[1st episode] Arcana Famiglia

Ah well, I suppose I better get started on this new season since it rains and I haven't started working yet.

So, La storia della Arcana Famiglia, which I'll abridge, is a story about the "vigilante" (read as : mafia) family of a remote island that doesn't exist in our world (so that we're free from real world requirements). So apparently this island is full of villains but obviously that's not the main focus of the series, apparently that's going to be the story of how those boys will compete against each others using their magical arcana powers to win the girl.
Sounds awesome right?

As you may have guessed I am not too hyped up about this, which I thought would happen, it's an adaptation from yet another otome game after all. And the storyline of this particular one is so obvious that it's a wonder it sold. At least most other games have a better excuse to interact and fight over the girl than her father organizing a contest to marry her. That one is waaaay too obvious. And a bit boring.
But I'll get over it, I knew what I was getting into.

Usually my main reason for watching those adaptations are seiyuu, however, the only one who really shone in that is Yusa Kouji, I have fallen in love all over again. even Sugita Tomokazu sounded quite boring in this. Whoever's the responsible of this heresy (how can you even manage to make Sugita Tomokazu sound boring is beyond me) will be forever haunted by me.
Also, casting Mamiko Noto as Felicita was a bad idea.
Since I'm at it, the music wasn't exactly good either, pretty much the contrary, at some points I cringed.

Now the only other redeeming point of those adaptations is usually characters. The main one is usually plain, this one seems to have guts, however, her name is really unfortunate, because damn, that song, Felicita, we sung that one in German classes when I was in high school, everytime they say her name I can't help but laugh. Sorry.
As for the boys, well, aside from Jolly, Yusa's character, no one really caught my eyes just yet. Maybe the father and mostly because he's an ass.

I still have no idea whether I'm going to watch this, at least the second episode because the first made me think of a mix between KHR, Baccano! and Kuroshitsuji, and to be honest I'm curious.
But it's bad. Damn.

[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.

[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)