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ローゼンメイデン 
Well, here's another episode that impressed me. I'm probably repeating myself here but I have to say that it's rare to see an anime series that offers the combination of well-written stories, interesting characters, excellent animation, and quality voice acting. However, Honey and Clover has managed to do exactly this every single episode thus far. Admittedly, before the anime began back in March, I was already aware that the series has interesting storylines. Nevertheless, it was a nice surprise to see the story told in such beautiful animation styles. The animation highlight in this episode will have to be Hagu's back story. I like how the segment is nicely styled and animated in almost similar manner to Hagu's own water painting.
To me this is definitely one of the best episodes within the series. The comedy is as sharp as usual and the drama parts of the episode are brilliantly written and executed. Upon rewatching the episode, I also realised that this is one of those series where the viewers actually get rewarded for repeat viewings. I noticed that there is a scene in this episode that at first seems unimportant when I first watched it. But upon watching episode 7, I realised that the event that unfolds in 7 has been hinted at in episode 6. Anyway, before I forget I better mention this - I've just updated the series info page for this series. I've included some new images in there as well as other additional informations. I'll try to add some new images from time to time once I have the time to scan them.
We're getting into tricky territory for me now. On one hand, since I know the manga, I do know how the story will progress and WHY it will be progressing like this. At the same time, several key informations are missing so far, therefore I need to try to "forget" what I know and try to restrict any commentary on what I would think with this "reduced" information set. And it's bloody difficult to do so, but I'll try my best, yet much shorter than my normal reviews.
In this episode we have major Yamato-Suzuka relationship development. He is excelling in the 50m dash, and Suzuka obviously realizes the striking resemblance between Yamato and the senpai in the framed picture which Miho had commented on earlier in episode 1. This revelation shocks Suzuka who is thrown in obvious confusion and starts to appraise Yamato entirely anew. Except for this we see some smooth Hattori advice and help and some genuine cheery (yet almost completely overlooked) emotional support from Honoka. And we also have an unexpected 10-seconds appearance of my favorite character in this entire show, Miki. Therefore the episode rating can't be any lower than
Episode Rating: +
These three episodes marked the end of the new bakers competition arc. While there are few minor surprises in these episodes, in general the storyline is mostly geared to tidy up the arc. Having said that, it's nice to know that the series does not stretch out some of its minor plots such as Kawachi's desire to work for Pantasia's main store. The anime writers also seem to be aware that the material that they have left from the new bakers arc are not enough to fill up episode 27. Because of this, they decide to include a live-action instruction on how to make Japan #2: SuihanJapan, a bread made inside a ricecooker. This particular segment is quite interesting and offers a brief diversion from the usual baking battles contained within each episode.
This is another solid episode for the series. One of the main highlight of the episode is the hazy water-painting scenes of Takemoto's childhood. The simplicity of the tree in the drawings reminded me of children's storybook that I used to read as a little kid. It also makes me wish that I can draw something like that. Having said that, no amount of stylish animation can save a badly written episode and thankfully, Hachikuro rarely suffers from this problem. Just like the previous episodes, this episode manages to convey the complexity of the characters' life while ensuring that there are enough comic relief scattered within it. This is probably one of the few series that manages to make me wish that the episode will not end in half an hour.
Let me get it off my chest first thing: This episode left me disappointed and a little bit worried. Why? Because there were clear signs of the Negima disease: Obviously several keys were outsourced to a lesser team which had difficulties keeping the art consistent. Suddenly the reasonably mature Yamato looks like the kid Nozomu-chan from Futakoi in some shots. And suddenly some animators employ semi-deformed "comedy style" drawings. Folks, Suzuka is no comedy, and every attempt to turn it into one will seriously hamper the flow and the atmosphere. Please don't do this again!
This episode primarily introduces a key character, Sakurai Honoka. To put it lightly, her timid-soft and initially "jerky" style of delivering her lines will take some time to get used to. However, keep in mind that this is exactly how Honoka is at this stage of the story, and her Seiyuu is actually a perfect cast voicewise. I feel that she will make Honoka grow just fine.
Because of the spotty animation at times and the unwarranted comedy elements at the wrong spots, demerits in the rating of an otherwise decent episode. Volume 1 of the manga is now completed already, with episode 4 the real story begins.
Episode Rating: (-)
This is what happens when I have too much time on my hands but don't feel like doing proper blogging just yet. I've been using my PSP a lot these days so I figured it'll be neat if I can put all of the new opening/ending themes from various shows into my memory cards. Well, here are some of the OP/ED that I encoded (various size, MP4 format). Once you download the zip, uncompressed them and you should see a folder with a MP4 and THM files. You need to put both of these files into your PSP video directory. If you don't have a PSP, the MP4 files can still be opened using Quicktime. Please note that I retain the aspect ratio of all files, so in the case of Yakitate!! Japan opening/ending, the ratio stays TV size. Anyway, I will put up some more files later on once I have the time.
Dramatic (Honey and Clover 1st OP Theme) - 9.1MB, MP4
Dramatic V2 (Honey and Clover 2nd OP Theme) - 10MB, MP4
Girls on Film (Speed Grapher OP Theme) - 16.7MB, MP4
Promise (Yakitate!! Japan 2nd OP Theme) - 16.7MB, MP4
Waltz (Honey and Clover 1st ED Theme) - 18.7MB, MP4
Unfortunately I don't have much to say here since I'm sure everyone already watched this episode a long time ago. So I'll just save the space for the lyric to Moon River. Originally sung by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, the song has been used by this particular series to highlight Mayama/Rika's complex relationship. Well, that and to provide Morita with tons of ammunitions to make fun of/blackmail Mayama. So I figured it's quite appropriate to place it here in case someone is interested:
Moon River, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style, someday
All dream makers, you heart breaker
Wherever you're going, I'm going your way
Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end
Waiting 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend, Moon River, and me
As expected, Suzuka has now found its stride and produces quality entertainment in a sober real-life setting without crazy stuff or super powers. In this episode, one more male character is introduced (Yasunobu Hattori, a Kurtz Weber clone) and we have some character development for Suzuka and Yamato.
Episode 2 combined manga chapters 1+2 nicely, in fact the result felt even more coherent than the manga. This time, the episode is a full +, since I was having fun from the beginning till the end. More of this, please.
Episode Rating: +
And the quest to complete the backlog begins. I have so many episodes and series to keep up that this is not fun anymore. But I better stop complaining and start getting the recaps properly done. Well, it's been a while since I watch this series but watching these 3 episodes immediately reminds me of the various story threads that have appeared thus far in the series. Out of those threads, there is one pattern that has consistently present right from the beginning: the cautionary tale about children and how they're brought up. In this regard, the series presents a message to adults to set good examples for children so that these children will eventually become kind and compassionate human being instead of cruel and malicious monsters.
When it comes to Suzuka, it's easier to describe what the anime is NOT instead of what it is. It is NO romantic comedy, and it is NO harem show. The girls are still going to be cute, but they are NOT fawning over the male lead, who is NOT useless-whiny and who is NOT disinterested or incapable of a relationship. What we get instead is a fairly serious romance drama with a sports background and with some very interesting-appealing characters, stripped of alot of cliches replaced by a healthy dose of tempered realism.
In other words: This anime isn't flashy, and it won't make you laugh or cry early on. It will take a few episodes to introduce all characters and lay out the plot. 26 episodes are scheduled, and I'll be sure not to miss any of them. Feel up to it? Welcome to Suzuka.
Episode Rating: (+)
Okay, I'm back from my holiday and depressed as hell. I've been suffering from some kind of reverse homesickness which actually already started before I even left Japan. This is partly why I haven't written anything in months. I knew that I will miss my friends and Japan terribly once I returned home. But I never expected the reality to be *this* depressing. I want to go back there again. But that's kind of pointless since my friends have also returned to their countries. Anyway, I actually saw this film on a plane that took me to Japan and was impressed by it. This may not be for everyone's taste. But personally, I think this is a simple but well-made film that encourages the viewers to appreciate the time that they have with people who are important to them. As usual, please be aware that the review has few spoilers.
