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ローゼンメイデン 
Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance Trailer (14.8MB, for iPod/iPhone)
I must be one of the few people who didn't realize until recently that the 2nd EVA movie is going to be released soon. It just shows how disconnected I have been with anime lately. I admit I kind of miss it at times and especially after watching something like this trailer. It reminds me so much of how excited I used to be when a new anime series will start. Anyway, the trailer for the 2nd movie looks hot. I didn't even know that Gainax will add in a new pilot called Mari until I saw this trailer. I was surprised when I saw her because the first film was pretty much a recap of the first few anime episodes so I didn't expect any new story to be told in this one either. To be honest, I don't think Mari is going to substantially alter the story or anything like that. I think I remember that the original series had a pilot for the failed Unit 04 but we never saw that pilot's story. Maybe Mari will just be a casualty for another EVA berserker, similar to Touji's Unit 03.
OP Theme: 「FALLING DOWN」 by OASIS - Eden of the East OP/ED (25MB, MP4 for iPod/iPhone)
Heh, how's everyone? It's been a while so I don't expect many to actually read this. I haven't completely solved all of my real-life issues but they're slowly getting better than they were. Love life is still a mess and in a way it's like a mutated version of Mayama/Rika and Morita/Hagu's story. Having said that, I am just going to take it slowly and hope that things take turn for the better sooner or later. I don't think I'll be able to go back to blogging week by week like I used to though. It took me days just to come up with this post. I know it's pathetic but I guess I just don't have the same enthusiasm for it due to everything else that's going on in my life. I have several small posts written about various topics but I'm not sure if anyone wants to read it since they're usually not anime-related. This one is though and although I don't have the intention of following the entire Spring 2009 anime season, several series have caught my eyes.
I especially like this one because the design is clean and simple and the character design reminds me of Honey and Clover. Akira looks like a Morita clone while Saki is like a younger, less miserable version of Yamada. The background is stunning and I'm impressed with the way Production I.G handled it. I hope the quality last throughout the entire series though. I am surprised that the background actually works really well with Umino Chika's character design. I thought they'd clash but I was wrong. The soundtrack is beautiful as well although I'm not including the OP/ED with that. I mean, the OP/ED are beautiful visually but I haven't been able to appreciate the songs used to accompany them just yet. I always like kinetic typography but they usually are accompany by beats that emphasize the type in question. This one doesn't exactly do that and the songs are not exactly the kind of songs I like to listen to.
October 29, 2008 | 
30 Comments
OP Theme: 「輪廻-ロンド-」(Rondo)
Download: AVI version
I'm sorry for the lack of update lately. I've been pre-occupied with many things lately and none of them are very conducive to blogging. I have a presentation tomorrow, exam next week, and my mind is also clouded with personal issues. Anyone who has seen Honey and Clover and follow Mayama OR Yamada's story would know what I'm talking about. Anyway, at this point, not many people probably care about this review but I promised to update the blog and I already processed the images long before life started to take over and refused to let go up till now.
OP Theme: 「PSI-missing」 by Mami Kawada - AVI version
I apologize that there's little to no update on the blog lately. Unfortunately real-life gets in the way of blogging once again. I'm starting to feel guilty as well because I haven't finished/completed several series from previous season and I think I should go and finish those before I commit to other new series. But as I promised, I'll preview some of them and this is one that I managed to write so far. A gaijin loli nun is being hunted by mysterious organization and ends up hanging over a young boy's balcony. That pretty much sums up the first episode. And oh, the boy in question is being chased around by another girl who likes to electrocute him. Speaking of gaijin, how does an anime character tell if another character is Japanese or not. After all, they all have strange and exotic hair color (ranging from grey to dark red). Surely there's nothing about Index that is more gaijin than Mikoto apart from her name.
September 22, 2008 | 63 Comments
I'm sorry about the lack of anime reviews except Code Geass but my bandwidth is currently capped until tomorrow (Monday) and I can't download anything big without the download taking days. Anyway, these past spring/summer really tested my interest in anime. At times I feel like my interest is dwindling down. Strangely, my interest in live-action series/movies also increases at the same time. It doesn't help that I'm really preoccupied with my work these days that sometimes I find it hard finding the time to watch anime. Having said all of that, this upcoming fall/autumn 2008 seems to offer some interesting gems. I am especially delighted to see that there'll be a high number of supernatural-themed series. I always feel that anime needs more horror based series and while the majority of the series on offer are not horror in nature, I think I'll gladly take a supernatural type series as well. Anyway, bear in mind that the list I've made is not the complete list of Fall 2008 anime. It's just anime that I thought will be interesting to watch and what others might also find interesting. For a more complete list, see the link to the Fansub database below. Anyway, let me know what you think will be interesting to see this season.
I've been very reluctant to jump on to the HD bandwagon mostly because my television is still SDTV and a good HDTV will cost me a lot of money. Besides, I often wondered if it's worth it, since the majority of games don't look that impressive or HD-like, IMO. I actually tried to fight the urge to buy this particular console and I'm still suffering from a little bit of buyer's remorse. However, I really wanted the Hagane (Gun Metal) version of PS3 so I figure this is a good excuse to jump into the HD market. Much to my delight, it's totally worth it. The picture looks unbelievable even though my TV is only SDTV. As for MGS4, I've always wanted to play a game where the storyline is seamless with the game and this game offers that exact experience. I know a lot of people dislike having long cut scenes in their game but I love it since the enjoyment that I derive from a game is not only from its interactivity but also from the story that it is trying to tell. Without a story, a game will feel kind of hollow and an unfulfilling experience for me. Besides, it's really hard to tell where the cut scenes end and when the game starts in MGS4. The transition between the two elements is so smooth that it's impressive.
It's hard to believe that Summer 2008 anime will be here soon. Unlike Spring, however, this time I don't have many anime that I'd like to watch, which is fine with me since I feel that I took a bit too much series this season to the point that it's hard to do anything else. Besides, most of the time things look interesting on a glance but when I really sit down and watch them, I realised that I didn't really want to watch the entire series. It's kind of scary with season like this one, where I only have small amount of selections. What will happen if I don't like any of them? Oh well, there are still several series from the previous season continuing (ie. Code Geass R2). Anyway, what do you think of this upcoming season and are you going to follow or at least watch several episodes of the new series? What are your choices/recommendations?
Source: Summer 2008 Anime Fansub Wiki
Air Date: October 2008
As everyone probably already know, there'd be a continuation to Nodame Cantabile anime coming up this October on Fuji TV's Noitamina block. Ttitled「のだめカンタービレ 巴里編」(Nodame Cantabile Paris Hen), the series will hopefully be similar to the drama version in that, it doesn't go beyond the manga storyline since the last time I checked, the manga is not completed yet. I am actually a bit apprehensive about this since it seems like the producers just want to capitalize on the series even though the series is nowhere in completion yet. Moreover, they ended the first season in such a rush that they just showed parts of the stories as static stills that shares space with the ending credit.
At any rate, sequels seem to be popular in the anime industries these days, which understandable since the fans (including myself) lapped it up but at the same time, it does make one wonders about originality. At times like this, I'm glad that Honey and Clover manga is finished. This means there's nothing that greedy producers can do to milk its popularity apart from doing various drama adaptations. Speaking of which, I'm still waiting for the US adaptation of Honey and Clover drama. Just kidding, Japan. Don't even think about it. I think three live-action adaptations are more than enough. Anyway, there are other sequels that we'll see this year or next year, click after the cut for some preview.
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.
OP Theme: 「Special Life!」 by KOTOKO - AVI version (28MB) | PSP version (16.6MB)
Before you pass on judgment, please let me explain. Anyone who read this blog surely know that I don't usually go for ecchi series like this one, let alone blogging it. Having said that, this one is actually funny. I'll be the first to admit that I have a juvenile sense of humor and this series has some of that. See, unlike other lame ecchi series, the focus here is not so much of the ecchiness but rather the hilarious reasoning behind said ecchiness. Okay, I don't think I'm making any sense. How do I say this better? This series makes me laugh out loud because it somehow appeals to my juvenile sense of humor. Anyway, with 2 other series coming up next Saturday, I'm still not sure if I will cover this permanently but the first episode was funny, IMO. It also helps that the animation quality is unusually great for this kind of title. I'm actually a bit surprised that Madhouse is the one who's responsible for this adaptation since they usually do a more serious anime type.
Update: Allison and Lillia, Macross Frontier, Amatsuki, Soul Eater, and Vampire Knight trailers are added as links (please reload the page).
Wow, I think it's been a while since I did this kind of list. I just haven't been interested in any of the offering in the past few seasons. And sometimes, the series look interesting in description but once I see the final product, it ends up being a complete disappointment. I do hope that things will be different this season. The list below consists of the ones that I think will be interesting, followed by others that do not interest me as much. Within each section, the series are ordered by air date. I've also provided a link to the fansub wiki for a more complete list (which includes kid's series, internet anime, etc). Some of the titles already have trailers attached to them so whenever possible, I link to the trailer on YouTube. You can also download some of the trailers from the link I provided below. Just be aware that some of the trailers from the YouTube are not available to download. Anyway, the important question is, what you'll watch this upcoming Spring? Do you think the lineup good enough? Is it better than previous seasons?
Spring 2008 Fansub Wiki
Spring 2008 Trailers (53MB, AVI/Flash) | Mirror (53MB, AVI/Flash)
OP Theme: 「Casting Dice」 by Kanno Yuuki - AVI version (20MB)
ED Theme: 「名まえのない道」 - Namae no Nai Michi by Kaori Hikita - AVI version (16MB)
I am afraid this one is not for me either. I just think the anime looks really poor character design-wise. As for the story, it's about a boy who's stuck in either a VR world or a twisted version of Edo period after he got attacked by a Nue. I did appreciate the eerie atmosphere in the middle of the episode and I am a bit intrigued by the storyline. I want to know if the boy is actually stuck inside a virtual world or really transported to a supernatural version of Edo period. Equally intriguing is the priest-like figure who keeps talking about reality and nothingness. Note how he/she/it speaks in a computer-like tone. The other interesting part about the series is the ED song, Namae no Nai Michi, which has ethereal quality to it. I think if the animation and character design were a bit better, I would have given this a more serious look. Sadly that's not the case here. If you're interested, there are small amount of screen caps of the pivotal scene in the episode. I'll recommend that you at least take a look at the ED theme because it's quite good.
September 1, 2007 | 50 Comments
Okay, this is a really rough first impression of the new movie. Overall, the movie is okay but it's not extraordinary. I think the only ones who'll get a kick out of this are mostly hard-core Evangelion fans. Having said that, I have to say that I was surprised at the amount of interest generated by the film. The theatre was packed and I was lucky that I watched it at 12PM or otherwise I'd have to wait in a queue to see it. I also noticed that the majority of the viewers were not the Otaku kind of viewers. There were a lot of Otaku and you can easily identify them by the way they dressed but most people who came and saw it were just your average Japanese people. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of merchandise to milk every yen out of the fans but I managed to restrain myself and only purchased the booklet. As a side note, sorry for the low quality of the images but they're taken in a hurry and I'n still tired due to the flight.
Packed theatre
Booklet Cover
Booklet Content 01
Booklet Content 02
I'm sorry but I'd have to postpone Darker than Black 20 for a few more days. I've been wanting to do this for a while but never had the chance to do it before. However, with the new film coming out in September, I think there's no better time to do it. Evangelion was not the first anime that I watched so it wasn't something of a novelty to me in the first place. In fact, I remember being bored with the initial giant robot story. It's not until episode 4, The Hedgehog's Dilemma, that the show started to look interesting to me. Before I go further, here's the usual disclaimer: please do not go further unless you've seen the series. This includes the 26 episodes of the TV series and the 2 original movies (Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion). Spoiler after the cut, you've been warned.
Rebuild of Evangelion trailer (YouTube version, High Res)
Update: New footage is out now.
My friend just alerted me to this first released footage of Rebuild of Evangelion first trailer. The footage is grainy because it's shot inside a theatre but it seems legit because it comes complete with the information on when ticket goes on sale. I'll try to update this entry once I find a much better version of the trailer but until the official site release it, I don't think it'll be likely. My first impression upon seeing the trailer was that it doesn't look that different from the old version of Evangelion. However, on a closer look, the animation and character design are far more refined than the one in DVD/VHS. That version of Fly Me to the Moon by Utada Hikaru is god-awful though. I never thought I'll hear a bad version of Fly Me to the Moon. At any rate, I'm excited to see the film and actually entertain the idea of going back to Japan again just to see the film. Rebuild of Evangelion will be released in theatres in Japan starting on September 1st 2007.
February 1, 2007 | 22 Comments
Yesterday I decided to do something genius: unpacking some of the DVDs/CDs that I've bought in the last few months. The reason for this is that even though I've been buying them for the past 6 months, I haven't had the chance to open most of them. Work has just been really busy and with full time blogging on top of it, I barely have the time to relax. It's actually kind of scary doing it all at once. It reminds me of how much money I spend on these things. And I don't actually buy that many merchandises since I only buy limited edition CDs/DVDs of my favourite eseries. I can actually look at my collection and never wonder why I bought some of those in the first place. Anyway, as you'll notice, my collection is heavily biased towards Suzumiya Haruhi and Honey and Clover. Between those two, I feel that Honey and Clover merchandises are always the ones that give me the best value for money when it comes down to DVDs/CDs extras.
CDs and DVDs
Manga and books
Honey and Clover extras
Honey and Clover complete best
December 31, 2006 | 46 Comments
I always have problem with one of these award things. One of the reasons is because I don't usually watch that many series. As a result, my knowledge of what is good or bad would be limited to what I've seen myself, which don't amount to that many anime. The second reason is because although I like most anime that I watch, I usually don't want to watch them more than once. It's only when I know that I want to see the series again that I know it has become my favourite. Unfortunately that effectively eliminates many series out of my already short list. Because of this, I apologise if I tend to group things inappropriately here but I have difficulty coming up with list of candidates as it is now. Having said that, the criteria that I used to shortlist the series is simple. It's basically everything that was released this year. That means series such as Mushishi and Mai Otome are out of the running. Anyway, let me know what you actually voted in these categories.
September 15, 2006 | 54 Comments
Well, everyone else already done it, so I may as well do it now while it's still quite far from the due date. There are actually some series that started out starting from today but considering my backlong, I'd prefer to finish them off first. Having said that, I do need to trim my list down. With that in mind, unfortunately I have to stop blogging NANA and Coyote Ragtime Show. I was planning on catching up with them but it's just impossible now. I'm still undecided on School Rumble. I'll probably blog 14 and 15 because I like Yakumo but I'm not sure about the rest. As for other series, I'll try to finish them as soon as I can. Now, moving on to this list, this is just a rough list of things that I want to watch. If you have a series that you're interested in, please mention it in the commenet area. For more series, check out Moonphase
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
Okay, I'll have to go in 5 minutes but I figure I'll have the time to post this since I've done most of it a few days ago and all I have to do is just to write the intro paragraph. Next week marks the beginning of Summer Anime season. The season will begin next Thursday with the second season of Honey and Clover. This is definitely one of the few series that I've been looking to watch ever this season. I realise that I already have quite a lot of series on my plate at the moment and I'll try to keep up with them. Thankfully, unlike last season, there are only around 30 series for the season. As usual, however, things will change depending on my schedule and the series themselves. Series that I'd like to watch could turn out to be really bad while there might be some quality ones amongst those that I originally ignore. Anyway, I'm interested to know what everyone else would like to watch this season and why you choose those series.
This week's NANA is full-on recap episode with Junko, Kyousuke, and Shouji as the narrators. It doesn't even have a proper Junko's Room omake in it since Junko, Kyousuke, and Shouji simply talk about past events in a rather dull manner. There is, however, a new musical score which I never noticed beforehand playing during Yasu/Nana's last meeting. But even with the addition, I find it hard to believe that we already have 2 recap episodes after only 11 episodes. I wonder if they purposely do this so that they can have the upcoming major storyline as episode number 13 but that sounds rather silly to me. However, maybe the writers think they can relax since they have 50 episodes to burn.
On another matter, I haven't been able to obtain the raw for xxxHOLiC 12 since the raw providers for that series have been rather scarce this time around. I'll try again after I go back from work tonight. In an entirely unrelated note, the website for Honey and Clover Movie has been updated with a flash based content. There are some wallpaper if you want them. The site also reveals that Mario and Luigi will actually be in the film . I wonder if this means that Nomiya, Miwako, and Yamazaki will be in it as well. I doubt it at the moment since there is no mention of their name in the cast list. Moreover, I think it'll be hard to include every single characters in that series on a 2 hour movie.
Since the 2nd season of Honey and Clover is coming on the 29th of this month, I think it's time to heat up the interest in the series. Before I talk about the DVD, however, I'll mention several news which some of you are probably already aware of. The official site for the 2nd series has announced a while ago that the OP and ED theme for the 2nd season has been decided. Yuki will sing the OP, which is titled 「ふがいないや」(Fugai nai ya), while Suneohair will sing the ED, titled 「スプリット」(Split). Suga Shikao, Depapepe, and Hayashi Yuzo & Salon 68 will provide some background music. If you go to Depapepe's Discography section, you should be able to listen to some examples of their songs, which are pretty good. It's nice to know that at the very least, the producer got the BGM right. The website for the film also announced that there'll be some kind of Hachikuro fair between the 10th of July to the 23rd of July. However, details of the fair has not appeared yet. As a side note, those who asked me for that Hagu paper scan, you can find it in the Volume 6 DVD entry.
Slipcase Box with attachment
DVD cover, Front side
DVD cover, Back side
Stickers
I thought I wouldn't be able to get the limited edition of the Fate/stay night DVD anymore since I ordered it really late. But after checking several online shops, I found out that there are still many copies of the first limited edition DVD left. Does this mean that TYPE-MOON prepared a lot of copy or does this mean that fans were disappointed with the anime and decided not to buy the limited edition after all? Either way, as far as limited edition goes, the extras are pretty basic here. All you get is just a usual sturdy box, a reversible cover, a trading card and a drink coaster. I haven't been able to check the extra content though since I barely even have the time to watch the new release series. But I'll update this page once I have the time to check the content. Now that I have the box, I don't have to rush over to buy the rest since there's nothing special about the limited edition ones.
The 'Limited Edition' DVD Box
Front cover featuring Emiya Shirou
Back cover showing screenshots
Opening Theme: Deep in Your Heart by Domoto Koichi (11.1MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
This is the new successor to the Noitamina screen time. I have to say that the storyline is quite interesting. At the moment, the series looks like a combination of Lord of the Flies, Battle Royale, as well as some intergallactic mystery films such as Planet of the Apes. The first episode itself has enough mystery and conflict to make the viewers intriqued, at the very least. Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of the character design, which reminds me a lot of Escaflowne. In other words, expect long, unusual-shaped nose for some of the characters. The opening theme is also attrocious, in my opinion. It sounds a lot like a typical Japanese boy band song but this one is the worst type ones. The ending theme is passable but it's nothing exciting either. Anyway, I think this is a promising title but for the moment I'm only on a watch and see position.
Spring anime season will start from today so I thought I'll go over several new trailers which have just been released all over the internet. Some of these trailers can be seen in the Animage DVD so I'm not going to include those ones. But the rest are brand new ones which have just been aired either on Tokyo International Anime Fair or in Japanese TV. The best one that I've seen so far is probably the xxxHOLiC Trailer. I really like the colour scheme and the character design, both of which are a lot better than the ones used on Tsubasa Chronicle. Even the super deformed expressions of the characters look a lot more detailed here than in its crossover counterpart. The opening theme of the series, 19-sai by Suga Shikao is not bad either. I hope the ending song, Reason by Fonogenico will be equally good.
First of all thanks to those who emailed/left comments about Honey and Clover 2nd season. It's really appreciated. Well, I'm both excited and worried about the news. Just like any other fan of this series, I've been hoping for a second season of this awesome series. Having said that, I'm a bit worried about it since the projected airtime is sometime this year, possibly starting in summer. If this had been announced as a spring 2007 project, I'll be completely happy because there would have been enough manga material for the second season. As it is now, however, there wouldn't be enough chapters to cover a 24 episode series so I'm a bit concerned. But then again, parts of Chapter F contains some original story and that was actually quite funny so maybe I'm all worried for nothing. Anyway, either way I'm excited about this and can't wait to see the 2nd series. Moving on to other Hachikuro-related thread, here are some scans of the 6th DVD volume.
Slipcase Box with attachment
DVD cover, Back side
Part of Hagu cardboard puppet
How to make puppet Hagu
Hagu Paper Part 1 - New
Hagu Paper Part 2 - New
This month's Animage comes with a CD containing a few promotional trailers for the upcoming Spring anime series. Unfortunately the trailers are mostly for series that I'm not too familiar with so I'm not that excited with most of them. My brief impression of Utawarerumono is pretty good though. The show looks clean and nicely animated. Zegapain's trailer makes me sad because I was hoping for a good mecha this year and this one has too many bad CG in it. Demonbane looks kind of cheestastic that I am tempted to see it. Aa, Megami-sama looks the same as always. If you like the first season, then I supposed you'll like this one as well. There are other trailers included as well so if there is any that you want to see, please let me know. The complete list is included on the full page. Anyway, enjoy the trailers and tell me what you think about them.
Utawarerumono (20.9MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Zegapain (5.4MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Demonbane (4.4MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Aa, Megami-sama (6.3MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Shoujo Changumu no Yume (50.5MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Yoshinaga-san no Gargoyle (15.2MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Simoun (17.2MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Joshi Kousei (7.7MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Do not redistribute these files
Well, the avalanche of spring anime series will arrive in about 3 weeks. So I figure I better start deciding what I want to watch. I have to admit that the original list was kind of daunting but after going through every single link on Moonphase, I realise that there are only a few I intend to follow. And after seeing some of the trailers, some of the things that was on my top list such as Zegapain suddenly goes down in the list. Besides, I already have a long list as it is now: School Rumble S2, Nana, Himawari!, xxxHolic, and Gintama. And that's not even the final list since I'll try a few other series as they are released. Plus, there will be a few more coming around May. Because of this, I decided not to cover all 56 or so series here. But if there is something that I didn't mention, please feel free to mention it. Also, check out Bluwacky's site for a more complete list. Last but not least, I'd like to know which series you'll most likely follow this spring.
Source: Moon Phase
February 24, 2006 | 12 Comments
Ghibli World now has the trailer to Goro Miyazaki's Gedo Senki aka Tales from Earthsea. To be honest, I'm rather underwhelmed with the trailer. I was actually looking forward to see the animation after seeing the poster. But the trailer didn't really click with me. I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that I'm aware that Hayao Miyazaki is not the one who directed this. I have no problem with his son taking over the directorial role. However, I feel that the music sounds a bit monotonous. I feel bad for saying this since apparently many people like the song but I can't help wanting a different one. I remember being rather excited to see Howl Moving Castle due to the French-like background music that the trailer used. Anyway, if you have the time to download the trailer, do it now before the site stops the distribution.
Source: Aint It Cool News, Twitch, Anime on My Mind.
Yeah, I realised this comes rather late and the Halloween-themed box seems to suggest that the DVD was released a long time ago. But seriously, I didn't receive this until the 26th of December so the Halloween-themed box is a foresight on the DVD production's site. I think they should have used the cover for Volume 4 for this month's release and this cover for Volume 4. You have to admit it's kind of cute though. Although I'm not sure what everyone is supposed to be. I guess Mayama is Dracula and Yamada is a vampire. But I really have no clue about the rest. Anyway, first thing first, here are some scans of the DVD boxes:
Slipcase Box without attachment
DVD cover, Front side
DVD cover, Back side
Postcard 1
Postcard 2
Postcard 3
December 30, 2005 | 54 Comments
Well, everyone else has done it so I may as well jump into the bandwagon. I think 2005 has been a surprisingly good year despite my rather low expectation of it at the beginning. In fact, some of the series that I list here actually end up as my all-time favourites. I don't think I'll be talking much about the state of the industry since I didn't actually follow many series this year. Having said that, I recommend that you read through Bluwacky's thorough analysis of this year's releases. I think he made a lot of interesting point about the industry. What I'm going to do here is simply list my top 3 of this year's series/games/songs and then talk about them. I am also interested to know what other people's favourite series/games/movies this year so feel free to indicate your choices in the comment area. Before I do this, however, please be aware that some of the paragraphs contain light spoilers.
December 12, 2005 | 20 Comments
Catsuka and Chibi Yuuto are now hosting the famous Clover music video that CLAMP fans have been wanting to see for ages. The quality of the video is serviceable but don't expect it to match today's digisub quality. I wish CLAMP will just released this as a special DVD or something because I'm sure people will snap it up right away. But beggar can't be chooser and I'm quite happy just to be able to see this one animated. I am actually amazed to see how the video managed to sum up the main plot of Clover in a 6 minutes 38 seconds music clip. Basically you get to see Kazuhiko and Suu getting to know each other before embarking on their adventure to fairy park.
November 29, 2005 | 20 Comments
Dramatic - Piano Version/Short (2MB, MP3) - updated 11/12/05
Okay, first of all, who wants the piano version of Dramatic? :D I don't exactly have the full song but I did manage to rip the song used for the DVD menu and the result is the one you can get above. Because of this, the song ends up being rather short since it's originally meant to be used as a part of a loop. But I figure it's better than nothing. In other news, by now everyone probably already knows that Honey and Clover sits at number 3 on Oricon's top 10 shoujo manga in Japan today. The series is preceeded in popularity only by Nana and Hana Yori Dango. The series' popularity even prompted CDJapan to make a special page for those who want to buy Honey and Clover related items. Anyway, as usual this is an entry about the latest DVD release. So first thing first, here are some scans:
Digipack Front Cover
DVD Case, Front Cover
DVD Case, Back Cover
Clear File
October 31, 2005 | 17 Comments
Okay, first of all, some brief news from Newtype Japan about the series. Due to the success of the anime, Honey and Clover manga manages to climb to the top 10 manga list alongside popular series such as Nana, Naruto, and Bleach. The latest monthly data reveals that the series sits neatly at number 6. The anime itself recently sits at number 8 within Newtype's top 20 ranking of popular new anime series. And judging from Amazon Japan's top seller list, it looks like the DVD is selling well. So in general, it seems the series is doing quite a good business in Japan. Anyway, by now you're probably bored reading the facts so here are some more scans of the third DVD packaging:
Slipcover, Front Cover
DVD box, Front Cover
DVD Case, Back Cover
Jigsaw Puzzle
October 26, 2005 | 20 Comments
Update: I've decided to drop Aria from my blogging schedule. I am sorry for doing this but I really can't find the motivation to blog this one anymore. If you're still interested in the series, I'd recommend that you check Matthew's blog for future episode updates.
With the exception of one or two shows, the majority of Autumn/Fall anime have been aired and the subs have been floating around the web. So I guess it's time to take look at them. In my case, I am kind of disappointed with the lineup so far. In general, this is simply because the series on offer are not the kind of series that I want to see. But in some cases, I am disappointed because the execution turned out to be rather weak. Some series which I thought will be good ended up being quite disappointing so far. Anyway, I thought I'll make a list of what I think I like so far and what I don't. Of course this is just my preference and is not in any way an indication of what is good or what is not from the Fall anime list. Feel free to indicate what you think is Hot, Warm, and Cold in the comment area. Or you can make your own scale if you prefer.
September 27, 2005 | 11 Comments
The latest broadcast schedule from Newtype magazine reveals what is probably a surprise for some Hachikuro fans. The schedule states that episode 24 of Honey and Clover titled "...tsuita...", will be the last broadcast episode for the series. This will undoubtedly create confusion amongst the viewers because there are sites that list the series as 26 episode series. Well, the number of episodes is probably correct. Judging from the amount of episodes included on each DVD volume, it's likely that episode 25 and 26 will actually be included in the last DVD volume. These episodes will probably featured non-important manga storylines that were skipped over during the broadcast version of the story. An example of this will be the story of Ham guy, Romaiya sempai, a character who never made it into the broadcast version of the series. If this turns out to be the case, then the DVD releases have suddenly become a lot more attractive than they already are at the moment.
September 17, 2005 | 82 Comments
This OVA basically chronicles the short story of Cloud's best friend, Zack, as he attempts to free himself and Cloud from Shinra's control and experiments. The story is actually quite similar to the ones that have been told in the game but the OVA presents slight variations on how things happened within the story. Because of this, just like Advent Children, it is necessary to have some knowledge of the game's story prior to watching this OVA. Style-wise, the OVA boasts high quality character design and animation courtesy MadHouse anime studio. The problem is, just like Advent Children this OVA also suffers from a case of style over substance.
September 14, 2005 | 41 Comments
The latest Animage magazine came with a DVD containing a bunch of trailers to promote the upcoming anime season. I decided to encode some of them in case you're interested. Just be aware that the Rozen Maiden: Traumend, Mai Otome, and Jigoku Shoujo trailers are essentially similar to the one posted at their official site or elsewhere. In addition to this, I had to use MP4 format to encode these files since I don't know better programs to encode the VOB files that I've extracted from the DVD. Anyway, the files can be opened using Quicktime 6.5 or above. And if you have a PSP, you can put them in your PSP video folder. Anyway, let me know what you think about these trailers. And if there's a particular trailer that you want to see from the list I included behind the cut, please let me know.
Update: Paradise Kiss official site now has a small trailer to download.
Angel Heart (3MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Arashi no Yoru ni (10.7MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Binchoutan (6.2MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Blood+ | Mirror (14.4MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Ergo Proxy (1.8MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Fafner in the Azure: Right of Left | Mirror (13.7MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Gin Iro no Kami no Agito | Mirror (13.9MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Happy Seven (10.4MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Jigoku Shoujo (5.9MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Lamune (8.7MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Mai Otome (1.6MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Noein | Mirror (10.9MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Rozen Maiden: Traumend (7.4MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Paradise Kiss (1.6MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
SoltyRei (12.7MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
September 14, 2005 | 147 Comments
Wow, this turns out to be one unusually entertaining film even if the plot is kind of thin and lack of depth. The film actually relies a lot on viewer's knowledge of the game and without it, I suspect some of the scenes will be rather hard to understand. Having said that, what the film lacks in plot, it definitely makes up alot in cool action scenes and haunting soundtrack. Anyway, I'm going to recap parts of this film but honestly, a 2 hour movie is too much to cover on my own. Because of this, I'm just going to keep this as brief as I can since I figure most people will prefer to see this on their own. In addition to this, please be aware that there will be many spoilers from this point forward.
September 1, 2005 | 3 Comments
Update: The official site for Rozen Maiden: Traumend announced that the opening theme will be called Seishoujo Ryouiki and performed by Ali Project. The ending theme is called Hikari no Rasenritsu and will be performed by Kukui.
It looks like the assault to win viewership for the Autumn Anime lineup has been initiated by various networks and anime producers. First thing first, the official site for Rozen Maiden: Traumend now contains a short trailer and a Suiseiseki calendar/wallpaper to promote the new series. The trailer features the dolls in various light-hearted moments although there is an indication of darker plot towards the end of the trailer as "Alice Game" is approaching. I have to say the trailer does a good job of heightening my enthusiasm for the new series. I'm also glad to know that music composer from the first series, Mitsumune Shinkichi, has returned to create all new background songs for the series.
On a similar note, a brand-new official site for Paradise Kiss is finally opened. The site features information on the story, characters, voice actors, and opening theme, which is titled Lonely in Gorgeous. Apparently there will also be a trailer on the site but so far the link has not been activated. Moving on to other series, the official site for Cluster Edge has also been updated to inform that Surface will perform the opening theme for the series titled Fly High. Similarly, the official site for Aria has announced that Makino Yui will perform the opening theme of the series, Undine, while Roundtable feat.Nino will perform the ending theme of the series, Rainbow. If you need more info on these series, check out the previous entry.
While I wish that Honey and Clover can go on and on, like all good things, it will eventually have to end. Thankfully the Autumn Anime season is about to arrive soon. Having said that, as usual the pickings seem to be rather slim for me. Maybe I'm just bored with anime, or maybe I'm just a bit jaded after so many disappointing series these last few seasons, but either way, I'm not too excited about this season's offering. Well, maybe I'll change my mind later on but in the meantime, here are a few series which I may be interested in. As usual, the question is simple: which of these new series are you interested to watch? If there is a show that I haven't mentioned here, feel free to mention it. The full list of the new season can be obtained from Moonphase.
The items that I ordered from Amazon Japan has finally arrived. The main thing that interest me here is, of course, Honey and Clover R2 DVD. I have to say that I'm not disappointed with this order. The entire package looks as if it's been made carefully with a lot of thoughts put into it. To begin with, the digipack is nicely designed with some kind of wallpaper-like texture. At the front of the digipack, there's a nice hand-drawn picture of Yamada and Hagu created by Umina Chika herself. The main extra of this volume is a hardcover book containing various facts about the series from singers to the place where the characters live. I also can't help but being amused when I first found out that you can buy the clothes that the characters use. Anyway, here are some scans of the package:
Digipack Front Cover
DVD Front Cover
DVD Back Cover
Hardcover book, Front Cover
A page from the Hardcover book
Animedia shows a picture of a new Rozen Maiden doll which will join the rest of the group in Rozen Maiden: Träumend. This means that there will be at least 2 new dolls appearing in the new series. The first one, as most people already know is Canaria. The other, is a creepy-looking doll called Barasuishou (Rose Crystal). At the moment, there is not much information given about Barasuishou except that her power/attack style is crystal-based. In addition to this, apparently, she is the strongest Rozen Maiden doll that has appeared thus far.
Honey and Clover official OST will be released on the 7th of September. Some of the songs that will form parts of the soundtrack include Dramatic by Yuki, Waltz by Suneohair, Mistake by The Band Has No Name, Hachimitsu by Spitz, and Tsuki to Naifu by Suga Shikao. There's no information whether or not other background songs will be included in the soundtrack. However, it seems background music written by Yuzo Hayashi and Salon 68 will be included as well. As a side note, the first press edition of the CD will include a digipack to house the CD case.
This is what happens when I have too much time on my hands but don't feel like doing proper blogging just yet. I've been using my PSP a lot these days so I figured it'll be neat if I can put all of the new opening/ending themes from various shows into my memory cards. Well, here are some of the OP/ED that I encoded (various size, MP4 format). Once you download the zip, uncompressed them and you should see a folder with a MP4 and THM files. You need to put both of these files into your PSP video directory. If you don't have a PSP, the MP4 files can still be opened using Quicktime. Please note that I retain the aspect ratio of all files, so in the case of Yakitate!! Japan opening/ending, the ratio stays TV size. Anyway, I will put up some more files later on once I have the time.
Dramatic (Honey and Clover 1st OP Theme) - 9.1MB, MP4
Dramatic V2 (Honey and Clover 2nd OP Theme) - 10MB, MP4
Girls on Film (Speed Grapher OP Theme) - 16.7MB, MP4
Promise (Yakitate!! Japan 2nd OP Theme) - 16.7MB, MP4
Waltz (Honey and Clover 1st ED Theme) - 18.7MB, MP4
Yes, I actually am still alive. I just don't have the motivation to write anything due to various personal reasons. It also doesn't help that I'm way behind on everything. Because of this, I decided to make this list in the hope that I can justify my action should I decide to stop reviewing some of the titles that are on my list at the moment. Having said that, it's kind of hard to do this since the only series I'm following religiously at the moment is Honey and Clover. As unfortunate as it is, I can't afford to watch anything else with my current schedule at the moment. Anyway, if you guys don't mind, I'm interested to know your current watching list at the moment and why you choose to follow the shows you're watching now.
Sunrise has announced a second season for My-Hime not long after the screening of episode 26. Titled "My-HiME: Kokoro no Yume, the new series is planned for a mere 13 episodes, half of the first series. The only character design they have at the moment is what looks like a Mikoto-wannabe. I have to say that I'm not too thrilled about the character design. However, I supposed I'll just have to wait and see before making further judgment. For more information, please click on the extended entry.
The latest Animage magazine comes with a slew of Spring 2005 Anime trailers. I managed to rip the Speed Grapher and Hachimitsu to Clover trailers. I kind of like both of them although I'm a bit worried about Hachikuro's rather bright trailer. Hopefully this is not Bleach mark 2. The Speed Grapher trailer is the same to the one that is available on the official site but this one is bigger. If you have a particular trailer you want to see, please let me know. Of course, that will depend on whether or not that trailer is available.
Hachimitsu to Clover (3.5MB, DiVX)
Speed Grapher (10.2MB, DiVX)
Sousei no Aquarion (12MB, DiVX)
Ichigo Mashimaro (9.5MB, DiVX)
Saikano: Another Love Song (8.2MB, DiVX)
Gundam Z (7MB, DiVX)
Eureka 7 (32.8MB, DiVX)
Emma, Victorian Romance (10MB, DiVX)
Koi Koi 7 (11.2MB, DiVX)
Zettai Shounen (3.5MB, DiVX)
Izumo (6.3MB, DiVX)
Hachimitsu to Clover website has been officially opened with brief informations about the series. I have to say that I really like the water-color look that the animators have picked for this series.
Cast members
Takemoto Yuuta: Kamiya Hiroshi (Tetsuji Kaji in Ultra Maniac)
Hanamoto Hagumi: Kudou Haruka
Morita Shinobu: Ueda Yuji (Sagara Sanosuke in Rurouni Kenshin, Kazuki Kakyou in X TV, Urashima Keitaro in Love Hina, Takeda Masashi in Mai Hime)
Yamada Ayumi: Takahashi Mikako (Tendo Rushuna in Grenadier)
Mayama Takumi: Sugita Tomokazu (Motosuwa Hideki in Chobits, Sumeragi Subaru in X TV)
Opening Theme
Dramatic
Performed by Yuki
Ending Theme
Waltz
Performed by SuneoHair
And for those of you who are interested in Speed Grapher, the official site has announced that the manga serialisation of the series will begin on March 26 inside the monthly Comic Gao magazine. The manga design looks quite good so I think I'll try to get the magazine when it's released.
The basic storyline for both Hachikuro and Speed Grapher can be found inside the Spring Anime 2005 entry a couple of weeks ago.
February 24, 2005 | 12 Comments
After getting a brief look at the recent Japanese anime magazines, I have to say I'm rather disappointed with the selection of this year's Spring Anime. At first I thought it was a rather good line-up until I realised that half of the titles such as Full Metal Panic: The 2nd Raid are not even scheduled for April release. Not that it actually matters since I haven't even seen the first or the second series of Full Metal Panic. But the point is, April lineup seems to be rather dry so far. Unless I happen to stumble onto more titles, it seems there are only 3 series that interest me this April:
January 16, 2005 | 11 Comments
As indicated on an advert that appeared inside Newtype Japan this month, Bleach R2 DVD will be on sale on the 2nd of February. The special edition version comes with an audio drama CD and costs 3333 Yen (32.83 US Dollars). There's a possibility that the picture above will be the box cover of the first DVD. Now, why can't the show looks as nice as that image?
Various anime magazine have also shown preliminary sketches for Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle anime. Personally I think they look quite bad. Kurogane looks like a stick figure that can be blown away easily by the wind. Characters' faces are also not detailed enough. Maybe it's because they're not colored yet but I think Sakura's face looks really bad in comparison to the manga. Let me know if you agree or disagree.
Finally, Gakuen Alice R2 DVD will be on sale on the 23rd February this year. Just like Bleach, it'll come in two version. The normal version costs 5000 Yen (48.98 US Dollars) and includes a Mikan figurine. The barebones version is only 4000 Yen (39.18 US Dollars). Both includes episode 1 and 2 of the series. Hmm, I'm not sure if it's worth paying extra $10 for the figurine.
December 23, 2004 | 1 Comments
It looks like I find it hard to resist the X-mas spending mentality. But then again, I haven't bought anything much this year so I think it's well-justified :P. Anyway, I thought I won't see these stuff until after Christmas but they arrived earlier these past couple of days. First up is the limited edition of Rozen Maiden 1. This is probably the strangest first-press offer I've ever encountered. If you get the first-press, you get the nice box above, which is illustrated by Peach Pit. The box contains a digipack with with one disc and 5 empty slots for the upcoming DVDs. If you failed to get the first-press, however, you get the barebones DVD with Shinku on the cover. Here are some of the images:
First-pressed box
The front digipack
Free postcard
Animated News has reported that a new footage of Howl's Moving Castle has been released in various formats. The footage looks good and suggests that the film will have a European look and feel, especially with its use of Waltz-like music. The music actually reminds me of many Jean-Pierre Jeunet's films such as Amelie and the upcoming A Very Long Engagement. If you want to see the footage, you better download now since there's always a possibility that it'll be yanked out quickly. Howl's Moving Castle will be released on the 20th of November this year in Japan.
MPEG version
AVI version
Windows Media File version
I almost forget to blog this but two days ago, a friend invited me to a theatrical screening of Katsuhiro Otomo's latest feature film, Steamboy. Well, the film was an amazing visual feast. The setting is a fictional London circa 1866 and everything, except for some of the machineries, seems to be rendered faithfully based on that era. Storyline-wise, however, I don't think this is that extraordinary. It's definitely worth viewing in a large theatre at least once but I do wonder about its re-playability factor. Anyway, before I continue, please be aware that I may include one or two spoiler inside. I promise that it won't be something big and it's definitely not going to be plot by plot description. But please click that link with this in mind.
My Naruto obsession has finally reached its fever pitch. I've actually gone and purchased the R2 DVDs. Well, the ones that contain the Chuunin exam parts. I just like watching Naruto finally getting the acknowledgement that he deserves from the people in his village. The DVD packaging themselves are very good. These are the 2nd Stage DVDs, which feature the individual regular from the series instead of collage of 2 -3 characters like the first half of the R2 DVDs. The extras are pretty slim though. There is only a first press sticker for all 3 DVDs that I got and inside the disc itself character sketches are the only extra available. The disc with Kakashi and Iruka on the cover, however, also contain the trailer for Naruto: the Movie. The menu itself is clean and simple. Only the main menu has any kind of animation in it.
Updated date list - see comment. For those who are wondering, I have indeed lost interest in Elfen Lied. The silly moments in the otherwise bleak series ruined the mood for me. The combination simply doesn't work anymore after I watched the second episode. It reminds me too much of Kono Mini and that didn't bring pleasant memory. On top of this, I want to be prepared for the lineup of Autumn Anime which will be quite big. Elfen Lied is 13 episode show for now and that means the schedule will bleed over into the Autumn season. The problem is, I already have another anime which will continue down to the Autumn season (Monster). If I don't cut down on something, I doubt I'll be able to keep up with the onslaught of Autumn Anime. Speaking of the Autumn anime themselves, Blurry Anime have mentioned some of the titles. But here are some titles that interest me:
"Kyrie Ignis Divine Eleison" - Our Lord, the Divine Fire, have mercy
Well, now I know which story Gainax 'ripped off' to create This Ugly and Beautiful World. Elfen Lied (Elfen Song) contains many of the same elements/themes that Kono Minikuku presented but the difference is that Elfen Lied seems to have a stronger direction and narrative than that new Gainax series. Let's get the most important thing out of the way though: this show is violent with capital V. Some of the things that happened in this show are really stomach-turning. It doesn't skimp on blood either and bucketloads have been splashed generously over the first episode. The show also contains a lot of nudity and various fanservice. So far it is quite tasteful but if it ever descended to Kono Minikuku's level, I'll probably get turned off by it. Another impressive thing about the show is its opening theme, Lilium, a haunting old latin/opera-styled song.
In case you guys wonder why I haven't done a summary for any of the summer anime, it's because I can't seem to find one that I like. I am not a big fan of Samurai genre so that rules out Samurai Champloo and Samurai 7. Kurau Phantom Memory looks okay but the first two episodes didn't impress me and I can't seem to like any of the characters. The last time I got this kind of feeling was when I watched This Ugly and Beautiful World. And I still remember how that one went. So now if I watch a long-running series, I want to make sure that at the very least I like the characters. In the case that the story gone haywired somewhere down the line, at least I still have something that makes me want to continue watching the series until the end. That leaves me with, surprisingly, Teizokurei Daydream. To be honest, there is nothing Earth-shattering about this one. However, the storyline appeals to me and the characters are very endearing in my opinion. I actually want to check out the manga now to see where the storyline differs.
In case you haven't seen it, here is the extended trailer for Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城). As expected, the film looks fantastic like other Ghibli's productions. I also like the music that Joe Hisashi has composed for the movie. The voice talent for the movie includes the famous SMAP member, Takuya Kimura. Akihiro Miwa, whose resume includes another famous Hayao Miyazaki's movie, Princess Mononoke is another voice talent who contributes to the movie. From what I've read thus far, the film is about an 18 year old girl whose body somehow turn into that of an old woman's.
I'm really interested in this particular short OVA due to its rather unusual storyline. Le Portrait de Petite Cossette (The Portrait of Little Cossette) is a psychological drama with a bit of mystery and horror mixed together. It tells the story of Eiri Kurahashi, an art student who works part-time at an antique shop. One day while performing his job, Eiri sees the image of a blonde-hair, blue-eyed girl called Cossette d'Auvergne reflected on a broken glass chalice. Slowly he starts to enjoy the company of the apparition and becomes obsessed with her. The production staff includes the talent of Yuki Kajiura as the composer of the music that will be featured within this OVA series.
Here is the second Spring Anime which I hope will be interesting. Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai (This Ugly and Beautiful World) or KonoMini for short. The series is created by Gainax. The same animation studio who was responsible for series such as Evangelion, FLCL, Kareshi Kanojou no Jijyou (His and Her Circumstances) and Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai. Unfortunately, at this point in time, nothing much is known about this particular anime and the preview movie given inside Animage magazine was devoid of any dialogue between the characters (you can only hear this nice but rather ominuous Gregorian song).
I just got the new issue of Animage magazine and it's full of previews of the upcoming Spring 2004 Anime lineup. And what lineup this one turns out to be! I probably haven't mentioned it before but I haven't been happy with the two previous anime seasons. But this season looks to be quite interesting for me. My must-watch lists include Midori no Hibi (Days of Midori), KonoMini (This Ugly and Beautiful World), Mai Hime and Le Portrait de Petit Cossette. I'll try to scan the images for the other shows later on but for now, I'll like to focus on my favourite, Midori no Hibi. Please note that there will be spoilers about the series on some of the paragraphs below. So if you don't want to be spoiled, just skip straight to the last paragraph.
February 12, 2004 | 0 Comments
Heh. I've just found out that there'll be an anime series based on the popular manga called Midori no Hibi. I've had a chance to read Vol.3 and 4 of the manga and I have to say that I really like this series and find it to be really hillarious. It's basically about a guy who one day finds out that his right hand has somehow been replaced with a miniature living, breathing girl. I can't wait until the anime series is screened in Japan this upcoming April 2004. The original manga still runs in Shounen Sunday magazine and so far there are already 4 volumes of the manga.
I've been wanting to make some kind of a generic outline of this anime's basic plots. Mostly because I really like this series and also because I'm about to obtain a R2 DVD of the Boogiepop Phantom live action film (DVD obtained, 11 Nov). If you are interested in reading this and haven't seen the series, please be aware that this entry will be full of spoilers because this is an attempt to recall the entire Boogiepop events in chronological order instead of in fragmented style like in the series. And I think if you haven't seen the series, you will find the fragmented nature of the series to be far more interesting than if it was told in linear style like what I'm about to do.
I didn't realise that Production IG has came up with the 3rd trailer for Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. The trailer looks nifty but it's not that different from the 2nd one which was also a lot longer. And once again there doesn't seem to be any sign of Major Kusanagi's presence in this film. In any case, the trailers are still quite interesting. Especially now that they've made all of the trailers available in Quicktime format instead of just limiting it to the Windows Media Player format.
November 25, 2003 | 0 Comments
At this point in time, Gainax probably sees Neon Genesis Evangelion as the big fat cashcow that they can milk as often as they like. But I have to admit that they do a very good job at it that I find it hard to resist the juggernaut. The Renewal of Evangelion DVD release is a good example of this. This is such a highly publicised PR event where they manage to grab headlines/covers on Anime magazine (such as the December 2003 issue of Newtype Japan). And IMO, they deserve all of these attentions. The renewal of EVA DVD for R2 is one of the best remastering job out there. They have removed so many problems (such as the jitters) that plagued the original release of Evangelion.
November 22, 2003 | 0 Comments
Well, not really. But that is the case in the penultimade episodes of X: the Series. For those who don't know about the series, X is basically an end of the world story which has its origin from a manga created by CLAMP. It chronicles the lives of 7 people who are chosen to defend humanity and another 7 who are chosen to destroy humanity which has ruined the Earth to the point of no return. The TV series is an attempt to re-tell this story using different perspectives from the one used on the movie version called X/1999. The following is a discussion about the ending. But before I say anything further, I better cut this entry to avoid the wrath of unspoiled viewers.
I just finished watching the first episode of Ghost in the Shell TV series, subtitled "Stand Alone Complex". The first episode does present some nice, futuristic ideas such as electronic informations that are displayed right in front of your eyes by connecting a PDA like object to the cortex. It seems in this universe, human bodies have been equipped with various cybernetic enhancements which make them capable of interacting with other electronic devices. I think that's an interesting idea in a creepy kind of way.
Having said that, the series itself seems a bit dull and I find the characters (which includes Major Kusanagi from "Ghost in the Shell" movie) just don't have as much personality as they should. I also don't like the general look of the series which seems like a mish mash of 2D and 3D animation without the smooth transition between the two art styles. As a result, the 3D elements stick out like a sore thumb (here's looking at you, Tachikoma!).
November 10, 2003 | 1 Comments
Some things are worth waiting for. This DVD is one of those things. I've been holding off on buying Ayashi no Ceres aka Ceres: Celestial Legend DVD because the company that produced the DVD for the US market (Viz) did a lousy job on the packaging. They chose to slap the manga (Japanese comic books) illustration instead of the anime illustration on the cover of the original DVD release of this series. Now, Viz has decided to repackage the series by putting the entire series on 2 DVD boxes where each box comes with 2 discs. They've also redesigned the DVD covers and this time they've used some anime artworks on them. So these two are going on my 'must buy' list. I personally think they look very nice. See those white silks that scatter around the picture? They are actually imprinted on a plastic shell that covers the DVD box, producing this rather nice 3D effect on the DVD cover. I also like that the designer either intentionally or unintentionally chose these 2 pictures for the DVD covers. Because the pictures of the two couples represent the two running themes in the series: Love vs Obsession. While 'Love' and 'Obsession' sometimes look similar in appearance, they obviously are different. But people often believe that what they feel is love while in fact it's nothing more than obsession or selfishness.
As for the story itself, Ayashi no Ceres is based on the old legend that some of you may have heard. The old legend tells a story of a fisherman, who steals the wings/clothes of an angel/celestial being while that said celestial being was bathing on a lake. As a result, the poor celestial being could not return to heaven. Instead she stayed on Earth and became the fisherman's wife. It's impressive how Yuu Watase (the author of Ceres) turns this simple legend into an allegorical dark tale of women's oppression by men and the revenge that some women took on these men in retaliation. Ayashi no Ceres asked the questions that some of us may have pondered as kids after hearing the legend: "did the celestial being marry the fisherman because she loves him or because she was forced by the fisherman?". Because if she does love the fisherman, then why did she left her husband and children to return to heaven?
