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ローゼンメイデン 
This episode is hilarious. The part where Satou fails his first attempt at Eroge game was amusing. When I first saw it I thought "Oh, that's interesting, I didn't know there is a Casablanca ending in one of those games". But then I look closer at the screen and realised that in Casablanca, the two male characters don't grab each other's ass. In general, however, this episode has been toned down from the original manga. Misaki still calls Satou "Lolicon" when she catches him red handed about to photograph a bunch of high school girls. But the girls in the anime are not as young as the ones in the manga. It doesn't really matter in my opinion because when Satou looks at his own horrific reflection in the mirror, that scene perfectly captures the idea that Satou is at the lowest point of his life.
This episode basically marks the end of volume 8 of the manga and next week's episode is the beginning of volume 9. At this rate, the anime will complete the entire volume 9 by the time it reaches episode 9. I am glad that the producers decided to limit the episode count to only 12 this season because now they don't have to come up with filler materials. Story-wise, this episode marks the return of Takemoto and Morita's storylines. Now that Yamada's roller coaster ride is about to wind down, the focus will once again return to both Takemoto and Morita. As a side note, this week's insert song is 「ジュテーム」- (Je t’aime) by Spitz. The song comes from an album titled 「ハヤブサ」 (Hayabusa). And in case you're interested, included below are pictures of Honey and Clover books that I bought and the freebies that came with them.
No Movie No Girl Film Book, Manga volume 9, animation guide book
Clear plastic file and Midori-chan pin
This is a rather funny episode mostly because of Kyouya's and Haruhi's facial expressions. Kyouya probably has at least 5 variations of his 'scary' face. Haruhi, on the other hand, has multitude of expressions here ranging from "Eeek!!" to "I'm tired can I go home now?". This episode also offers a little glance into Kyouya's personality and background. Unfortunately Kyouya is not one of my favourite characters so I am not as excited as some of you might be with this storyline. Anyway, I think almost every character in the series has received a focus now except Hunny. But then again, it's really hard to develop Hunny since he's mostly just a comedic character.
Unlike Honey and Clover movie, I find Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo to match my expectation quite well. The film is nicely directed, appropriately voiced, and contains an interesting storyline. It's kind of strange that this film is not as heavily promoted as Brave Story, which looks kind of childish judging from the promo trailers. I even get the impression that in Tokyo, this film is only screened in one cinema in Shinjuku. I was surprised when I arrived at the cinema and saw different types of audiences waiting for the film from the student types to the family types. I got this really nice-looking card which you can use to get stamps if you watch the film more than once. Once you see the film 3 times, you'll receive a large poster of the film. Unfortunately I don't have that much money to do this so I have to be content with the free mini poster available at the cinema. I did, however, buy the program guide and it contains some nice photographs from the film.
Ticket, Program Guide, Mini Poster, loyalty card
Signed Poster
Maybe I was just expecting too much from the film but I didn't enjoy the live action version of Honey and Clover. First of all though, judging from the audience's interest in the movie, this is clearly a very popular series in Japan. I didn't expect many people to actually come and see the film since apart from Sakurai Sho, the rest of the actors are relative unknowns. However, when my friends and I arrived at the cinema 1 hour prior to the screening, there was already a long queue in front of the theatre. I assume the popularity is due to the manga and anime version of the story. This is why I don't understand why the film writers decided to alter some of the more interesting stories and the characters' background. Unfortunately I can't remember the exact sequence of the story anymore since I watched another film after this. What I wrote below are more or less what I remember from the movie but it may not be the actual sequence.
Ticket, Program Guide, Mini Poster
I think this episode is a lot more heart-wrenching than Yamada's story last week. But then again Shuuji/Rika/Harada's story hit closer to home in my case. This is also the reason as to why I like the entire Takemoto/Hagu/Morita story. In addition to this, the animation and character design in this episode is awesome to say the least. Those DVD sales must have made some good money for the producers because the detail in this episode is simply stunning. Props must also go to Sugita Tomokazu who takes the role of Mayama in this series. Although occasionally his voice sounds slightly similar to Kyon from Suzumiya Haruhi, in most cases Mayama's voice is more mature and older and lack Kyon's sarcastic edge. The insert song this week is 「ほのほ」- Honoho by Spitz. The song comes from their Souvenir album. Anyway, high-res images are now available and if you're interested, check out the picture of a Honey and Clover train below. I thought it fits the entire train theme that this episode presents.
Honey and Clover train in Tokyo
Honey and Clover train (another angle)
For those of you who are interested, that post about Nara that I promised yesterday is now up on Kongetsu. It's kind of brief though since I decided to split it into two parts. Anyway, this episode is not as funny as the one that came before it but it offers a lot of character development on the twin's side. Come to think of it, I like the way the writers put the majority of the comedy on last week's episode and the serious character development on this one. I am just hoping that the rest of the male characters will be given a serious development like this one.
Sorry for the late review but I just come back from a trip to Nagoya and Nara. I'll try to post the detail on Kongetsu tomorrow. At the moment though, I'm just trying to keep up with the reviews because I know I'll just have more backlog if I don't do them. Anyway, I'm quite happy with the second episode. I realise that there have been concerns raised regarding the toned down content of the story. However, I don't think this is a problem because the story has never been about making Satou the sickest and most vile character in anime history. Admittedly, it does appear this way if you've only read the first few chapters of the story. Having said that, the main content of the story is an examination as to why Satou and other characters fail to connect with societies in general. How did they get to this point and what could have been done about it.
Oku Hanako - Garnet (30MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo - Full Trailer
This is basically the main theme for the upcoming animated feature film, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The girl who leapt through time). I'm actually a lot more interested in this film more than I am of the upcoming Ghibi's feature, Gedo Senki. The story will be an adaptation of a novel of the same name. It is also currently serialised in Shounen Ace as a manga drawn by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Evangelion's main character designer. Sadamoto is also responsible for the movie's character design and on a quick glance, the characters do look like re-iteration of his previous work on Shinji, Kaoru, and Touji. The song is sung by a Oku Hanako, a singer whom unfortunately I'm not familiar with. I personally like this song alot although unfortunately the PV is not that exciting to watch. It's just a shot of the singer walking around a seemingly quiet city. This would have surprised me if I didn't know that in Tokyo, the city does look like that around 4 in the morning.
I must say I'm rather pleased with this episode mostly because it is an entirely different story seen through a new character. This episode, which is numbered as 14 by the anime, is actually more like a prequel to the main story that features Keiichi as the main protagonist. This kind of story-telling method was also used in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, which is the prequel for Twin Peaks. In that film, the story changes its focus from lead protagonist Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle McLachlan) to Special Agent Chester Desmond (Chris Isaac) and the story happens a few days prior to Laura Palmer's death. This means that the prequel is used to explain details that were left unclear during within the main part of the story.
I don't get this. How can a professionally made anime series like this one look this horrid? Just look at the character design for the twin sisters, for example. They are nothing like their manga counterpart. Their eyes are dull and have no life. Similarly, although character design for the regulars look quite good on the previous episode, in this one everyone looks awful. Did Production IG outsourced this episode to an amateur company or did they ask some work experience kids to draw the characters in this episode? Either way, it's disappointing to see what could otherwise be an interesting arc ruined by bad character design. It's a good thing that xxxHOLiC also has an interesting storyline because otherwise, there is little incentive to watch this series. As a side note, a new ending theme called Kagerou is being used starting with this episode.
Just when I was afraid that Yamada/Mayama story won't be moving anytime soon, something progressive happens to the story. I think this is the best thing that could happen to Yamada since now she won't have a choice but to let go of Mayama. The insert music of the week is Koko ni iru koto by Suga Shikao. This song comes from his Sugarless CD. There is also a rather good piano version of Fugainaiya included in the episode. I really hope that once this season is over, the official 2nd season CD will include this all piano version of the OP and ED theme. As a side note, the high-res images are now available. I also included some pictures of Hachikuro related items. The upcoming live action film has been covered by many magazines here. I am sorry for the bad photos but I don't have a scanner here in Japan.
Packaged Foods
Entertainment Magazine - Front cover
Gyao Magazine - Front cover
Gyao Magazine - Group shot
Gyao Magazine - Girls side
Gyao Magazine - Guys side
I'm sorry for the late entry but the file that I found was unusually large so it took a while for me to download it. Anyway, I'm glad to see this episode seperated into a two-parter at the very least. At first I thought BONES will condense all 3 chapters of the manga into one episode story but thankfully that is not the case here. Overall, this is a good compromise because the first part pretty much takes care the introductory part of the arc, while the second one will deal with the date part of the story. Speaking of the story, I just saw the cover for volume 8 of the manga and can't be happier when I realise that it's Haruhi and Mori dressed up in a world war 2 era Japanese costume. I kind of wish that there will be some kind of side story where Haruhi and Mori are playing a role with these costumes.
Yuki - Fugainaiya (25.1MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
I can just imagine the ad that Yuki placed to obtain the extras in this PV: Wanted - Gaijins who are willing to dress up as maid, lamp, table, and portrait while screaming 'fugainaiya-iya'. That said, the PV is actually kind of amusing and a lot better than the one that was used for Dramatic. I personally prefer to see weird PVs like this one instead of the ones that bore me to tears. It's clear that lots of money were poured into the PV. The costume itself probably eats a quarter of the budget and then there is the actual maze which looks awesome. Also, make sure you don't miss the part where Yuki goes batshit insane and starts beating that stuffed cat. It's a sight to behold!! XD Overall, this is a fun PV that does represent Honey and Clover series really well. The full lyric is now available for those who want it.
The only people who are interested in this light infomercial are probably just Honey and Clover fans. This is basically Chou-VIP (Super VIP) program featuring Kudou Haruka promoting Hachikuro Cafe. I wrote about the place in Kongetsu the last time I went to Japan. I haven't had the chance to revisit the place at the moment but I may do that just to see if there is any interesting merchandise being sold at the moment. Plus, that melon pan and mango juice look delicious. I wish I was around when the cafe still had the full menu though. I want to taste that blue cheese pizza with honey but never had the chance to do so. When I first visited the cafe, the menu consists mostly of drinks.
Anyway, Kudou Haruka looks cute especially when she says "Oishii" after she bit the melonpan. Having said that, I can't help but wonder if the bread is as delicious as she claims it is. Japanese TV personalities tend to claim that everything is delicious when they are on TV. It's really funny when you watch this food adventure program because no matter what kind of food they eat, they always say it's delicious. In addition to this, they always have different facial expression everytime they say the word. Anyway, the sudden appearances of this infomercial as well as other Honey and Clover related promo means that the film will come to the cinema soon. I am actually excited to see it after I saw the full trailer.
Opening Theme: 「Coyote」 by Naoki with Power Sound - AVI format
Hmm, this is already the second episode and I'm still not sure what to make of the series. I think the things that attract me the most have been the opening and ending theme as well as the background song. The opening theme is vibrant and suggests excitement and like I said on last week's recap, it reminded me of 80s mecha series theme. The background song is also equally pleasant and made up of mostly jazz tracks. Having said that, I am still not completely sold on the character design, which although high in quality, often looks rather strange especially in Angelica's case, where her mouth looks unusually big. I am also not sure if I like having Marciano Sisters as the main adversary for the Coyote group because they're too dumb for a supposedly high-tech robots. Anyway, if you're looking for the PSP version of the OP and ED, I'll try to make them after I write the summary.
Yay! I finally manage to catch up with this series. Okay, there is still episode 14 to go but that just came out yesterday so I am not that far behind. This is the first time I've attempted to cross-summarised/reviewed two episodes of School Rumble and found the job to be rather difficult. Each story is usually packed with many little details so trying to summarise each episode into no more than 3 paragraphs turned out to be a challange. But I prefer to do this than spending another 4 hours writing summary for episodes that most people have already seen. Anyway, the episodes themselves are pretty funny although I am not sure anymore if they are actually fillers or taken from the manga. On a glance they feel like filler but there are bits of romantic development in the episodes that feel as if they came from the manga.
Opening Theme: Puzzle by ROUND TABLE feat. Nino (12.1MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
This is a slightly disappointing adaptation animation-wise. I think those who expects this to be similar to Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu will be especially disappointed. NHK ni Youkoso! definitely lacks the mass entertainment factor that Suzumiya Haruhi possesses. However, if you're into character development and an in-depth look into the problem of modern society, then this is a good series to watch. The opening theme, Puzzle, is actually quite pleasant to listen to. Unfortunately, the animation that goes with the music looks quite bad which is unusual for an opening scene.
SPITZ - Mahou no Kotoba (15MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
This is basically the main theme for the upcoming live action version of Honey and Clover. The song is performed by Spitz and is newly written specifically for the movie itself. I personally am a bit underwhelmed by both the song and the PV itself. I think the ending song that is written by Suga Shikao and performed by Arashi, Aozora Pedal is a bit more interesting. But then again I've always gravitated more towards Suga Shikao's songs than Spitz. The only exception to this is Spica, which I thought was perfect as the song to accompany Takemoto's journey back in episode 24 of Honey and Clover. The PV itself is nothing special. You simply see a door in the middle of the street and inside the door, Spitz members can be seen living their daily life and performing/practising the song.
I am so tired. I foolishly went all the way from Tokyo to Osaka even though I knew that tourist places would have been closed by the time I arrived, which was around 4.30 (it took a good 3 hours to go from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka using the "Hikari Super Express" and another 3-4 minutes from Shin-Osaka to Osaka). Thankfully I brought my laptop and the thing actually had enough battery power to watch this episode and write the majority of this entry while on the train. Oh well, now I can understand why Ginko pouts when he found out that no one in the destination is willing to help him. It sucks when you travel far and you don't get to do what you want to do. But at least he's got girls offering a place to stay.
This episode is terrific and pretty much made up for last week's recap episode. First thing first, the animation is unbelievably good. At times, Yamada actually looks a lot like the actress who will play her in the live action adaptation of the series. I'm also glad to know that even now the series is still capable of presenting stories which is both funny and touching. I am also starting to like Split now especially since in this episode the song plays just as the camera zooms in on Yamada's face. Speaking of soundtrack, this week's insert song is SPITZ' Pool. The biggest question here though, how do you normally get rid of hiccup? In my experience, all you have to do is to hold your breath and count to 10 slowly. As a side note, the large images are now available to view.
Hachikuro CM - Aozora Pedal (1.4MB, Quicktime format)
This is the song that was written by Suga Shikao and performed by Arashi.
I'm sorry if I've been slow in catching up with some of the older series. The new anime that came out this week and the fact that I tend to be away during the day really cause a havoc on my timetable. Anyway, this turns out to be a rather interesting episode. I don't really like the fact that Kuda-Kitsune large form also has that green tea color but I love the creature so this is a minor problem. I also think that the animation seems to be slightly better for some reason. The scene where Kuda-Kitsune fight against the Hane parasite was quite exciting and dynamic to watch. If the animators can maintain consistency in the character design and adds more complex shading into the background, this would have been a better anime than it currently is at the moment.
To those who emailed me if I'll blog Bokura ga ita, unfortunately the answer will have to be a "no". I'm kind of exhausted at the moment and after watching the raw last night, I decided that it's not worth blogging. I thought the animation is passable at best and definitely not up to Honey and Clover's or Ouran's quality. In addition to this, the main character annoys me a bit even in this version. If you're looking for summary, however, Muhootsaver has done one, so go check it out. Anyway, back to Ouran, this is not a stellar episode but it's not bad either. The focus this time around is on Ouran High school's Newspaper club and their machination. Unfortunately, just like other episodes which includes a client, this one ends up being not as funny as the one where all of the focus are placed on the Host Club themselves.
Watch the trailer (Quicktime Movie)
I just came back from watching Death Note live action and it turned out to be a rather good adaptation of the manga. The film came with several trailers including a full trailer of Honey and Clover live action. Watching film in Japanese cinema turns out to be a rather expensive experience since the film itself will set you back 1300 Yen (around $13 dollar). If you do want to watch something, I recommend buying pre-purchased ticket from ticket seller because not only the price is usually similar to the one you buy from the box office, you actually get a better looking ticket (the promotional poster is printed in the ticket). The cinema also sells promotional items related to the film so I couldn't resist buying the live action movie guide (700 Yen). In Japan, you can also bring hot foods into the screening and the cinema actually sells things like french fries and Takoyaki. So if you're not careful, a trip to the cinema can go up to 3000 Yen (around $30) in one go.
I'm sorry for the delay but I ended up going out with some friends to see Death Note live action. It's a rather good film and I'll write about this as soon as I finished this one. Anyway, this is not a bad first episode at all. I like the killer robotic maid and the 80s style opening theme. It reminds me of old anime series for some reason. There is no official opening this time around and the opening theme is placed at the end of the episode with only scrolling credits to accompany the song, Coyote. I decided not to make a PSP file out of it since there's nothing much to see out of the opening. But I've created an AVI file for those who want to watch the credit/listen to the song.
Coyote Ragtime Show OP Theme (credits only, AVI file)
Well, this is it: the final episode to what I feel is one of the best series that was released last season. Despite the fact that the series ends on one of those 'life goes on' note, I feel that the series fulfilled most of my expectation and did not disappoint me unlike Fate/stay night. To me, the main attraction of the series are its characters, who despite representing several stereotypes, still manage to be interesting and unique. It's rare that I actually like all of the ensemble characters even down to supporting types like Taniguchi and Kunikuda. The storyline, while not exactly a heavy hitter, is entertaining in its own right. I am going to miss this series and I hope it'll get a second season in the near future. Kudos to Kyoto Animation for creating such an interesting series.
Cover of DVD 1
Euro Mix version of God Knows
Photos of Nishinomiya Kita City (thanks to Jun for pointing this one out)
While the first 2 episodes of this arc has been rather slow, I think the last 3 episodes have been rather good. The over the top elements of the series such as the girls' facial expression have been toned down and the series now focuses more on the mystery that surrounds the character and the village of Hinamizawa. I can't help but thinking a lot about some of the mysteries presented in these episodes. It's actually nice to be able to do this
Tommy heavenly6's new PV features Dango, flying cow, ditzy Samurai, and phantom Ninja - although not necessarily in that order. This song is actually the opening theme for Gintama so I suppose those elements work very well to promote the series, which is quite wacky on its own. The PV is also equally hilarious in that Tommy kind of way. It begins with a flying carriage lead by flying cow landing roughly into the ground. Tommy, who assumes the role of the Samurai, falls over from the carriage because she tries to jump while the carriage is still moving. It's one of those embarassing moments that you hope won't happen to you while you try to impress someone. The Samurai then goes to a town filled with phantom Ninja and Evil Samurai and dispatches them one by one. With the power of supreme Dango, of course the Samurai wins!! Anyway, if you want the PV, Tokyo Toshokan has the big version. And if you just want a peek of it, try this:
Tommy heavenly6 - Pray (YouTube Video)
