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ファイト／ステイナイト 
I think by now everyone must be aware that After Story will be animated as well. I hope this will tie up many of the lose ends that weren't covered in this arc. Judging from the preview, it looks rather angsty than comedic in comparison to this one. As a side note, I never realised how good-looking today's digital animation really are. Most of the time, I watch anime using my crappy CRT monitor or my old HP laptop. Recently, however, I acquired a brand-new MacBook Pro. The difference is unbelievable. The colors are vivid and even better than I thought possible. Unfortunately, this also means that some DVDs which have awful source or been badly compressed are more noticeable than ever. But still, I'm kind of excited to see how other titles would look like on this laptop.
Ruliweb has just released two teasers to PS3 upcoming promo art. I think these look fantastic. It would be better if the first one is actually some kind of level in the game but either way, I'm just amazed at the details included in both of these ads. It really makes me want to resume that 3D course that I stopped a long time ago. Anyway, there's no info whether this is just a general ads for PS3 or if it's to promote a specific title. The first one actually reminds me of a level from God of War while the second one reminds me of Resistance but I don't think the promo were designed with those two games in mind. At the moment, the only piece of information included are the names of the creators. Hats off to you guys!
Advertising Agency: BBDO Chile
Executive Creative Director: Joaquin Bascunan
Creative Directors: Cristian Schinadeerman, Emerson Navarrete
Art Director: Emerson Navarrete
Copywriter: Cristian Schinadeerman
Illustrator: Ricardo Salamanca
Photographer: Lautaro
Head of Art: Fernando Riveros
I hate to say this but I'm afraid I find this series to be rather disappointing. When I heard all the hype about Kanon, I was afraid that the actual series wouldn't live up to the expectation but that wasn't the case. Kanon really deserved its reputation. That series managed to move me with some of its storylines. Even smaller things like two characters talking about one character's painful past over Kanon D-dur still sticks on my mind. In comparison, nothing in this series has the same effect. In general, I understand that the writers want to focus on the theme of family and happiness. However, everything seems so vanilla and the characters don't really change much over the course of the series. It's a nice-looking series and it has some good comedic moments but there's nothing in the series that really makes me want to see it again.
As I thought, the extra episode is just some kind of filler that happened between episode 14 and episode 15. It's like a flashback to the time when everyone was still together, similar to Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, I guess. This means that if you're looking for an answer to the questions that episode 25 left behind, you wouldn't find it here. Anyway, while this is not exactly a fantastic episode, it's quite funny and worth a watch if you're not busy. After seeing this, however, I get the feeling that we'll probably never see second season. After all, out of the 4 main characters, only 2 are still alive at the moment. I don't think I'd like to watch the show without Mao. And I don't even know what direction could a second season take after the ending? Humans vs. Contractors war could be an option but that kind of story doesn't lend itself to a one-off episodic plots that this series thrives on. Having said that, if there is a second season, I hope the writers will deal with some of the plot holes that the first season finale left.
Unbelievable. This show was premiered back in April 2004 but it's not until now that I finally finished watching it. In the best possible scenario, I'd love to be able to finish this earlier but unfortunately there's always something else to do. I do love the story but it's really hard to find the motivation to watch it somehow. I know it's not a good excuse but that's the reality. Anyway, "unbelievable" is also applicable to the last 4 episodes of this series. It's hard to describe the different amount of emotions that I felt while watching them. All in all, it's a fantastic ending for a solid series. It's been a while since I last saw a series with satisfying ending like this one. I really makes me think that 2004-2006 were the years where many awesome series were produced. Ever since then though, I haven't seen a series which is as good or ends as well as this one and many others back then.
If what other people have said about the 'after' series is true, then maybe this series really need a continuation. I just feel that at this point Nagisa has not received an interesting character development. For that matter, neither has Tomoya. Or am I expecting too much character development out of the series? I just think that as lead characters, their stories are not as interesting as I thought it'd be. At least in Kanon, there's a real stake (death) at play. However, here we are at the penultimate episode and there seems to be a lack of conflict. Sure, if Nagisa can't pull herself together, the play will be a mess. But it's not really a big deal. It's not like Nagisa is going to die or lose her home if she can't do it right this time around. And how about Tomoya's issue with his father? Would the writers be able to cram the solution on next week's episode as well? Or would that have to wait until the second series?
First thing first, this song is not the theme song for Sunadokei (Sand Chronicles) TV series which was aired on TBS back in 2007. This is the main theme for the movie version of the series, which stars Matsushita Nao and Isaka Shunya. Interestingly enough, the actor who plays adult version of Daigo in the TV series was Takezai Terunosuke, who co-starred with Matsushita Nao in Mirai Yousozu movie. As for the original series, Sunadokei started out as a shoujo manga serialised in Betsucomi and is now licensed by VIZ for Shoujo Beat. The story is about a girl called Ann who moves to a small town with her mother. She quickly becomes friends with a boy called Daigo, who helps her going through tough time when her mother suddenly commits suicide. It seems there are lots of interest for this series in Japan because two live-action adaptation have been produced for it. It makes me wonder if an anime version will come soon. Anyway, the song itself is fantastic even though it's a bit depressing. I've always loved Ikimonogakari and this song is not an exception. The PV itself is a mixture of Kiyoe singing while surrounded by candles and snippets of the live-action movie (the YouTube version doesn't have these though). If you're interested in the film itself, check out the trailer below.
Ikimonogakari - Kaerikunatta yo (40.4MB, for PSP/Quicktime) | YouTube version (doesn't have snippets of the film)
Sunadokei movie - Theatrical Trailer (YouTube)
Ryu ga Gotoku aka Yakuza was an action/adventure game released by Sega for the PS2. This sequel, Ryu ga Gotoku: Kenzan! is not a continuation of the first and second game but rather, a story set in the Edo period with Miyamoto Musashi as its main character. There are several things that make this iteration looks impressive. The first is the amount of talents who lend their voice to the characters. These include: Tsukamoto Takeshi (Battle Royale), Takenaka Naoto (Nodame Cantabile), Katou Masaya (Mirai Yosouzu), Terajima Susumu (Casshern), Matsuda Shouta (Hana Yori Dango), and two famous anime VA, Hisakawa Aya (Fruits Basket) and Kuroda Takaya (Bleach). In an attempt to emphasize these talents, the facial structure of the characters have also been tailored to mimic the VA's face. The only exception to this is the face of Kiryuu Kazumanosuke/Miyamoto Musashi, which doesn't seem to have been molded from the face of his VA. While this is not a faithful re-telling of Miyamoto Musashi's history, I can't help but being interested in the game. I just think the game's atmosphere looks fantastic and faithful to the Edo period.
OP Theme: ZEEBRA -「ＢＵＳＨＩＤＯ」 (YouTube video)
ED Theme: ケツメイシ -「ライフ イズ ビューティフル」 (YouTube video)
I'm sorry for the lack of update in the past few weeks. I've been really busy with work and haven't had the chance to do anything else except playing games during my short free time. It doesn't help that I've pretty much given up on Honey and Clover live action. I tried to watch episode 6 the other day and I just felt sad because the episode bored me to death. I can go back and watch the anime over and over again and I'll never get bored. So for the drama to be boring, that's an achievement on its own. As for this series, I don't think it's as funny as it used to be. I kind of miss the slapstick comedy that Sunohara, Tomoyo, and Ryou used to bring. Having said that, I appreciate the introduction of the mystery and hope that it'll be the main focus until the end of the series. Anyway, with only 6 more episodes to go, I hope the writers will be able to incorporate all of the important sub-plots and end this neatly.
