Fall Anime: A Retrospect

Ah, yes. There's the famous Sword Art Online, which has captured the hearts of many, and K, the great work by GoRA and GoHands. However, in this small retrospect, I'd like to mention anime titles that I feel are under-appreciated. Sure, Sword Art Online is a beautiful romance with epic battles and K is full of sparkles and beautiful character designs, but there's more to fall anime than those two titles.

First of all, there's Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!, a romantic comedy (?) that I've simply fallen for. Chuunibyou follows Togashi Yuuta as he enters his first year of high school, in the hopes of never having to face his imaginative self from the past. Also known as the "Middle School 2nd Year Syndrom", chuunibyou describes an early teenager who believes they 'know it all' or have special powers. This was certainly a great watch; a wonderful love story between a boy who wants to be normal and a girl who is anything but normal.

Next, there's Zetsuen no Tempest, a deep and somewhat comical plot involving the power of magic and Shakespeare. If I've never liked any of Shakespeare's works before, I certainly do now. Shakespeare quotes just seem somehow more 'poetic' in Japanese than in any other language, at least to my ears. In Zetsuen no Tempest, we watch a suspenseful story unfold, featuring the protagonists Fuwa Mahiro and Takigawa Yoshino. And let's not forget the magic; Mahiro and Yoshino are both able to use magic by finding items left by Kusaribe Hakaze, leader of a clan of magic users. A tragic death, a mind-bending mystery–this work is without-a-doubt the epitome of Shakespear-related anime.

Finally, I'd like to commemorate Psycho-Pass, an anime with a futuristic setting and wonderful character designs done by the famous Amano Akira herself. Though it irks me when people compare characters from Reborn! and Psycho-Pass, Amano-sensei clearly did a great job on both. Psycho-Pass includes rather dark tones, but has happy, and almost cheerful scenes at times. You might describe it as horror, but creepy or not, it's still a beautiful work of art. With the development of technology comes gruesome crimes, and it's up to the newly hired inspector–Tsunemori Akane to get to the bottom of those crimes.

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Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai Official Site [JP]: http://www.anime-chu-2.com/

Zetsuen no Tempest Official Site [JP]: http://www.zetsuen.net/

Psycho-Pass Official Site [JP]: http://psycho-pass.com/

The female protagonist of Chuunibyou,
Takanashi Rikka.

Fuwa Mahiro and Takigawa Yoshino from Zetsuen no Tempest.

Main characters of Psycho-Pass.

Hyouka Episode 20

I've always loved Hyouka, right from the first episode. I adored the first opening and endings. The new ones are good, too, but I prefer the previous songs. Anyways, here's a little something on the latest episode. I was hoping for a little more development between Oreki and Chitanda's strange relationship with each other, but I guess that's not happening.

So it's New Year's. Which means winter. Which often means that the main character catches a cold. Not in Hyouka's case! It was quite interesting to see how the 'rich people' [as Oreki puts it] interact during the New Year season. It was also quite amusing to see Oreki and Chitanda locked up in the shed. Normally, with a plot like that, awkward moments bloom and blossom, but again, Hyouka did not include this. I was quite relived, as I've seen way too many anime/manga with similar things in each episode.

Oreki was really clever to think of the drama, though. Does that guy have photographic memory or something? I could tell that Chitanda was quite impressed, too, though I couldn't see the screen very well due to the fact that the shed they were trapped in was quite dark. I was glad to see more Mayaka and Satoshi action, though. [Even though I'm pretty sure no relationships will be developed in Hyouka].

Oh, this episode sure had some crack.

Watch Hyouka Episode 20: http://www.animefushigi.com/watch/hyouka-episode-20

Tari Tari

Ahh, I'm being negligent again...

I didn't know what Tari Tari would be like when I started watching it. I thought it would be one of those plots with a bunch of girls in distress. However, I was quite pleased to see that there are male characters that play some kind of role, and I was even more surprised when badminton became part of the story. You hardly ever see an anime/manga/light novel on badminton, so I'm pretty happy with how Tari Tari turned out, even though it focuses on the choir more than anything.

One thing I have to say about Tari Tari is that it's very touching and heartwarming. It's truly a story of hope and believing in yourself, and I haven't seen another anime quite like it. I'm hoping that there'll be an episode that focuses on Wein, since he's such a mysterious character. I've found that each episode uncovers something different about him, so there he will surely play a major role later on in the anime.

Watch Tari Tari online: http://www.animefushigi.com/anime/tari-tari

Detective Conan Episode 655

My lack of posting is fatal. However, I plan to bring this blog back to life within the next few months, and it will hopefully be all active and nice for however long I'm still interested in anime/manga.

Detective Conan's been running for ages. (Ten years, I'd say) And it has a ridiculous amount of episodes, still ongoing. I pity those who aim to watch it from episode 1 now. The latest streamed episode, episode 655, blew my mind. No, not because of the case or how it was solved. The cause for the turmoil in my brain was caused by the romance.

To be honest, I don't know how much romance Aoyama Gosho-sensei intends to put into DC. I'm quite satisfied with the current amount, because too much love would just ruin the series. However, I do like a little romance conflict every now and then.

Spoiler Alert

Kazuha confessed to Heiji! It was so predictable that I almost laughed. Especially since she chose the wording 'めっちゃ好きやで' (meccha suki yade). Ah, how I love the Kansai dialect. It makes everything more interesting. I'm filled with anticipation for the next episode; I'll have to go take a look at my April edition of Newtype to see when it will air.

Black★Rock Shooter Anime (2012)

I honestly don't know what expectations I had for the anime. I thought that it would be like the OVA, with the plot stretched out to make it into a full anime series. But it's far from it. The Black★Rock Shooter anime is exactly what you'd expect: Dark, with a deep story. The battles scenes are really cool, and in the real world, the characters (except for Kagari) are quite lovable. The setting is also very calming and peaceful; an average middle school in an average Japanese city.

One of the things I love most about this anime is the animations and the songs. The opening is 'Black★Rock Shooter' by Supercell ft. Hatsune Miku, and the ending is 'Our Footsteps Pf Ver.' by Supercell ft. Koeda. Black★Rock Shooter was based off Miku, so I guess it makes sense. Either way, both songs combine to make the anime a collection of epic songs; I really look forward to the day when an OST CD comes out. As for the animations, I love them because they're so vivid, even though they're a little bad quality for me since I watch them online. The animations depict sad moments, happy times and epic battles. What more could I ask for?

Watch Black★Rock Shooter here!
Read the manga of Black★Rock Shooter here!

Kimi to Boku Episode 12

I am proud to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this anime. I loved episode 12 so much that I ended up downloading it just so that I could watch it over and over again without having to wait for the video to buffer on an anime watching site.

First of all, they introduced yet another character!! The story's definitely moving at a better pace now. Shun's brother is so cool! He's like Kaname, but younger. They're really alike, actually. I'm glad that they finally put another likable character into the series, because Chizuru was seriously getting on my nerves. I almost stopped watching because of his antics.

I'm not sure if there's going to be an actual plot later on, or if it's just going to be an every-episode-has-a-different-story type of anime, like Lucky Star. Either way, I won't mind that much, because it's worth it to see every character star in each different episode.

Favorite characters? Fuyuki and Kaname, of course! I think it's mostly because I have a thing for guys with black hair, but even so, I still think they're awesome; and they're so alike that Fuyuki might even grow up to be just like Kaname. (With the exception of Kaname being in the Student Council, I guess). I hope that this anime will begin to develop even more, and won't end so quickly as some others did.

Pokemon Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back

So I was watching this movie in my Otaku Club for our Christmas Party. (Yes, my school has an Otaku Club. My senpai founded it and now I'm the current leader~) Because of a request from the other members, we watched it dubbed. I had to leave halfway through the movie, though, so I didn't watch all of it. But here is my opinion based on the part I saw.

What can I say? As Pokémon's first movie, it was quite pleasing. Mewtwo is pretty beast, while Mew is cute and lovable. I guess you could call them the perfect two or something... But the beginning was actually pretty confusing. I think it was just because we had the volume down pretty low, so when Mewtwo was whispering, we couldn't hear that well. Anyways, Mew is so cute >o<

So what's bad? I could only see one flaw in the part I saw, and that was with the issue of the person next to Officer Jenny in the port. What was up with her accent? Was she Russian or something? Based on Team Rocket dressing up as vikings and using the exact same accent, I'd say she was Russian, but seriously. What the hell? Why vikings? Why the accent? It puzzles me.

Watch the dub here~
http://stagevu.com/video/rptbnnuuktdx

Bleach: Anime-fied Lost Substitue Shinigami Impressions

Well, the Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc finally got some episodes done in Bleach. And I can tell you one thing: The plot is moving very, very slowly. It seems even slower than the manga, which is saying something, because the manga had about 20 pages come out every single week come out, while the anime has 30 whole minutes on Tuesdays to move the plot on. But I guess it's so that the anime doesn't catch up too much with the manga, because that'll just result in another anime filler arc.

What do I think so far? Well, apart from the fact that the story is hardly moving an inch, the animation is pretty good. Reading the manga is fine for me, but I like watching things in animated color slightly better. I just can't wait until the fights actually start~ But I'm pretty happy with Ichigo being almost completely useless at the moment~ (Yes, I'm an Ichigo hater) Can't wait to see future Hitsugaya-taicho >.<

Hunter x Hunter 2011 Review So Far

So Hunter x Hunter has restarted again, and I have to say, it's pretty good. It's about the same as the first version, just with a little changes here and there. The beginning of the first anime was pretty good, so I can't really do any comparisons plot-wise or story-wise yet. Still trying to get used to Killua's new seiyuu and the fact that Hirano Aya voices Menchi is kind of...strange. Whenever Menchi starts talking I get this strange feeling that's like, 'You're Haruhi but not.. what the...' And Hisoka's voice actor changed, and now it sounds a lot more believable. Before, a lot of people were talking about how stupid his voice sounded.

In all, it's pretty good, but I'm not sure where it's heading right now. I hope that it is better than the first anime, though, because, well, it's supposed to be. I'm looking forward to the epic Killua fights, though, and hope they also continue at where the manga left off, because some pretty cool stuff happened in the manga after the anime ended~

Watch it here: http://www.animefushigi.com/anime/hunter-x-hunter-2011

Chihayafuru Episode 4

When this started out, I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't read the manga, so it was a whole new storyline for me. But I'm proud to say that I was quite pleased with how Chihayafuru turned out. It's pretty entertaining and heartwarming, and the story is really nice~

Basically, Chihaya and her two friends, Taichi and Wataya are avid karuta players and they all eventually attend classes and enter a tournament in which they win. There's a real twist in episode 4 though, which shows more of their high school life, while the previous episodes showed how they developed their love for karuta while in elementary school.

I'm not really sure what the plot will turn into in the next few episodes, but I hope they will prove to be just as good as the first four.

Note: Sorry for the short post >.< Not a lot of time on my hands. If you ARE actually reading this, then you can comment below on an anime you're interested. Don't be afraid!

Shakugan no Shana III Episode 2

So the final season to Shakugan no Shana was totally different than what I expected. So Sakai Yuji sets out to meet Shana on Christmas Eve, meaning that he chose her over Yoshida Kasumi. (I was quite glad, because even though a lot of people's hate for her probably faded over the span of the first two seasons, I still have a burning hate for her.) But then he disappeared and reappeared with the appearance of a Crimson Lord.

In the beginning of the first episode all I could think is: Woah what the heck happened to Yuji this is gonna be so weird..... But after the second episode came out, I began to like the story more. Even though Yuji isn't with Shana anymore and there aren't as many funny parts, it's still quite entertaining, especially since Satou's going to have a lot more screen time now, since he's helping Margery and all. Even though he seems like a total wimp now, I look forward to him getting more powerful. :3

I'm not sure how this season will turn out, since I haven't read the manga in ages and haven't been keeping up with the light novels, so the anime will be a complete surprise to me. I hope it serves to be entertaining, though.

Other popular episodes that came out between Saturday and now:
-Deadman Wonderland OVA 1
-Fairy Tail Episode 101
-Cardfight!! Vanguard Episode 40
-The Idolmaster Episode 15
-Sekaiichi Hatsukoi2 Episode 2
-Fate/Zero Episode 3
-One Piece Episode 519
-Bakuman2 Episode 3
-HunterxHunter (2011) Episode 3
-Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyou Episode 15
-Gintama Episode 230

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukinai Episode 1

The first episode of 'Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukinai' aired on October 7, 2011. The story starts off with the protagonist, Hasegawa Kodoka, walking down the halls of his school and being pointed at by girls, who run away from him like he is a monster. The beginning seems a bit dull, but that changes when Hasegawa is in front of his classroom and watching his classmate Mikazuki Yozora talking to herself, or so it seems. She then claims that she has an 'air friend', like on might haven an air guitar. After that, they talk a while about having no friends, and Hasegawa leaves the classroom while Mikazuki is thinking about clubs. The next morning, Hasegawa is dragged by Mikazuki, and she proclaims that she would like to make a 'Neighbor's Club'.

At first I thought this episode would be a Suzumiya Haruhi kind of thing, but it is slightly different. Instead of wanting members to join, Mikazuki seems quite cruel to Kashiwazaki Sena, who wants to join the club, and she rejects everything said by Hasegawa. Even so, when watching this, I feel a kind of nostalgia, like I'm watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya in an alternate universe. I'm not sure about how other episodes will turn out, as I did not read the manga for this series, but I hope they will be as promising as the first episode, because it is quite entertaining.

Bleach Episode 341, HunterxHunter 1, Bakuman 1

Well, this is a little late, considering it came out on Tuesday. So finally, the Gotei 13 Invading Army Arc is over, and I'm really relieved. The ending isn't what I thought it would be like. Of course, Ichigo got all the screen time with Kageroza, which I don't really appreciate that much. But it was nice of the regai to help the actual Gotei 13. The ending was really unexpected, though, I was actually expecting Soul Society to be wiped out. But it wasn't which means the anime will still continue.

Speaking of the anime continuing, I keep on getting the impression that Bleach will end soon. I know that the manga's still going on and they'll have to make that into the anime, but the ending is like, flashing back  to battles that were in episodes that cam out a while back. I really hope Bleach doesn't end, because it's one of the things I look forward to each week. Of course, if the anime ends, the manga will still go on, but reading manga isn't the same as watching the real action in color and stuff. But I'll guess I'll be able to live if the Bleach anime ever gets cancelled or goes on hiatus.

And also speaking of hiatus, HunterxHunter 2 and Bakuman 2's episode 1s finally came out! I haven't watched them yet, but I know that Bakuman will be satisfying, because, well, it's Bakuman. I'm not sure about HunterxHutner, because I haven't watched in years, but I'm re-watching the first season that came out and it's really nostalgic. I hope the second season will be as good, and I'm looking forward to some premium Killua screen time! Also Mashiro in Bakuman. Hopefully more chapters of Bakuman will be out soon, and Mashiro and Azuki will be married, because that would be the awesomest thing ever. Oh, and Shinryaku! Ika Musume Season 2 is also out, if you care.

See you next time~!