[1st episode] Natsuyuki Rendez vous

I had no idea this was going to air so soon, I expected it for next week, not that I mind, at least my first impression will be done already.

So, Natsuyuki Rendez vous is the story of a young man who falls in love with a florist, and so he starts working for her, however the florist is a widow and it happens that the ghost of the deceased husband is still around though no one but the young man can see him.



Actually, I thought this would be bad, despite being Noitamina I had my reservations about watching yet another anime where the ultimate love interest would be a ghost. But actually it seems kinda cute. Definitely a shojo but cute.

Though I'd say it's more like a josei than a shojo because it seems like death will be a central plot point. I mean, the story isn't exactly about which one she'll choose (if she chooses anyone and even though it kinda comes down to that) but more about which place the deceased have in her/our life/ves.

I guess that's the main thing that made it interesting to me, instead of going completely surnatural like Tasogare Otome x Amnesia did, it takes a more realisctic approach to it and I can't help but be interested. Not to mention the voice acting really makes everyone on screen come alive.

In the end, despite my initial reservations I find myelf completely drawn by this anime, probably mostly because it touches my personnaly but it still remains a cute story about love.
Now all I hope is that it doesn't make me cry.

[1st episode] Shirokuma Cafe

That one's a bit late and I have no excuse except for the fact that I didn't have work (since most of my reviews have been written at work lately DURING BREAKS ... probably, well at least during the breaks I gave myself)

Shirokuma Cafe is the story of a Cafe owned by a Polar Bear in a society where humans and talking animals live in perfect harmony. Main character seems to be Panda though, a very lazy animal trying "very hard" to find a job and stumbling upon the Café by chance

It may sound weird written like that and sure enough it is, not that I mind, I wouldn't be myself anymore without my love for the weird.

The story seems like a regular slice of life. I have however no idea in which channel it airs but have heard people saying it was meant for kids. Which I do not agree with. 
I know it's cute and all, it has big plushie like animals, but I don't really think children would appreciate it that much beyind the cuteness, we're talking about adult characters there, even if they're animals, so I guess that'd be a good example of something having several layers. 

As for the characters, I have a little problem with the kind of voice FukuJun uses for the Panda. I do like however Sakurai Takahiro and his passive agressive tone as the bear as well as Kamiya Hiroshi as the penguin even if (because) it reminds me of Beelzebub in Yondemasu-yo Azazel-san and that I find this simple fact absolutely hilarious. 

It probably won't turn out to be the greatest thing ever but I'm enjoying that a lot anyway

[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]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.

[Summer 2011] Seiyuu top 10!

Remember last season's "voices hit or miss" post? Well, I decided I'll do things differently for Summer, mostly because I realized there was no point to rant about Kishio Daisuke for each show I'm watching. I don't like him. I think you got it.
Then, came the second question, do I still consider shows that started back in Spring? Do I consider shows that are going to run until Winter? In the end, after lots of talking with myself (and, I'll admit it, heavily influenced by the fact I was listenning to a radio show with Morita Masakazu as a guest), I thought : screw it! I'll consider everything!

So, in the end, the only shows I'll leave out (officially) are Beelzebub and Gintama. Sorry Sugita, I still love you!

10 - Ono Daisuke 
I have to admit I'm usually not much of a fan of his because his voice is usually very flat. That works perfectly for characters such as Huey (Dantalian no Shoka), but sometimes he surprises me like he did with Shizuo, and so he did as Yondaime. That's why he's there, because I didn't think he'd pull it off that well.

9 - Suwabe Junichi
As usual, he's perfect as the ambiguous villain in Natsume Yuujinchou. We won't talk about his singing in Utapri because that was terrific for everyone but he did well as the rich boy who's only thinking about girls.

8 - Mamoru Miyano
Once again leaving Utapri aside (even though his version of Amazing Grace was really pretty) he was just too perfect as Okarin in Steins;Gate. So perfect I didn't realize it was him at first.

7 - Nobuhiko Okamoto
He's everywhere, I just can't leave him out and I have to admit that while I was wary of him when I first read  Ao no Exorcist's castlist, he does a good job as Rin.
And he did fit Origami in Tiger&Bunny pretty well in my opinion. On the other he isn't special at all and tend to piss me off a bit in Kamisama Dolls. And he shouldn't sing. At all.

6 - Fukuyama Jun
Same as above, I didn't expect him to voice Yukio in Ao no Exorcist, I knew he'd pull it off because it's FukuJun but I didn't think it'd fit that well.
And then there's Rikuo in Nurarihyon, he really does that kind of dual personnalities well. And during this second season he appears more as night!Rikuo so I can hear his deep voice more. I'm happy.

5 - Kana Hanazawa
She's one of my favorite female seiyuu, ever, but well, before her character in Kamisama Dolls appeared she wouldn't have made it to the list. I love her, but I'm not a fan of her cute voice, so yeah, when she came down from the sky and started using her deep voice, I started fangirling.

4 - Kamiya Hiroshi
He's Natsume guys! Natsume is adorable!
He's Mephisto guys! Mephisto is such a twisted and interesting characters.
And the voices of both these characters are quite different. He's good, you can't deny it.

3 - Yusa Kouji
I don't even know why he's so high up the list, he's the young version of Nurarihyon in the eponym anime and Lunatic/Yuri Petrov in Tiger&Bunny. He sounded so evil and so nice, both at the same time.

2 - Ayu Matsuura
She voiced Rin in Usagi Drop. It was perfect. She's 10 years old.
That's all I have to say.

1 - Morita Masakazu
Sadly, he doesn't get many roles in anime (guess he must be busy with Bleach) but, I was stunned by his performance as Barnaby. When I checked the cast when it first started I admit I was a bit weirded out, first I didn't recognize him and second, I never thought of him as very good.
How wrong I was.
So, he's in first because he's the first seiyuu who made me cry so much with the tone of his voice alone. He'd better get more emotionnal roles (in anime) instead of his usual fighting addicts.
Too bad he speaks so fast on radio shows. But I can make out he's adorable all the same.
(And damn, guys, I have a surprise for you, as soon as someone uploads that damn song somewhere on the internet, it gets posted here, it's too epic! (and hilarious) Full version out on October 19th)