This site is designed for accessibility. Content is obtainable and functional to any browser or Internet device. This site's full visual experience is available in a modern browser that supports web standards. Please consider upgrading your browser.
ファイト／ステイナイト 
December 31, 2004 | 
9 Comments
It's good to know that the anime has been getting better lately. Although I think that this has more to do with the plot and the voice acting than the animation itself, which still is quite blurry in some scenes. But now that all of the characters have received development as well as powers of their own, I hope that the series' pace will pick up quickly. I'm also glad to see Orihime getting a rather major exposure in this episode. It's been disappointing to see her appearance being cut down short in the previous episodes and this certainly makes up for those times. Anyway, since this arc is quite close to the end of its conclusion, it means that the 'Soul Society' arc is on its way soon. Despite the fact that I am not a big fan of this arc, I am quite keen to see it since the anime seems to put a lot of effort to prepare for this arc.
December 31, 2004 | 1 Comments
The series begins when Tokiha Mai and her younger brother, Takumi, travel on a ship that will take them to their new school, Fuuka Gakuen. In the middle of their journey, the passengers realise that there's a girl drowning in the sea so they decide to save her. That night, however, another girl called Kuga Natsuki manages to secretly board the ship and ends up in a deadly fight with the first girl, Minagi Mikoto. Mai, who got trapped in the crossfire, learns that she and these girls are actually HiMEs, girls with power to summon elemental forces. Unfortunately, before she can fully comprehend her discovery, the fight between the two other girls causes the ship to sink. Mai, who's unable to make it to the lifeboat, ends up sinking to the bottom of the ocean with Mikoto.
December 28, 2004 | 2 Comments
These two episodes are completely different from each other that one must wonder if it was created by the same people. Hell, halfway through episode 8, I wonder if the animators purposedly make the episode looks ugly because I don't know any graphic artist who'll purposedly jeopardising their career by creating such a sub-par arts unless the art director and the producer are aware of the intention. The episode also somewhat boring despite my interest in plastic-model building. Episode 9, on the other hand, is quite fun. In fact, the last episode I remember being this entertaining was episode 5. Both episode, however, shares the same theme of how members of Genshiken finds Saki unapproachable. Having said that, she does make some small attempts to understand the guys better. So while she has her flaws, she's not exactly a bad character either.
December 27, 2004 | 8 Comments
Apparently the PV for the opening and ending theme of this show were broadcasted a few days ago. I wish I can see it because I really like both themes. It's also unfortunate that so far the opening theme CD is not on sale yet. Anyway, this episode itself is quite good. It's a precursor to the upcoming newcomer battle arc which is one of the best arc in this series. And judging from the teaser at the end of this episode, apparently that arc will kick off with a special 1 hour episode this week. I hope this means that the ratings have been doing quite well and therefore the series will hopefully get more than 26 episodes. The last time I check, Animedia reported that the series sit in the 7th ranking amongst other autumn anime shows selected by its readers.
December 27, 2004 | 6 Comments
After previous episode's creepy tone, this one seems kind of tame in comparison. True enough, the series can't always maintain the tension episode after episode. Having said that, the two stories presented in this episode are a bit predictable and to make things worse, they don't tell anything new. I basically am keen to find out why Johan passed out when he read the storybook but this episode never deals with the question at hand. In general, however, I'm really happy with how the series progresses and hope that this question will be addressed eventually. BTW, I just found out that the DVD are on sale in Japan now. Damn, the box looks really beautiful. It's unfortunate that the price tag is a killer and even if I buy it now, I've missed out on the first press offer. My only hope now is that Pioneer will license this and includes a rather similar box.
December 24, 2004 | 4 Comments
Well, I thought I'll have the time to do another recap but I guess not. I'm off to a party and will stay over at a friend's house afterwards. I'll try to catch up with the shows that I've missed once I come back. Thankfully some of them are on a 1 or 2 week break this month. Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone!!
Dec 27: I hope everyone had a good Christmas! I'll try to do Yakitate!! and Monster after I get a good sleep. BTW, if you're looking for Gakuen Alice, the show is on a break for 2 weeks and won't be back until the 8th of January.
December 23, 2004 | 1 Comments
It looks like I find it hard to resist the X-mas spending mentality. But then again, I haven't bought anything much this year so I think it's well-justified :P. Anyway, I thought I won't see these stuff until after Christmas but they arrived earlier these past couple of days. First up is the limited edition of Rozen Maiden 1. This is probably the strangest first-press offer I've ever encountered. If you get the first-press, you get the nice box above, which is illustrated by Peach Pit. The box contains a digipack with with one disc and 5 empty slots for the upcoming DVDs. If you failed to get the first-press, however, you get the barebones DVD with Shinku on the cover. Here are some of the images:
First-pressed box
The front digipack
Free postcard
December 22, 2004 | 3 Comments
I'm impressed. These two episodes actually manage to make me interested in the anime again. Maybe it's the humour or maybe it's the current arc but either way, I like these two episodes. Speaking of arc, the anime has now reached the 'Quincy Archer' arc, one of the best arc after the 'Grand Fisher' one. It is here that all of the hints and events that happened in the past finally come to fruition. If you're a casual watcher, I think it's a good idea to give these two episodes a go just to see how some elements from previous episodes finally play out here. A new character is also introduced here and Naruto watchers will probably recognise his voice as that of Uchiha Sasuke's VA, Sugiyama Noriaki. Amusingly enough, there are several similarities between the two characters so in a way, this is a rather nifty casting on Pierrot studio part.
December 22, 2004 | 6 Comments
Gakuen Alice OP Theme
Performed by Kana Ueda
Kanji/Kana version
ジリジリと鳴り響く 目覚ましで起こされた
キラキラと太陽が 今日もまた 絶好調
眠たい目こすっては 君の背中追いかけて
駆け足でつまずいて転んでは 落ち込んだ
授業中 空を見て
ポカリ 口を あける頭に
命中した 紙飛行機のメッセージ
「いつもいつも笑ってて」
今君のすぐ傍で分かち合える毎日
どんな困難だって 飛び越えられる
明日を２人で 迎えれるようにね
曇り空の日だって 幸せ色で笑うから
ピカピカの太陽のように
チリチリとこぼれてく 砂時計見つめては
キラキラと涙した 今日の君 絶不調？
潤んだ目 君の背中 そっと叩き
思いっきり 微笑んで 太陽に ささやいた
「もっともっと笑うから」
今君のすぐ傍で分かち合える毎日
どんな難題だって 解き進めるよ
明日を笑顔で迎えられるようにね
雨の空の日だって 2人一緒で笑おうね
ピカピカの太陽のように
今君のすぐ傍で分かち合える毎日
どんな困難だって 飛び越えられる
明日を２人で 迎えれるようにね
曇り空の日だって 幸せ色で笑うから
ピカピカの太陽のように
December 20, 2004 | 30 Comments
Okay, so in essence, the basic story of this episode has not changed much. But I hate how once again the anime decides to exclude some of the manga's darker elements. Admittedly, some of the darker stories are still here but by replacing some of them, the end result is not as strong as it could have been. In the manga, one can really feels that there's something inherently wrong with the whole situation and yet, there's nothing Mikan can do about it. That kind of helpless feeling is sorely lacking from this version. I'm happy that the anime does a very good job in showing the comedic side of the series, such as the idiotic divination dance. But I really wish this version had included more foreboding and darker elements. Even Jinno-Sensei looks more silly than threatening in this episode.
December 18, 2004 | 12 Comments
If you understand the joke from the first 3 screenshots, then I'm sorry for being crude. But hey, I wasn't the one who drew them to begin with. And besides, if you can understand them easily, then your mind is already as filthy as mine :P. If you don't understand them, then good for you. Stay that way. The mind is such an easy thing to corrupt ;). Anyway, the topics of this week's episode are basically Wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and Sake (not just the Japanese Rice Wine variety but alcoholic beverages in general). The funny thing is, both of them actually goes well with Sushi. Now, bread with alcohol mix is not that surprising. It's not unusual to put a bit of liquor or rum in some cake/bread dough to give them a rich taste. This is, however, the first time I've heard of Wasabi Bread. I probably wouldn't mind trying one though since I like Wasabi.
December 16, 2004 | 3 Comments
This is definitely one of the best episodes from this series. It's creepy and brilliant at the same time. Most of this is attributed to the fact that the new 'monsters' in this episode is none other than children. Speaking of 'monster', I've noted that the ending sequence has changed again now. It now shows a shoemaker and a guard turning into the green monster. Judging from the previous ending sequences, I get the impression that the wood cutter 'eats' the monster because he wants to become strong. If that's the case, then I think the story is an allegory for how humans sometimes turn into a 'monster' when they try to be the best at their job. I mentioned before how the pressure of one's profession can often lead a person to become heartless jerks to other people. Figuratively, those people have turned into a green monster.
December 16, 2004 | 2 Comments
Another great character development for both Shinku and Jun here. Despite being an ass at the beginning of the series, Jun has certainly improved himself over the past couple of episodes. Barring any weird stuff happening in the series, such as...oh say, the end of the world or killing his own sister, I think he'll end up being a rather pleasant boy who is finally able to care for others. Similarly, the series finally gives a bit more info on Shinku and her reason to participate in 'Alice game'. Anyway, these two 'arcs' along with the occassional comedy have sustained the series quite well thus far so I hope they'll keep it up right to the end.
December 13, 2004 | 13 Comments
Ugh, I think I got a flu. So please excuse me if some of the things that I say don't make sense here. I just feel like going to rest soon. Anyway, this is another fun episode which is a welcome change after last week's mediocre one. The focus here is on a Dodgeball competition between Mikan's team and Natsume's team. I personally never play the game so I have little knowledge about the game apart from the part where you basically win by getting people out of your opposing team. This can be done by hitting them with the ball or catching the ball which is thrown by an opponent before the ball hits the ground. I'm not sure about the number of people allowed per team. I think Mikan's team has at least 8 people. Seems to be an unusual number for a ball game.
December 12, 2004 | 0 Comments
I can't believe that one week away from blogging ends up leaving me with a long list of backlog but unfortunately that's the reality. There are so many episodes that I need to catch up with, it's becoming a bit taxing at times. It's good when the episode is funny like episode 6 but when the episode is annoying like the episode that follows it, I find it hard to find the motivation to blog the episode. I probably was in a bad mood when I watched episode 7 but I felt that the episode basically consist of nothing but scenes of 2 annoying twats not mixing well with the regular characters. Top this off with a short appearance of Haraguchi, and this ends up becoming an episode where the regulars (and myself) get mentally tortured by 3 unpleasant characters.
December 11, 2004 | 2 Comments
Once again the anime tries to combine two different stories into one episode. Unlike the previous attempt, however, the combination doesn't work that well this time around. The story feels fragmented here and if it wasn't for the fact that Monster always has an ensemble casts instead of focusing on one character, this wouldn't have worked at all for me. I'm also quite disappointed with the first half of the episode. It seems the writers have missed the opportunity to use Nina and Lotte's interaction properly, especially in regards to Johan's whereabouts. The second half of the episode is actually much better than the first one, especially in its emphasis on the fact that Tenma is first and foremost, a doctor. He is in the business of saving lives and not taking them. Therefore, one has to wonder if he'll ever be able to do his 'mission'.
December 11, 2004 | 1 Comments
What is wrong with this episode's animation? The character design and the animation are all over the place here. One minute Dieter looks like his normal self, the next minute, he looks like a scary-looking teenager. At first I thought he's meant to look older now but then a couple of minutes later, they showed Dieter with his usual character design. The same thing can be said about Johan. The animators can't seem to decide if they'd go with the white ghost look or the suave psycho persona. Oh well, at least the storyline is still solid despite its attempt to combine two different stories. And since both stories are still focused on both Tenma and Johan, the transition between the two seems to be rather smooth.
December 10, 2004 | 6 Comments
There isn't much comedy in this episode but I don't mind it much because this episode mostly serves to give Kawachi some character development. Interestingly enough, Kawachi has been the only character who receives character development thus far. Despite being the main character, Azuma remains as Azuma everytime. He's the boy wonder who can do it all. Kawachi, however, has gone from having snotty attitude towards Azuma to being a character who slowly accepts Azuma as a friend. In addition to giving Kawachi some character development, this episode also reveals more of Tsukino's personality and intention. Top this off with a generous dose of fanservice and this turns out to be one decent episode.
December 10, 2004 | 2 Comments
Yawn. Apart from the light humor in some of the scenes, this episode is exactly what I need the next time I have insomnia. Personally, I've been quite disappointed with this anime lately. Apart from 2-3 episodes, I haven't been happy with this version of the story. I've said it before but I'll say it again because it can't be emphasised enough: the blurry, over-contrasted scenes of the Hollow world are still horrendous. Thank God for Photoshop or else all of the screencaps would have been hard to see. The worst part of this version, however, is how some characters like Orihime gets the shaft in terms of screen time and appearances. I really abhor this new direction because Orihime is one of my favourite main characters in the manga and to see her being reduced to background characters simply pisses me off.
December 7, 2004 | 19 Comments
Honestly, I'm not sure why some of you are that eager to see this particular Tsubasa cover. I think Chii looks really bad here. But I guess different strokes and all. Sorry for taking this long to scan this but honestly, I kind of lost interest in the series a bit. Maybe when the anime starts to air, I'll regain interest again. But for now, I'm still disappointed over the fact that CLAMP leave X in an incomplete state while pursuing other long-term projects. It doesn't help that some of the characters' poses in this volume's color illustrations are styled in similar manner to various X illustrations. On top of this, I've been wondering if this series actually has a story beyond its initial 'collect Sakura's feathers' premise. Because when I think about it, I'm not sure what kind of story CLAMP tries to tell in this manga.
This turns out to be a rather disappointing arc despite its potential. I think the main problem is the addition of the silly Shinigami character that does not add much to the overall story apart from some unnecessary humour. The problem is, he's not even that funny. In fact, other regular comic characters like Isshin and Kon do much better job in providing comic relief in comparison to this lame Shinigami whose name I can't even bother to remember. The worst thing about his addition, however, is the fact that he ruins the tension as well as the general melancholic mood that these two episodes supposed to have. While watching these episodes, I keep thinking how much tighter and well-paced this arc would have been had this guy does not exist.
I am not too crazy about this episode mostly because it lacks in comedy and yet, it fails to present the dark story that was in the manga. Never the less, it is interesting to know more about the school and the way it operates. In this particular episode, it's obvious that major classifications of Alices are used to group students together for training. I think this makes a lot of sense in the way that some students in schools are normally grouped by their interest in a particular subject (biology, social sciences, etc). Anyway, there isn't much of Hotaru in this one either and she seems to be a bit out of character somehow. Was it just me or did she actually smile in one of the scenes? The Harry Potter references seem to be quite thick in this one as well. Especially with Noda-sensei's ability to manipulate time just like Hermione's time turner in Prisoner of Azkaban.
Yakitate!! Japan ED theme
Performed by The Babystars
Kanji/Kana version
使い古された「愛してる」も君を想って口にすれば
こんなにステキな響きになる 君だけのためにある言葉
日だまりで SUNDAY ありきたりの いつもと同じ今日は SUNDAY
いつまでもなんて そっと願う そして君はしゃべり続ける
わたしのどこがそんなに好きなの？ いきなり難題を君が出すから
借りてきた 映画ひとまず止めて まじまじと君を見るよ
毎日見てても足りなりないくらい 咲き誇る笑顔が大好きです
意外と着やせする極上ボデイ 言うまでもなく大好きです
それって外見ばっかり肝心のなか身はどうんあのよ？
憤懣ヤルタナイ君が鼻息も荒くおこるけど
本当はもっともっともっとあるけども
巧くは言えないんだなあ これが
好きになるのに理由はいらないだろ
そこらへんは謎ってことで勘弁して
使い古された「愛してる」も君を想って口にすれば
こんなにステキな響きになる 君だけのためにある言葉
日だまりで SUNDAY ありきたりの いつもと同じ今日は SUNDAY
何気ない時間が過ぎてゆく そしてふたりはなごみ続ける
強がりな君が時々見せる 儚げな涙にゃ白旗です
何も言わなけりゃ言わないだけに よそ見なんで出来ないんだよ
悲しみだの苦しみだの
そりゃ生きてりゃやっぱりいろいろあるけど
何気なく君が言う「頑張って」にチカラ もらってるよ
もしも小さな背中震えるときには 僕がすぐ抱きしめるから
窓から見える景色 変わっていっても
寝癖のひどい君のままで 傍に居て
使い古された「大嫌い」も 君がふくれて口にすれば
反対の意味に 聞くえるのさ 僕だけのためにある言葉
日だまりで SUNDAY ありきたりの いつもと同じ今日は SUNDAY
改めて言うよ 君のことを どんなときだって愛してる
いつもと同じ SUNDAY
ありきたりの SUNDAY
でも特別な SUNDAY
Well, I'm out of the self-imposed Internet isolation and the nightmare that was JLPT. But now it seems there are so many anime that I need to catch up with, so I figure I'll start with this insane episode. I really like to know what kind of crack that the writers/animators were on at the time they created this because it takes a good one to create something like this. It looks to me that at least 50% of this episode consists of mostly super-deformed character design. It's a shame though that except for few scenes, most of the time Shinku is mostly drawn in normal styles. I guess they need to maintain her cool, authoritative persona as much as possible even in this kind of episode. Having said that, it was a pleasure to see her obsession with Kun-Kun, the doggie doll.
