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ローゼンメイデン 
November 30, 2006 | 
40 Comments
This episode is quite depressing and it's not even the conclusion for Makoto as I originally thought. It looks like the writers really are going in for the kill and try to squeeze as much tears from the viewers as possible. To make things worse, I happen to be one of those people who really like animals so this episode was a bit hard to watch. I'm not even excited to know that my guess about what actually happened to Makoto when she was a fox turns out to be correct. I keep thinking if there was not other ways so that chibi Yuuichi didn't have to do what he ended up doing. I know a couple of friends who live overseas and took care animals and when they have to go back to their country, they either choose to take the animal with them or ask someone to take care the animal. But then again, they are adults who know what to do and have the power to do whatever they want. I'm not sure the situatioin was the same for Yuuichi 10 years ago.
November 29, 2006 | 41 Comments
Before I start, I wonder if anyone knows if the painting included in this episode actually exists in reality? If it does, what is the name of the painting? I suppose the author could have drawn it in such a way so that it looks like a Renaissance piece of art but for some reason it reminds me of a famous painting which I've seen before but I can't recall the name anymore. The reason I'm asking is because I'm interested in the quasi-religious references scattered within the series and wonder if the author had inserted them so that later on the readers/viewers can look for background information on them. For example, I've mentioned before that the series compares Light to the infamous fallen Angel Lucifer by showing Light posing in front of what looks like a painting of an angel in the OP. And of course there is the symbolism of Apple as the forbidden fruit, one which Ryuk craves and can't live without.
November 28, 2006 | 19 Comments
This is pretty much a variation of Groundhog Day albeit a rather creepy one. I think I remember a similar story told in The Twilight Zone but I can't recall the precise story. I always find time-related plot to be interesting though. It's probably because in the majority of these stories, it's suggested that time is malleable. One can turn back to a past, goes to a future, repeating the same events over and over again until the right variable comes up. Anyway, the animation in this episode is pretty good although the character design looks a bit inconsistent. Both Allen and Lenalle are drawn quite badly at times. As a side note, due to my schedule I'll have to resort to using brief summary until I can find the time to re-write this one.
November 28, 2006 | 7 Comments
This kind of episode is one of the few reasons as to why I like anime so much. Although this series appears episodic at a glance, the amount of character development and story included in here is phenomenal. It's the kind of story which makes me wish that I'm a writer who can write something equally as good. This is no small task since it requires the viewer to sympathise with a character of the week as opposed to a regular character that the viewers are familiar with. However, this episode manages this feat easily. In short amount of time, the story convinced me that the two brothers in this story really do care about each other. This is why I believe that a good story can usually be determined by the story's ability to move the viewer's heart and convince him/her that a fictional character's emotion is actually real.
November 27, 2006 | 31 Comments
After reading the manga and watching this episode, I finally realise that the S Orchestra is pretty much just the first stage in Chiaki's story. I'm a bit disappointed about this since I've gotten attached to the S Orchestra. I feel that as Chiaki steps up into the world stage, his Orchestra's members get less and less interesting personality-wise. Thankfully the live action series is still at the stage where the majority of the Orchestra members still have personality. It also helps that some of the original cast members are still around. Speaking of new characters, it looks like the majority of the cast members for this drama has been pulled either from Swing Girls (Ueno Juri, Takenata Naoto) or Water Boys/Water Boys Summer 2005 films (Tamaki Hiroshi, Eita, Koide Keisuke, Fukushi Seiji).
November 26, 2006 | 20 Comments
It just occurs to me that I really like the precursor music which starts to play everytime someone is about to pull the string. In this episode, the song even gives Ai's speech a lot of weight and made me realise that Ai always reminds the person whom she gave the doll to pull the string only if they really want to clear their grudge. While she doesn't say that there is an alternative to it, by using really in her sentence, she indirectly implies that the person can actually forget about the grudge and move on with his/her life. By pulling the string, the character will make a tight-clad contract with Enma Ai. Because of this, it's not a decision which should be made lightly. However, because Ai's words often come across like a fine print, the characters often ignore it and doesn't really consider the implications thoroughly before pulling the string. This is probably one of the few episodes where a character actually thinks about it thoroughly.
November 24, 2006 | 24 Comments
This is unbelievably good. I always knew that there is something special about this series but the writers took one step further and made an episode that is near, if not as good as one of those Honey and Clover episodes. The segment featuring Karada's childhood is absolutely beautiful. The combination of Suara singing Kasa and the well-written storyline took me by surprise. I find it hard to believe that there are only 4 more episodes. But I suppose it's better to end it while it's still good than to go on and on without any kind of direction. As a side note, the insert song I mentioned earlier actually comes from Suara's new single, Hikari no Kisetsu, which is also this series' OP theme. The song itself is fantastic on its own. If you can find the time, however, I'd recommend watching this entire episode because the combination of the song and the imagery creates one powerful story.
Suara - Kasa (320kbps MP3, 9.81MB)
November 24, 2006 | 25 Comments
This turns out to be an interesting episode which reveals that different factions have their own reasons and ways of approaching the current situation. Some are radical, others are totalitarian, while Zero seems to choose a wait and see approach and treats situations on a case by case basis. So far, however, his motivation seems kind of noble and actually lessened the gravity of Clovis' murder. After all, whether you like it or not, there would be some casualties in war. In Zero's case, however, he chose Clovis for a rather noble reason. It's remains to be seen if Zero will be able to keep up his good intention without turning into dictactor like Light from Death Note. So far, however, the writers of Code Geass seems to tackle Zero's ascend to power in a different manner. It's unfortunate, however, that the animation is not up to par this time around. It's quite noticeable that there are many reused frames featured in this episode.
November 24, 2006 | 29 Comments
I'm sorry if things are a bit late in the next few weeks because I'll be busy preparing an application for a scholarship at a graduate school. Although my chance is small, it'll be awesome if I can get this but that means I have to spend a good time writing the application. Anyway, this is a good episode which finally reveals everything there is to know about Makoto. I'm glad that my guess turned out to be correct but I'm not looking forward to next week's episode. Makoto has been my favourite character thus far so I can't believe that it'll end this way. Animation-wise, the episode is a bit middle of the road this time around. Kyoto Animation clearly tried to preserve their budget and decided to use their usual static stills and long shots technique in this episode. Thankfully there are equal amount of eye candy scattered around the episode to make sure that the episode doesn't look like it is composed entirely of static stills and long shots.
November 22, 2006 | 9 Comments
FictionJunction YUUKA - Kouya Ruten (YouTube video)
Kouya Ruten is the OP Theme for Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Iroha ni Hoheto. The song is performed by FictionJunction YUUKA, a group which was formed to feature collaboration work between Kajiura Yuki and Nanri Yuuka. One of the unique features of this particular song is its combination of traditional Japanese instruments and contemporary beat/tempo. The PV itself is equally good and features slightly abstract imageries of Nanri Yuuka in various traditional settings. Unfortunately I haven't seen the actual series apart from the OP theme so I have no idea if the song's lyric describes the story in the series or not. Anyway, if you're looking for the PV, Tokyo Tosho should have it by now.
November 22, 2006 | 47 Comments
Sorry for the late entry but I've had a busy day today and it's impossible to write anything during daytime. Anyway, the first question that I have when I saw this is whether the green tea ice cream part was Madhouse's attempt to advertise product on their series. If it is, they did a good job because I now have sudden cravings for green tea ice cream. :( This episode also turns out to be a lot more amusing than I expected it to be. Unfortunately the character design continues last week's lousy streak especially when the scene in question is a long shot one instead of a close-up. As a side note, Ryuk's appearance in this episode is quite amusing. I'm really tempted to pre-order the R2 DVD now since the first press version will come with Ryuk figurine. The thing is, figurine that comes with DVD or manga usually tend to be rather low in quality. So far I haven't seen a perfect figurine of Ryuk though.
November 21, 2006 | 19 Comments
This is probably the best episode from all of the ones that have been released thus far. It's basically a half hour full of comedy except towards the end when the mood shifts to serious. I am starting to wonder now if all of the dark scenes at the start of the series were merely a cost-saving measure to do this episode. There are certainly a lot of details poured into what looks like a one-off plot. The interesting part about it is the ending, which makes me wonder about a particular character that Allen knew in his past. I haven't actually read the manga up to that point so I wonder if that character and the new one that just appeared in this episode are actually related, or even the same person. At any rate, it looks like the series is about to shift into high gear now that all the major enemies for the Exorcists finally appear on the show.
November 21, 2006 | 37 Comments
I didn't enjoy this episode as much as last week mostly because I was unprepared for the plot development that happened in this episode. I thought the series will actually shows the characters in college setting a little bit longer but as it turns out, they're all pretty close to graduating. Oh well, it can't be helped. I just hope it won't affect most of the main cast since I like their interaction with one another. Nodame driving Chiaki insane is nice but she's all too often overpowered by his sadistic chops and strangulation. It's when she combined forces with Ryuutarou and Masumi that Chiaki actually starts feeling overwhelm and that usually leads to some fun-tastic facial expression from every single actors involved in the scene. Actually, I'm wondering if Nodame, Ryuutarou, and Masumi have similar effect on other 'normal' people like Kiyori. I'd love to see her reaction to their behaviour when they stayed at Chiaki's house back in episode 4.
November 20, 2006 | 7 Comments
The design quality takes a rather big hit this time around. Some of the character designs look horribly unproportional. Take a look at this scene, for example. I've never seen a character's head looking so inflated before. It's like someone has stuck a huge balloon on top of a body. The strange thing is that the drawing is actually neat and tidy so it's obviously not a mistake because the animator was in a hurry. The story is also a bit uninspiring this time around with more focus on action and less on character development. It actually doesn't matter much when I was watching it but I find it hard to talk about when I have to provide some kind of impression about the episode. I really can't wait until Shishio Gen, the guy that you see fighting in the OP theme, joins the team. I think that's when the story starts to take off in a big way.
November 19, 2006 | 16 Comments
This is basically similar to the story from episode 2 only this time around, one of the family members is the one that creates the problem. The thing is, I don't see this as a grudge worth sending yourself to Hell. However, if that had happened then there wouldn't be any tragic storyline to be told here. It's just that for once I'd like to see a client who uses his/her logic and chooses other option instead. As for the side story, I wonder what is Kikuri's real purpose in the story apart from being an annoying pain in Ai's life. I was hoping that there'll be more to her but seven episodes later, she's still acting like a brat with no power of her own. Speaking of Kikuri, the opening theme has now been modified slightly so that Kikuri's face is visible.
November 18, 2006 | 26 Comments
Introduction + Nodame Team 01 (26.2MB, AVI format)
Nodame Team 02 (37.4MB, AVI format)
Nodame Team 03 (52.7MB, AVI format)
Nodame Team 04 (49.3MB, AVI format)
This is a light entertainment mostly for Nodame Cantabile fans but those who are interested in Japanese game/variety show might be interested to see it as well. 「笑っていいとも!」- Waratte Iitomo! is basically a variety/game show featuring stars from various TV shows competing in a typical variety show games. The show is hosted by Kazuyoshi Morita, and this time around his co-host is Nakai Masahiro, the eldest member of SMAP. This is basically an Autumn Special episode aired on the 6th of October this year, so it's slightly late but I find it amusing so I decide to feature it here. The contestants are picked from variety different TV series and teamed based on the TV series that they are participating in. There are a total of 5 teams: Nodame Cantabile team, Yakusha Damashii team, Boku no Aruku Michi team, Dr.Koto - Shinryoujo 2006 team, and Waratte Iitomo! team (which just consists of several comedians).
November 17, 2006 | 10 Comments
This is another pleasant episode for the series. As usual, however, I can't exactly pinpoint what is it about the series that I like. Maybe it's because the laidback setting reminds me of the town where I used to live for 3 months while I was in Japan. Or maybe it's just the general simplicity of the series and the nice background music that comes with it. Judging from the way the story unfolds, however, it seems this may change very soon. The ending of this episode suggests that the writers are planning to progress the plot now that the series is halfway to its completion. I'm looking forward to what they have in mind and can't wait to see the background drawings that the animators will come up with for the new setting. It'll also be interesting to see the characters dealing with new environments. Hopefully it'll be as good as it is now.
November 17, 2006 | 37 Comments
This is another enjoyable episode for the series and I think it's largely due to Makoto. Of all the girls that have appeared thus far, I think she's actually my favourite. I am glad that she seems to get more focus and time than the rest of the girls lately. Come to think of it, the amount of screen time that a girl gets does not necessarily correspond with the quality of story that she gets. For example, Nayuki appears a lot in almost every episode but she barely gets interesting storyline while Mai doesn't get that much screen time but seems to have some interesting storyline. The only exceptions to this are Ayu and Makoto who get good amount of screentime and interesting storyline.
November 16, 2006 | 33 Comments
This is another action-filled episode for the series only this time around, Lelouch gets to be the loser. It's hard not to feel sorry for him though, as it appears that his entire family (minus Euphemia, probably) are a bunch of cold-hearted bastards. There is also another interesting revelation from C.C and I think this will end up becoming the focus of the series once Lelouch has his way with Britannia. Animation-wise, the episode is still quite good despite 7 episodes into the count. Some character designs are a bit off but that's to be expected around this time. Sorry for the delay. Nightmare host decided to die on me as they do....almost every single day.
November 16, 2006 | 38 Comments
Other scans: Box Side | Figurines | Book | Poster 1 | Poster 2
I promised to scan this before but I keep forgetting to do it. Anyway, the box actually comes inside a slightly larger box to protect it. When you open the container box, you'll find a piece of cardboard containing the diorama and the actual manga box itself. The box is really beautiful and sturdy although unfortunately it features similar front and back illustrations. On its sides, there are notes such as "All humans will, without exception, eventually die" and "After they die, the place they go is MU (nothingness)". Nice. When you open the box, you'll find a copy of Death Note: How to Read and 5 figurines: Kira, L, Misa, Near, and Mello. The figurines look creepy but they are faithful representation of Near's little figurines. The quality is not shabby either. Inside the Death Note: How to Read book, you'll find L's identity card, which I forgot to scan, and a poster advertising the anime series and the 2nd live action movie's prologue DVD.
November 15, 2006 | 39 Comments
The character design takes a slight nosedive in this episode. I'm a bit annoyed because there are many animation house which lower the quality of their outputs in the past 2 weeks. It must be budget crunching time for them. To Madhouse's credit, however, they cleverly limit the bad frames to long shots only. Whenever the characters are up close, the details are still as good as usual. The conclusion to this story is a bit disappointing though. I personally prefer the way Light handles Naomi in the live action film. I just think it's a lot more interesting. Arguably, it's a bit hard to do since there is one character in the live action that does not exist in the manga or anime version. In addition to this, the event in live-action basically speeds up Light and L's eventual meeting. The animators probably don't want this to happen too early in the story.
November 14, 2006 | 33 Comments
What a good episode this one turns out to be. Not only it delivers in the drama part of the story, it also boost the action thanks to Lenalee's involvement in the story. Her anti-Akuma weapon activation for some reason reminds me of Yuna's transformation in Final Fantasy X-2. Speaking of something that is similar, I've mentioned this before but I really like that background song that is played at the end of the episode when Allen is talking to Jean's father. The song was played back in episode 1 but it's not until this episode that we get to hear the entire composition. Those who have seen a TV series called Buffy the Vampire Slayer will probably feel that the refrain part of this song is similar to a Buffy/Angel theme composed by Christophe Beck called Close My Eyes. I wonder if this is just a coincidence or if the composer of D.Gray-man tried to emulate Close My Eyes when coming up with this song.
November 14, 2006 | 20 Comments
S Orchestra - Beethoven Symphony No.7 (19.8MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
When I first started watching this series, I just wanted an alternative to all of the anime series that I watch. I never expected the series to be this good. Watching the characters interact with each other is a pure joy. Props should go to the actors and their facial expressions. I never thought that anime character's twitch can actually be replicated in a live action version. Speaking of anime, this episode actually features the anime within live action called Pururin Gorota. On a glance it looks like a Doraemon kind of story. I wonder if the upcoming anime series, which will aired in January, will include more Pururin Gorota scenes. As a side note, I have scanned the rest of the pages from The Television magazine for those who are interested. I've placed them in the same entry where I talked about Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi.
November 13, 2006 | 9 Comments
The quality of the character design has gone down a notch in this episode, which is a bit disappointing. There are times when Yoshimori actually looks like an entirely different character. In general, however, I still enjoy the episode quite a lot mostly because it reminds me a little bit of Yakitate!! Japan. I'm also starting to like the ED song even though the singer's unusual voice took a bit time to get used to. The best thing about the series, however, is the delightful voice that each VA brings to the character that he/she plays. I'm especially amused with Hakubi's VA because there is a sarcastic tone in every line that he delivers to Yoshimori. The fact that his character is a dog makes the whole thing even more hilarious. The way he says "Yoshi" never fails to make me smile because the tone is so delightfully condascending.
November 12, 2006 | 15 Comments
I can't seem to concentrate long enough to write anything today. It's hard not to read all of the good news about PS3. It's a pleasant surprise since I thought people will end up having problem with the first batch of PS3. Anyway, enough reading for now and time for some recap. At the core, this episode is about how people often don't make enough effort to help themselves and others. I think the writers want to suggest that things are not going to get better on its own unless a person takes an initiative to solve his/her own problem. I am not sure if sending someone through Jigoku Shoujo can be called an initiative though since this action requires a third party to get involved in your problem. Having said that, this episode shows that sometimes it may not be such a bad idea for the characters to use the service.
November 11, 2006 | 35 Comments
Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru - Trailer (11.8MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
I mentioned in an entry below that Miyazaki Aoi decided not to reprise her role as Hachi in NANA 2 movie. Out of interest, I decided to find out which film she ends up starring in instead. Much to my surprise, the film is Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru. I've been keeping track of this film's progress for a while because it's an adaptation of Ichikawa Takuji's novel, Renai Shashin: Mou Hitotsu no Monogatari. Lately, however, I've forgotten about it and it's not until today I found out that it's been released in Japan on the 28th of October this year. Ichikawa Takuji's previous movie adaptation, Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu, was one of the best films I've had the pleasure to see so I hope that this one will be as good as that one. Anyway, this film stars Tamaki Hiroshi (Nodame Cantabile) and Miyazaki Aoi (NANA). The main theme is performed by Otsuka Ai and titled Renai Shashin. I've included the trailer as well since the one on the official site is a pain to stream.
Source: Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru (Heavenly Forest) - Official Site
November 11, 2006 | 8 Comments
I recently purchased the manga for this series and realise how different the two versions of the series have been thus far. The basic premise remains the same but the execution and the way the story unfolds is quite different in the manga. This episode is a good example of this. In both the manga and this episode, Tetsumasa ends up meeting adult Karada. However, whether or not he'll find out that this adult version of Karada is actually the Karada he's been looking for ends up being quite different. One thing that surprised me is the fact that the manga is actually quite good too and does not contain any trace of fanservice. It treats the transformation case seriously and I think that's why the anime follows suit. Another thing that surprised me is the revelation towards the end of the second volume. After reading this, I feel much better because I don't think what I was dreading is going to happen in the anime.
November 10, 2006 | 33 Comments
Hmm, nothing much happens in this episode but we have some harmless fun thanks to a cat that Euphemia found one episode ago. This episode also shows that the series actually contains quite a lot of characters. Having said that, it remains to be seen if all of them will be utilised effectively. I also notice that Lelouch is a lot less manipulative and more silly in this episode. It's kind of amusing and bizarre at the same time because it's a bit hard to believe that this is the same guy who killed Clovis and effectively framed Jeremiah in front of the public. As as side note, the producer also ramps up the Pizza Hut in-show promo by blatantly showing C.C eating said Pizza. I personally don't really mind this if it means the producer gets more budget to produce better anime. I do wonder what you guys think about this though.
November 10, 2006 | 27 Comments
I'm sorry for the late entry but this week has been a bit hard for me since I have to catch up not only with this blog, but also with work. Having said that, I'll try my best to ensure that I don't get left behind too far from the current schedule. I think by next week I should have most series on schedule. Anyway, it's kind of nice to see this after a hard day at work. Having said that, I am starting to wonder if this really is going to be 24 episodes series. It seems the majority of the plot starts to fall into place. Even Ayu's narration is starting to become really clear. Animation-wise, this episode is still as good as the previous five, which is a testament to Kyoto Animation's ability to divide their series' budget evenly for each episode. Although since Kanon doesn't have many action scenes like Suzumiya Haruhi, I guess it's not that difficult to keep the budget down.
November 9, 2006 | 46 Comments
REIRA starring YUNA ITO - TRUTH (43MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
NANA the MOVIE 2 teaser (YouTube video)
This is basically the main theme for the second NANA MOVIE starring Nakashima Mika and Ichikawa Yui. I am a bit disappointed to know that Miyazaki Aoi doesn't reprise her role as Hachi in the second film since I thought she's perfect as the character. As it turns out, many other actors from the original film won't reprise their role. Nobuo Kyo has taken over the role of Ren from Matsuda Ryuhei. Matsuyama Kenichi who plays Shin in the first film (and L from Death Note movie) has been replaced by Kanata Hongo. Anyway, this is a beautiful looking PV that was shot in Scotland and features the actors who will play the TRAPNEST members in the second film. The song itself is nice but it's not as good or sad as Endless Story, which I think is one of the best songs I've ever heard. As a side note, I haven't had the chance to go through the lyrics with great care since I'm strapped for time so any correction is welcome as usual.
November 9, 2006 | 18 Comments
I just read the spoiler for the 2nd live action movie at Animesuki and found out that it comes with an original ending that is different from the manga. I think those who are disappointed in the manga's ending will find this particular ending to be more palatable. I personally think it's an interesting ending but I never really mind the manga's ending so either way it works for me. The question is, which version of the ending would the anime follow? Since it's been sticking to the manga very closely, I assume that it'll follow the manga's ending. As a side note, I just noticed for the very first time that the OP features Light posing in front of what looks like a painting of an Angel. When you look closer, however, it's actually a portrait of a specific Angel: Lucifer. I thought it's a rather fitting imagery considering how deep Light has fallen from the grace.
