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ファイト／ステイナイト 
It's a relief to know that the first episode wasn't a fluke although I wished Shinku had decapitated Hinaichigo's inflated head for being such a bipolar rag doll. I personally can't stand her one minute cutesy act and another minute psychotic rampage. Apart from that, however, this is another good installment to the series. I like how the episode manages to balance the comedy and the creepy scenes. And to top it off, it turns out that this series was shot as a Widescreen series. And I must say the difference is astounding, especially during the fight scenes between Shinku and Hinaichigo. Just look at this comparison pictures. The Widescreen definitely shows the perception of scale and space that was lost in the 4:3 format. If you look at one of the pictures, it's obvious that the room where the two dolls fight is actually very large but you can hardly tell that if you just look at the 4:3 format.
This is an okay episode in my opinion. I'm not particularly impressed with the storyline but then again, I wasn't either when I read this part of the manga. Anyway, just like the previous episode, there are some minor modifications made to the story. Thankfully, none of the changes are as serious as Orihime brother's reason for turning into a Hollow. Animation-wise, I think this episode looks much better in comparison to episode 3. This probably has more to do with the fact that I didn't have to endure the highly contrasted world of the Hollow for longer than 2 or 3 minutes. However, I am kind of dreading next week's episode because the majority part of that episode will be a Hollow fight scene. I abhor the idea of watching the entire episode in that kind of color. And I actually like that particular fight scene so I'm kind of hoping that the animators will tone down the color saturation a little bit.
There's another interesting development here as Johan's plan for Karl is finally revealed. I'm also surprised to see some background information given to Richard, a side-character that was seemingly unimportant when he was first introduced. In this episode, however, Richard is efficiently used as another example of a person dealing with 'the monster within'. Speaking of 'monster', I just realised that the ending theme for the series has been changing ever since the first episode. I've put together a side-by-side comparison out of interest, and the result looks like some sort of a tale involving a monster. From what I can see, there seems to be a monster that splits into two monsters then each one goes its own separate ways. I don't really understand what happens after that with the farmer turning into a monster himself. But it reminds me of the ways normal people can turn into 'monsters' as depicted by this series.
Well this one turns out to be one of those 'don't judge the book by its cover' series. I honestly didn't expect to like this, because on a glance, the series looks a bit sugary. But it seems the first episode is actually quite good in a twisted kind of way, which is right up my alley. The opening theme itself is actually a good indicator of its twisted sense of humor because the lyric is kind of....kinky, for the lack of a better word. I think there is 'collar', 'chains', and 'climaxed' :O in the first one or two lines of the song. Having said that, I originally thought that the song itself, Kinjirareta Asobi, doesn't fit the series well because the melody is a bit Arabian and therefore clashes with the gothic European feel the series supposed to have. Upon repeats, however, it actually does sound a little bit like European gothic music, or at least European gothic according to anime/video games (ie. Shadow Hearts, Clock Tower).
First of all, I'm really sorry for the lame sex jokes on the title tags. But I can't help it. This episode really calls for it. Besides, food-type films/series somehow always goes so well with sex. And those of you who have read the manga must already know that this series is full of sexual innuendo of various persuasions as well as some equal opportunity fanservices. So when it comes to food and sex, there's something for everyone here. Ohkay, that's enough 'sex' for one paragraph. I'm going to try to say something else now so I don't appear like a sex maniac. Hmm, the animation impresses me again this episode. Just look at Kawachi's reflection in the shot above. I think it's been a while since I see an anime that goes to that kind of detail with people's reflection. At the same time, the character's face seems kind of screwy at times. But that's probably has more to do with the silly looks each character has to exhibit in this series.
This turns out to be quite interesting mainly because this is the first time the series allows the viewers to see Johan for more than five seconds glimpse here and there. It's good to be able to see his mannerism, his speech pattern, as well as his way of thinking, regardless whether it is real or fake. I also like the fact that the series manages to get its focus away from both Tenma or Nina and yet still ensure that the story is still quite interesting. Having said that, I do often wonder if animation is actually the best medium to tell this story. I like what I've seen so far but most of the time, the animation doesn't seem to add or enhance the series. The only thing about the animation which looks consistently impressive is the finer details which are used to ensure that every character looks different from each other.
As I mentioned before, I don't have that much time to blog right now so I'm afraid most of my summaries are going to be shorter from now on. Anyway, onto the series itself, the second episode finally features the actual opening for Genshiken. In comparison to Kujibiki Unbalance, however, this is not as memorable. The opening simply shows the various characters going about their daily routine or doing some anime/manga/video-game activities. The song, My Pace Daiou is okay though. I'll probably grow to like it in the future. Animation-wise, there's nothing earth shattering here. I know some people have said that the series is kind of boring because of its lack of animation. However, I think the simple animation works well with the laid-back nature of the series.
October 25, 2004 | 
81 Comments
Okay, before I begin, I have to say first that this will be the last continuous translation that I do. This means that I want to take a long break from doing any kind of translation and will only do one if the chapter is unusually interesting. There are many reasons that contribute to this decision but it's mostly because I need to get away from the series for a while. When I started doing this, I didn't meant to do it every single chapter. I wanted it as a side entry to compliment the anime entries. Lately, however, I feel that the blog has somehow become a Fruits Basket blog in the sense that people start asking about when the next translation coming on entries that are completely unrelated to it, or people direct-linking to the scans even when I asked them not to.
I don't particularly blame anyone for doing this because I know the series is popular but at the same time, I don't like what the blog is turning into. I also realised that lately I'm starting to lose interest in the series and that's not a good sign for me. I don't want to dislike the series so I better stop now while I still like it and then resume it later on when I regained interest in the series. In addition to these, real life has been catching up to me. My studies have been suffering lately because I've been kind of neglecting them. And since doing the translation/scanning/graphic manipulation often takes a long time for me, I'll have to forgo it for now. I'll probably also have to shorten my other blog entries in the future. Anyway, I'm sorry about this but it needs to be done.
Well, this is more like it. I can't believe how powerful this episode turned out to be. Don't get me wrong, I still suffered from those washed-out color palettes but if the story is this good, I think I'd be able to endure it. In fact, I think there was a tear or two at one point in my eyes and then at the end, I was laughing out loud because of Rukia's antics. However, I have to attribute most of it to Orihime's VA, Matsuoka Yuki, who manages to show Orihime's true personality underneath that spaced out expression of hers. I've always wonder if Orihime's happy personality is actually a facade to hide her true emotions because if one looks at her past, she hasn't always been the happy girl that she is now. This is definitely the episode that I'd recommend to anyone who wants to start watching this series.
The second episode of this series confirms that the first one wasn't a fluke. The story flows smoothly and the characters' interaction feels and looks natural here. The bread impressions, on the other hand, come across as over the top and as fun as they should. I also think that the series has a good collection of background music. The music sound like one of those jazzy tunes that were used in old Hollywood films and appropriately conveys the relaxing atmosphere of the series. And despite my initial reservation, it didn't take long for me to start liking the ending theme, Sunday. Unfortunately, the second episode also suffers from Naruto-itis long-winded recap flu. I really hope that the recap will only appear for the first couple of episodes but I find that to be unlikely in a long-running shounen show like this one.
I almost forget to blog this but two days ago, a friend invited me to a theatrical screening of Katsuhiro Otomo's latest feature film, Steamboy. Well, the film was an amazing visual feast. The setting is a fictional London circa 1866 and everything, except for some of the machineries, seems to be rendered faithfully based on that era. Storyline-wise, however, I don't think this is that extraordinary. It's definitely worth viewing in a large theatre at least once but I do wonder about its re-playability factor. Anyway, before I continue, please be aware that I may include one or two spoiler inside. I promise that it won't be something big and it's definitely not going to be plot by plot description. But please click that link with this in mind.
If I never said it before, let me say it now: this show is brilliant! And creepy to boot as well. Halfway through episode 25 I realised that I've been clutching the edge of my seat tightly because the tension got to me. And what an ending that episode has! The author clearly enjoys playing with people's knowledge of the current story and their expectation of what will happen in the future. Anyway, remember how I said Azuma of Yakitate!! Japan sounds like Naruto? Well I just found out that the VA for Naruto, Takeuchi Junko, also voices Dieter. I can't believe that I didn't notice it before but I guess the VA hides it quite well since Dieter's voice is a bit calmer than Naruto's. Having said that, now that I know about it, I've started to notice that on occassion the VA bursts into Naruto's usual "datte ba" expression.
October 14, 2004 | 10 Comments
If you haven't done so already, then I'd recommend that you read David's, Ten's, Kawaii's, BlueWacky's, and Sea Slugs' blog for a different perspective about this series. As for me, unfortunately I still don't like those washed-out effect that the animators use during encounters with Hollows. I think they make the animation looks cheap and nasty. I think the duotone, almost black and white look that they used during the encounter with Grand Fisher is a much better 'effect' for the Hollow world. Character-design wise, I'm quite happy to see Orihime looking as good as her manga counterpart. In fact, in comparison to her stick-figure classmates, she looks nicely proportional here. I've also come to like the ending theme a little bit more now. I think while storyline-wise it's far too early to use that kind of song, once the series get to the 'Soul Society' arc, this song can't be more appropriate.
October 13, 2004 | 19 Comments
This is actually a really good adaptation of the manga except for one minor problem: the voice of Azuma Kazuma. I guess I always have this impression that Azuma is shy and his voice is a bit calmer. Here, however, he sounds almost exactly like Naruto. Yeah, I know I was the one who actually compared him with Naruto before. But I was talking in terms of storyline and not voice. Oh well, at least everything else is great here. I personally don't like Rythem's Naruto S2 ending theme, "Harmonia". But I enjoyed their non-anime songs like "Mangekyou Kira Kira" and relieved to find out that the opening theme for Yakitate!!, "Houkigumo", turns out to be really good. The character design of the manga is also well-preserved here with every character looking quite close to their manga counterpart. I noticed some CGIs being used in this episode but thankfully, its use is minimalist and actually enhances the show quite a bit.
Or should I say "Genshiken/Kujibiki Unbalance ep.1"? To be honest, I'm a bit confused here. And that's because Kujibiki Unbalance is actually shown at the start of this show. To top it off, the opening theme for Kujibiki Unbalance is actually the one that is used as the official opening for this episode whereas Genshiken opening itself is non-existent. However, the actual Kujibiki Unbalance show itself was only a mere 1 minute. So I'm hesitant to call it a real show just yet. I prefer it if both shows are separated more clearly with each show having their own opening and ending and at least 15 minutes screen time. God, what am I talking about? This review has been one incoherent mess so far. I guess at this point in time I'm too confused to give more opinion on the way the two shows are combined. So I'll just say that I like the self-titled opening theme for Kujibiki Unbalance.
October 10, 2004 | 19 Comments
This title is one of the new autumn anime that have been receiving quite a lot of attention from various anime magazines. You can practically find different anime illustration for this series appearing on each individual magazine from Newtype Japan to Animage. To be honest, I have no idea if this is a part of the promotion from the producer of the anime, or if the magazines are genuinely interested in this series. However, the fact that the series receives 26 episodes right off the bat suggests that at least the producer believes in the series enough to give it a full season. There are at least 5 volumes of the manga so far, so I hope that the producer has enough stories to fill all 26 episodes without the need to resort to filler or to over-condensed it like Pierrot Animation condensed Midori no Hibi.
This chapter basically deals with the aftermath of the previous chapter but unfortunately, it's not as great as I imagined it. It serves me right, I guess, for expecting the story to go the way I hoped it'll be. Never the less, I can't shake the disappointment especially since this is one chapter away from the big 100. This kind of chapter always makes me lose interest in the series from time to time. It feels as if the series is being stretched thin even when it's not necessary anymore. I supposed it gives the feeling that just like in real world, things don't happen overnight. Having said that, I still want the plot to move faster. BTW, I'm sorry to say this again but some of you don't seem to get it at all: please do not direct-link straight to the images. If you want to link, then link to this page.
Hmm, there are many elements which I don't think work well in this adaptation. To begin with, I am not too keen with the opening theme, * (Asterisk), but then again I was never an Orange Range fan. The ending theme, Life is Like a Boat, is a bit better. It's one of those songs that sounds better with each play. I didn't like it at first but I am starting to like it as I hear more of it and especially now I get the visual to go with it. Speaking of the visual, I think the animation looks uneven and the Hollows design look a bit colorful and cartoony. Thankfully, the voice actors do a good job here. I think Morita Masakazu (Tidus VA in Final Fantasy X) sounds good as Ichigo despite the fact that his voice often reminds me of Tidus. Rukia's VA is also quite good here. Orikasa Fumiko succeeds in making Rukia sounds as tomboyish as I imagined her. I can't wait until Kon appears in the series since Kubo Tite himself voices the character.
