Saturday, December 18, 2010

Psychic Detective Yakumo ep 1 & 2

Well fall exams have come and gone and i've got a bit of time on my hands. Recently i've been playing a lot of Leauge of legends but i also decided to pick up a bit of anime as well. I caught a few episodes of detective Conan and watched the Clash of Red and Black arc. (Seriously Detective Conan is the only show epic enough to do a 14 parter arc)

Looking back at Divine's anime list Psychic Detective Yakumo caught my eye, no doubt due to all the Detective Conan I've been watching.

SPOILERS BELOW. No spoilers in the impressions section

Episode 1:

we start with an introduction to our protagonist Yakumo who can see ghost. Hes commissioned by a girl named Haruka. After Haruka and 5 of her friends went to an abandoned haunted school house, one has died and one more has fallen seriously ill, as if shes been possessed. through various clues, like miscounting the number of people present due to not all of them going inside, Yakumo finds out the killer of the spirits in the girl is responsible for the death of the other friends. He eventually tracks it down to Haruka's teacher and saves her just in time with the help of another spirit. its later revealed that Haruka has a twin who she inadvertently killed, and wanted to apologize. Yakumo reassures her that her sister isn't mad, because it was her sister that helped him save her.

Episode 2:

Continuation of the story, we find that the possessed girl's father paying Yakumo's bill after the spirits left, which he feels he deserves because he indirectly caused them to leave. We learn more about Yakumo from his uncle whos taking care of him, and strong hints that Haruka has a crush on Yakumo. The story ends with another small mystery solved at a temple.

Impressions: (no spoilers)

Well if your looking for a detective show like Detective Conan, look elsewhere. Thats not to say the story isnt interesting. Its really hard to get a feel for everyone's character because everyone is so reserved and has their own reasons to keep secrets. Theres also a side story with a man trying to resurrect her daughter, which will probably be an underlying plot throughout the season.

Yakumo is obviously an attempt at a jerkass protagonist, on the level of Kazuma or Inuyasha. But to be honest, hes not that much of a jerk. Hes just more cold and reserved and seems to enjoy teasing Haruka, but other than that, hes acutally very caring, especially for the feeling of the spirits he can talk to.

Haruka is a fun character. Shes happy-go-lucky and very sweet. One thing that bugs me a bit though is her huge eyes compared to well everyone else in the show.Its also seen in Yakumo's child cousin, so maybe its to show off a childish side of her. It definitely makes her look cute so I'll let it slide. I'm just wondering if it acutally means anything, seeing as eyes are kinda a big deal in this show.

The show seems rather episodic with just a slowly building plot hiding in the back. It might work for this type of show, it might now. Either way this has given me enough reason to stick with it, at least for a while.
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Friday, October 22, 2010

K-ON End of a journey

Well after two long years, 2 seasons, 36 eps (not including specials) we have the end to a long story.

Quick Recap:
The second season follows directly from the first, with the girls moving onto their final year. We see them preparing for their final exam to move onto university. Mio has the grades and the recommendation to go to a very prestigious school, and im sure Mugi could also go to any school she wants, but in the end they decide to all try and get into the same school. Final exams came and went while the girls study. The entire time Asusa shifted her thoughts from what will become of the light music club, to how to say goodbye. In the end, through serious determination on Yui and ritsu's part, they do all manage to pass and are all headed to the same university. The graduation comes, and Sawako is saddened to see her first class of graduates go. Asusa also breaks down, asking them not to leave. They send her off with a picture of them from their first year together, with her face glued on, and a new song written especially for her.

reaction:
The main complaint people had about K-ON was that it was a show about girls prancing around doing cute things and not really having a story. And by the mid way of the second season, i would still agree. However If you take the entire two seasons together, its the story about a rag tag group, that barely became a club that shouldn't have happened, and the girls growing to became so close they wont want to separate. That being said, the story is still weak and still not why you watch it. Most episodes are filler fluff. However the ending i think was well done. You really feel the emotion from Asusa as she has to say good bye to her sempais. The final episodes really show that, even if they arent in the same grade, class, or even schools, the girls consider Asusa one of them, and that shes someone they can't replace, or forget. However i think the strongest emotions came from Sawako. She was a strong character, who was always the leader and rolemodel for the girls. Always there to bail them out of their troubles. But as she walked down the empty class and sees the chalkboard, even she breaks into tears. Asusa probably has it the worst. While the other girls manage to stay together (and save a huge amount of tears from the girls) she wont be going with them. Even if she finds new members, they will never be her sempais, and the club will never be the old club. The memories can never be forgotten or replicated. The new club might be good, but it will never be like her first club. The graduation and finale song i felt was a good send off, but i would have liked them to end off with the song to Asusa (despite my absolute love for No Thank You). Them going back to Fwa Fwa time is really a back to basics message which i dont feel was right for all they've been through.

So whats my overall impression of the show? I think Asusa Said it the best
"Its not very good (well written) is it? but i want to hear (watch) it over and over again"
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Monday, October 4, 2010

What? im still here? (also a semi review)

Yes i am still alive, and i am still a blogger. To be honest i havent been following anime very much recently because of a new vice ( *cough* League of legends *cough*) but i thought id give a quick two reviews Ookami-san, and Amagami SS(first two routes)

Ookami-san (spoilers abound)

Well this turned out quite differently than i expected. I was expecting a twist and retelling of classic fairy tales. I wasn't quite impressed with the first episode's Cinderella, but i held on. It kind of disappointed me that it wasnt much of a retelling as it was a completely new story with name drops and inspiration from fairy tales. Now the plot itself wasn't too bad, it wasn't great either. The biggest complaint i have is the use of rape as a back story for Ookami. While it was never directly mentioned that she was raped, it was heavily implied. Now im not an uptight guy. for instance, it is also heavily implied when otohime "extracts the essence" of Tauro. Now it was done for comedy and in the end the two love each other. the same can't be said for Ookami. And yes it can also be used well for heavy dramatic effect... except this is a comedy... about a girl whos boxing gloves meow when she hits someone. The entire story i feel is just way to light to suddenly force such a serious side. The story was also never well resolved but its almost guaranteed thats to set up a sequel. I kind of wish it wont get one. I did finish so i wont say its dissolutely horrrible, but it could have been much better if they stuck to one side of the serious vs comedy.

Amagami SS

This one surprised me. Every time i say "ehh this looks lackluster" they prove me wrong. I still think the haruka arc went way too fast, as to be expected, but its hard to imagine how this would even happen. she went from "sorry, i dont love you" to "i might love you" to "im so in love with you" to "why dont you love me!!!!" in 4 eps. The procession doesn't seem natural at all. The story was still great and Haruka remains my favorite character still. The second arc featuring Kaoru also started slow, and i thought i wouldn't like her character much. A massive difference was how much more confident Junichi was. As if that one confrontation turned his life upside down (or conversely what a mess he is without it). As such i feel the character development lied much more heavily on Kaoru than on Junichi, a benefit Haruka didn't have. Haruka was very much a strong charcter, with established traits. It was Junichi that needed to grow in her story. Kaoru however seemed to be the one with less ability to grow, and conversely Junichi seemed more like her support than in the first arc. Im only starting the third arc now, but it seems to be in a much more comedic style than the other two, which is nice because not only does it help establish the new focus character, its not a cookie cutter of the first two stories. Her voice however might need some getting use to.
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Sunday, July 11, 2010

2010 Summer First Impressions

Well, We're in full swing for the 2010 Summer season so i've gotten a chance to check out the first eps of the shows. I though it would be good to post my initial reactions to these series. First episode spoilers to be careful.

Seitokai Yakuindomo: 6/10

One of the series i really didn't want to like after the first few minutes. The story is basically about a all girls school which has recently been converted into a mixed school. The story follows a rather uninterested guy about the prospect of being surrounded by girls, While all the other guys are perverts looking for a harem. The series Didn't seem as that funny or as 4th wall breaking like Hayate or K-ON. The series is also a little more kid-unfriendly than i thought it would be, meaning its not something i wanna be watching in a public place. True nothing bad was really shown, but a blurred out vibrator isn't great. The subs i have also took the liberty of un-beeping all the words so... However the one redeeming quality of this show, the freaking super star cast. the show features the voice of Mio (Hikasa Yoko) and Ritsu (Satou Satomi) for K-ON together again, with Yoko acting like a like a perverted Hinagiku and Satomi acting almost like Mugi. I've always said i loved Yoko's voice and i truly think this is a better role role than Mio is, but this show won't get the publicity K-ON did.

High School Of the Dead: 5/10

This one was a bit disappointing. While having a cute girl or two in a show is great, HSotD takes it a step beyond and seems to be a almost pure fan service show. Its hard to judge based on one episode, but i think plot will seriously be lacking in favor of more girls in panties being eaten (no pun intended, actually that's probably exactly what they were intending.) The characters also didn't seem to believable, but its a anime so that's alright. the premise of the show is simple, zombies. That's it. Its your typical zombie movie that you've seen a dozen times, only set at school. The only thing interesting is the slight love triangle between main guy, main girl, and other guy. Other guy is the boyfriend of main girl, after main guy took too long to realize it until it was too late. Other guy is the typical perfect guy. He excels at everything, including zombie killing, go figure. While i though this might have been a good dynamic going on through out the series, but he gets zombified before the end of the first ep. It looks almost certain that hes gonna die and the tension will be the main factor after his death.

Amagami SS: 9/10
I also tried to dismiss this series after the first few minutes. The story starts out kinda like a typical shojo. Man fall in love with girl, after being heart broken for two years by being stood up on chirstmas. However this show has a amazing hype, which i then found out is because they will air each girl's routes separately. This means each girl gets to win, but it also means each girl will only get 4 episodes. For the characters themselves, while not completely new or different, they are entertaining and not the cookie cutter style characters we've seen all the time. In fact the ending of the first episode, which i think i wont spoil, had me hooked that i will stick this one through. The fact that the "main" heroine, or should i say first girl is voiced by Hinagiku (Itou, Shizuka), certainly doesn't hurt.

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi: 6/10

This one is also one i wanted to dismiss after the opening minutes. Man i did that alot this season. Anyways, the story is basically Ookami, i guess she's suppose to be wolf like, helping different people with their problems. This one i was really looking forward to because the premise is just amazing. Basically their are going to redo all the classic fairy tales, with their own spin. The sad part is, i dont think it'll be done very well. The first episode redid Cinderella and it was quite disappointing. Its also hard to take Ookami seriously as a fighter with those stupid cat gloves. I know its suppose to be cute and Moe, but it doesn't work for me. Im also not a super huge fan of the Toradora art style they are using, but that's a minor personal preference. The main character herself, Ookami will feature Shizuka's second staring role this season. To be honest, listening to Hinagiku's voice on a character that looks like Tifa from Final Fanstasy 7 is just pure win. The show has a lot of potential, so i wont give up on it now, but it better live up to it.
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Saturday, July 3, 2010

Summer 2010 Anime List

Well here we go again, 2010 summer anime list.

There are actually a lot of anime in this lineup i wanna follow, and like usual i likely wont be able to follow them all.

Divine, who took over Omni's blog has made a nice preview list. Check it out.

The shows im looking at following are:

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi
Amagami SS
Gakuen Mokushiroku HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD
The Legend of the Legendary Heroes (Maybe)
Seitokai Yakuindomo (Maybe)
Asobi ni Iku yo! (Off chance) Read more!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Angel Beats - 13

Overall, good series, but a few really poor plot points and pretty disappointing ending. Needless to say, spoilers abound.

Summary:

We end with everyone getting ready to move on. As it seems, the rest of the gang has already moved on, leaving only Naoi, Hinata, Yuri, Kanade, and Otonashi. They plan to hold a fake graduation ceremony before they all leave, complete with a song about Mapo tofu from Kanade. After Naoi, Yuri and Hinata leave in that order, Otonashi asks Kanade to stay with him and help all the future souls who get lost. Kanade can't answer, because she knows if she does, she will leave.

As it turns out, Otonashi's donations did reach people. Kanade got his heart and was able to live longer. When she died, she was so overcome by grief that she could never thank her savior she came to the school. It was realized when she first stabbed him noticing no heart, and was the key to unlocking his memories. Now as she is able to say her thanks, she gets ready to disappear. Despite Otonashi saying he loves her, she moves on. Later we see a reincarnated Kanade and Otonashi walk past each other, and he turns around to meet her.

Reaction:

Well, the end is here, and a lot of questions were answered, and more were wasted. First off... i was wrong. It turns out that the programmer never was Kanade. So that means the question of who the programmer is, why Kanade had angel player, all of it, is left. Also with that, the whole shadow arc becomes useless and a waste of time. I already wasn't too thrilled with the arc, but at least i thought it would be plot important later, which it wasn't.

If the shadow arc never existed, this would have been a great ending. It was very touching and very sweet. It also explains the title as "angel beats" is literally the beating of Otonashi's heart inside Kanade "the angel". A lot of people have complained that characters were changed too much this episode, but you have to realize that the situation is now different. Kanade is finally able to do the one thing she never could, and is her last chance to speak to him. Yuri no longer needs to fight, and can be more relaxed.

Perhaps its a culture thing, but i didn't get the whole graduation scene. It just seemed to eat up precious time. Speaking of timing, while i have already bashed it to death, the whole making everyone move on off screen just seemed too cheap. We also never got any background about any of the SSS members. While yes this is a mixed media series, and you are suppose to read the manga and light novel to understand it all, it just seemed bad to not mention anything about them. Again, i blame whoever plotted this to be a 13 episode series. Also, i know its a minor thing, but Yuri disappearing before Hinata felt weird to me.

Overall series review, awesome, but way too short. There was no way this could be finished in 13 eps in a satisfying manner, so the pacing was a mess. Aside from that, the shadow arc and Naoi arc were pretty poor in my opinion. But it is still a great show. As Divine put it, people haven't given this series enough credit for working within pretty unreasonable constrains as well as many who simply bash this for being popular and a Key work.. While the director isn't completely off the hook knowing the series cannot all fit in, he did a great job. The sound track for this was also amazing.

7.5/10
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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Angel Beats - 12

Things are starting to wrap up, and only one episode left. Beware tons of spoilers in both story and reaction sections.

Story:
We have Yuri chasing down the shadows into guild where Yuri suspects that the culprit is hiding. Meanwhile Seeing their band is gone, the remaining of GirlsDeMo move on. They decided they had tons of fun, and move on. Meanwhile the rest of the gang is still here, to see Yuri through, including a rather assertive Oyama on sniper, dual wielding maniac TK, and slimmed Matsushita who has been training alone this whole time. When Shiina arrives, Otonashi, Hinata, and Naoi decide to make a run for Yuri.

Yuri isn't hold too well on her own. She runs into the older guy who has been taking care of Guild the whole time. After passing on his weapon, he moves on as well. She is almost taken in by the shadows. She awakes as a student in a calm perfect world. But Yuri decides she can't live in that world after what her siblings went through. Eventually Otonashi, Hinata and Naoi, now joined by Kanade pull her free. Yuri makes it all the way to a big room full of computers. A mysterious new man is standing there.

He reveals hes not a human, or an NPC, but a program similar to Angel Player that Kanade uses. His original program had fallen in love but his love had moved on before he could. Alone, he made the shadows to turn him into a NPC since without his love he could never move on, and if by some slim chance, they meet again in this life, he can move on. Yuri rejects that thinking, and even the chance to take control of Angel Player and become a god, and shoots down all the computers.

She briefly sees her siblings, who tell her not to fight anymore and thank her for all she has done for them.

Reaction:

Once again, the predominate problem of the show arises. With nobody gone they are forced to wrap up everything in one or two episodes. With two episodes left, expect an unsatisfying ending. None of the back story is revealed about most of the characters. The whole sneaky disappearing thing started, and ended in one episode.

About the whole nature of the shadows, its seems kinda weak. I mean they attacked indiscriminately and after no real sense of lost love occurred. The best guess is them reacting to Hinata losing Yui, but still Hinata had a positive attitude and confidence they would meet again. He definitely didn't see being turned into a NPC a helpful matter. Not to mention that when the three were together the shadows went for Naoi first. And why didn't they attack Axe guy forever ago who obviously has a huge crush on Yuri? Quite a few holes there.


I'm actually pretty ashamed i didnt realize this before, but its a pretty good guess that the programmer is Kanade. It would explain why she hasn't moved on, why she uses Angel Player, and so on. Guess what threw everyone off is the use of masculine pronouns. It would also explain her semi-aware state. It may also play into my "God is perfect" theory. Otonashi, the only one to have misfortune by god, is sent there to help Kanade, and therefore not punishing him at all, but trying to see the overall better good in helping Kanade but killing him early. They also brought up the idea of becoming the god of the world again. Its interesting they still won't say weather god really exist or not. In one sense the world is so malleable. People can take control, and become or do whatever they wish, but at the same time, no one seems to really be able to DO it. they talk alot about it, but no one really has.

Bonus points to Key for not pulling the cheap coma cop out. Expect mass passing next episode with Otonashi as the "class president".
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Monday, June 14, 2010

Angel Beats - 11

Review:

Otonashi meets up with Hinata who wants to proceed with their next plan. They are interrupted by Naoi who found out about the plan and also wants to help. However soon Naoi is attacked by a mysterious shadow who they almost cannot fight off. Meanwhile Yuri, also trying to find out about the shadows, interrogates Kanade, thinking it was a new program or a bug. After clearing that she could not be responsible, they almost blow their cover, but are interrupted by more shadows. The entire gang, plus Kanade, fight off the shadows. They win, but the shadows got Takeyama. They find him the next day, but he has turned into a NPC. One without a soul. Destined to take classes forever. Soon Yuri holds a meeting of all the gang members and tells them about the shadows. She calls Otonashi to tell them about his plan as it could save them from a worse fate. Otonashi gives a speech about how they should let go of their regrets and move on, but we the audience don't get to hear it. The students at first immediately reject Otonashi, but Hinata and Naoi give rousing speeches about how Yui, and Naoi himself, achieved something much greater than fighting endlessly. Yuri sends them all off to decide what they will do. Yuri decides to go and find out whats going on by herself, despite Otonashi and Hinata's pleading. A short Montage of the gang relaxing and contemplating their choice. Meanwhile Yuri goes to the computer lab, and someone has been stealing the school computers. She finds the trap door, leading back to Guild.

Reaction:

Well, i already mentioned last week i wasn't surprised that Naoi would join their plan. What surprised me was how easy going Yuri was about the whole thing. Instead of being angry or hurt, she was understanding. It really shows a lot about her character. She never wanted to place anyone in harms way, or take away their choice. Given their latest enemy, she realizes that its no longer just fun and games to fight god. Its also weird to see Hinata, sorta kinda slightly flirt with Yuri, after his whole confession thing with Yui. But to be honest, according to the source material light novel, they have been fighting since the beginning. Also interesting to see Otonashi be surprised that Kanade isn't an angel.

At this point, i have no guesses as to whats going to happen next, but i still don't see how they'll wrap this up with 2 eps left.

A small side note, Naoi was amazingly funny this ep, trying to hide Kanade's involvement in amazingly ridiculous ways. Overall, his character is fun, but after how he is introduced, i still would love nothing more than him strung by his tonsils. If he was a little less total bastardish, and wasn't saved by a care-bear stare/hug of love/magic plot token, he would have been a decent character.
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Sunday, June 6, 2010

angel beats - 10

This one is going to be quick, because i've had a very busy week, even though the episode was jam packed.

Summary:
We have Otonashi and Kanade planing to start letting the gang move on. Otonashi decides on Yui because she already seemed happy. After failing, and then succeeding to lure her out by stealing her guitar, Otonashi gets to talk with her one on one. Yui reveals she wishes she was able to preform a german suplex. After a lot of hard training, and a lot of pain on Otonashi's part, they manage to pull it off. Its also revealed the reason Yui is so energetic and has so many outlandish dreams is because she was bedridden after being paralyzed in a car accident. Yui's next dream is to take on 5-1 in a soccer game. After a little help from Kanade, Otonashi and Yui manage to pull it off. Her next dream was to hit a home run. After a long while, and a lot of training, she still doesn't manage to make it. She decides to call it quits, and acknowledges that training so hard was good enough, considering her want to just be able to do it. She then reveals the last thing she wanted in life, marriage. She couldn't be a housewife, or even take care of herself. There is no way she thinks anyone could marry her. Fortunately Hinata comes and agrees to marry her, With an absolute beautiful speech on how he would love her no matter what, and how they would meet and live their life if they did, is actually very touching. After that, Yui disappears. Hinata vows to help Otonashi with his plan.

Reaction:
This episode once again shows just how overambitious Angel beats got with its plot. Three episodes left, and almost the entire cast left. It will really be a miracle if they can pull off a conclusive ending with the time left.

Onto the actual episode, At first, i was also a little disappointed they went after Yui, after giving Hinata so much attention and also sending him. (the whole thing about regret holding you back is very FFXish) But by the end of the episode, it kinda became obvious why. It would be hard for Otonashi and Kanade to continue on their own. And beside maybe Naoi, i don't see anyone else helping Otonashi in his quest. That brings me to my next point, with Naoi back to VP thinking Kanade is their enemy, what role will he play?

The whole ending with Yui and Hinata was quite beautiful, if a bit rushed. Again, i blame the idiot who made this a 13 ep series. The whole thing with Yui being overambitious, and hyper energetic because she was paralyzed in life actually make a lot of sense.

A little more on the nature of being sent. It feels more and more likely that the cast isn't fully aware of their own desires. For instance, i don't see them repeating the baseball game to send Hinata, but maybe he really just wanted to be relied on, something he failed his team but can help with Yuri's. Otonashi felt cheated with his death, but maybe he just wanted to help those others abandoned, like his sister or those bus passengers. OR as he states, he can't watch Yuri suffer fighting this endless battle, and Kanade, unable to move on for being a perfect student. Yui wanted marriage, but maybe she just wanted to be accepted, no matter who she was/ what she could do. This is all my own speculation but thats my guess.

A popular theory is that they are not dead, but instead all in some sort of coma or something. While its a plausible theory, its not really that innovative, or interesting. It seems like those type of twist people use for the sake of having a twist, like OMG they aren't dead at all! Also it wouldn't really change the course of the story very much. I would actually prefer them to play it straight and have them really dead, maybe it would catch more people off guard than the twist.

Another point i wanted to make was, with the exception of Otonashi, nobody died, or had a poor life due to acts of god. They were always human mistakes. For instance, robbers in Yuri's case, a car accident in Hinata's case (or the drugs that ruined his life, the car crash is confirmed in the light novel), or car crash for Yui. Only otonashi was hurt by god, aka the snow storm that ruined his train, or the illness that took his sister. I don't know if this is the directors way at saying god is fair and just, and it is human kind who is wrong or cause our own unhappiness... or the much likelier option i am reading way too much into this :D
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Wednesday, June 2, 2010

angel beats - 9

Summary:

We find out that after the battle with the Tenshis, the group finds her unconscious and brings her to the infirmary. The group wonders what type of person Kanade will be now, friendly or agressive.

While watching over her, Otonashi starts to remember more of his past. As it turns out he didn't die immediately in the crash. instead, the finds and helps all the survivors of the crash. However with all the exits blocked, they can only sit and wait to be rescued. Despite being injured himself, he tries to save everyone including a man who was badly injured. Looking at the food and water supply, they determine they cannot last long. One guy tries to steal the water, thinking its hopeless to wait and only for everyone to look out for themselves. The rest are after his blood after he spills a bottle of water. Otonashi calms everyone by saying that he will forgo his share for the split water. Otonashi's new friend helps by slitting his supply with him. after seven days Otonashi knows he cannot hold on, and asks for a pen. he signs an organ donation card, before dying. Everyone else follows. As luck would have it, right after he signs the card, rescue arrives.

Back at the infirmary, Kanade has woken up, defeating her other selves. She tells him she made it her job to help people feel at rest with their life, and move on. Realizing as bad as his life was, he was able to save a life by donating an organ, and inspired others to as well. However, he still hadn't disappeared, and realized more than anything he wanted to let Yuri stop fighting, along with the rest of the gang. He notes that if Kanade had been better at talking to people, maybe Yuri wouldn't have fought so hard.

He hatches a plan to make Kanade pretend she forgot all about being their friend, as if she never lost her position. The teachers find out about the cheating and reinstate her as president. He uses her as a distraction so he can go and find out about their lives, and let them move on.

Reaction:

Wow... i gotta say as sad as Yuri's life was, Otonashi might have been just as bad. Dying right before help arrived. Notice how, while everyone was weak, Otonashi and his friend look to be in the worst shape, probably from splitting the water. That means the guy who tried to steal it might have killed him. Its really gotta suck. On the other hand, we still don't know why Kanade hasn't moved on, but im guessing she will before the end of the series. I dont like the whole sneaking plan. I have a feeling it will be revealed and nobody will understand or forgive him, but we'll see.
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Angel Beats - 8

Summary:

We have verification that the other tenshi is not thinking like the original, who actively attacks the gang. >Kanade herself goes to stop the Tenshi clone, but is seriously hurt. The gang goes to the infirmary to look after Kanade. They wonder, why this one is so aggressive when the original was never agressive, expecially since it was no on their side. Naoi discusses that if Kanade created the clone with aggression in mind, like when fighting that fish, the Clone may have gotten stuck in that mindset. Yuri goes to do some research in Kanade's room while the rest try not to attract Tenshi's attention while not following the school lessons. Yuri manages to fix Kanade's programming so that the next time she uses harmonics, it will absorb the Tenshi clones. However Kanade is missing, and kidnapped. They find that she is in the old remains of Guild.

The quickly run into multiple angel clones and realized that the clones have access to all of Kanade's skills, including harmonics. The decide that the only way to stop them once and for all is to free the original Kanade. They start heading through, and one by one sacrifice themselves in a hilarious manner to let Otonashi reach Kanade. Eventually they do free Kanade, but one clone warns her that if she receives them all now, she will suffer the full force of all the negative feelings of the clones. the episode ends with her screaming as they all get reabsorbed.

Reaction:

Another cliffhanger ending, but it will likely be that Kanade ends up fine. I like this episode because it brought back the fun and light death we started to see in the beginning. After all the serious arcs, this was a nice break. It's also funny to see Naoi end up in a position of complete worship of Otonashi, to a ridiculous extent. Otonashi on the other hand now plays the role of moral guardian to Naoi. Besides this, not much else in terms of character development, or story development, but the setup for next week.

Fetish fuel comment: what is Tenshi made a clone while hot and bothered... hmmm :P
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Angel Beats - 7

Well my plans for anime north aren't looking too promising right now, but hopefully people will be able to make it. Onto the show!

Summary:

The gang is back to doing what they always were doing, nothing. However now they have added Naoi to their group. Yuri asks Naoi to use his hypnosis to help Otonashi recover his memories. We see Otonashi was a slacker who worked physical jobs to get by and buy his sister mangas. However we soon cut to christmas and see that she passes away, after he worked so hard to save up money for her. Feeling helpless, he decides he will be a doctor to save people and give himself a purpose in life. However even though he qualified for school, he dies when his train crashes.

Otonashi relents how he died after working so hard before he was able to accomplish anything. He decides to stay with the gang. They decide to go fishing for some food, deciding not to steal meal tickets. Otonashi grabs Kanade to join them, but the others aren't so accepting. They note how she used to be the president and is still their enemy. However having the current president with them weakens that argument. Yuri decides that she is no longer the problem and lets her come.

After we get some fishing foolishness, Kanade manages to get a huge fish. In order to save the gang, Kanade uses her harmonics skill to double herself and kills it. They decide to serve it as a giant soup to the other students, because they cannot finish it themselves, and cannot preserve it. They note they no longer antagonize anyone, but still refuse to move on. Yuri retuns hurt and says Tenshi was the one who did it, even though Kanade was with them the whole time. We then see a second Tenshi standing above on a lamp post.

Reaction:

Lame.... Naoi got off really easy. I could go on a whole rant, but i'll leave it at that. Otonashis back story was interesting. His life was sad, that's for sure, but not on the level of Yuri or even Iwasawa. Yuri is obviously the most accepting of Kanade, but why they would suddenly accept Naoi makes absolutely no sense. It will be interesting if she forgives Kanade, or goes back to fighting her. I also wouldn't put past the idea that she leaves willingly feeling shes more danger than good to her new friends.

Its pretty obvious that the double is a mistake by the harmonics skill. i highly doubt that Kanade did it on purpose. We'll have to see how the rest react, being not to receptive to Kanade already.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Angel Beats - 6

Sigh. Stupid power of friendship.

Summary:

We start with the gang trying to deal with the new president. Because he uses the student body, they are hesitant to use their full force. Eventually one day Otonashi is trying to apologize to Kanade (Tenshi) by buying her Mapo Tofu. However the new president says that it is against rules to eat outside of lunch and throws them in detention, which is more of a prison. While in detention, Yuri calls Otonashi and says that the new president is not as he seems. He is actually beating up innocent students to avoid passing on, and they have started a fight. However because he is using regular students as shields, they are quickly losing. She asks him to find Kanade to help them. After some trial and error, Kanade does manage to break them out, however the fight is over and Yuri's gang is in ruin. The president gloats that he is the god of this world. The new president is revealed to be using hypnosis to not only use the student body, but so that he can forcefully make Yuri happy and pass on. We get some bullshit story about how he had to live as his brother and never having a real life, but i don't buy it. We end with Otonashi saying his life is real, and stopping Naoi in his tracks.

Reaction:

If it seems like my recap today is short, that's because it is. I didn't like the episode and wanted to get through it as quick as i could. To be honest, very disappointed. Here we have total bastard and a set-up to be the final enemy of the gang, and he is introduced mid way through the series and is finished in one episode. In my opinion, what really gets me is how freaking easy he gets off with being the sickest most twisted individual yet, while Angel is seen as an enemy just for trying to get some small resemblance of order. While yes we didn't see him pas on, i'm willing to bet he isn't much of a problem anymore. Some important points to notice are, once again, the incompetence of the teachers. If this school is set up by god, he must be a moron for letting it get so out of hand when he has a clear goal for them. Another point is Yuri's refusal to get innocents involved, even at the cost of their own existence. She is also pretty quick to accept Kanade's help. This shows that there is nothing personal between them. Kanade also showed some growth. Eating outside of lunch and helping Otonashi shows shes no longer bounded by the rules of the school, not to mention taking out Naoi's brainwashed army. She's also has the saddest afterlife. My guess is her unfinished business is never having friends. Given all her friends disappear after she meets them means she will never move on. The problem is now, where does the story go. Either they fight a greater bastard, which would make me rage so hard I'd punch a hole through my monitor, or they fight their own demons, which would be the likely step.
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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

angel beats - 5

Just when i think i have this show figured out, it always amazes me.

Summary:

We start with another plan of Yuri's to fight against Tenshi. Knowing Tenshi wants to make them get good grades which could make them disappear, Yuri plans on making Tenshi fail. This will serve two purposes. This first is if Tenshi is a emissary of god, their plain will fail as god will not let them rattle his messenger so easily. If not, this will break her spirit and give them a definite edge over her. I'm not going to go through the details, but they do eventually manage to make her fail all of her courses. Tenshi is removed from her post as student president and a new boy named Naoi is appointed student president.They decide to commit another concert and steal more meal tickets, like they did in the first episode. During the raid, they notice Tenshi approching, but Otonashi and Yuri noticed something weird about her. She ends up ignoring the entire event and simply buys spicy tofu from a vending machine, who's ticket ends up getting lifted. Knowing nobody ever buys the spicy tofu, when Otonashi gets it they know its her. Otonashi starts to feel sorry for Tenshi. Seeing how human tenshi seemed after the loss, they wonder if they did the right thing. Soon after the new school president takes action, declaring to put a stop to Yuri and her gang.

Reaction:

This really opens up a lot of info about their personalities. First, and most importantly, we see more of tenshi. She's seems almost gentle. Even though she must recognize Otonashi, she doesn't act against him and even helps him. Same goes for her and Yuri. She also did really seem human. Reacting to a loss in a very emotional manner.

The second is Yuri. While i still can't seem to blame her given what shes been through, its harder and harder to say shes doing the right thing. While she, and maybe a few others like Iwasawa, had a legitimate reason for fighting, she seems to use fear to control most of them. Besides that is the relentless harassment of Tenshi, who is nothing more than a potential emissary of god. Seems like an awful long time to just start figuring out what Tenshi is.

The third is the new kid, Naoi and the rest of the school. The teachers seem almost inept, at their job. The stupid distractions, the whole fighting thing, even the fact that Tenshi would never ever fail every one of her test which is obviously out of character, they seem almost robot like. following the standards while the school around the crumbles in gunfire. The next point is Naoi. Obviously he has no intentions with playing the cat and mouse game Tenshi and Yuri have been for so long. This sets him up to be a much more real enemy than Tenshi ever was. However this could set up Tenshi to eventually be an ally. Also if Tenshi is human, but developed all this herself, we could have DBZ like running around with super powers. I don't think it'll happen, but its a definite possibility.

The last point is the true nature of the school. I'm starting to lean towards the "its a place to finish your unfinished business" idea over "its a place to accept death". This mostly lies with Tenshi. I don't see her having much denial of death, but it would be very in character to refuse to move on from a loss. Still pissed they killed one of the best character so early. Yui is a poor replacement. The Lyle to Iwasawa's Neil.Especially since they wont be going through everyone's death. Even if they did they would need to squeeze multiple into one ep. And even if they did that, Iwasawa shouldn't have gone first, or so early.
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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Angel Beats - 04

Key, king of Trolls.

Summary:

We have Yuri's gang planning on entering the baseball tournament about to start to mess with Angel's plans for an organized tourney. Meanwhile they are also looking for replacement for Iwasawa for the band. Yui comes in to audition, but she isn't received very well. They decide to let the band have the final say.

What every fan wanted to do to key for killing off Iwasawa

Meanwhile Hinata and Otonashi try to pull together a team. Everyone else who seems to be good is already taken. They are left with a rag-tag team of Hinata, Otonashi, Yui(trying to prove herself), Shiina (trying to redeem for failing to reach Guild), Noda (still trying to pick a fight with Otonashi), and three random girls from the school (following Yui). They manage to do quite well despite they lack of outfield with the three girls. However Tenshi comes to put an end to it, and start eliminating all the teams one by one. The last match is Tenshi's vs Hinata's. Yuri, watching all the action from a distance, is quite happy at the chance to finally beat Tenshi fairly and ruffle her feathers, so to speak. Tenshi's team of baseball regulars prove to be much more than the other teams and Hinata finds them falling quick.

I gotta admit, as annoying as she is i like her outfit

Otonashi is able to recruit Matsushita to their outfield with a meal ticket and they begin to do much better. In the last inning Hinata is a bit stunned, and we find it has to do with what happened in his life. Hinata was on the baseball team with similar situation in a game. Bottom of 9(or is it 7 here?) and runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out and up by 1. The opponents hit a pop fly up to second base. However either due to heat or exhaustion Hinata blanks and can't remember the end of that game. Judging by how the team reacted he missed the play. Someone else offered him steroids, telling him it would improve his play.

Probably the only female i care about anymore

Back in our game, Otonashi asks if he would disappear if he wins this game. He answers no, but his voice has a stammer. The pitch is thrown and it really is a pop fly. Hinata goes up to catch it, and for a minute it seems like it would be all over.........

Yuri looking rather evil

Until Yui rushes in and hit him, making them loose the game.

God damn you key! You save him but not Iwasawa!!!

Review:

So it seems Hinata is staying around for a bit. Thats good at least, BUT WHY DID THEY KILL OFF IWASAWA THEN! Ah but at last this is Key, and they are just trolling us all. Somewhere in a board room a writer laughs every time someone gets pissed at them. Instead of the cool and beautiful Iwasawa, we get the pink fluff ball Yui. I don't really have anything against Yui, even if she is a bit annoying at points, but why did she have to replace iwasawa. Even with only 12 eps Key is willing to keep some chars around. It does seem weird for Yuri to be taking disappearing so lightly, right after Iwasawa disappears.

I'm also very unimpressed with Hinata's backstory. I was sure he died of heat stroke or something missing his game. instead it seems likely he died of a drug overdose. I kinda feel hard to sympathize with him unlike Yuri and Iwasawa's characters, so it isn't sure thats how he died. Now.... if you'll excuse me i got to go listen to some Angel Beats soundtrack songs with Iwasawa... :'(
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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Katekyoshi Hitman Reborn 1

Okay....so I finally got around to this I guess. I mean, I haven't actually had time to watch all the episodes with Full Metal Borhterhood and work, but I can at least get the thing for #1 out. However I must inform you all that my computer is blacking Myspace player so I can't actually re-watch the first episode to get it out. Don't you guys worry however! I will be comming back to edit this post shortly to get the first ep up.


Also on a side note. This friday I leave for the carribean, so I won't be posting anything until after I return. Cheers! Read more!

Angel Beats - 03

Summary:

We start with Iwasawa showing off a new song she wrote to Yuri. Being a ballad, Yuri is worried that it is too soft and slow to work as a distraction. Yuri then goes on to explain their next mission, which is to break into Tenshi's base. they have enlisted a new member, who i will call four-eyes for now because i can't remember his name and can't seem to find it. We then get introduced to a new character Yui who is a big fan of GirlDeMo.

Beaten by PI... every nerds dream

We also get a look into the past of Iwasawa while she was alive. Her parents were always fighting and the stress of that really took a toll on her. She eventually found music and realized she could escape her troubles by drowning it out with songs. She finds a old guitar and starts to learn how to play. Even though she had good grades and could get into good schools, she rejected them because she wanted to continue with music for her life and she didn't want to rely on her parents for financial support any longer.

he could be arrested for rape for this scene lol

One day while at a part time job she begins to feel light headed and faints. Turns out during one of her parents fights she got hit on the head in the process and dies. She, like Yuri, doesn't care about reincarnation, but doesn't want to accept her life. She leaves Otonashi her bottle she was drinking from and prepares for the concert.


man, i'm really liking her character, i can't wait to see more.

The day comes and the gang prepares to break into Tenshi's place, which is just an ordinary dorm room. they decide to try to hack her computer to see if they can get any more information. Otonashi however feels they shouldn't be doing it. Yuri discovers all of Tenshi's skills, and realizes that they don't have much time left. The skills they discover are being developed by Tenshi herself, not given by god. This confuses Yuri, as to why god wouldn't give Tenshi more support.

Kage bunshin?

The band is having trouble getting the attention of the student body, but does attract the attention of the teachers. They decide that they have been too lenient with the band and tries to shut them down for good. In a desperate effort to buy more time, Iwasawa picks up a guitar that looks like the one she found while she was alive. She plays the Ballad that was rejected by Yuri and realizes that she is truely happy playing music. With that, she disappears.

DAMN!!!! YOU!!!! KEYS!!!!!!!!

Review:
my first though after this episode: "GOD DAMMIT KEY WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS TO ME". This episode really reinforces by view that this should be a 26 or so episode series. In the span of one episode, we get all of Iwasawa's back story, a potential love interest (The water bottle and the indirect kiss potential was intentional) , and death. I was just starting to like the character and Key has to go and kill her. But given the amount of characters there are, i wouldn't be surprised to see one character go per episode. Also given that Iwasawa disappears after realizing what makes her happy, i strongly believe in my original theory that they are all in a middle ground, and can only move on to heaven by accepting their death. However given how tragic Iwasawa's back story was as well makes me think what kind of message they are going for. Your life is going to be crap, and then only by accepting that your life was crap and is unfair can you move on? Man, if there is a god in that world he is a real jerkass. The other interesting point is Tenshi's skills. They are developed, rather than given. This might mean shes an ordinary human as well, all be it more in charge because of her role as student president, but still human.

I do have to make an amendment to my previous statement. IT seems everyone has their memories, making Otonashi the odd one. I still wouldn't put my suicide theory about Yuri away just yet.

Either way, i really am enjoying this series and hope it will turn out alright, but still hate the fact it is only 13 episodes
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Saturday, April 17, 2010

HeroMan 1&2

So, i finally got around to heroman 1 and 2. I don't know how strictly i'll stick to blogging this but i will stick to Angel beats, expect that tomorrow or day after. Sorry there wont be pictures up for this week's review. Too tired and too much work going on.

Story:

So we start off with a rather timid character named Joey. He works part time to support himself and his aging grandmother. His love interest, Lina, is definitely part of the "other crowd". She is rich and pretty and popular and her brother, Will, is a jock. Despite this difference in class, and Joey's overall timid nature which doesn't allow him to show his feelings (which he may or may not have for her) she is still attracted to him. Her brother and father on the other hand strictly disapprove of Joey. We are also introduced to two other minor characters, the eccentric scientist Professor Denton, and Joey's best friend, Psy. One day one of Will's friends is showing off his new toy, a small robot. It soon however gets destroyed by a passing car. Joey noticing it, and realizing he can never afford one himself, decides to take it and fix it up. When he's done, he leaves for his job. Later a weather report shows a storm coming in and he goes home to get his new toy, which he calls heroman, away from the window. When he gets home, it gets struk by lightning and comes to life. meanwhile, Lina and her father are caught in a car accident which Heroman rescues them from.

The next episode revolves around Joey trying to decide what to do now, when news of aliens coming to earth reaches them. To make a long story short, Heroman beats them easily and Lina now knows the identity of Heroman.

Review:

The story starts out interestingly enough, but the suspension of disbelief is pretty thick. All in all i'll keep watching for a few more episodes, if nothing more then the fact that Stan Lee had a part in making this, and even cameos believe it or not. However the story and writing really need to kick it up a notch.
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Monday, April 12, 2010

Angel beats ep 02 - OMG am i actually blogging on time?

Yes, yes i am. I am a little late, but still within reason. I will get around to heroman i promise, but exam time does take priority.

Onto the review!


Episode 2 was quite interesting. We start off with a scouting report that the gang is starting to run low on guns an ammunition. Yuri decides to head down to guild, their weapons factory deep underground to prevent angel from seeing. On their way they notice that the traps haven't been deactivated. This means that angel has found Guild and is on the move. Heading through eventually every member of the gang falls to traps except Yuri and Otonashi.

Classic death traps

Its here we learned what happened to Yuri. It seems she, for some reason, still retains her memories of her past life. She was the oldest of four siblings. One day they got robbed and the robbers demanded she bring back something valuable every 10 minutes or one of her siblings died. She wasn't able to make it and they all died. It's because of this, no matter what punishment awaits her she wants to fight god. She can't accept what has happened to her family.

This guy gets my props, out of all of them


They eventually do reach Guild, but so does angel. They decide to destroy Guild and remake it in one of their old factories. Otonashi realizes how strong Yuri really is.

They might as well have kissed

Seeing as how little the first episode explained, there were many interesting theories that have floated around about the true nature of their world. The two most interesting ones were either a virtual world, like a giant RPG. This would explain the lax on death as well as the RPG guild mentality and naming "NPC". After this episode, it doesn't seem very likely that's the case. The next interesting guess is the idea this world is purgatory. Instead of being reincarnated based on what your past life, they are all working towards redemption towards some better future. This would fit quite well, except with what we seen i don't think Yuri would have been subject to purgatory after what she's been through. My personal guess is that this is a purgatory where people move on after they have accepted their death.Perhaps Yuri is stuck because she won't forgive god, and ultimately will end the series with some form of acceptance of god.

This reminds me of the underground thing from the FMA movie

Quite a lot was explained in this episode, including why Yuri fights so hard and where they get their weapons. On the relationship side we got a few funny touchy moments, but there is no doubt they are setting up Yuri to end up with Otonashi. I am actually liking Yuri and her wild antics. Even if death is cheap in this world, she seems to genuinely care for her people and feels remorseful for being a poor leader. I do have to admit half way through i expected it to be a twist where the guild guys were purposely trying to kill them or something. The anime got more serious this episode, so i am looking forward to a bit of a lighter episode next. Oh, and a quick secondary theory. Yuri seemed really quick to dismiss suicide, and seeing as how she's the only one who has memories, i won't be surprised if it turned out she did kill herself.

More high quality fight scenes


This is just plain cute


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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

K-on S2 - Ep 1

This is going to be a quick summary. No long detailed post.

For a different change of pace i'm going to talk about the music first, then move over the story.

First thing first, the most important thing about K-on is definitely the music. The OP is definitely weaker than it was first season. Cagayake! Girls was a fun, up-beat catchy tune. Go! Go! Maniac on the other hand, is just what you would think. Its sounds disjointed and crazy. There's taking inspiration from Lucky Star, and then there is totally ripping it off, and it doesn't work. The ending song, Listen!! actually isn't bad. TBH though, and this is solely based on tune, not lyrics, sounds more accustomed to a action anime then the slow paced Slice-of-Life. Its still not bad, and whenever Yōko Hikasa is a good thing. Still i can't help but be nostalgic for Don't say lazy.

Now for the plot. There really is nothing to say. Girls try to find more members in order to leave the club to Azusa with a club for next year as the rest of the gang enter their final year. It just feels like everything has been done before in the first season. I know your trying to get people caught up with the show for those who haven't seen the first season, but still to copy the exact same plot as 2 or 3 of the eps in the first season is a little much. Luckly it looks like the next ep will be back on track with the manga.

I'll probably be continuing to put up small post for K-on, but the main focus post-wise will be Angel beats and Hero man which i hope to get around to soon! Read more!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Angel Beats! ep - 01 (and some other stuff)

Well first of the new year from me. Pretty late huh?

Seeing as how Omni is now retired, i feel like i'll be making more of my own opinions on what to watch season by season. Will i pick winners? Omni had a great blog not only on anime opinion but also anime news, and while i'm sad to see it go, i'm sure its for the best.
One show has caught my eye and i definitely will follow, weather i blog or not is another story :P

Our latest KEY works, The much anticipated Angel Beats.

I'll try to keep this simple. The story is about a boy named Otanashi who wakes up with amnesia next to a girl with a sniper rifle. This is going to be a good show :P.
girls and sniper rifles? Damn key, you know my weakpoints!


Anyways we find that they are all dead and the girl is part of a resistance force against the will of god and behaving as a "model" student of the school lead by the feisty Yuripee. The school is controled by the "tenshi" who is in charge of keeping order and peace.
clean up, isle 3

The story certainly has its interesting parts. Its a very new concept and its nice to see Key break away from the typical romance/comedy/drama they usually do. This is definitely a much more action packed show. The animation was pretty solid overall, but nothing spectacular.

This is how you facepalm


About the plot itself, Its a very interesting concept. We've seen many "people fight against god" before, but never with dead ghost in a school. Its also interesting to see that Tenshi only acts when they are committing some violation of the rules. Once they stop, she stops chasing. The relation to an RPG game Yuri makes actually makes a lot of sense if you look at it that way. There reasons for fighting however seem kinda weak. To fight god just so you don't pass on seems like a concept that will be broken quickly, especially because Otanashi doesn't seem to fully buy it yet. Yuri certainly gives off Haruhi vibes, and anyone who knows me knows i hate Haruhi, but she doesn't seem to be mistreating anyone or an overall bitch like Haruhi was so i think i'll accept this character. The two characters im interested in are Tenshi and Shiina. Tenshi and the backstory seems to be a very interesting plot and Shiina, well i just wanna see her throw more knives. It's only 13 eps, but i can almost guarantee if the ratings for this show keep up with it's hype, it will get a second season.


A concert Scene in the first ep? pandering to the haruhi/k-on crowd huh?

Overall a very good watch.

Damn i'm a sucker for katars. So fluid and cool

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Monday, January 25, 2010

Well Hello Thar...

Well this is an update from me, the goreous and lovely Riven.....I really feel like a bum. So It seems that I haven't been here in a long while, due to university and a bunch of other things so anime watching had been put on hold. Now that I can kinda watch again I picked up KHR and if I don't become a lazy lazy bum again I guess I can start working on that. Otherwise I'll just put my two cents in and be done with it......or not. I don't even know anymore.

Next Topic of Business:

ANIME NORTH! Of course I'm going to be there. It was a scare with me going on a whole Carribean Cruise in may and all, but we found out that we will back before North so I will see you SeedFreedom, and who ever actually reads this blog, which I highly doubt anyone really does, there! Read more!