2009 Year in Review

Its that time of year again, the best of the anime world for 2009.

I'm also finding it difficult to pick series when some span multiple years, and i don't like giving awards multiple times. If i continue this next year, expect the vetting process to change a bit.

For those of you who want to compare, here are my awards for 2008.


As a side note, Random Curiosity's Divine and Omni have released their 2009 awards. Looking at their list, i think I'm adding Bakemonogatari to my watch list.

Best Comedy: Seitokai no Ichizon
HM(Honorable Mentions): Toradora, Hayate no Gotoku!!

Here is the definition of pure comedy. The story of a boy who outright announces his goal is to turn his high school student council into his harem is the stuff of legend. However, this often gets criticized for being low-brow, no substance, with bad animation, and only doing shout-outs unrelated to the plot. However hiding beneath the surface are some well developed characters with some deep issues and even a nice plot that slowly starts to form. The comedy hooked me in immediately so luckily i stuck by to see it pass from the parody phase into the story phase. And while yes, the animation quality may slip from time to time, it certainly makes up for it in laughs.

So where did Hayate (which i praise at every turn) and Toradora fall short? well for one Hayate certainly set itself up more this season into the romance more than the comedy. That's no to say it wasn't there, it just wasn't quite tops.


Best Romance: Clannad After Story
HM: Toradora

Clannad came a bit short last year, but takes the cake this year. Great, touching story about love, life, family, and faith. For those of you who didn't watch Clannad, this series picks up where the first season left off. Tomoya and Nagisa are now dating and begin there next step in life after high school. When their friends around town turn to them for help, Tomoya learns a much deeper legend linked to the town and wishes. However tragedy strikes when Nagisa's illness returns. I'm not going to go too much more into this because it is such a great story, but check it out if you haven't. You really feel for what some of the characters go through. And even if you disagree with some of their choices, you get to see that none of these are easy choices at all, and you can understand why them choose to make them.

So what about my honorable mention Toradora? Well, personally i felt the story kinda collapses near the end. But even so Clannad is just a wonderfully crafted work of literary art even if the ending was better, it probably would have still lost.


Best Action: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
HM: Gundam 00

Fullmetal alchemist, or FMA, gets its remake in the form of Fullmetal alchemist Brotherhood. The story is about two brothers, Ed and Al Elric, who try to use forbidden human transmutation to revive their mother. Their mistake cost them Al's body and Ed's arm and leg. Brotherhood is the remake which follows the manga plotline to a tee. It seems the original manga artist didn't give the makers of the first anime permission to follow the manga plot so that it could have a conclusion, and the manga could continue. However the general public wanted to see an anime that was more faithful to the original story, hence Brotherhood. The characters are nicely set up and the plot is nice.

So why does gundam fall short? Well for one it had a weak ending in my opinion. The second is that gundam 00 already won this award in 2008. I feel it belonged in that year more than this one, and brotherhood defiantly grabs the opportunity.

Most WTF: 11 eyes
HM:

I feel this award is almost moot, because unlike previous years there really isn't much of a WTF anime this year. 11 eyes tries to emulate that feel, but its nothing special.

Best Mecha: Gundam 00
HM:

For the second year in a row gundam 00 will take the prize for top mecha anime. However to be fair it went quite unopposed.


Best Soundtrack: K-ON
HM: FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood

If you read any of the K-ON episode summarys i posted, you know i loved their songs. "Don't say lazy" has become one of my favorite japanese songs. While its true the anime only gave us one OP, one ED and two insert songs, they were all fantastic and enjoyable. I still look foreword to more work from newcomer Yoko Hikasa "Mio". Her singing voice is just fantastic and her acting voice brings a distinct character that i feel would be hard to be replicated by another VA. I also got a chance to listen to some of their B stuff that didn't make the show. While not as good as what they kept, the other songs were also enjoyable.

Fullmetal alchemist did product some nice OP and EDs, but overall K-ON was the hands down best.


Best Fanservice: Kampfer
HM: Asu no Youichi, Princess Lover

Year 2009 was a light year in general, so my list of fanservice anime is very small this year. Between the three, Kampfer seemed to show the most promise of a story line. have an all female cast with the only guy turning into a girl the other all want doesn't hurt. It throws in action and comedy into the mix and the first few episodes were quite enjoyable. i do admit i didn't get to finish any of these series, but of the three Kampfer seemed the best.

Asu no Youichi plays the chivalrous pervert role nicely, but the girls didn't seem interesting and the plot was dull. Princess lover seemed unrealistic and more interested in increasing boob size than plot or character development. To its credit it had some funny skits and jokes, but so did Kampfer.

Best Visual: Clannad After Story.
HM:

Clannad wins again. The sequel continues to impress with its beautiful scenes, wonder character with big round eyes and the Imaginary World is as detailed as it has been from the first episode. Really no contest here at all. While most of the anime this year had nice visual, none quite stood out like Clannad.

Best Male: Tomoya Okazaki
HM: Ed Elric

Tomoya from Clannad takes the prize for best male this year. Instead of which character showed the most super powered colorful beam spam/super power, Tomoya shows us he's truly human, with vices, faults, and guilts. He doesn't always do the right thing, but he always seems to do what he thinks is best. He's a broken man and it shows. This makes him much more real and easier to imagine happening to one of us. It's hard to love him at first, but it becomes really hard to hate him by mid season. His change truly is a story about redemption, and finding whats important in life.

Edward in the new FMA shows us courage, and hope. The type of character we all root for, but in the end its the same old shonen, running around with super powers.

Best Female: Mio (AKA Moe Moe Kuyn) from K-ON
HM: Hinagiku (HNG), Misaka (To Aru no Kagaku no Railgun)

Mio from K-ON is winner of the best female this year. She's smart, cute, easily scared, and willing to put up with Ritsu and i just love her. But i think what really sold me on her character is the VA. Its a bit deeper than most anime girls, but still sweet. Its a hard voice to use properly, but as it shows when placed in the right character, and properly used it can be a weapon of mass Moe. Her singing voice is absolutely fantastic and i really hope to see her in the future. The second season got a green light so its nice to know she, and the rest of the k-on cast should be on my list next year as well.

Hinagiku doesn't win this solely because she won last year. If anything Hina got more and more adorable and lovable, but Mio is right behind her and with a newbie VA slightly edges her out. Misaka also puts in a strong showing, if only she showed her dere-dere side more. Makes me feel guilty for not watching Index.


Best Villian: Father (Fullmetal Alchemist)
HM:Kiyama, Harumi (to aru Kagaku no Railgun)

Father was missing from the first season of FMA, and now that i have seen what hes all about, he is sorely missed. Father is the leader and creator of the Homunculus, who themselves are said to be neigh invincible. Therefore it is no surprise he is quite the tough customer himself. But given he has the ability to stop alchemy, basically the only real weapon they have (guns are useless in this world), and is even more invincible than the Homunculus, he certainly sets up for a great baddie. He gives off the sense that he is toying with our protagonist, and seems to be able to back that up. The only homunculus they did manage to kill was revived in seconds. Basically a reverse superman. We'll just have to wait and see if he has his own kryptonite.

Kiyama is also a great baddie, with a generally good heart, but also some impressive powers. She seems much more stoppable than Father though so the prize is his.

Worse Character: Ryuuji (Toradora)
HM: Everyone from Gundam 00 i didn't like last year

Before people get uppity at me, remember my definition of "worst character" is one who is either terribly annoying and poorly written. Well Ryuuji may not have been truly annoying, he was, in my opinion, terribly written. The guy started out pretty normal, even until the end of the series he was alright. What doesn't make sense to me is his 180 backflip he does in the second last episode. In the span of half an episode hes mad at his mom for running his life, and abandons Minori for Taiga. While yes he showed bits and pieces of being interested in her, Ami was pretty correct in saying he treated her more like a daughter than a crush. Not to mention he was still in full force chasing Minori just half an episode before! With Taiga we saw a full out partial confession in the second episode, a full out dropping of Kitamura, and then, and only then, interest in Ryuuji. A transition. Is that so hard?


BEST ANIME OF 2008: Clannad After Story

Really, is this a surprise? Clannad was a perfect mix of story, visuals, emotion, excitement, and even some life lessons thrown in. If there is a small blemish on the otherwise perfect series is that the soundtrack is a bit weak. Neither the OP or ED really captured me. I would have also liked to see more Tomoyo this season, but that's personal preference. Overall no doubt the best series of 2009. a great ending and follow up to a great start. I'm sure all those dissatisfied by the ending of Clannad with enjoy After Story. Speaking of the ending, I'm not going to spoil it, but i know some people are very disappointed in the ending. All i will say is, that the ending is written like that for a reason. It sums up the series and all the hints alluded to from the beginning of the first season are used to set up this ending, and i truly loved it. My advice, watch it if you haven't, and watch it again if you have.

Read more!

2009 year in review comming soon!!!!

Sorry, been really swamped so this will be a bit late. I'll write it after my new years party.

Also look foreword to the 2010 winter preview list!

(as a side note, i have recently found xxxHolic and Witch Hunter Robin. I'm hoping to finish xxxHolic so i can move onto tsubasa, and finish Chobits. I likely wont continue with WHR due to time constraints) Read more!

Fall 2009 Inital Review

Well university seems to be draining all my time so it is unlikely i will fully blog anything for a while. Meanwhile the first couple of episodes of the new season are out so i thought i'd post my initial opinions.

Shows this season: 11eyes, Kampfer, Seiken no Blacksmith, Seitokai no Ichizon, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun

11 Eyes:
Eps watched: 2

Well, this one looks promising. A rather fantasy-like anime, but based off a H-game. first thing i noticed is how similar the feel of this is to Night Wizard, and unfortunately it feels like it suffers the same problems. Being a one cour show doesn't really give it much time to flesh out the plot with seven baddies expected. Speaking of the seven baddies, the are apparently named after the latin form of the seven deadly sins. Now where have i heard that before... However the art and the plot do sound interesting, it just doesn't yet feel like it will live up to its potential


Kampfer:
Eps watched: 1

Heres a generic harem girls fighting for a unknown prize in a vauge tornament. Only changes? the main "girl" is actually a guy transformed into a girl and their gardians are stuffed animals with their guts hanging out. The first episode really didn't wow me, but its reviews are too horrible. This is likely to be my guilty pleasure of the season, lots of fanservice, little substance. However this also means its pretty low on my watch list.

Seiken no Blacksmith:
Eps watched: 3

The story is about a hapless young newbie female knight trying to protect the city. she runs into a blacksmith with great fighting abilities and the ability to forge Katanas mid-battle. She is also tasked to protect a legendary deamon sword in the form of a girl. Sounds interesting, nice voice cast, and good production. Only downside is again the 1 cour is going to be very limiting. The bood armor doesn't bother me as much as other people, so this is kinda love it or hate it anime. I do have to say i am VERY annoyed by the way overuse of Katanas are better, just because i have a personal liking to broadswords, but its nice to see that a rapier will be used more later on.

Seitokai no Ichizon:
Eps watched: 3

A fluffly high school comedy. This will be my replacement for Hayate this season. Tons of comedy and loaded with gags and anime references. However the story does seem to start getting deeper into episode three. Its really hard to write about this because the gags make the show, so watch a ep or two for yourself and see if you like it.

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun:
Eps watched: 4

This one was a bit of a risk for me. I jumped into railgun without watching index. I was pleasently surprised at how i was able to pick it up so fast. This is a much lighter and hourmous expansion on the original show so those looking for serious action and drama might be disapointed. One of my favorites this season for sure.
Read more!

Hayate no Gotoku!! Season 2 Overall Review

Well well another season of Hayate has finished and it did not disappoint. First of all, it is important to point out that this second season was created by a new Sstudio, so a whole new set of priorities took place. As well this was simulcasted by Crunchyroll with a one week delay for free members. But enough background, lets get down to the review

Only picture that can represent this season

Start of Season:

For the start of the season, we went all the way back to only a month after Hayate was hired my Nagi. We move through the festival arc where Hayate actually gets fired by Klaus and has to prove himself through a series of challenges to return to work. Right off the bat something is evident, this is a whole new Hayate and a whole new studio. They second season goes all the way back to where the first season deviated from the manga and even went so far as to basically call the last half of the first season non-existent. We're in for a real ride if the story turns out to be as good as everyone brags it was.

Series Plotline:

The story definitely didn't disappoint. First point, loads and loads of Hina. We have Hina helping Ayumu gain the strength to ask out Hayate on Valentines day, slowly shift to her birthday, and then to her admitting she loves him as well. I can see why so many Hina fans were so anxious for her birthday arc (which was replaced by a rather poor substitute in hindsight, but loved when it aired). Hina really shines and is even more moe in this season then i ever dreamed. If you've read any of my other episode posts or my post on Animesuki, you know she's one of my favorite characters ever. But the fans i really feel for is Ayumu. She turned out to be a rather lovable cute character and it was really nice to see her not be shafted. Some of the newer, minor characters didn't impress me much (Samson the ghost, that nun girl) but very entertaining nonetheless.
One thing i do have to mention is how far this deviated from the first season. The first season was loaded with gags and jokes and pop culture otaku references which made it great. A lot of that was missing from the season. Did it make it worse? no, but i think the first season works really well to set up character and build the fanbase for a slower, more written season season. Seeing as how the two cons i went to this summer featured zero HnG cosplays, i'd say it needs all the fans it can get. However i really like the season as a chance to develop all the characters, except Nagi. She still somehow seems to get on my nerves.

Ending:

The ending was very strong and very well done. We wrap things up with Sakuya's birthday party, in where sakuya starts to warm up to, and dare i say, like Hayate. New competition? Most likely not, but still fun. More importantly we wrap with Hina and Ayumu on the Farris Wheel where Hina admits she betrayed their friendship by falling in love with Hayate after promising to support her, to a very calm and accepting Ayumu. A big point where we see a lot of emotions come out. The problem? It wasn't over! With one episode left were they going to ruin all the hard built mood? Well yes and no. It was kind of a cheesy way to do a last episode by squeezing in all the character to have their last lines, but it worked. It was funny and entertaining. And it was a pretty over the top episode similar to what we would expect from the first season. However, i gotta agree with a certain nostalgia critic when i say these studios should stop ending seasons on cliff hangers to try and force another season. But with its popularity (apparently) and so much good manga story left untold, i think it will get it.

Art/Songs/Extra:

For the art, it goes into... well its a hard to describe style. More kid-ish, rougher around the edges type animation. Frankly i prefer the first season animation style, but with a staff dedicated to being true to the manga, it is very similar to the art style of the manga.

For songs, the frist ending was obviously my favorite (cough HINA cough). Was giving Hina her own ED overkill? Yes and no. While it does seem to state a personal favorite among the producers, and is also partially fanservice, I can accept it when you look at the fact a clearly secondary character beats out both protagonist to be constatly the most popular character in the show. I also like Hina a lot as i have mentioned above. I cant say i liked the first opening, but the second opening was just... bad, just bad. the second ending i have to admit personal bias due to not liking Nagi, but the song itself wasn't horrible

OVERALL:

So how did this season do? Very good. A little lighter on the laughs, but much heavier on the plot and characters. 9/10 from me.

Read more!

Full Metal Alchemist - 10

Yes, i haven't posted since ep 4 and yes i am unbelievably behind, but i still wanted to put down my thoughts on this ep, because it is so important.

Summary (Quick):

We start with Ed still recovering from his wounds in the hospital, but he is just about ready to leave. He discusses the findings on the philosopher stone with Armstrong and Hughes. The fuhrer walks in and discovers what Ed has been up to. He tells them to stop and forbid them from speaking about it. Ed and Al decide to head out to see their old teacher again to refocus themselves. Winry convinces them to take her to a mecca of sorts for automail mechanics. Meanwhile Hughes continues to look for more information in the library, but is ambushed by Lust. He manages to escape, but injured. Outside he is again ambushed by Envy, using his wife's appearance to stop him. After the funeral, Mustang looks for clues as to who did it. Through careful hints, Armstrong tells him someone high up is trying to stop them from researching the philosopher stone.

Reaction:

I know most of my post on the second season is just comparing it to the original, so i'll try to tune it down this time and actually talk about the episode. But i gotta get out how i hate they made CSI Mustang go around looking for clues after Hughes death. They should have just had it end when hes crying at the grave and save the detective work for the next episode. Im also overall dissapointed that they set up his death so early in this series. 10 eps is not enough time for us to really get attached to him. Although the actual funeral scene was done just as well as before. I have to say its interesting that the Fuhrer is trying to stop Ed and Al. Also knowing who he is, its interesting that he got teary at Hughes funeral. Besides the acutal death, there were quite a few funny moments, which seems to happen a lot this season. im gonna have to get used to expecting death after a funny episode. Read more!

The new OP and ED for Hayate arrived... and boy do they suck

Still stuck on ep 15, but i jumped ahead to check out the new OP and ED. I am not a fan of either. (Edit: Sorry for the incredibly small video size. Uploading it again will take forever)



First off lets take a look at the ED. Replacing Hina is a big strike no matter how good the actual song is. Second, im not the biggest fan of Nagi, and her singing didn't help. Seriously, after Shana, Kugimiya Rie has really lost her charm for me. Hayate's VA actually has a decent singing voice, but its too hard matching her feminine voice to Hayate. However gotta give them major points for using a counterpoint melody. As much as i hate it, they are building up the pair of Nagi x Hayate pretty well.




For the OP, didn't like it very much. The song is half decent and some scenes, like Hayate's fight and the final scene are well done, but the over the top fanservice and returning to the synthesizer for there main chorus tune just kills it. Wonder Wind wasn't something spectacular, however i find myself not skipping it when im watching. As well Wonder Wind actually has melodies and decent lyrics.

Overall very disapointed in you J.C. Staff. You can do much better. Read more!

Toradora - How did i miss this Gem?

WARNING SPOILERS!!!

Ami, the goddess of this show

Well, i just finished the 19th episode of Toradora and i must say it is a very wonderful series that i passed up for the right reasons, and missed for all the wrong reasons. Typical, predictable story with a typical Rie Kugimiya character, and below average animation(IMO). However there is so much about the amazing series. Wonderful funny situations, amazing characters (Minori pre-emo, AMI!!!!!) and a consistent non-episodic plot.

First of all, the good
A very enjoyable plot that produces a rather funny show that keeps you coming back for more and more. It's episodic in the sense that most episodes focus around one stand alone topic, but every episode leaves behind one piece that slowly develops the entire plot. The characters are good too. Minori and Yusaku manage to be so outrageous they are a riot. Ami in particular is gold. She's the character type i look for in every show. The silent girl with a crush on the person she knows she'll never have, so she makes the most of it. She always manages to produce lines that are quote-worthy and even though her character is suppose to be evil and mean, she is very likable.

The bad... duh duh duh....
The plot, while enjoyable and funny, is predictable. It's not something to write about for the ages and is nothing really new. For those of you who couldn't guess after the first minute that Taiga and Ryujii would end up together need to get their head checked. As well after Shana, Rie Kugimiya typecast really really gets on my nerves. As well the whole episode and general enjoyment seem to rise and fall with the amount of Ami present in the episode. Her impeccable insight, constant flirting/attempt at a second chance, and wonderful one/two liners make her the backbone of this show. Also after Minori became depressed she really became no fun. Come to think about it, they all had their emo moments, and all fell flat when they did.

Overall, not the best show in the world, but very very good and definatley one not to miss.
Read more!

Sorry

As of late I have totally neglected anime. I also got my computer taken away and I work full time over the summer so that doesn't help. I guess I'll have to pick back up in the fall. See you then! Read more!

K-ON Final Review

So the times have come and gone, and the series is over, although you would never know it if you followed this blog. I might get around to the episodes, but i doubt it.

Anywho lets get right into this shall we?

Characters:

Overall the characters were pretty good. My only complaints were the constant harassment of Mio. Like the writers couldn't decide weather to make her a pushover like Mikiru or a strong willed girl like Hinagiku. Overall i must say i enjoyed Mio the most, followed closely by Ritsu. The pair are just wonderful together. Yui never really sold me, Mugi seemed to be lacking in the character department besides her being rich. Azusa didn't bring anything i liked that Mio didn't have, and i cant root for the competition. Everyone else wasn't around enough.

Art/Graphics:

The artwork i felt was pretty good through out. Although with KyoAni you don't really expect anything else. It did look weird when they tried to make them look realistic with the mouth singing thing, but it was overall very good.

Music:

What can i say, the songs are what hook a lot of people into the show. I for one knew that the music portion of this series would be overhyped, but the song they did have were amazing. The ED for this show hooked me instantly and i love it so much. The VA for Mio has such an amazing voice. I did hope to see a new song at the end of ep 12, but you cant win them all.

Voice Acting:

This is the area that really impressed me the most. Yōko Hikasa the voice actress for Mio is very very impressive. I have just fallen in love with her voice, and her singing voice in particular. I really hope this turns into a launching pad for her career and i get to see more of her in the future. For the rest of the cast, they were decent, but not spectacular. However given the fact that they are all amateurs, they did very very well.

Plot:

The plot started strong, but kinda teetered off. That is to be expected as the types of jokes they were using do tend to get old fast. Coupled by the fact that the harassment of Mio was a little overdone it was kinda a week point for the show. It still managed to entertain, but not much more.

Overall this was a strong show, very entertaining. I really wanted to watch it every week and is the only show i kept up with. However a weak plot did really hurt it, as well as a short script keeps it from greatness. Ironically for once i enjoyed the anime original plot in ep 11 which is weird, but i guess im a sucker for yuri undertones. I will also admit Mio saved this show quite a bit. Without her and her amazing VA, it would have been a major fail.

8/10


Read more!

K-On - 6

I'll add all the pictures to my K-ON post later when i have a solid interwebz.

Summary:

So the day of the festival finally approaches and Mio is trying to find everyone. Nobody however is practicing. Yui, still mission her voice, is helping out a friend at a food booth. Ritsu and Mugi are helping out with a haunted house. Hilarity ensues when Mio goes in to look for Mugi dressed as a ghost.

Nanoka convinces Yui to finish up early to help Mio and she gets Ritsu. When they reach the club room they find Mio singing on her own. They finally get in a quick practise before the concert. Sawa arrives complete with cute outfits for the club, god bless her heart :). Yui and Mugi, well mostly Mugi move all the equipment into place with Mio a wreck still. Ritsu tells about Mios past and how she is partly to blame for her shyness. Afterwards with Mio failing one last time to get out of singing, Ritsu manages to calm everyone down with some pointless MCing.

They finally prepare to go on stage. After a short delay, and a inspirational speech from Yui she finally sings. The concert is played as a Music video and goes off without a hitch. Just as Mio is about to leave the stage, she trips and accidentally flashes the audience. They loved it and Mio now has her own fanclub, but she is a wreck.

Reaction:

Very fun episode. I wasn't quite expecting a concert ep so quick but i'm really glad they did. This gives them time to squeeze in one or two more before the end of the series. Seeing how fast they're moving, it will likely be an anime original ending. Yui's VA did a good job at faking a sore voice, too good. I felt liked punching her a few times. As for the acutal concert, i know a few people are pissed we didn't get to see them on stage and saw the MV instead, but i enjoyed it. I liked the song, but didn't love it. Here's hoping the next one is better.
Read more!

K-on - 5

Arrival of Super Teacher.

A very dangerous shot



Is this... Heaven. It must be



Gai's husband.

The School Festival is approaching, but the K-ON club faces a bigger problem. Ritsu never filled out the forums so technically the club doesn't exist. Luckily, Nonoka is part of the student council and agrees to help the club out. However they still need to find a teacher advisor for the club.

The decide to go for Sawako-Sensei as she is popular with the student body and a music teacher. However when they mention they've seen a picture of an old club that resembles her, she make a run for the club room to get the photo. Unfortunately Ritsu has already taken the photo. While the rest of the club tries to win her over, Ritsu automatically goes for the blackmail approach. Here we learn about Sawako's past. See tries to date a guy who likes wild girls, but she takes it too far and he ends up dumping her again. Sawako decides to become the advisor and is surprised that they don't even have any lyrics for their song.

Later that night, Mio in a very cute ponytail and earphone combo, writes up a song. The fluffy lyrics leave Ritsu and Sawako squirming. Yui however loves them, and Mugi is too, erhem, distracted to disagree. Sawako sees this chance to lighten her appearance. Outnumbered, Ritsu folds. Yui also becomes the singer as Mio is too embarrassed to sing. Yui however can't handle singing and playing at the same time so Sawako takes her for training. It works, sort of. She can multi-task, but she losses her voice from all the training. So in the end, they turn back to Mio.

Reaction:

Oh Mio how to tease with your shyness. Sawako seems to the the first real competition to Mio's extreme popularity. I gotta admit she does have some likable traits but her lack of real dedication to K-ON is a little unexpected due to all the talk about her.

Note: I'm up to date with the episodes, but i haven't had time to make the post so i should have them up soon because of the long weekend, but not guarantee. Read more!

Hayate no Gotoku S2 - 2

Recap:

After Nagi loses the race, Klus refuses to budge on his bet and fires Hayate. Nagi tries to convince Klus of how much progress she made even though she came in second, but when that fails she fires Klus for failing to guide Hayate as the head butler. He gives in, especially when Maria doesn't back him up because of the sailor moon dress up she had to wear. He decides to give Hayate a second chance by completing a butlers trial. Hayate leaves for the training, and runs into a strange Nun. She steals the loose change Hayate drops, but redeems herself when she saves him from a manic otaku. However she looses it when she asks for a reward. Hayate gets to the church where his trials are, and runs into the same nun. She tells him to find a party of four and to help him on his way. Nagi, who came looking for him, is the first. He tries to convince Hina to join as well, but shes still mad about what he did during the race. While he leaves, Yukiji overhears and becomes the second. They also run into Saki, who recommends Wataru and so their party is complete.

Reaction:

I can't say Hayate's chances are too good with that party. Im more worried about Hina and Hayate slipping, oh my poor fanboy heart. Apparently this is all setting up something so i'll keep my fingers crossed.

The biggest difference is that this season seems to move away from the random jokes and references for the plot. It makes it more of a standard comedy anime. The plot is good and it still is funny, but oh season one you will be missed a little. Read more!

For Those Who Care

I'll be late with FMA by a few days, but since no one really reads this well....I don't think anyone really cares Read more!

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood - 4

Summary:
Ed and Al have returned for Lior and are reporting to Mustang. Mustang informs them about a man, Shou Tucker, who successfully created a chimera that spoke. The chimera spoke only one phrase, "I want to die" and refused to eat and died. Interested, the brothers decide to check Tucker out. They meet Tucker and his daughter Nina. Ed begins right away studying Tucker's old work.

Meanwhile a killer is on the loose in central. This man, who can only be identified by a large scar on his face, has been hunting down and killing Alchemist. His appearance, and his targeting on some of the toughest opponents has thrown Central in disarray.

One night, while leaving, they escorting state alchemist reminds Tucker that his review is approaching. If he fails, he will loose his title. It is revealed that life was tough before he became a state alchemist and his wife left because they were poor. When Ed comes by the day of the review, Tucker has created a new Chimera. However Ed soon discovers to his horror that the chimera is none other than Nina. The story about his wife leaving is also a lie and the previous chimera was his wife. Ed nearly pummels Tucker to death but is horrified when Tucker tell him they are the same and that they both pushed the limits too far with human alchemy. Ed refuses and is finally stopped by Al. When they leave Scar comes to kill Tucker. Seeing Nina in such a state he decides to kill her out of mercy.

Reaction:

I hate tucker. I hated this arc. I hated how Tucker survived in the original. Thankfully they shortened all of this into one episode and killed him off. They made Tucker appear a lot more desperate and almost pitiful in comparison to his original "mad scientist" motif. It's interesting to note they didn't try to inject any humor into this epsiode (minus Ed vs Dog) but left it mainly dark. This is more like what i expected given the dark ending and dark PV, however i am wondering if it is darker than the source. Also lost was Ed's true studying nature, and that he worked hard to gain his understanding of alchemy.

It was also interesting they cut out the Yoki arc, but mentioned it in the episode. I wonder if they will do the same kind of thing for the thief girl arc. It wasn't really interesting, but it was one of the few really funny episodes.
Read more!

If anyone actually reads this :P

Yes, i am late as hell for my shows. FMA will take me a day or two and i plan on catching up on Hayate during the rest of the week.

Along with the three shows i am blogging, i am also watching Valkira and maybe picking up eden of the east because i heard a lot of good things about it.

In other news, a new gundam anime will start up sometimes before the end of the year for the 30th anniversary. Given the short time left and the lack of details, it looks like it will be OVA insead of a full series. Reports say it will be based off the gundam unicorn novels. Given the excitement i expect this to be good.

This msg will self destruct when i have the post up. Read more!

k-On - 4

FANSERVICE!!!

The girls ability to make faces never ends



Mugi has that stalker face



OMG a bird ate Yui



Am... i in heaven?



Yup, this must be heaven



Hurray for yuri Subtext

Recap: Mio finds a recording of the old K-ON club and decides that they need to hold a practice vacation in time for the school festival. Yui and Ritsu can only think about enjoying a summer vacation, and Mugi is happy as long as she can spend more time with others.

They all end up going to the beach villa by the ocean that Mugi's parents own. They secure only the smallest villa, but its still the size of a hotel. While Mio tries to get the equipment ready, Yui and Ritsu are already out having fun. Mio reveals that reason for the sudden need for practice is that the old club was very very good, and she feels that she doesn't want to loose to them. Seeing as how they can't get any practice in that day however, she decides to join them. Later on She desperately tries to get Ritsu and Yui to practice, but it still fails. After dark the group is having fun around a campfire with Yui playing around with her guitar in front of fireworks. Later she shows how she can play the same guitar portion of the previous club from only hearing it once.

After seeing Yui, Mio determines she may have been worried over nothing. As they go back to school, Mio isn't too pleased with some of the pictures Ritsu took :)


Reaction:
Another very moe heavy episode. seeing how Yui seems to be a natural genius with music I'm not too surprised that they will be ready for the concert at the school festival. Mio is still very awesome between angry and determined, to shy and embarrassed. For a fanservice beach episode this actually had more plot than the previous two. (minus the acutal buying of the guitar). Next episode looks to focus on the teacher (which i have heard a lot about) and Nonoka so it looks good.
Read more!

FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood - Episode 03

recap:

Well this episode was virtually the same as the beginning episode for last time. Ed and Al travel to Lior because they hear about a priest that can perform miracles. So once they are in the city they are eating something and when Al stands up he knocks over a radio. What do our two hero's use to fix it? Why Alchemy of course! So the towns people watch as Al turns the radio back to new and they start to talk about how he performed a miracle like the priest, father Cornello. Well the insults to Ed start off early again as the people once again decide that Al is the Full Metal Alchemist.

So Ed and Al go to check out Cornello and find that his miracles don't follow the rule of equivalent exchange. They also find out that the priest can supposedly bring the dead back to life, which we already know is a sore subject for the two brothers. The two walk into the church to meet Rose, a girl who is devoted to the church, and to Cornello's teachings and talk of bringing the dead back to life. Ed precedes to sit down and list off all the ingredients that make the adult human body, also commenting that it could all be bought with a child's pocket money. (a part that I really enjoyed last time and even more this time.) Rose of course is angered by this due to her great belief in father Cornello and God.

The Elric brothers request a meeting with Cornello which he agrees to, but he has some of his followers try to kill the Elrics once they arrive at the meeting place. Ed quickly dispatches of the two guys that are covering him and Al punches the guy with the gun in the face (which as always was quite amusing). The gun falls by Rose's feet and ed yells back and forth with Cornello about transmutation and the Philosophers Stone (if you don't already know what that is well then you never really cared about the series). Ed, Al, and Rose stand there and Rose is ordered to shoot Ed, though once again she thinks the Full Metal Alchemist is Al. She shoots Al and they find nothing inside and Cornello explains that they commited the Taboo of Alchemy, Human Transmutaion.

So basically a bunch of stuff happens and we find out that Cornello's stone was only a fake, so Ed and Al are back to square one.

Reactions:

Well it was nice to see a redo of the origional first episode, but I didn't really enjoy it at all. I mean there were some really awsome parts like where Ed explains the make up of the human body and where we see the Homoculous at the end. Over all I'm liking brotherhood and I look forward to the next episode. Oh, final note. ROY MUSTANG RULES!

Read more!

K-On - 3

Exam Horror!

Who dares scare my Mio!



>Wow shes even worse than me.



Well if K-On gets disbanded she can always return to the WWE



Rejected by Mio. Lol double bump



Shes even good at video games

Summary:

Yui starts more guitar practice and produces some extreme Mio moe moments using squeamish stories. As Yui starts to practice more cords, she completely forgets about midterms. Exam time comes and she is so distracted (from her guitar and other things) she fails miserably. Mugi and Mio manage to do pretty well (however we never see their grade). Surprisingly Ritsu also gets an A, but it is explained she begged Mio to cram with her the day before, as usually apparently. Things only get worse when the find out if she doesn't pass, the club will be shut down again, and she cant join in until she finishes the makeup exam in a week. Two days before the makeup the decide to all send her encouraging messages. That however turns out to be more a distraction then a benefit. The day before the exam. Yui admits that while she is studying more this time, she isn't sure if she can pass. The gang decides to go to her house to help her study. When they get there, they are surprised by how much more mature Ui is and how different she is from her sister. Mugi provides snacks and encouragement while Mio becomes her personal tutor. They study until Yui is ready to collapse. After the makeup, Yui looks burnt out. Luckily however she aced the exam and got perfect. However because of all the studying, she forgot all the cords she was learning so we're back to the start.


Reaction:

Another funny episode. Really shored up Ui and Nodoka's characters. However the lack of progress makes it look worse that we will ever get to see a concert. But whatever at this point anything with more Mio makes me happy. We also see more of everyone character. Mio and Tsumugi as the reliable smart ones, and Ritsu and the clumsy lovable idiot. Yui is the can-do-anything-she-puts-her-mind-to type. Must admit its kind of cliche but i still love it Read more!

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood - 2

Summary:
Ed and Al are on a train to Lior to see a man who can make miracles. They think it is probably slight of hand, but they check it out anyways in case it might be the philosopher stone. We flash back to Ed and Al's childhood where they begin to learn alchemy using their father's old books. However their mom soon suddenly dies from disease. The boys continue to practice alchemy under the tutelage of their teacher (later will be identified as Isumi) and slowly start their research into human alchemy.

One night they determine they know enough and attempt the forbidden alchemy. However soon afterwards things begin to go wrong. the alchemy circle grabs Ed's legs and suck Al into it. Left behind is a hideous creature who soon dies. It in inside this circle that Ed meets a creature and a door who call themselves god. The door opens and Ed is flung in. He begins to acquire all the knowledge in the universe, so much it nearly kills him. However when he approaches the area that would allow him human alchemy, he is pulled back out. The creature tells him that all that knowledge was enough for the trade, the trade of his leg. He returns to the real world and finds Al missing. Knowing he was taken he tries to attach Al's soul to a suit of armor. He losses his arm in the process.

The next day Roy Mustang and Hawkeye arrive in search of a powerful alchemist said to be in the area. However they only find the bloody remains of the fail alchemy. He goes to Winry's house where Ed and Al are healing and confronts them. He later offers Ed the chance to become a state alchemist. Doing so would mean that Ed would be a dog of the military, but it would open the immense possibility of research that could lead them to the philosopher stone, and the restoration of their bodies. Ed decides to take the offer and heads off to the state alchemist exam. While preparing, with a new arm and leg from Winry, he trains with Al and shows off his ability to use alchemy without a circle. Al, even though he also went through the gate, cannot. when he gets to the exam, he he attempts to show off by transmuting a spear with out a circle, and then attacking the fuhrer. However the fuhrer was able to slice Ed's weapon without anyone even noticing. regardless he passes and is granted the title of FullMetal Alchemist.

Reaction:

First of all, i'll take this opportunity to talk about the OP and ED. I have to say i don't particularly love the OP. It just sounds really rough for some reason and her voice seems to stammer. The overall beat/tune is pretty good though. The ED though is quite enjoyable and i love it. The animation at the end is also quite entertaining and even has a few laughs (Armstrong lol).

Onto the Episode...
Well, Not to bad. Obviously they went back on track and followed the storyline of Ed getting his arm and the failed transmutation of their mother, but it feels way too rushed. If their was one thing the first season did dead on, was hit the emotional note of how painful and just how hard Ed works to be where he is. Nothing about Ed's amazing studying ability was mentioned here and he seems to be driven by pure rage and pride more than determination. It's also sad to see Al's voice explaining equivalent exchange replaced by the narrator. Al really gave the saying a whole depth of meaning about how nothing is truly equal and someone always ends up paying more in the world which is lost when the narrator says it. I guess they want to try and make this closer to the original, yet different from the first season so that it wont be boring. Problem is the beginning of the first was close to the original. And i read somewhere the manga always tried to cut the intense emotion with jokes to lighten the manga anyways so its not too bad. Overall i don't think I'll be pretty impressed with this until they reach where the first season deviated. We'll have to see how they handle Lior because i felt the first season did a very good job. One of the scenes from the first season they can't do well now is the speech Ed makes to Rose about how a human is nothing more than a list of ingredients. (I thought that was a powerful statement about how his view of the world has changed to one of chemical parts. It was one of my favorite scenes.)

(I will be calling the source "manga" from now on and the first season "original" because I'm starting to get confused.)
Read more!

Full Metal Alchemist and Hayate no Gotoku

I havent forgotten them. exams are just slowing me down. expect them within a day.

Edit 1: I will have FMA up in a few hours. (aka tomorrow morning) Hayate will probably take another day. Read more!

K-On - 2

All hail the rock god Mio!

Moe... Overload... ahh

What are tenticles doing in this show?

Hunt for a guitar!

Recap:
The episode starts up with a reintroduction of the other members of band. We also get to see a lot of moe embarrassed. However they realized that Yui still doesn't have a guitar so they haven't been practicing. Mio tells Yui that the cheapest guitars are 50,000 yen with the expensives one go over 100,000. Yui desperately tries to find the money going as far as to borrow 50,000 yen in advance allowance from her parents. The spend the next day around the mall. However when they get to the music shop Yui sets her eyes on a really nice guitar for 250,000 yen. They decide to all get part time jobs to get time money. They eventually find a job as traffic counters which works for Mio because she is shy. Over the next two days they make 16,000 each. Yui however doesn't feel right about taking their money and decides to buy a guitar she can afford. However when they get back the the store the next day she is once again distracted by the guitar. Mugi decides to try and haggle and gets the guitar down to 50,000 dollars, however that is mostly due to the fact her dad owns the place. Yui eventually starts to practice and the band is offically on its way.

Reaction:

Many more shy and moe moments from Mio. If wiki is correct than she turn out to be the lead singer so we'll see how she gets around her shyness. There's never enough Mio! We need more cool Mio now. It looks like a 13 ep series, so we'll see how much they can get through in that time, or if they will even have more than one concert. The next ep looks like its about exams (ughh i completely understand) so we'll have to wait for more music.
Read more!

Quick spring blog update

So this is how the spring blogging is looking so far.

SeedFreedom: (everything might be late due to exams)
Hayate no gotoku (May be up to a week late but i will try my best to get it out as soon as possible)
FMA (Riven and myself will be spitting the series in half. doing every other episode)
K-ON (i will be doing a max of three shows. This is the third in the line. If something great comes along i will drop this.)


Riven: (This is not finalized so maybe she can clear this section up.)
FMA (Half series with me)
Eye Shield 21 (maybe)
Katekyo Hitman Reborn (If she has the time)
- She is also dropping D-gray man Read more!

K-ON AKA the MOE-ist thing to ever hit this side of the earth

All hail Mio!

Recap: Yui is a new high school girl, in what appears to be an all girls school. She has no idea which club she wants to join, because she has never joined a club in her life. Meanwhile an energetic Ritsu is trying to join the "K-ON" or light music club. She drags her friend, Mio, with her to join, who actually wanted to join the literary club. They find that all the previous club members have all graduated and if they want to keep the club, they need to find four members or it gets closed. (Clannad anyone?) Ritsu waits in the club room for people to come and join. When a lost Tsumugi walks in looking for the choir club, she also gets roped in to joining the club. They go out for fast food (which Tsumugi seems to have never had) and discuss how to save their club. They decide to make posters and place them everywhere. The end of the month approaches and they are in danger of losing the club they never had. A hopeless Yui seems one of their posters and thinks that "light" means easy and decides to join. After finding out from her friend that "light" is a genre, she goes to tell them she can't join. She is scared of their reaction and after seeing the enthusiasm (mostly from Ritsu) she doesn't want to tell them off. She eventually does get it out and they desperately try to keep her in the room with tea, cookies, and a performance. Mio on bass, Ritsu is on the drums, and Tsumugi on the keyboard. After watching the performance she decides she wants to stay even though she doesn't know how to play. She asks if she can join as manager, but the others tell her that this is not like a sport team and they don't need a manager. They tell her they will teach her to play guitar. Yui's moment of happiness is short lived when she finds out she will have to buy a guitar and that it wont be cheap.

Reaction:
OMG MOE!!!! Yui, Ritsu, and Tsumugi are all very cute, however MIO IS MOEEEEEE. She is just soo cute and her singing in the ED is just amazing. This is one of the only shows i want to stay and watch the ED of. Onto the actual episode, the story isn't too new and innovative and kinda average, but its interesting and... hell the moe factor can make up for any plot errors. Nice cast of characters and i hope to be following this series all season.
Read more!

Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood Episode 01

YA-HA! I got here first! I'll get the recap up sometime but for now I'll just do my reactions! I'm also going to start Eyeshield 21 and forget D. Grey-Man. I don't think with all that is happening I'll be able to do that one since I mainly read not watch.


Reactions:

YA-HA! It was excellent! I was kind of amazed to hear Again by YUI as the opening. I never thought that they would use her for Full Metal, but it really does work. I like the upbeat nature to the song. I'm also really glad to hear another song by SID. The ending is "Uso" or "Lie", and although it seems to have a more laid back tone, the song fits well with where the anime is so far. I must say that it was good to hear Lockon again and that it seems like all the characters still hold thier old funny/annoying/awsome personalities. I noticed that Roy Mustang was a little bit more energetic this time around but I like that new addition. Hughes and Armstrong stayed the same, Armstrong with the hilarious tendancy to rip off his shirt at a moment's notice and Hughes annoying tendancy to show the picture of his wife and daughter to EVERYONE! Anyways it started off great with the Elric brothers already searching for the stone and as usual a bunch of people calling Ed short. As usual he totally flips, even at Hughes' daughter. I have high hopes for this anime and I hope it is as amazing as the last one! Read more!

Hayate no Gotoku s2 - 1

Its finally time. First i want to say i love this series and will definitely be covering every episode. I want to mention CrunchyRoll will be broadcasting every episode for free on their website legally. Now, i am all for supporting free legal anime over subs, but i cant wait the week for it to be free and i wont (and can't) paying for a membership so unless all the subs are a week slow i will be covering the subs instead. Luckily they offered the first episode for free so i'm a little ahead this week. Now onto the actual episode.

EDIT: It looks like the fansub i was hoping would pick up this series is now dropping it for Crunchyroll. Luckily i still have a few other sources (mostly crunchyroll rips anyways) but there is no way i am waiting a week if i don't need to. However if my sources do get cut, i will be a week late on these.

EDIT 2: I found at least one sub group who picked it up so unless they drop it i have my source.

Recap:
The episode starts with Nagi trying to duck out of doing a school running event. Marina convinces her to go and Hayate oversees her training. When she gives up pathetically easily Klaus insults Hayate's abilities. When she goes to defend him, she accidentally makes a bet that if she looses Hayate will be fired. He continues to train her but she is very worried. Meanwhile Hayate goes to find which even Hina is not in so they have a better chance of winning. Unfortunately she is going to be in all of them, but tells him to enter the grand marathon. At the actual race, they dont fair very well and Hayate ends up carrying her most of the time, avoiding all the other butler-master pairs we met last season. The last to stand in their way is Hina. She questions weather Nagi is actually learning anything by having Hayate do all the work for her. Realizing she is right, Hayate tells her to go ahead while he stalls her. He is successful due to her fear of heights. Just as she is about to win, Yukiji steals the win to use the prize money for alcohol.

Reaction:
Well, not one of their better eps, but not bad. As prominent as Hina is shown in the OP and ED, i can't help but feel that Hayate and Hina aren't as close as they were in the first season. I mean the only contact they had was when Hayate was being a ass to her on the bridge. Much different from the Hayate that promised to save her if she called. Regardless i expect MOAR HINA and MOAR HINA X HAYATE than in the first season so all is good.

Cultural references:
- Tuxedo Mask (with the throwing roses)
I will constantly be looking for more, so if you notice any i miss please leave a comment.
Read more!

gundam 00 s2 - 25 (END)

Summary: TBA

Reaction: I have to admit im pretty disappointed in the end. I felt it was rather weak and forced. Firstly, the Ribbons and Setsuna fight made little sense. If the original drive is so important to Ribbions, how did he lose the 0 Gundam in the first place? Secondly, While the R2 was a shiny upgraded Exia, it made little sense. Why was it in perfect condition awaiting a GN drive? Wouldn't make more sense to have it attached with a GN condenser like the 0 Gundam was if they wanted to keep it as backup? Why would Ribbons put the GN drive in the 0 Gundam anyways? It sets up an epic showdown but the 0 Gundam is so out of date it would make more sense to use a Gadessa or Garrazo. Aside from the fight, CB essentially didn't accomplish what they wanted by eliminating all wars, hence why they are still around. Louise ends up living, but i can let that slide. Andrei essentially learns nothing and doesn't change despite all that has happened.

That is not to say all of the ending was horrible. It allows a movie which, if as epic as Endless Waltz was, can really redeem this ending. Fight scenes were really well coordinated. Kati and Patrick getting married was a great ending for the two. Alleujah and Marie backpacking is also sweet.

So overall, a weak ending, but i was relatively happy with the series overall.

7.5/10
Read more!

Spring 2009 Preview

This is my preview, and possible blog list, for 2009 spring. Like last season, i will probably be doing one show, but maybe 2 or 3 if there are a lot of gems this season.

Well, im going to be doing my initial reactions based solely on the story provided and screenshots for now. I'll have an update after Random Curiosity puts up his to get a better opinion. To save time i will be grouping similar responses together, and try to post a link to myanimelist when available. Order is how likely i will watch/blog it.

Updates after Random Curiosity's post will be in blue.

For a more detailed preview i direct you to:
http://that.animeblogger.net/2009/03/08/that-spring-2009-anime-preview/
http://animehistory.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/spring-2009-series-preview-no-funny-business/


Hayate no Gotoku!!:

One of my most anticipated animes this season. First season was amazing and while comedies often have a hard time following up a success *cough* minami-ke *cough* this one has a long successful manga to follow so im optimistic. I hope to blog this and have any readers out there point out the cultural jokes i miss. You know i'll be looking for a lot of Hina love :P.
Upon further review, it seems outside of well... me, many people are starting to get bored after a 52 ep season of hayate. I also agree that the series is quite long, but i have yet to have my fill of Hina so i will watch on until that day, which is never. While this wont deter me from watching, im wondering if the subbers will be putting any effort into this, if any good groups pick it up at all. Im praying on SS-Eclipes right now.

watch: 110%
blog: yes


Fullmetal Alchemist:

A remake of a classic that promises to follow closer to the manga. Very highly anticipated. Blogging will depend on my time.
The interesting thing about this is the new cast. Besides Ed, Al, Bradley the entire cast has been replaced. Mustang is now played by Lockon, Risa Hawkeye is Rukia(bleach)/Shirley(Geass), ironically Huges(Mustangs second in command) is played by Ali Al Sachez(gundam 00), and Lust played by Sanae(Clannad). Plus a relative newcommer for Winry and a mainly supporting actor for Scar(D-gray man, Chaos head, Hayate, Shakugan no shana. He does seem to love playing the villian).

Watch:90%
blog: high ~ 90%

Spice and Wolf 2:

Loved the first season. Its not high paced, and a little hard to understand, but it was enjoyable. Time constraints will be the only factor. (P.S. i know this is closer to summer release, but everyone else is adding it now)

Watch: 75%
blog: low

Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~:
07-Ghost:
Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica Crimson S:
Tears to Tiara:
Shangri-La:

Looks interesting. I'll give the first ep a chance and see if it wows me.

watch: 70%
blog: low


Asura Cryin’:60%
Tayutama -Kiss on my Diety-: 60%
K-ON: 50%
Pandora Hearts: 50%
Senjou no Valkyria -Gallian Chronicles-: 40%

Sounds good, and looks good, but i doubt it will be my cup of tea or that i will have the time. We'll see if it gets a good recommendation.

watch: see above
blog: no


Queens Blade Rurou no Senshi:
Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan!!:

Looks like a mindless ecchi fighting anime. While Sekirei wasn't half bad, i dont think i want to watch another one.
Queens blade is actually i lot worse/inappropriate than i thought. I definitely wont be watching this.

watch: 30%
blog: no


Hatsukoi Gentei:

At first i though, Minami-ke. But this doesn't look very interesting like minami-ke was. Will need a strong recommendation to watch.

watch: low
blog: no


Guin Saga:
Natsu no Arashi!:
Basquash!:
Saki:

Story sounds uninteresting. Has to really Wow me and have an incredible recommendation.

Watch: 10%
blog: no


Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou:
Hanasakeru Seishounen:

Shojo love story. No thanks.

watch: very low
blog: no

Read more!

D. Grey-Man Episode 01

What you have all been waiting for! Finally I get on D. Grey-Man. This has taken me forever to write and I'm sorry to make everyone wait.

Recap:

Now we find out that exorcists are the ones watched over by god to bury the evil ominous things in our world. This anime takes place in the 19th century, and we start off with the arrival of a boy to a riverside town with his flying, gold ball of a companion Timcanpy. In this town a female police officer named Moore is checking out an old abandoned church which is rumored to be cursed. If only she knew the half of it. Another officer enters the church with Moore, and at first they only find a ruins. At first it seems as if the officers had disturbed a colony of bats, which sweeps Moore away, however she sees that there is actually another person holding her arm. The white haired boy who grabs Moore expresses his shock and surprise at seeing another human and claims that a cat ate something that was very important to him. Soon after the two hear a scream coming from the main room and Moore rushes back to find the other office backed up against a wall with a black pentacle pattern that gradually engulfs his body. After his body is totally consumed by the black marks he explodes into smoke. Moore chokes on the smoke until the white haired boy covers her mouth and explains that her companion was killed by and Akuma (devil in Japanese), but we will learn about these a little later.

Moore passes out due to the poisonous smoke and wakes up in the police station some time later. She finds one of the detectives is interrogating the boy who brought her back to the station. We find that this boy's name is Allen Walker, and he has a green cross embedded into his disfigured left hand. Allen reveals that the crime had been committed by an Akuma and the cross in his hand is actually an anti-akuma weapon. Allen also explains that he is an Exorcist, but the detective isn't sure about this so he puts Allen in Moore's care. While this is going on at the station a large person with an umbrella shows up in Moore's home and he refers to Moore's brother as an Akuma. This person disappears before Moore comes into the room to check on her brother Mark, and Mark seems normal to her. Later in the night Moore wonders if the crime was actually committed by an Akuma. She does not believe in such things for she takes Akuma as it's literal meaning of Devil, and she thinks that they are only a fantasy created by the human mind out of fear. Moore who doesn't believe in Akuma hates and curses them. Allen corrects her however, because the Akuma he knows isn't what she is referring to. While she refers to the devil of hell, he refers to weapons that take a human form. It is at this point where things get interesting. Mark comes into the room and Allen realizes that he is an akuma. Mark then transforms into a large, floating, egg-like creature. The creature shoots it's guns at Moore, but fortunately Allen saves her and they get pushed into the church next door. Allen actually catches one of the Akuma's bullets but warns Moore not to touch it for it carries the Akuma's blood virus. The effects of this virus can be seen in the cat which Allen fails to save. The poor feline's body is slowly engulfed in black pentacles before it shatters into itty bitty pieces. Allen explains to the tired police officer that the person they saw was not her brother Mark, but the thing that killed him and took him over. The Akuma interrupts their conversation by bursting through the wall. The detective we saw earlier and some officers try to confront the Akuma however it slaughters them quite quickly.

Allen explains how the Akuma are weapons programmed to kill and evolve and that they are living and hold a soul. The frustration of the soul that is locked inside is what creates the power for the Akuma. Allen can see that the soul of the Akuma is a woman's soul and he suspects that it was someone who was close to Mark. It seems that the ingredients for the akuma include soul, machine, and tragedy. Moore remembers that on the wedding day of Mark and her sister Crea, Crea had been worried about her joining the police force. Mark on the other hand encouraged it because he felt that Moore was not out for revenge for their parents, but for the protection of others. Still, even with Mark's belief in god, since he was a pastor, a chandelier of a cross fell and killed Crea, sending Mark into a deep sense of despair. This was the tragedy the Millennium Earl needed to create his Akuma. Now there is a whole scene where the Millennium Earl, a round creature in a top hat, with a talking umbrella, asks Mark if he wants Crea back and of course Mark agrees. This is when the Akuma is created.

It is Crea who took over Mark's body and is the Akuma in front of Allen and Moore. With his arm and cross glowing, Allen powers up to destroy the darkness. He uses his enlarged arm to rip through the Akuma's hard skin and rips away the chains that hold down the soul. After the battle is finished Allen tells Moore about the creator of the Akuma, the Millennium Earl. The Earl is trying to create a scenario with the demise of mankind and bringing that plan to an end is the job of exorcists. With his job done, Allen leaves town with Timcanpy in search of the Black Order's headquarters.

Reactions:

I love this Anime with all my heart. There is plenty of action and the animation really shows off each battle scene. This first episode was definitely a hook into the rest of the series. The whole plot is confusing at first but after around 6 episodes you start to understand the whole fight between the exorcists and the Earl and the whole role of Innocence. Also there is a whole host of crazy and outrageous characters that capture your heart and sometimes can annoy you to death. There is surely a little bit of some thing from everyone. Whether you enjoy action, or romance, or just plain insanity D. Grey-Man has something to appeal to you.

In this first episode it really opened my eyes to their world. You really realize how much trouble and suffering is within the life of an exorcist. I also found the whole premise of having the Innocence trapped within a body. Allen I found a little weak and naive for the world that he is now in. His attitude towards saving Akuma and that eye of his can either be seen as a curse or a blessing. I also liked that Allen can see the souls of Akuma but I just have to wonder if it will make him overpowered in the future.

The first starting is Innocent Sorrow by Abingdon Boys School, and the lead singer is Takanori Nishikawa, also known as T.M. Revolution. This song was totally different from any of his songs as T.M. Rev and that really interested me. It fit really well with the beginning and the opening sequence was something I would totally endorse. Not only was the song amazing but it really showed off the large range of characters, their different abilities, and a few of their back stories, even though it mostly focused on Allen since he is the main character. I can't wait to see what this Anime will bring in the future.
Read more!

Gundam 00 s2 - 24

Reaction: I cant say I'm disappointed in the episode. I mean we do have Ali biting the dust, Veda back in Tieria's control, Arios with some nice saving. However i cant help but feel some parts aren't as good as i want them to be. Louise, Andrei, Billy all being redeemed by understanding feels a little corny to me. I guess i never hated Billy much, but i don't think any 0f them really deserved any redemption. Tieria's consciousness is alive in Veda and seeing Ribbions cloning ability i doubt he's gone for good. The whole thing about them being Inovades was pretty weak. I mean now do we have to start calling them Innovades? Why couldn't they just call Setsuna an innovade instead and save us the headache? Regene seems more alive than i thought. Although i still think hes dead once the GN dust is gone, hes still kinda conscious. Ribbons final suit being the Guncannon is quite a surprise. However given that the 0 gundam was a RX-78 copy, i should have seen it comming. Thank god it seems Lyle has made it thorough and will survive the series. One episode left, lets see how they do.


Funny little side note, im going to copy over a portion of my post from AnimeSuki Fourms


Going back to watch the chibi "fake" spoiler from the beginning of the second season, only three things haven't come true so far. Cats will dance, aliens will attack, and Alleujah's third mind. I guess some of the aliens things have already been mentioned, but i doubt we'll see aliens in the last ep. We also havent seen any signs of a third personality for Alleujah.

What has come true is Tieria being a robot, Setsuna changing (only into an innovator not a gundam), Zombie lockon, "industrial complex" (elevator) falls, maids (wei lu ming) will be assulted. Read more!

gundam 00 s2 ep 23

Summary: TBA

Reaction:


Wow, what an action packed episode. We have all the gundams pretty much fighting the whole episode. I must say the Seravee looked the most impressive, doing what the Cherudim did without trans-am.

Speaking of trans-am and Lyle, it looks like everything will end soon. I doubt the animatiors are so sadistic as to kill off Lockon twice, but i worry. Especially since their now close range. Heres hoping Cherudim pulls off something amazing and finishes that asshole once and for all.

As for Setsuna, hes now become even more hax, being the only one to not take damage this episode. As well, his precognition and perhaps link to ribbons makes me think that will be the final fight.

Billy needs to die, or switch sides. If they kill off Sumeragi i will rage.

Kinda tired so consider this review a work in progress.
Read more!

Gundam 00 s2 ep 22

Recap:
We start with a conclusion to the fight from last week. Setsuna is standing off against bushido in the alternate world. It is here we see the past of Bushido. Where he walked the path of a samurai and seeked revenge against the gundams. The fight does not last too long and Setsuna manages to disable the Susanoo. Bushido asks Setsuna to finish him, but Setsuna mearly said he is changing and leaves. He asks Saji about Louise, but she is long gone. Back on the Plotemy the gang rendezvous with Linda and picks up the new equipment for the gundams and the 0 gundam itself.

The innovators are returning with Lousie and Andrei in tow. Ribbons has called them all back to prepare for the final fight. Captain fatso and the Alaws are planning a huge fight with 21 ships and 108 mobile suits. With these numbers he is confident there is no way they can lose.

Back on Ptolemy they discover that Veda is hiding on the dark side of the moon. The entire area is cloaked. They all state their reasons for fighting and decide to retake Veda. At the innovator base, we see Ribbons and a clone army of Divines (or Brings). Bushido contemplates suicide, but hearing Setsuna's words does not. On Ptolemy Feldt gives Setsuna a flower and wonders if Marina would be mad. Setsuna states they do not have that relationship. Feldt tells him to come back alive as he is leaving.

The gundam and their shiny new toys launch. At first the fight seems in their favor, when three ships head for a kamakaze towards Ptolemy. Setsuna destroys the ships with a trans-am riser sword, but the ships were decoys. They were filled with anti-particle field"dust" and soon all beam weaponry is near useless. Meanwhile the main A-laws fleet arrives using rockets. obviously unprepared and outarmed, the gundams are soon in a difficult position. However the kataron fleet makes it just in time and saves them all. Kataron, led by kati, manages to drive away the attack force and commander fatso finally dies.

At the innovators HQ, Ribbons informs Regene that he is aware of his plans, and always was thanks to the quantaum brain waves. Regene knowing he is found out quickly shoot ribbons in the head, declaring that he will lead the world

Reaction:

Very awesome episode. Shinny new toys for all the gundams (which kind of makes me sad as my cherudim model kit does not have the side shield/gun)

On the Level of hax, 00 is starting to separate itself from the others like how wing zero made the other gundams look like Zaku I.

Cherudim: a new shield/gun attached where the rifle would dock. I don't know where its rifle goes now, but the new gun definitely is nice. looks to have the same range as the sniper rifle itself. Aesthetically it looks a lot like the old full shield Dynames had. Also to note the bits on his back are now on his shoulder and something new is on his GN drive. Tailbooster maybe?

Arios: two new missle pods on the sides that transform into what is reminicent of the missle pods that Kyrios had. A new much more powerful liner rifle that require two hands. Note it does look like he wins the upgrade wars, but we will have to wait and see. No upgrades to the Archer of note.

Seravee: huge GN condensers to up its max firing abilities. Also looks like it got a few more cannons, but i couldn't tell for sure.

00: Gn-sword III. Looks amazing as the Gn-sword was what made the exia stand out. With trans-am riser its just hax.

The actual episode itself brought some interesting developments. Feldt fanboys (me included) are going crazy about the flower scene. Realistically i dont believe Setsuna x Feldt has a chance, but it was a nice scene. Bushido seems to be almost wrapped up only leaving Ali from the old guard. Can't wait to see who gets the honors of tearing him limb from limb. Kati is offically with Kataron, but not much of a storyline left for this. Im still a little worried about Lyle devotion to destroying the federation, something CB is against. We'll have to see how this pans out. On the point of Ribbons seeing his clone army and the fact he is in the preview for the next episode, he is definitely not dead, so all of you haters will have to wait to call trainwreck like Geass.
Read more!

gundam 00 s2 ep 21

Recap:
Saji is talking to Setsuna and asks him if there was any other way. Setsuna replies that if he hadn't shot down Anew Lyle would be dead. He mentions he feels Louise is in the same position. Soon after the bridge turns off the power to conduct some test. When this happens however, Setsuna's eyes glow like an innovator. Back at the bridge, Alleujah is still trying to prevent Soma from fighting, but she refuses. Setsuna meanwhile runs into Lyle. Lyle mentions he shouldn't be mad and knows Setsuna wouldn't kill Anew if he didn't believe it was needed. As Setsuna turns, Lyle points his gun at Setsuna, but doesn't shoot.

At the A-Laws base, the innovators are discussing the last battle and we see the continuation of that in flashbacks. Bushido meanwhile meets up with Lousie who is with Andrei. Louise is becoming cold to Andrei however and wont listen to him. Bushido mentions they have a mission. When Andrei asks to join, Bushido says he will not keep up.

At yet another place we find Wang and Hong. They are alive and escaped Nena. We find out Wang's back story of how she was forced to take the head of the family due to Hong's indecisive nature. This moment is short lived however as Nena arrives to finish them off. Hong shields Wang and she escapes, but Hong dies to a head shot. Nena lets Wang go however as Regene in the back is directing the events. Wang manages to meet up with Setsuna and the 00 and passes on the location of Veda. Setsuna asks her to come, but she doesn't. This proves to be her last mistake as Nena catches her shuttle and kills her. Ribbons says through Haro it is time she was judged. Nena thinks he is talking about Ali, but is surprised when Lousie, in her new transformable Regeant demolishes Nena with ease. She then proceeds to loose her mind. While all of this is happening, Setsuna returns to the 00 to see it hostage by Bushido. Bushido demands a challenge and Setsuna accepts. When the both enter trans-am, Setsuna says that innovation is the true goal of Shoenberg, and he has been trying to change this whole time.

Reaction:

Very action packed episode and nice to see Nena bite the dust. Wang's death was neither satisfying nor painful, but i think too much time was devoted to her character that practically did nothing. Susanoo looks nice, but did a mobile suit that only appears in one episode really need a custom version? i mean couldn't they have started with Susanoo? Seems like a marketing ploy to build another suit people will have to buy. Interesting to see what this new weaponry for the gundams will be. If they rumors are true, 00 will become more epic than ever.

My "Needs a gundam dropped on them" club:


Read more!