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ローゼンメイデン 
This episode marks the beginning of complication for Night/Riiko's relationship, a part where viewers normally root for the couple. However, problem appears when there isn't much of chemistry between the two characters. In the past two episodes, the non-chemistry between the two works well because Riiko is not supposed to like Night just yet. However, in order for a romantic complication to work, the viewers must root for the couple to get together. Unfortunately, there is little chemistry between them and this affects the storyline. One of the reasons for the lack of chemistry is because the actors who plays Night and Soushi look a bit too young to be romantic interests for Riiko. I don't mind that the writers changed the setting from high school to cake business. But while they have done a good casting job Riiko (in relation to the changed setting), they didn't do a good job casting Riiko's potential suitors. The actors who portray Night and Soushi are okay as individual characters, but they don't spark chemistry with Riiko.
It looks like the animators finally decided to include some erotic scenes in the anime. It's been rather weird how the anime ends up being mostly comedic while the manga has such a dark and seductive tone to it. Even last week's blood sucking scene felt rather tame and rushed in comparison to the manga. This episode, however, does a good job in shooting the scenes in such a way that they appear erotic even though none of the characters actually bare much flesh (apart from their neck). The scene where Yuuki was pinned down by Zero is a good example of this. The shot of Zero's hand lingering down her neck is the kind of shot that usually never make it into an anime. Most anime usually are okay with a shot of an almost naked girl or something rather blatant like a girl straddling a guy. But it's quite rare to see one with subtle eroticism like the one shown in Vampire Knight manga.
With an episode like this one, I often wonder what's the main story of this series. Does the series try to say that Hikari's obsession to defeat Kei is admirable? Or does it actually say, forget trying to defeat your childhood friend. Instead, you should hook up with him/her. If I remember correctly, Ouran Host Club also started the same way with Haruhi basically joining the club so she can pay the vase that she dropped. However, along the way we learned a bit more about each members of the club. Unfortunately there's no such thing in this series so far. It doesn't help that this episode is not funny at all. On a more positive side, I'm starting to like the ending. Between the OP and the ED, the later is a lot easier to listen to.
The animation for this episode continues to be unbelievably good that it feels like BONES somehow obtains non-stop funding from Square Enix. The only issue that I have with this episode is the removal of a brief comedic scene from the episode. I was thinking that maybe it'll be screened on next week's episode but I am a bit doubtful now since the story has moved beyond that scene. I think this is unfortunate because the scene in question, while slightly juvenile, is actually quite funny. If I have to guess, the scene got cut out because it involves panty-flashing and may not be deemed appropriate for the time slot for this normal broadcast. It'll be interesting to see if the scene will be included in the late night broadcast because so far that other version has no added value whatsoever in comparison to the normal broadcast.
Well, now we know that Rollo's power doesn't actually freeze time but it does stop the physical movement time of a person that is enveloped within his geass sphere. To make it easier, I'll just say that his power basically stops a person from moving but not anything else in the world. Anyway, what impressed me is the turn of event that takes place in this story. I kind of suspect that Lelouch needs some kind of miracle in order to win the duel with Guilford. True enough, he manages to create one by diverting Rollo's loyalty to him. With Rollo as his ally, Lelouch can be a lot more powerful than he is at the moment. I do think this will blow up in Lelouch's face one day but Sunrise thrives on that kind of drama so I'll just sit and watch the train wreck from here on forward. While this is fun and all, I am still dying for the story to move on a lot quicker than it is now. As a side note, next week should be particularly juicy because everyone's favorite character, Suzaku, is back to the school. I can't wait to see the amount of venom unleashed on him next week.
This episode seems to be a lot more obvious about where it wants to go in terms of ending. There are a lot of narrations and dialogue which were designed to reveal the past as well as the final fate of each main characters. While I suspect it'll be dark through and through, I am mostly impressed with the characterizations that each actor has given to their character. As expected, Ruka and Michiru's stories continue to unravel in this episode but what surprised me is the development that they've given to Takeru. I have a theory about his past but I'm not sure if it's correct or not. At this point, I'm not sure if Eri will receive a specific character development but for now her character is mostly associated with Tomohiko. Either way, I hope the show can remain interesting for the remainder 8 episodes. Things move at a really fast pace now that I can't help but wonder if the writers still have a lot to tell. It looks like the story could easily be resolved in 6 or 7 episodes (instead of 11).
I thought the animation quality will take a nosedive here but thankfully that's not the case. I like that the animators tried to express the characters' emotion through different animation styles. It gives the otherwise boring and noodle-thin character design some variations. The music is pretty good as well. I don't usually pay much attention to the music used in this series apart from the OP and ED but I like the carnival-like BGM that was used during the introduction of the Yumekai. I also appreciate some of the cross-reference scenes included in the episode. For example, the shot of Himawari/Watanuki is done in an upside-down manner, similar to how CLAMP normally draws their X characters when they want to show characters with two conflicting interest. I don't think that's the case in here though. It's most likely just a symbolism for Himawari's incompatibility with Watanuki. If you're a manga reader, you'll also spot Young Jump reference here. In fact, the magazine is displayed so prominently that it's a bit annoying at times.
Everytime I watch this series for some reason I am always reminded of my Macbook Pro. I don't think I have an attachment towards a machine until I bought this particular laptop. Because of this, I wonder what would happen if one day computers do come encased in more interesting 'cases'. While I have no desire to have one that looks like a human (it'd be too hard to carry around overseas), I'd certainly would love to have one that looks like a dog or a hamster (anything small, really). Having said that, I wonder if that'd just complicate things. By giving a computer the appearance of a dog, it means there'd be a part of me that will also become emotionally attached to it. Since I like dogs, a computer that has the appearance of a dog would mean that I'd be worried that it may feel lonely when I'm not home. This is something that I'd not feel towards my Macbook Pro regardless of its sexiness because I see it as nothing more than a machine. So just for fun, here's a mini questionnaire: do you have an attachment towards your electronic equipment? Would you be even more attached if it has the shape of a living being that you like? What is that living being?
This one is a lot better than the first episode. While the episode does have that after school message feel to it, at least it also comes with a generous amount of comedy. The animation takes a slight nosedive in the form of inconsistent character design. At one point some character's face looks as if it's deformed more than it should be. It's nothing awful that the episode is unwatchable though. And as you can see from the screenshots, the episode still retains that nice color palette that characterizes the first episode. Also, did anyone else get the Wizard of Oz reference? While Ginka is not exactly a scarecrow, Teika and Hyouka sure fulfills the role of the lion and the tin man.
Sorry for the late entry but I have another problem with my server. I'm getting really sick of this but I haven't got the time to research other good service provider. Anyway, this turns out to be quite good. The first half of the episode is actually an original work because the writers don't want to go beyond the 3rd chapter of the manga. Because of this, they create a humorous story where Yuuki and Zero gets to act as student disciplinary members (as opposed to their usual guardian roles). The second half of the episode is altered slightly so that it's more action-oriented and tense. Personally though, I think it could be a bit darker. I love horror film and I think the series can afford to be a bit more morbid. I personally am looking forward to the upcoming arc involving a certain woman. I hope the writers can make it as morbid as possible.
This is probably the most violent of the 3 prologue stories. While the first two episode showed the more playful side of the story, this one is pretty twisted. I certainly didn't expect the change of villain halfway through the episode. In fact, I thought the main villain they'll face in this one is the witch. Animation-wise, this episode is still as good as the first two. I guess having Square-Enix as one of your sponsors does help with the budget. Even mundane scene like Maka and Tsubaki wondering where their boys are look clean and well-designed. By the way, halfway through the episode, I was wondering why Kid sounds familiar to me and then it hit me that he sounds exactly like Light from Death Note. It looks like Miyano Mamoru uses his Light voice to voice Death and that voice is far easier to recognize than whatever voice he decides to use to voice Zero in Vampire Knight.
I'm surprised that this one turns out to be a bit better than the first and second episode. I almost lose interest around episode 2 because the wrestling story was not only boring, it wasn't even funny. I also finally understand why the fans of the manga are complaining about Kei's character design in the anime. In the manga, he looks completely different from this one. It looks like in an attempt to make the design easier to redraw for animators, they ruined Kei's character design. Thankfully he's not the most interesting part about the series. That actually goes to Akira, Tadashi, Ryuu, and the twins. I think Kei is funny when he is given a foil like that stupid student council President. However, on his own or with Hikari, he just comes across like an arrogant brat who wants to get laid by his childhood friend.
Wow, is it just my copy or is this week's copy unusually high-res in quality? What I meant by this is that you can actually see every texture applied to the background and every effect intended to represent flowing capes, etc. I can even see Orange-kun clearly on the OP even though usually I'm not sure who that guy could be. The only exception to this is this frame, which either meant to be intentionally crappy or maybe was taken from the first season and was just redrawn. If you're wondering about the leaked videos, they are still there. I guess they don't see the point of re-drawing them when that's the point that they intend to show. Speaking of Rollo, between him and Suzaku, which one is more annoying? I just find it amusing that the animators (or is it CLAMP?) have created another character who looks almost similar to Suzaku. I suppose in Japan Suzaku is not as disliked as he is in the western anime viewers.
Despite my initial reservation, the second episode entertained me more than I expected so I think I'll stick with this for a while. I do have to try to shorten the summary though since it's a killer on my time. The worst is probably the screenshots, which can take ages to produce but let's see what happens. Anyway, I still find it weird to Ueno Juri, Eita, and Mizukawa Asami playing characters that are so different from their characters in Nodame Cantabile. This is partly why I feel uncomfortable with the series. Everytime I see Takeru looking at Ruka like he's in love with her, I feel like this is all wrong because it feels like I was watching Mine and Nodame behaving in out of character manner. I have to keep reminding myself that Ueno Juri and Eita now play two completely different characters called Ruka and Takeru. On a more positive side, the soundtrack for this series is wonderful. It's not just the OP that sounds good but also the BGM. My favorite is the one that plays when Ruka and Michiru part ways in front of the train station at the start of this episode.
OP Theme: 「超妻賢母宣言」 - Chousai Kenbo Sengen by MOSAIC.WAV - AVI version (38MB) | PSP version (16.8MB)
I guess this is very late but I haven't had the chance to do it until now. The episode itself is okay. The animation is not exactly spectacular but it's not bad either. The character design is pretty nice although it's not as good as the original light novel illustration. It's a good thing that each one of them is unique though because I think that's the selling point of this series. The OP and ED are amusing but they don't have the repeat value that Suzumiya Haruhi OP/ED clearly have. While I get the impression that the animators try to emulate Haruhi's OP with this show's OP, for some reason it just doesn't have the exact same effect. I think it's because the OP is too over-the-top and busy. The ED is an entirely different issue. While the default ED is too obnoxious, the alternative ED (there are 6 alts at the moment), are ranging from pretty good to mediocre. I do think there's a potential for the series but until I see the second episode, it's hard to guess one way or another. Anyway, I'm sorry for the rather unconventional summary this time around but I was a bit bored while writing it and for some reason it ended up being sarcastic even though I don't find the episode to be that bad.
If you have been having problem commenting or searching the site, I'm sorry for the problem. I have been changing the comment and search settings so that it'll weed out spam better. However, I forgot to turn on a few things so it became a bit of a mess for a while. Anyway, on to the actual article, I was pleasantly surprised when Sony suddenly announced that Siren: New Translation is almost complete and ready for release in Japan this July. No one even knew that they were working on a new Siren title and out of the blue, they announced that it's ready for release soon. If you've never heard about Siren, this is basically a survival horror entry from Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. What makes the series special is that it's created and directed by the original director of Silent Hill, Toyama Keiichirou. You can actually see some of the hallmark of his creation including air siren, static noise, and bloody nursers. Siren games, however, are pretty different from other survival-horror games in that it relies heavily on surveillance and sneaking around the enemies instead of direct confrontation. If you try to do the later, rest assured that you'll be dead before reaching your destination. This really does increase the dread factor but it was also the reason I never finished the game.
Sorry for the late review but it's been a rather busy week at work and this is such a dialogue-heavy episode. Overall, however, this is an excellent episode that is marred slightly by the inconsistent animation. I wish the animators can be a bit more consistent with the character animation. They have the tendency to draw Watanuki and otherworld creatures pretty well. However, when it comes to drawing Yuuko, Doumeki or Himawari, they sometimes slack off. This episode is a good example of the inconsistencies I am talking about. When Doumeki talks to Yuuko in front of her house, the long shot of him looks really bad. Jourougumo, however, looks fantastic no matter which angle you see her from. Not that I'm grateful for this because Jorougumo looks great (as long as you don't remember that her hand and legs probably transform into hairy spider legs at night) but I wish the animators would put the same attention when drawing other characters as well. Thankfully any deficiencies in the animation is offset by the fantastic story, which this episode delivers in spades.
Wakeshima Kanon - still doll (22.2MB, for PSP/Quicktime) | YouTube version
This is a rather nice gothic PV that features cello, chains, praying mantis, voyeuristic old man, and of course, a gothic lolita. The girl who sings the song, Wakeshima Kanon, was apparently found by Malice Mazer's member, Mana. As a result, her image in the PV is influenced by their Gothic-Victorian style. In a lot of ways, the PV reminds me of ALI PROJECT and their various Rozen Maiden OP and ED theme. It's also interesting to know that the lyrics have this purposely stunted style to it so that it reflects the song title. Thanks to its creepiness, the song becomes a perfect ED theme for Vampire Knight. The PV itself shows a girl whose legs are chained so she can't go anywhere outside the house. Outside the house, an old man uses a small peephole to take a peek at the girl who now plays cello. Even without the reference to Vampire Knight, the PV does a good job of being creeptastic.
This turns out to be a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The jokes are pretty good, the heroine is cute and funny, and the robotics FX used is not bad either. It's unfortunate that the ED theme is not as good as Last Friends' OP theme because that would be one thing that makes this already good drama outstanding. As it is now, I'm interested to blog this regularly since it looks pretty fun for the time being. The only thing that I don't like is the actor and characterization that they've given to Riiko's 2nd love interest, Soushi. Talk about downgrade. Come to think of it, as far as love interest goes, the heroine really is the unluckiest girl in shoujo manga stories. Her second love interest is a douchebag and her main love interest is a sexbot. Still, this is a pretty good adaptation so far. The setting changes from high school to a cake company is pretty a good deal, IMO, because I get to drool after those delicious cakes they featured in this series.
This video was originally posted by someone on the comment area of episode 02 but since I wasn't sure if it's a good idea to post it or not, I withheld the comment. Well, now that it blew all over the internet, I suppose it's okay to show it. Basically, someone from the production company leaked the last quarter part of episode 3. The scene in question shows Lelouch using Shirley (again) to avoid his spies (which includes Rollo and Villetta). There is also a scene where Li is seen pointing his sword at a Black Knight members. The scene in question suggests Li is not happy at them so it's likely that he knows about what happened to Gaohai. Anyway, because of the leak, there's a rumor that there won't be episode aired next week as the staff scramble to change the scene in question. Updated: episosde 3 will air as usual with no alterations.
This episode takes a slight nosedive in the animation department. There are moments where the face of the characters looks a bit off. I guess that's to be expected since thet anime design is still quite complex that a minor difference can be easily spotted. One thing that this series continues to impress me, however, is the soundtrack. This episode features a gregorian-chant-like soundtrack halfway through the episode and I thought it really fits the mood of the story. Story-wise, things seem to move faster than I thought it will. But this is probably a good thing since they have a lot to cover and at the most, the animators probably only have 24 episodes to go. This, however, makes me wonder as to how they'll end the series. Will they leave it hanging until the manga is completed? Or will they create a 'life goes on' ending like Fruits Basket?
OP Theme: 「Special Days」 by Goto Yuuko - AVI version (32MB) | PSP version (16.9MB)
This three shows in a day is starting to kill me. It's getting really hard to cover all of them at once. Anyway, I'm not as impressed with this episode as I was with the last one. Having said that, it's not completely bad either. To begin with, at least the animation quality is still consistent. That means Kei's character design was fugly last week and still is fugly this week. Everyone else, however, looks quite decent and if you like the double lines that characterizes the character design of Toshokan Sensou, you actually get to see that too here minus the boring military stuff. The opening theme is not that great. I don't understand why Goto Yuuko chooses to employ that voice while singing even though she has her own mature voice to use instead. Story-wise, I am also not happy with the fact that many things in this episode are basically repetition of the first one (ie. character design, story of the week, etc). Although to be fair, Ouran Host Club did the same thing as well week after week. Overall, this episode is not that great but I'm just grateful that the animation stays consistent.
The second episode still boasts very impressive animation. It's really weird to see a shounen series like this getting such a high production value. Just take a look at the fight between Black Star and Mifune. Normally this would be one blurry mess but in this one, you can actually see each detail. Moreover, the whole thing looks stylish. It makes me wonder where the money comes from and how long can BONES keep up the quality of the series as it is now. The anime also makes an effort to connect Black Star/Tsubaki stories with Maka/Soul story from last week's episode by featuring the four characters in one scene. I am rather surprised to see the camaraderie between the four of them because I thought they'd be competing with each other. Instead, each one seems to have a good understanding of the other group even though they are basically competing for the same goal.
ON/OFF - Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi (video-ripped MP3, 2MB)
Even though the song's lyrics suggest a rather scandalous situation between two characters in the series, I really hope that I'm wrong about the two characters that I had in mind. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just ignore what I said up above but if you do and want to discuss it, please use the spoiler tag. The reason I'm doing this (even though the PV is not even out yet) is because I can't get the song out of my head and I can't stop playing the OP on my PSP. Maybe if I do an entry on it, I can get it out of my system. Besides, I wanted to do a full screencaps of the OP and I couldn't really do that in the episodic entry. While I haven't seen every single OP title out there, I think Vampire Knight's OP title is one of the best that I've seen so far. Granted, it's not fully animated but I don't think a good OP title needs to be fully animated to be effective and attractive. Sometimes the lack of detailed motions can be more exciting than fully-animated ones because what one's brain can imagine is a lot more stronger than what can be shown on-screen.
Heh. Now, this is more like it. It's Geass at its over-the-top self. I think this is far better than when the show tries to go all philosophical or political like in the first episode. I also appreciate that the show attempts to explain the missing gap between episode 25 and the first episode of the new season right away. It'd have been a big mistake if they postpone it until later. We also get confirmation about the status of the Emperor as Geass user and what actually happened to some of the people who went missing after episode 25. Overall, this is a rather good follow-up to the first episode. And now that the Emperor is revealed as a Geass user, it's easy to see how everything connects to C.C and Marianne herself. Before I forget, I must say that while I was ready to pounce on Suzaku and call him a traitor, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here. Maybe he does have a plan to infiltrate the Britannia Kingdom. However, if he does have that plan, he better starts it soon because at the moment, I don't think he looks that favorable to Lelouch or his fellow Japanese.
OP Theme: 「Prisoner of Love」 by Utada Hikaru - AVI version (22.3MB) | PSP version (10.7MB) | YouTube version
I was going to write about Kyouran Kazoku Nikki after this but because I had to go to a party, I can only write the summary for this drama. I'm sorry about this but I'll try to cover it after the next batch of 2nd episodes that will come soon. Anyway, as I promised, here's the review for Last Friends, the new J-drama that airs on Fuji TV. This drama turns out to be much better than what I had imagined. While there's nothing new or extraordinary about it, it tells the story well and the actors are very capable performers. It's a bit shocking to see Ueno Juri playing a character with a completely different personality from Nodame but this series show that she has a good acting range. What impresses me the most, however, is Utada Hikaru's OP theme, Prisoner of Love. As one might expect, the song is a constant presence throughout the series. The producers even shot a specific opening for the series where the actors get to look around in confusion while red ribbons fly all over the place. Having said that, I'm still not sure if I'd continue watching this. I find the theme a bit too depressing and I still haven't finalized my Spring 2008 viewing schedule.
Thanks to some commenters, I'm reminded that there will be some interesting drama adaptation coming this Spring. The one that might be of interest to Nodame Cantabile drama fans is probably Last Friends because this is a drama starring Ueno Juri, Eita, and Mizukawa Asami. It's like a Nodame Cantabile drama reunion except one without Tamaki Hiroshi. I'm also interested to see Zettai Kareshi since this is Watase Yuu's adaptation of the same manga. I find it amusing because the story is about a girl who falls in love with a robot. I wonder if this means Fushigi Yuugi will be adapted next (imagine the "Miaka!!" and "Tamahome!!" lines that the actors get to say in the drama). Anyway, Zettai Kareshi stars Aibu Saki, who's reunited with her Rengatta co-star, Hayami Mokomichi, who plays the robot in question. There are also other titles like Osen, which stars Aoi Yuu. What I have here are brief descriptions of Japanese dramas that I'm interested in, as well as the actors who are involved in them. I'll probably give the first episode of several series a try but I'm not sure yet if I'm going to cover them permanently. The list below are not comprehensive but if you're interested to see what else are on offer, Tokyo Graph and Drama Wiki have the complete list. With that said, which dramas you'll be watching this season?
Source: Tokyo Graph | Drama Wiki
Suga Shikao - NOBODY KNOWS (45.6MB, for PSP/Quicktime) | YouTube version
"Jam" was not exactly the first thing that I had in mind when it comes down to this song but thanks to this PV, it probably will from now on. I think what's unfortunate is that the song does not exactly remind me of xxxHOLiC Kei, the very show that it was meant to represent. Even while the OP is playing, it seems like the song is just there and does not sync well with the imageries from the OP title. Having said that, it is indeed a rather pleasant song. It may not be Suga Shikao's strongest title but it's pretty good. The PV itself is about Jam for some reason. Maybe it's meant to be a pun for Jamming session? Which is an informal, semi-improvised performance by a group of rock or jazz musicians. At any rate, Suga Shikao certainly makes sure that he is lathered in Jam as the song intensifies. In a way it reminds me of that Nodame Cantabile PV where the pianist let himself be splashed with black paint.
I'm a bit confused now. I had expected the 2nd episode to look worse than the 1st episode but that wasn't the case. This one actually looks a lot better than the first one. Maybe it's because the scenes take place mostly indoors and in areas that were not previously used. That means PIG has to draw some new settings and they look pretty good. The characters also look pretty good when they are chibi-fied. In other note, I just saw Library War as well and while the character design looks fantastic, the story makes me want to go back to sleep. Anyway, while the scene at Doumeki's library and Yuuko's porch looks nice, the high school scene looks as awful as usual. The story itself blitz through rather quickly. I remember this story being rather drawn-out in the manga but in this adaptation, things seem to be happening quickly one after the other. It makes me wonder if the animators are going to adapt other stories in between. There's one episodic story that I'd like to see and I'm not sure if it has been covered in the first season or not (the one about the moving portrait).
OP Theme: 「Nobody Knows」 by Shikao Suga - AVI version (29.5MB)
I didn't actually want to cover this or at least, I wanted to wait until the widescreen version is out so I don't have to endure the cropped screens. Unfortunately the widescreen version is not going to be available until 3 weeks later and I've always wanted to say a few things about this arc ever since I read the manga a few years ago. Anyway, the first episode is okay, I guess. I don't know why I expected marginal improvement. I just think PIG (Production I.G) can do better than this. I think the problem lies in the design conversion from manga to anime. xxxHOLiC is one of those manga that uses minimal shading for its character design. While it serves its purpose in making the manga looks stylistic and simple, it doesn't really work well in anime. Before I go further, I must apologize for the lack of summary on this entry. I'm really not in the mood to write one at the moment and just want to get my impression across. I'll try to add it in later on if I have the time.
OP Theme: 「二つの鼓動と赤い罪」 - Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi by ON/OFF - AVI version (43MB) | PSP version (17MB)
Wow. Between this, Soul Eater, and Special A, I have no idea which one is the better anime. I personally love every single one of them. This one turns out to be far better than what I had in mind. It's actually quite funny and the animation/character design are gorgeous. I especially love the OP theme Futatsu no Koudou to Akai Tsumi. I have never heard of ON/OFF before but I'm very impressed. Their song really fits the atmosphere of this series. And the animation that accompanies the song just fit really well. The same thing can be said about the ED theme, which is quite eerie. If this is going to be a long-running series, I hope ALI PROJECT will get selected as one of the singers. The story itself is quite interesting and for some reason reminds me a little bit of Fruits Basket. Maybe because the female protagonists look like Tohru and the two male protagonists remind me of Kyou and Yuuki. Anyway, this is another impressive series that everyone must take a look.
