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ファイト／ステイナイト 
I think by now everyone must be aware that After Story will be animated as well. I hope this will tie up many of the lose ends that weren't covered in this arc. Judging from the preview, it looks rather angsty than comedic in comparison to this one. As a side note, I never realised how good-looking today's digital animation really are. Most of the time, I watch anime using my crappy CRT monitor or my old HP laptop. Recently, however, I acquired a brand-new MacBook Pro. The difference is unbelievable. The colors are vivid and even better than I thought possible. Unfortunately, this also means that some DVDs which have awful source or been badly compressed are more noticeable than ever. But still, I'm kind of excited to see how other titles would look like on this laptop.
I hate to say this but I'm afraid I find this series to be rather disappointing. When I heard all the hype about Kanon, I was afraid that the actual series wouldn't live up to the expectation but that wasn't the case. Kanon really deserved its reputation. That series managed to move me with some of its storylines. Even smaller things like two characters talking about one character's painful past over Kanon D-dur still sticks on my mind. In comparison, nothing in this series has the same effect. In general, I understand that the writers want to focus on the theme of family and happiness. However, everything seems so vanilla and the characters don't really change much over the course of the series. It's a nice-looking series and it has some good comedic moments but there's nothing in the series that really makes me want to see it again.
If what other people have said about the 'after' series is true, then maybe this series really need a continuation. I just feel that at this point Nagisa has not received an interesting character development. For that matter, neither has Tomoya. Or am I expecting too much character development out of the series? I just think that as lead characters, their stories are not as interesting as I thought it'd be. At least in Kanon, there's a real stake (death) at play. However, here we are at the penultimate episode and there seems to be a lack of conflict. Sure, if Nagisa can't pull herself together, the play will be a mess. But it's not really a big deal. It's not like Nagisa is going to die or lose her home if she can't do it right this time around. And how about Tomoya's issue with his father? Would the writers be able to cram the solution on next week's episode as well? Or would that have to wait until the second series?
I'm sorry for the lack of update in the past few weeks. I've been really busy with work and haven't had the chance to do anything else except playing games during my short free time. It doesn't help that I've pretty much given up on Honey and Clover live action. I tried to watch episode 6 the other day and I just felt sad because the episode bored me to death. I can go back and watch the anime over and over again and I'll never get bored. So for the drama to be boring, that's an achievement on its own. As for this series, I don't think it's as funny as it used to be. I kind of miss the slapstick comedy that Sunohara, Tomoyo, and Ryou used to bring. Having said that, I appreciate the introduction of the mystery and hope that it'll be the main focus until the end of the series. Anyway, with only 6 more episodes to go, I hope the writers will be able to incorporate all of the important sub-plots and end this neatly.
February 29, 2008 | 
13 Comments
In comparison to last week's episode this one feels kind of weird and uneventful. If one has to sum up the plot, Tomoya is basically trapped in a relationship with Nagisa without even realizing it. I find it amusing since Nagisa already starts acting like she's his girlfriend, asking him not to go back home late, scolding him, etc. Oh well, I hope the writers can make this interesting since it's obvious that we're stuck with this pairing for the rest of the series. I am also interested to know more about that little robot creature and its role in the real world/series. It's kind of annoying that although we've seen this character a few times, there doesn't seem to be any hint on how it might be related to the main plot of the series. One of the fun things about Kanon is the correlation between the real series and that dream about a girl in the forest. And it didn't take long to figure out that she was the girl who was involved in the accident.
February 23, 2008 | 23 Comments
Well, this is a nice surprise. I never expected the Harem situation to be addressed in the series. I thought it'd be like Kanon, where the other girls just disappeared into the background while Ayu-Ayu took center stage. Instead, we got a full-blown train wreck, and I mean that in the best possible way. It feels like a train wreck to me because it's fascinating to watch even though it must be painful for the characters involved. I think I managed to guess where the scene was heading the minute Tomoya and Nagisa watch the game together and that song kicks in. Speaking of which, the song feels vaguely Fushigi Yuugi for some reason. I think it's because it has that premonition feel to it despite being J-Pop and all. I'd really appreciate it if someone can tell me the name of the song since it's not mentioned at all in the end credit. The song made it easy to understand the crushing blow that the girls must have felt after they saw the interaction between Nagisa and Tomoya. The best thing about this is that in one fell swoop the writers managed to end the harem situation. This means we now will head into Tomoya and Nagisa's story.
February 10, 2008 | 16 Comments
I'm sorry for the 12+ hours downtime yesterday if you happen to visit the site and couldn't connect to it. My favorite service provider was down as usual and didn't bother to notify anyone about it. If it's not because I'm too busy these days, I'd spend the time to look for another provider. Unfortunately, not only I have busy schedule these days, I am reluctant to do major move to another server. I just finished an upgrade of the Movable Type blogging software that I use and am not in the mood to do another stressful blog-related maintenance. Anyway, these two episodes show major progress in the storyline. It looks like the writers are going to combine Kyou and Tomoyo story into one arc while inserting some obvious Nagisa/Tomoya moment in between. This makes me wonder if the rumor that the series will get 52 episodes is true or not. Since I have no idea of the story, I don't see why this series can't end in 26 episodes.
January 26, 2008 | 16 Comments
Well, this marks the end of Kotomi's arc. Overall, it's been a rather pleasant arc in comparison to Fuuko's one. It helps that Kotomi gets a better background story and characterization than Fuuko. I am also glad that she doesn't actually leave the series like I thought she would. It'd be strange to see her phasing into the background but that is to be expected if the story wants to develop the other characters. Anyway, with only 11 episodes left, I wonder if the series will be able to cover every single plot left. I originally thought episode 15 will focus on Kyou or Tomoyo but that doesn't seem to be the case here. If anything, it's Sunohara who actually gets some kind of development.
I was debating whether to blog this now or next week, along with episode 14. But then I remember that I'm going to be away on a conference for one week starting on Monday and won't have access to brodband internet. That means I'll have a lot of catching up to do when I come back the week after and the idea forced me to just blog this now. Anyway, there aren't that many things happening in this episode. The majority of Kotomi's backstory turns out to be similar to what I had in mind. I was actually kind of hoping that it'd be a bit more supernatural because at least it'd be different. I have heard that next week is supposed to be her last episode, which is fair enough. That means the other 3 girls (Nagisa, Kyou, and Tomoyo) will get around 4 episodes to complete their story. I think Fukou got way too much screen time earlier in the series and now the writers have no choice but to haste the story of the other characters.
December 22, 2007 | 9 Comments
I was about to give up watching this series around episode 11 because Kotomi's story around that episode felt too similar to Fuko's story. It doesn't help that I can't stand the frothy nature of the girls' interaction. Thankfully I decided to see episode 12 as well and that really changed my mind. While I don't appreciate the silly and sudden appearance of Fuko in this episode, the rather sinister tone that appears halfway through the episode was worth the wait. I also wonder about the little robot that appears in episode 10. He seems to be a metaphorical representation of Tomoya but it's hard to tell at this point in the story. All in all, if you almost give up the series like I did, I'd recommend watching episode 12 because the story in this one may pull you back into the series.
December 8, 2007 | 18 Comments
I'm sorry for this super-late review. I had a really rough week lately and wasn't in the mood to do anything. It takes me a while to actually create this post too. These two episodes are okay. I think I would have like it better had it been more conclusive. However, at the end of this episode, I wasn't sure whether I was happy or sad or confused about the ending. I guess in general I understand the sentiment that Tomoya and Nagisa feel. However, since I'm not too fond of Fuko, I wasn't really sad about the final outcome. Oh well, the next episode seems to focus on Noto Mamiko's character so let's see if she fares better than Fuko. Personally, the only girls that I find interesting in the series are Tomoyo and Kyou.
November 25, 2007 | 13 Comments
I can't believe I just spent some good hours deleting all of the spams from my blog. Sometimes I wish I can grab those spammers by their neck and force-feed them those pills that they advertise so often. Having said that, this forced me to accept that it's about time I update my blogging software. It's been a while since I do that. The thing is, updating your blog is a long-winded and difficult process. That's why I've been holding off on doing it. Anyway, moving along, this episode is actually pretty good. It moves a lot of Fuko-related issues in one go. The lack of comedy doesn't actually bother me because at least we get some kind of progress in terms of storyline. I think the main thing that bothers me so far was the lack of progress and this episode is a change in the right direction. Anyway, I'm sorry for the very short summary. I figured most people have already seen the episode anyway so there's no point to tread over it again.
November 16, 2007 | 35 Comments
I'm so bored. I've tried to watch more anime but for some reason nothing really excites me. I think I miss my shoujo fix. Not just any shoujo but a good shoujo like Honey and Clover (yeah, I know technically it's not shoujo) and Ouran High School Host Club. These days, there's nothing that make me want to sit up and write something as soon as possible. This series itself is okay and quite fun to watch but I really do struggle trying to find something to say about the series. This is kind of weird since I didn't have any problem figuring out what to say about Kanon. Oh well, I guess less blogging gives me more time to socialise and learn few new skills that I've been wanting to learn but it feels weird losing interest like this. BTW, what was the joke behind that send off of "X" at the start of the episode? I really didn't get it.
November 5, 2007 | 10 Comments
The funnies continue in this episode, which is a good thing for me because it balances all of the fluffy and sweet parts. I actually couldn't believe that the joke even go down there to the futanari level. But it was funny and entertaining to watch. This episode is also the first episode where the focus shifts from the relationship between Nagisa and Tomoya to the mystery behind Fuko's condition. Personally though, of all the girls, Fuko is the one that annoys me the most. On the positive side, it's refreshing to know that one of the lead girls has no potential to be Tomoya's love interest. After all, the writers could have made a harem out of every single girls but they decide that not everyone has to be attracted to Tomoya. Nagisa and Ryou seem to be the only girls who are attracted to Tomoya while the others seem to have little to no interest in him.
October 29, 2007 | 13 Comments
It looks like the plot is finally moving and from the look of things, the first character arc will be given to Ibuki Fukou. I think it makes sense since judging from the storyline, she along with Ichinose Kotomi are the two characters who are most removed from the main plotline. I guess after dealing with these two, we'll either get Kyou's story or Tomoyo's story. I wonder how many episodes will be given to each character. The reason I'm asking is that I've just read a brief summary of the story and it seems there is more to Nagisa story in comparison to the rest of the girls. This means the majority of the series must be devoted to telling her story. If this series is only 24 episodes like Kanon, then the story can't possibly spend too much time on the other girls.
October 20, 2007 | 12 Comments
I am not as happy about this one mostly because I don't think there's much development happening in the episode. And although I understand that it's futile, I wish the writers could be less obvious about which girl Tomoya will end up with. Oh well, at least the series still maintain some of its comedic trademark. I think it really makes a big difference from other dating-sim based series. I am not too sure about the amount of supporting characters featured in the series though. I guess Kyoto Animation simply want to cover all grounds but some of the characters that have appeared so far seems extraneous at the moment.
October 14, 2007 | 25 Comments
Sorry for the late review. I just came back from my trip to Japan yesterday and was too tired to write anything. Watching this makes me want to go back to Japan again. I miss everything from the food to the scenery. Oh well, I'll go back again next year somehow. Anyway, this is a pretty good second episode, which is a nice surprise. The series manage to maintain a good balance of comedy and drama while develop the mystery one step at a time. We also get to meet the last 2 new members for Tomoya's harem. Although judging from his reaction in this episode, he seems more of a one-girl man than that cad known as Yuuichi. At the moment the episode seems to be share equally between all the girls. I do wonder if future episodes will focus more on specific girl or if it'll continue the way it is now.
OP Theme: 「メグメル～cuckool mix 2007」(Megumeru cuckool mix 2007) by Eufonius - AVI format (26.6MB) | PSP format (15.6MB)
I can't believe that I almost forgot about the new anime season. Thanks to those of you who emailed me about it. Thankfully there's nothing that really attracts my interest thus far except for Clannad and Genshiken so I don't think I miss out much. As for this series, this is a pretty good start. I actually think the plot moves at a faster pace than the first episode of Kanon. The characters are pretty interesting especially Nagisa's family. I'm not really digging the OP Theme though and the animation that comes with it feels dated. On the other hand, the ED was a rare find. It's offbeat and cute, something which I clearly didn't expect to see from a series like this. On that note, what is it with Key's female character and Japanese bread involving sweet bean paste? First it was the Taiyaki and now An-pan.
