic but cute to see how the heroine follows on her father's footsteps.
(On the other hand if I had a friend like Chihiro, well, while her intentions are nice, I'd never ever be able to stand her)

I don't really have anything else to note except that I'll be looking forward to the next episodes. (Which seems to be quite a rare thing this season)

[1st episode] Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

As you may have noticed I made a new banner, I don't even know where the hell I found time to devote to this but I did, as such, please enjoy this temporary Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Halloween themed banner.
I thought it fit quite well.

Back to the topic at hand, mainly the other Sunrise Saturday night anime Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon. You probably ask for a summary but I have no idea what the hell it is about. The official one reads that it's about a very modern Japan re-enacting Sengoku Jidai war for some reason having to do with manipulated history.
I might as well tell you now, I haven't understood a thing.

I can't even critique the plot, I haven't seen it, but there are lots of things I can critique.

- What the hell is this absolutley awful character design? The expressions are shitty, while the form of the body is OK (I've seen Clamp stuff before, I can deal with really strange body shapes) the heads are defying all logic, boobs, boobs everywhere and a total ignorance of male anatomy.

- Why do you guys censor some rather innocent and clothed breast fondling while displaying a totally naked man running around and claiming he's not suspicious (I'll admit I feel quite sad for said male since he lacks quite an important part)
Point is, it runs between 2am and 3am. Who cares about censorship at this hour?

- I'd say it has a good cast but they can't do miracles. Even if it's FukuJun.

- This is worse than Sacred Seven. I'll watch the second episode in case the plot develops enough for me to ignore, well, everything else.
If it doesn't interest me by then. Dropped.

[1st episode]Kimi to Boku

As excited as I was for the Fall season to start, I think I might be going overboard and will start to drown very soon.

So, Kimi to Boku, the summary is quite easy : cute boys talking with each others.
It's not even about doing stuff, well, they did stuff, but they mostly talked.


The plot is non-existent. I should have known, it's a slice of life. As it's only their first week of school I think I'll let it get away with that. It's an introduction self, they're using it to introduce the characters.
Or so I try to convince me. I hope it wasn't introducing the general atmosphere of the anime or I'll fall asleep trying to follow.
I was talked into trying to watch this before it aired by people saying the manga was cute and funny.
I smiled more at MajiKoi.

Usually that kind of anime is light hearted too. Kimi to Boku isn't. Apparently these high schoolers were already casually talking about death among themselves in pre-school.
For some reasons the atmosphere felt heavy.

The cast isn't bad, there's Kouki Miyata who was Kimimaro in C and Toyonaga Toshiyuki who never gets enough roles among other talented people.

Might be dropped by next episode if it doesn't pick up. I wouldn't mind an all male K-On, at all actually, but at least make it light hearted? Or go all out into the depressing stuff, or, I don't know, make me laugh how a comedy is supposed to?
Well, do something? Anything. Really.

Monday, October 3, 2011

[1st episode]Phi Brain - Kami no Puzzle

First of the two new Saturday night Sunrise anime (or so I assume, which reminds me, I missed Hoshizora Sunrise yesterday, I like that radio show) have the review of the first episode of Phi Brain.

Apparently, this is the story of a young man, Daimon Kaito, great fan and genius at solving puzzle. One day the president of the student council and puzzle club gives him a mobile device that leads him to an unsolvable puzzle that he solves anyway (obviously, he's the genius protagonist) thus gaining access to the power of his Phi Brain (that apparently makes him even more of a genius).


Plot is interesting, at least it got me more interested than the average Sunrise first episodes, the whole concept of solving puzzles to make the plot advance is quite interesting.
That first episode made me think about a Zelda game, finding your way through the dungeon, then acquiring your prize, but oh god another brain teaser to solve and you can finally get out of the place.
These were my favorite parts of the games. Of course I'd like to see the same concept in an anime, it's quite a shame we can't take part in the solving process though, it goes too fast and they don't really present the viewer with enough elements to do so, but since they don't make it obvious either I'm happy.

There's not really anything worth to note about the characters so far, the principal and the student council president obviously have a not-so-hidden agenda. The main character seems like an average delinquent and the main girl like an average main protagonist best friend.
Apparently next week we will discover the character voiced by FukuJun, who, judging from the voice he used in the preview, will be quite an interesting fellow.
I'll be looking forward to it.

So far, and aside from Bakuman which got me fangirling for a very shallow reason, Phi Brain is one of my favorite show of the season.
And the music writer should get more jobs! He's damn good.

[1st episode]MajiKoi

The season has barely started and this is already the second anime I wasn't at all interested in but check anyway. I think I'm doomed.

Summoning my greatest courage and not even remembering what the hell this was about. (I did read it though, I just forgot) I watched this. MajiKoi for short because I forgot the actual title too.
In the end it turns out to be some kind of harem anime in which the main protagonist already confessed and was rejected by his older sister and they're all going to a school where conflicts are solved by school wide fights.


To be honest, I don't even know what to talk about when it comes to this anime, because ... nothing happened.
Well, they all fought against each other and I didn't even figure out who belonged to which team.
From the look of it, it doesn't seem like it'll be mindblowing either.

Too many character, so many I don't remember their names aside from Kuki Ageha and Kuki Hideo and that's only because we share names. But at the same time, after 3 months of Idolm@ster I don't remember all of their names either. Guess that MajiKoi will share the same fate.

Putting the whole incest part aside (because I, myself, am a big sister, I'd freak out) it's nothing revolutionnary, school setting, martial arts and cute girls.
The only redeeming point of the anime? Its cast, especially concerning the male characters, Kamiya Hiroshi is voicing the main one, there's Katsuyuki Konishi, Yusa Koji, I heard Koyasu Takehito and Nakamura Yuuichi was priceless as Hideo.

To sum it up, I normally wouldn't watch it, but it has Kamiya, as a result and very reluctantly, it makes it to my watchlist.
Though it'll be the second thing to be dropped if really I can't keep up.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

[1st episode] Fate/Zero

Last post of the day before I get swamped under more construction work (which doesn't mean you shouldn't expect stuff tomorrow, I still have the Sunrise Saturday timeslot to review)

It's kinda hard to summarize that anime, if you know Fate/Stay Night you know it's a prequel to it.
If you don't know, well, it's about battles of magicians summoning heroes from past eras to fight against each other to obtain the Holy Grail to have a wish granted.


Quite long first episode, not that it feels at all like 45 minutes. Really, time went fast.
Second very important stuff to note : this is actually quite good.
See, I didn't like Fate/Stay Night very much. I didn't hate it but wasn't a fan either and stopped watching the movie halfway through because I was bored. So my expectations were low.
I'm surprised. This is good.
Probably mainly because there's no annoying Shiro.

As you may have guessed, I didn't want to watch it and if I did it's only because I heard Kajiura Yuki was doing the soundtrack. As expected it's wonderful. And as expected she found something new to add to her usual style.
Second reason why I thought I'd give it a try was because I heard Urobuchi Gen was involved. It shows.
Probably not a good thing for everyone though. If you are araid of insects. Stay away.

To sum everything up, and even if that episode only introduces the characters, their relation and the general situation, I really enjoyed myself.
No previous knowledge of the serie is necessary either. It was a good first episode.

Summer 2011 - The end

And with this come the end of the Summer 2011 season.
With the end of a season come the final impressions post.
Want to know something? It's a disaster.

I tried to come up with a top 3 and this is what I got. All 3 being 24-episodes anime, 2 of which having debuted in Spring already, thus not really belonging there either, but the situation is that dire.
3 - Mawaru Penguindrum
2 - Steins;Gate
1 - Tiger&Bunny
They all got their dedicated posts already and Penguindrum is the first anime I ever felt the need to blog almost weekly. I'll leave it at one more thing before I move on to the other stuff and attempt to rank them, these 3 anime are awesome. Watch them. 

For the rest, well, you're familiar with my Crazy anime watchlist corner, then you know what to expect, the rest of the post will be huge. 

13 - Sacred Seven
First time ever I dropped an anime halfway through the season. Should tell everything. 

12 - Utapri
I expected it to suck and so it did. No big deal. Was watching only for the seiyuu anyway. 

11 - Idolm@ster
I expected it to be exactly what it is, watching this only for mindless entertainment, not very interesting but not boring enough to drop. Yeah, mindless entertainment. 

10 - KamiMemo
On the other hand I had great hopes for that one. I lost all of them during the Hison arc, not only do I hate predictability but I hate it even more when they think the viewers are idiots. 
I would have been ready to forgive them everything, really, if only it didn't have that much of a promising first episode. That's why it's so low, because I felt like they wasted the potential. 

09 - Ikoku Meiro no Croisée 
A cute story about a cute girl trying to get used to a new country. 
There's nothing more to it. 
And, while I was super excited to see my country portrayed in an anime, I think that cringing at all the inaccuracies and misconceptions kinda ruined it a bit for me. And well, I live there, even worse, I've seen the real Galeries du Roi, it's not really exotic or anything. 

08 - Nurarihyon no Mago
I have a yokai bias. And I can't help it, it has a lot of great seiyuu and the fights aren't as boring as they could be. It's enjoyable but there's really nothing more to it. 

07 - Ao no Exorcist
Loved the manga. Very much and, while some parts of the anime were a bit shitty (even when you do forget the fact these were an original storyline) it was still entertaining? Not the wonderful anime it could have been and definitely not a faithful adaptation but it has so little material to work on that it was a given from the start.
Could have been better. And the extra Mameshiba helped greatly my enjoyment of the last episode.  

06 - Kami-sama Dolls 
If you forget the last episode and the lack of answers we got it was an interesting anime and a fun ride. 
Just lacked something I still haven't pinpointed to be really awesome (like, say, ... answers)

05 - Hanasaku Iroha
Despite being quite weak in terms of plot and character develpement, along with me being quite adverse to slice of life anime most of the time, I still found myself enjoying this. Not the best thing ever but still quite nice if you have time to spend. 

04 - No6
It was a nice 10 episodes serie! 
Would have been better with more answers and less useless scenes, which, considering it had only 10 episodes would have been a nice idea. It's quite sad because if it would have gone a "realistic" way with less emphasis on the characters and more on the city it could have been great. 
What, you're saying there was a 11th episode? Where the hell did you get this from? ... 

03 - Dantalian no Shoka
Despite the fact I'm still wondering what the hell was the point to this anime, if I take the episodes as separate 20min mini-movies it's actually quite nice. 
Once again, not the very best out there, but still has enough entertainment value to spend time on. 

02 - Usagi Drop
It was very, very, very good before I read the manga. 
So if you're going to watch, don't read the manga beforehand, it spoils the fun. 

01 - Natsume Yuujinchou San 
Natsume is always adorable and awesome and it has yokai and there's going to be a fourth season guys. A FOURTH. 
You should watch it. (But don't read the manga or it spoils the fun a little too)

So my general impression? Disappointed. Either I become too hard to please or this season was really weak. 

[1st episode] HunterxHunter 2011

And finally the long awaited Fall season 2011 is there! (If you don't count Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai)
My first victim is HunterxHunter, the remake of the first serie. I haven't seen it so I might as well tell you right away that I won't be able to compare them, but I thought the cast was worth it, and since the guy who wrote it wrote Level E too I thought it was worth a shot. (I never seem to watch enough anime anyway ^^)

HunterxHunter is a basic shonen, the story of the growth of a young guy who wants to follow his father's footsteps and doing so meets friends and fight alongside them etc etc.
Same as usual, really.


Which is why I'm not too sure I'll be able to follow through.
I mean, there's nothing wrong with basic shonen, but the problem is ... it lacks originality.
I don't like the lack of originality, because it brings along my most powerful foe in anime, predictability. Which, as anyone know, piss me off. Especially if the storyline is one of the only strong point of the anime.

To be honest, this is a bit below what I was expecting. Mostly because I expected to, at least, smile a little. (Hell, the original author wrote Level E). I didn't smile.
And all I got was a generic shonen first episode with a character design that reminded me of my first childhood anime (even the OP got that old feeling to it)
I know that usually this genre, especially when the manga was published in Jump, picks up later. But will I last?

The cast is wonderful, as expected. Seeing Keiji Fujiwara as Lerio was an interesting experience and Sawashiro Miyuki was really scary as the blond guy.
On the other hand, and mark my words because it's the first time ever it happened, the music was shit.
Ok not shit, just, definitely not fit to be used a background music, especially not in a shonen with such storyline, I bore with the composer in Break Blade because his kind of epic music actually fitted epic mecha fights, but it doesn't fit in HunterxHunter. This music should be played in a concert room for classical music fanatics. (If it should be played at all because to be honest, while I love classical music, this is not the kind I particulary like)
First time ever I considered dropping an anime mainly because the music pissed me off.

To sum it up? It barely makes the cut, and only because I at least want to hear Namikawa Daisuke in it and some people consider the original serie a classic.
If I end up having troubles to keep up with my shows, it'll be the first to be dropped.