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ローゼンメイデン 
September 28, 2004 | 
22 Comments
I just realised that I haven't written any entry on video games lately. It's kind of hard to do so when in reality I haven't had the time to play any kind of game. Last week, however, I managed to finally give Silent Hill 4: The Room a test drive. It looks to me that the game has changed a bit from the last instalment and unfortunately, some of the changes were quite poorly implemented. I understand that the creators want to change some parts of the game mechanics to prevent the series from staying in a rut. However, I feel that some of the changes that they placed within this game does not make the game any better. In some places, the changes actually make the game a bit annoying. Before I continue, please be aware that the paragraphs below are filled with spoilers so unless you've played the game or like to be spoiled, please don't read further.
September 24, 2004 | 2 Comments
This turns out to be a rather nice European Gothic Lolita series. Created by Peach Pit and serialised in BIRZ magazine, the series is actually still on-going with only 3 tankoubans released thus far. I haven't read the manga so it was a pleasant surprise to know that the series is not as sugary as I thought it'll be. This is mostly because Shinku's presence brings a rather creepy element into the series. The series is only planned for 12 episodes for now so it's not known yet if it'll continue down to season 2 or if it'll make up its own ending.
September 24, 2004 | 0 Comments
If you're looking for a new anime illustration for this series then I'm afraid you're out of luck. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single illustration for this series in the October issue of Japanese anime magazines such as Newtype or Animage. Judging from the exposures that other series receive, however, it does seem as if Genshiken is ignored in favour of other 'big' October titles such as Bleach or Gankutsuou. But since there are so many anime that will be released this upcoming season, it's understandable that the magazines can't cover each individudal series in great details. Anyway, back to Genshiken, I finally get to see the trailers on the official site and the series looks promising so far. The animation looks quite polished and the characters design look a lot like the ones in the manga version.
September 23, 2004 | 9 Comments
Hmm, I guess it's been a while since I last saw a Last Exile episode. I was actually planning to write about these two episodes together with episode 17 in disc 5 but since the disc won't arrive until a week later, I figure I'll just do them now. Anyway, I must be suffering from long non-exposure syndrome because I don't find these two episodes to be as good as the previous ones. Maybe it's because I think that the whole 'Claus: the Big Stud' subplot is a big joke. In fact, I find it hilarious to see all of these characters fawning over a rather boring guy. So please excuse me if I make a couple of sarcastic comments about these two episodes as I recap them. I think that this plot appears because the writers have no clue as to which characters should be paired off together and therefore they simply tried every single combination imaginable.
September 19, 2004 | 3 Comments
The series finally returns to good form with these two episodes. The story and characters have become quite complex now that I can't help but wonder where to go from here. The series also decides take a rather new direction in regards to Runge involvement in the story. I originally thought that his character is similar to the detective character in The Fugitive but episode 22 seems to suggest that this may not be true after all. Episode 23, on the other hand, shows a rather interesting revelation, which does a good job of not only integrating Eva into the current storyline but also in further emphasising her selfishness. This episode also sees the return of Roberto in a way that is quite unexpected.
September 16, 2004 | 17 Comments
Judging from the different Japanese anime magazines, it seems that most animation houses with a major autumn series have decided to promote their series by sending a different anime illustration to a different Japanese animation magazines. Well, Pierrot studio seems to be the exception to this. Now, maybe they are still reeling after having to work on that Naruto movie or maybe they're too tired after designing those 3 new original but boring-looking characters for Naruto filler episodes. But either way, it seems they decided that they didn't have the time to draw a new anime illustration to promote Bleach. As a result, once again we're stuck with the same old image of Ichigo and Rukia as a 'promotional image'. Update: Thankfully that is no longer the case now (November 2004). I find an image of Ichigo in one of the magazines.
September 14, 2004 | 16 Comments
As we're closing into October, the promotional juggernauts for the upcoming autumn anime season has begin. Multitude Japanese anime magazine have already done major coverage on every single anime that will be released this October as well as some that will be released later on this year. I don't think it'll be possible for me to cover all of the new season's series. So I decided to just choose some that interest me. This list shows the shows that I'm interested in. I'll probably consider watching other titles when October arrives. But the first four on that list is a lock-in for me. Because of this, I figure I may as well start now by presenting some basic information about the series. Please be aware though that unless you have read the manga or are the sort of person who doesn't mind spoiler, then I'll suggest that you don't read the 'About the series' part of the info.
September 13, 2004 | 3 Comments
I have to admit that I was a bit weary of this series after the previous episode's lackluster storyline. Thankfully, this time around the story is not being stretched longer than necessary despite its slow pacing. On top of things, the episode actually progresses the plot a little bit, gives background information of a minor character, and introduces a new mysterious character. The combination makes the episode feels like a mysterious side story that serves as a foundation for future storyline. This episode also shows how to creatively do a recap of previous events without having to resort to a recap episode or five minutes recap scenes at the start of every episode. I really hope that this is a sign that the writers are not interesting in doing a full-blown recap episode like other anime series. I really like how so far the recaps are simply featured briefly and blended together with the new storylines.
September 6, 2004 | 5 Comments
I decided to combine these three episodes into one entry since they are kind of filler-ish. Well, episode 19 actually advances the plot a little bit but overall, I feel that it was created simply to show that Tenma is actually a decent and honest man. I am actually wondering at the moment how these stories appear in the manga. I mean take episode 20, for example. As an anime episode, this already feels unnecessarily stretched. So I can't imagine this story being told in more than one chapter of the manga. But if that's the case, I think the fact that the anime is planned to be 70+ episodes long suggests that there are a lot of materials which can be trimmed down and compacted into one episode. Maybe I'm just impatient but sometimes I feel that the filler episodes are quite disruptive to the general tension of the story.
September 4, 2004 | 56 Comments
Well, the revelations keep coming thick and fast. Although the ones revealed here are not as shocking as the one in the previous chapter, I think this week's revelations make last week's a bit more interesting. This chapter also confirms once and for all that Akito is indeed a girl. In fact, the amount of times the chapter goes through to emphasise this point is kind of ridiculous. There are some sentences in this chapter where the word '女の子 / Onna no Ko' (Girl) is used in reference to Akito to the point that the conversation feels unnatural. Anyway, the next chapter is not out until next month so don't hold your breath waiting for the next one.
