Life, and then Animé

In all my life of watching animé, I've been influenced by that media in many ways, some obvious, some interesting, and taken each experience casted from a screen into my personality and way of life in one way or another.

I've seen animé as a kid, starting as early as Astro Boy, Samurai Pizza Cats, Voltron, and eventually leading up to Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon (yes, you read right), Megaman, and even Pokémon and Digimon!

And then the Internet opens up a whole new universe of animé, where I was before limited to the timetables of what the TV would play, and the licensed products companies would release. No more being kept in the dark about hits that North American shores would never recieve. No more being controlled by "whatever's popular" anymore. As long as the Internet is as free as it is (currently)!

So, now that the window has opened, I've become accustomed to a variety of types of animé, some mainstream, others rarely whispered. The animé I enjoyed as a kid isn't exactly the type of animé I can watch 24/7, and I'm constantly refining my cartoon taste as I mature. (<- Sounds like an oxymoron, though, lol!)

From Action (Dragonball Z, Naruto) to Adventure (Pokémon, Elemental Gelade), to Romantic Comedy (Love Hina, Mahoromatic), to just plain Comedy (Excel Saga, Hare+Guu), I'm always open to new types and styles, as long as it's interesting.

Season's Greetings!! v2.0

Hah! The anniversary of this, I only have less than 15 minutes to catch everything up to date!!

Where shall I begin?

Yes, I'll restate that blogs are alot more attention-paying and time-consuming than I initially thought, but that's alright!

Currently watching:

SPRING 2008

Soul Eater - 7/10

The animé's great, blowing the used and abused Naruto and Bleach franchise out of the water, but lately I haven't been getting into it as much...

Xam'd: Lost Memories - 6/10

Started good, but started dragging...and dragging...and dragging...

...I don't even know where I am at this point.

SUMMER 2008

Chocolate Underground - 5/10

Weird concept, and weirder situation, and beyond weird plot. I can't follow anymore.

EVE no Jikan - 9/10

For a psuedo-slice of life, it's VERY intriguing! I don't know why the interals are so far apart, but I guess the wait makes in that much better!!

Koihime Musou - 6/10

Fanservice. That's about it.

Sekirei - 6/10

Even more than the above.

Slayers: Revolution - 6.5/10

I'm ashamed to say I haven't gotten into theis series as much.

FALL 2008

Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka - 6/10

Reminds me a bit of School Days meets Toradora!, only with half the goodness.

CHAOS; HEAD - 8/10

Pretty intriguing, but slow. But intriguing.

CLANNAD ~After Story~ - 9.5/10

I liked the first CLANNAD animé, so why not enjoy another round of goodness?

Ga-Rei Zero - 9/10

Great start, even better process! I LOVE IT!!

Kannagi - 7/10

A stump of a Goddess becomes a Goddess? And does Lucky Star-like daily tidbits? Meh.

Kemeko DX - 9/10

Now THIS is a show I've been waiting for for quite some time! Since Muteki Kanban Musume, I believe!

Rosario+Vampire Capu - 7/10

They're really milking the whole ecchi romantic comedy school life monster thing, even releasing more character CDs. But the opening was VERY well done!

Seto no Hanayome OVA - 9/10

I love this series as well! And I loved the OVA just as much/even more!!!

Shikabane Hima Aka - 7/10

"Corpse Princess"? Do you REALLY want to be called "Corpse Princess"?

Tales of the Abyss - 8/10

Main character's the epitome of a spoiled brat, but that DOESN'T mean the animé sucks! I REALLY wanna play the game now!!

Toaru Majutsu no Index - 7/10

Well, I didn't care much for it before, but now things are starting to get interesting. And you can tell J.C. STAFF did this one, since it has the EXACT same feel as Shakugan no Shana.

Toradora! - 9/10

One of my favourite's this season! It's like how "Magical Battle School (Shakugan no Shana)" turns to "Magical School (Zero no Tsukaima)" turns to "School (Toradora!)"! And quite frankly, as much as I adore Yui Horie's voices, Kushieda's annoying, and Ami-Chan's hot hot HOT!!!

Yozakura Quartet - 7/10

The manga's WAAAY better, but the animé opens up some interesting AUs. Nothing more, nothing less.

A Change of Scenery...

Because 7+ months without posting deserves a reward...or punishment...whichever I decide to give, lol.

Actually, alot has happened since. I've been swapping jobs to one that I dislike most for it's best income, I've dropped animé to start working out at a gym, and I've also half-lied about the stuff I just typed earlier as an escuse for my laziness! Hurrah!

Might as well start this up again, since my other site has been here and there, barely staying active, lol!

PEOPLE PLEASE SIGN UP!! AND AFTER, PLEASE START CONTINUOUSLY POSTING!!

*Sigh*...What else can I say for now...I'm trying to Christmas shop the best I can, but I owe my credit card quite the amount of money, which I need to take care of better if I want to improve my creit, so I can get loans out (for cars and such), which I need for work, so I can make money, so I can Christmas shop more!! Oh, the irony.

Heroes are Extinct

I've just finished reading the manga series, Heroes are Extinct (not to be confused with No More Heroes), and there's quite alot to say about it.

I remember back in the days of the original North American Mighty Morphin Power Rangers about 14 years ago or so, I was one of millions of little boys getting their visual sugar rush from this series. Obviously, I was always generic enough to play the Red Ranger, forcing the side cast to other kids. Until the Green Ranger came in the latter half of the first season, I was completely satisfied with the set positions. Those were the days...

Anyway, Heroes are Extinct is based on the villians trying to take over Earth, though this villain, Cassiel, having so much charisma, you can't help but view things from the other side of the coin and somewhat agree to his reason and methods.














Cassiel as a kid heard all about Earth's Ranger forces, and grew up aspiring to invade Earth just to clash with the heroes. He until then trains to become the #1 Galactic General, the best of his Bazue Empire. Once arriving at Earth, however, as his invasion is a complete success, he finds out that there are no such heroes on Earth. What does a normal villain do? Guffaw at their unfair advantage and call it a win. What does Cassiel do? Retreat, then sneak to Earth, kidnap 5 teenagers, and force them to (commit illegal acts) become the Terra Rangers.

Now, the reason this series caught my attention so fast was because it rekindled my love for 5 transforming teenage heroes. A little nostalgia's good for anyone who's never participated in a war, I'd say.
It takes your standard element, and expands it, so you don't just view one side of things.

(Back in the day, no one cared for Rita Repulsa, nor Lord Zed. So, why again did they want to take over Earth? Mars seemed god enough for me.)














This series breaks down the Ranger theme, step-by-step going through the action poses, the justice speeches, and the (Gundams) Zords, further rekindling my recollection of Power Rangers, I believe all the way up to Power Ranger in Space, when I dropped the series altogether.

(Come to think of it, as soon as they got their Ranger powers, they were instantly striking poses, and already knew how to fight. Hmm...Zordon never taught them that.)

Though this is where constructive criticism takes it's toll. The first book was strictly introductions, while the second book was the start of a long series. How does the third book fare? The end. The manga series showed alot of potential to a long and interesting series, but ended as soon as it took off...like a poorly maintained airplane. It tried to sum things up too fast, and it even went as far as to tweak character development from one direction to another, in an unnatural way. The ending was also rushed, and left a somewhat bad taste in your mouth.














So, rate this series is as follows:

After Books 1+2 - 8/10
After Book 3 - 6/10

Well, let's do as the author intended and never forget the hero within all of us!

...Or something along those lines. Lol.

Drama and Dragons and Vampires Oh MY!!

Here it is! The completion of 6 animé!!

This post will spill my thoughts on animé I've just completed to date!!
6 times the animé! 6 times the blog!

First off:

Kimikiss













As soon as I watched the first episode, I knew I was going in for a long ride. But I didn't expect it to be a 24 episode drama-fest.

Kimikiss had a pretty interesting opening, completely absorbing me into it's story. But the story, set at a snail's pace, just never stepped foot out the door

I give it a 7.5/10
Slow. Slow, but also enjoyable. But slow.

----

Bamboo Blade













An animé about Kendo. I seriously have never seen an animé about one before, even though it's an extremely popular theme. And futhermore, it's all about girls! So, my initial 2 thoughts of the series were:

Kendo? - This series must have alot of action!
Girls? - This series must have alot of fanservice!

Unfortunately (, and fortunately), it had neither. It was a fun little show barely drifting storywise throughout the season. Rather than an action-animé like the ones I'm so used to, it was VERY laid back. And unlike my 'fanservice' pre-thoughts, it's comedy kept my mind occupied from the gutter. Extremely fun to watch.










*Gasp* What is THIS!?

Also, the last few episodes were really something. Episode 25 pretty much summed the series nicely, while 26 was an epilogue, showing us that although the shows technically over, there's always room for more. I definitely wouldn't mind a second season with whoever that girl Tama looked in the eyes. RAIBARU!


















I REALLY think Kirino likes Ishida-sensei. That's cute and all, but DAMN IT!! I called her first!

I give it a 7.5/10
Spunky, yes, but the story wavers all over the place. And not in an, "OMFG HARUHI IS WIN CAUSE IT MAKES ALMOST NO SENSE!!!" waver either, but still fun!

----

Dragonaut













THIS, here viewers, is an animé from the result of picking words from a hat and trailing a story with just those material. But the thing that surprises me is the fact that they took EVERY popular generic theme, mashed it up, and decided, "Hey! Instead of making this completely generic, let's twist the story here and there to give it a little oomph!"









Enter the Power of Love!

I don't even know what to say during the time I've been watching (and sometimes even fast forwarding) this series. Some episodes left me thinking "omg!1", and some episodes left me thinking "wtf!?".









"Jin <3"

Seriously, even when he had a hot dragon woman girl, his mind was still in the gutter south of 'Jin avenue'. The last episode was entering, "Hell, we've tried everything, so let's add a little Gurren Lagann flavor in it for the end!" so they throw in the 'alternate universe to keep you in a peaceful trance for all eternity' trap, like in Gurren, but ultimately fails, like in Gurren. It would've been a two-handed clap if they did it before Gurren. And as that guy who they presumably killed a while back is revived(?), I realize that I don't remember anything that's happened these past 24 episodes. No, fast forwarding wasn't the reason. I guess there just wasn't enough interesting substance for me to bother memorizing.









Um...who again!?

















Kamina--er, Akira and Machina--um, Thanatos...whatever.

I guess the good of the series was that the very ending, the whole "Become one with *insert supreme entity here* and you'll never feel bad feelings again :)", was beaten by the single thought, "But I don't want to be alone :'(".
A train wreck by some, a roller coaster ride of ratings by myself, it wasn't actually that bad to watch!

I give it a 7/10
Almost on Code Geass-epicness, this series has a few surprises around every corner, when they're not trying too hard.

----

Rosario+Vampire













A human accidentally applying to a monster school? How original...
Befriends different girls while still falling for the first one who met him? How original...
A weakling who can only run on courage? How...ugh...

There were alot of things that left me clawing up the wall in my room. The story was TOO shallow. The creator never wanted to think too deeply to allow any good logic!

1st off: Some sort of nun walking in the middle of the night drops a pamphlet of a school some drunkard notices, picks up, and enrolls his son into knowing nothing about said school?

2nd: A school of monsters, and on the first day, they're suspicious of you being a human? For me, I don't own a big book on monsterology or something, but I think you'd want to at least lie about what you are. Personally, I'd go with a doppelganger, since it physically seems to be VERY human.

And who DIDN'T see the content of the last episode coming? I'm calling on two things here, POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
-Tsukune (I hate the name, btw. I unno, seems weird.) dies. Oh no. He died fighting a monster. Again.
-Tsukune becomes a vampire. Hmm...the only monsters that can turn others to monsters are generally vampires and werewolves. I was actually hoping for werewolf for the diversity, but then again it would require this animé to be original, dear me!

I give it a 7/10
I'm always for romantic comedies with supernatural harems, but it needs a little more spice!

----

True Tears













True Tears is definitely one of the better animé I've seen. It's been a rollerride of drama, leaving my jaw on the floor after every episode!

Every episode had something to offer, and the relationships were all over the place, yet in a neat, fashionable order! From innocent long-term friends, to the "I like you" stutter, to even pseudo-incest, to even incest! (Seriously, why does every drama have to have incest? Wtf?)

I'm sad that this animé's finally ended, but I couldn't be more satisfied the way it ended, properly, something animé nowadays has been neglecting to strive for.

Side Comment: Who would YOU choose? Hiromi? Noe? Or even Aiko?

I give it a 9/10
Okay, if Haruhi is like a big cup of hot coffee to jumpstart your day, this series is like a nice cup of tea on a nice quiet evening: different spectrum, same satisfaction.

----

Hayate no Gotoku!













I honestly didn't think this series would span a year! I thought somewhere around 26 eps, tops! But at the same time, it's quite expected that a series with alot of material, no venturing story, and unlimited gags, can last a long time! Kind of like Gintama!

This animé itself wasn't really something I stayed tuned to see the first chance I get. It was more of those relaxation periods from a long day of...whatever tires you out. Even f I get a hold of an episode, I may not watch them until they clump to 3 or even 5 episodes, but I'll still finish them.

The story was decent, dropping you straight into the plot with no fancy gimmicks holding anything back. The references they made were only something true animé fans could watch out for, I myself have only pointed out about half the parodies shown. The characters were standard, if anything a lack of emphasis for personalities. Again, nothing deep, but the interactions with other types of characters can be pretty entertaining. When I take a step back and look at it, I guess the one thing I whole-heartedly enjoyed about this series was the fact that it didn't need a deep story to capture the viewers attention, and it was something you can definitely watch with your friends. One thing I have noticed was the change in atmosphere/theme from the early episodes to the rest of the series. Maybe I should research that...

It was definitely a good series, but it's more the type for someone who wants to watch animé for the sake of just watching animé. Nothing captivating about it.

I give it a 7.5/10
Definitely something that's kept me entertained through out 2007!

And is there really a Season 2!? HONTO!!?

Code Geass R2 - 01

FINALLY!! The ONE (possibly) series this year I'm looking forward to watching!!

Code Geass R2, episode 1, STARTO!!













This first episode is actually one big mind trip, much like the first episode of Shakugan no Shana Second! Starting off with Lelouch living the school life once again, as if Season 1 never happened.


















Villetta's back! And what better way to reintroduce her than to throw her in pointless comedic escapades?










"High ho Silver, away!"










Shirley's back too! Sweetness!

The show also reintroduced the support characters, and what became of them after the year of 'peace'. Zero is dead, the Elevens are subdued, and everyone in the school's back to being happy and carefree, probably because they're Britannians, those bastards! lol


















Meet Lelouch's brother, Rolo.
...WHAT!!?

Lelouch ditches school and heads off to go do illegal stuff, bringing his little brother Rolo along with him. I guess he plays chess against rich people for money. Anyway, he claims to do it because he's otherwise bored out of his mind.










Lelouch obviously wins, but the rich bastard decides to frame Lelouch and to arrest him, but suddenly a (dun dun duun!) terrorist attack starts up!

Yes, it was at about this time into the show I suddenly spaced out into a trance. I don't know why.


























































































Where was I again? Something about Lelouch and Rolo escaping the battle scene, all while Kallen is trying to tell him something. Further into the attack, Lelouch is confronted by C.C., who tries to tell him something about his 'true self'. Lelouch is interested to what she's trying to say, until she gets shot (again) and plummets about 15 feet, to be caught by bewildered Lelouch.










LMAO!! Britannia's don't know gooder English!! ROFL!!










C.C. was shot by people who apparently stalk whoever they're to use as bait for terrorist attacks? Seems a bit too sketchy for me, but whatever.










"Dear Diary, today Lelouch showered with the windows opened. We didn't need infrared this time! Yay! <3"

The end of this episode resulted in Lelouch regaining his powers via C.C. and obliterating a group of Britannians, while grinning and plotting his plan to take over the world!


















Yes, maam!

















Welcome back, Zero!

And who do we have here? Suzaku, along with some of his equals worshipping The Emperor of Britannia, planning their next step to not only stop Zero, but kill him as well!


















All-in-all, there a a mountain of questions I want to ask, but I'll trust Sunrise to answer them all, even one-by-one is fine, since this series should be the most hyped animé this year!

Shakugan no Shana Second *Complete*

I've finally finished Shakugan no Shana Second, now that I've been picking up on animé again!













The first episode started out pretty great, throwing the viewers right into the episode with mystery. Unfortunately, future episodes don't grasp your attention well enough. It feels like this Shana season is a bit forced, kind of like this post. (Don't blame me! Blogging is for people who are good with conveying words!)

























Fanservice? Plenty! Just in all the wrong areas: Cosplay!

Like how the first season was only meant for introducing Yuji and Shana, the second season really focused on their development, alongside Yoshida, and just slowly bridging the appearance of the baddies, who have yet again been foiled, have yet again live to fight another day, and have yet again to carry on to the 3rd season. In a lot of sense, this season is VERY much alike to Zero no Tsukaima 2. Basically how this season was nothing special in the plot, and only how it just tells us to expect another season. Like a movie franchise, they usually come in trilogies, or at least that's the feeling I get from this.

















Shadows? Fumina and Pheles.

There were really only 2 Arcs this season:
-The Mystery of Konoe Fumina
-Big City Battle 2

And both took a VERY long time to unfold. The Fumina arc did leave me in a state of suspense, but not enough for me to care for more than 5 minutes after the episode.

The Big City Battle 2 (for BCB1, see 1st season) had also dragged on into unnecessarily long episodes. If anything, this entire season could've been complete in half the time, really!

And Hecate's emotion-catching plan backfiring? Expected, but it did come off at the right time.












And someone PLEASE explain this scene to me! DAREGA!?

Opening Themes:
1 - Mami Kawada - JOINT - 8/10
2 - KOTOKO - BLAZE - 3.5/10

Ending Themes: 1 - Mami Kawada - triangle - 6/10

2 - KOTOKO - Sociometry - 7/10

3 - Mami Kawada - sense - 8/10

Shakugan no Shana Second - 7/10
Status: Filler