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ファイト／ステイナイト 
I'm sorry that this one comes out really late but doing recap while in Japan turns out to be harder than I thought. To begin with, the internet connection at the college is not that good. Bittorrent and other P2P programs run a bit slower and often drops out when I try to download something. Oh well, at least I can still download them. At the same time, the course I'm taking turns out to be harder than I thought. It's only the first week and I'm struggling to keep up. If it continues to be like this, I'll have to put all the titles that I cover to impression only to save me some time. If you're waiting for other titles like Monster and Yakitate!! Japan, I hope you'll be a bit more patient with me.
I'm sorry that it took me this long to come up with this recap. But I barely have the time to clean up my room, let alone find the time to watch and write something. Having said that, here's a quick entry for this week's episode. First thing first, this is a mediocre episode especially when you compare it with last week's episode. The episode also contains some unnecessary filler which I think should have not been included to begin with. With only 5 more episodes to go, I think the writers should have condensed next week's episode along with this week's episode. That way they'll have a lot more time to complete the series properly. The animation also takes a slight nosedive from last week's episode. But that's to be expected since the animators probably want to conserve the budget for the finale.
Wow, can someone please check if Hell is frozen over? I'm so used to seeing Mikan suffering within this series that seeing so many good things happening to her at once is a bit of a shock. It helps that the animation in this episode is unusually good. I think I'll be quite happy if the series had ended with this episode because the story has a nice resolution feel to it, with everyone being happy in the end. I'm not sure how weird it'll be to see everything turns bad again in the next couple of episodes. I also noticed that this is the first time Natsume laughs like a normal kid. It's quite a change from the manga where he doesn't even smile that much. Anyway, please note that I had difficulty understanding some of the dialogues in this episode, so if I make some mistakes, please let me know.
I'm sorry for the late recap but I had to finish a design job and didn't have the time to complete this until a couple of hours ago. I am also a bit disappointed with this episode. I think that overall this is not as funny as the manga version. Anyway, it looks like next week's episode will be the dance party chapter. Everyone looks good in the preview and I hope that episode will be better than this one, and especially last week's episode. With 7 more episodes to go, I also wonder how the anime writers intend to wrap up this series. I think the only way the series can have a satisfying conclusion is if it actually jumps a little bit plot-wise, and uses the plot from the start of volume 6 of the manga involving Iinchou.
Gah. I really like this show but the animation and the pacing in this episode are really horrid. It feels as if the animators were running out of budget and therefore couldn't be bothered to draw the characters' face correctly. The character design in this episode is ghastly. It's not even supposed to be super-deformed. On top of this, the writers clearly try to stretch what should have been a half episode material into a full episode story. Because of this, expect some unnecessary paddings and flashbacks. Manga readers will also notice that several scenes which are considered as either 'too naughty' or 'controversial' have been changed in the anime.
Hmm, the animation in this episode is a bit inconsistent. There are instances where the characters (mostly Iinchou and Ruka) appear all of a sudden and then conveniently disappear when the next scene comes up. Apart from that though, this is a relatively good episode that differs slightly from the manga. The animators have chosen to combine two Hotaru-related stories and place a few transitional scenes to connect the two. The result is actually pretty good and the transition from the two stories are well done. BTW, is it just me or does that bucket/scoop shot in Hotaru's flashback reminds other people of that 'Rosebud' scene in Citizen Kane? Both stories deal with the lost of a child's happiness because the child is taken away from their parents and happy environment.
February 26, 2005 | 
51 Comments
Oops. Sorry for showing the unfinished summary beforehand. I forgot to tell MT not to publish it just yet. But the whole thing is completed now so you can go ahead and read it. This is a fun and entertaining episode that offers a nice break after last week's dark episode. The focus here is on the Tokuryoku group's Aladdin and the Magic Lamp RPG. Because of this, the majority of the episode is spent showing what the game participants do in order to pass the goal. In addition to this, there is development in the Natsume/Mikan/Ruka triangle here. It is obvious by now that both Natsume and Ruka like Mikan a lot. The problem is, Mikan only see the two of them as friends. Well, in Natsume's case, she sees him as that annoying boy who tries to grope her. :)
February 21, 2005 | 3 Comments
Gakuen Alice ED Theme
Performed by Kana Ueda and Rie Kugimiya
Kanji/Kana version
君が大っきな大っきな声で笑ったら
すぐに真似っ子 一緒に笑ったね
手を繋いで歩いた道
今日は2人で かけっこしょう
君といるとどんな世界も明るく輝くよ
そんな君の隣にいる
こんなちっちゃな幸せを
ひとつひとつ抱きしめながら 笑顔に変えるよ
自転車でくぐり抜けたあの虹のように
ハッピーな色でいよう いつまでも
うつむいて歩いた道
今日は2人でかけっこうしょう
上を向きましょ どんな世界も明るく輝くよ
そんな君の隣にいる
こんなちっちゃな幸せを
ひとつひとつ抱きしめながら 笑顔に変えるよ
自転車でくぐり抜けたあの虹のように
ハッピーな色いでいよう いつまでも
喧嘩した 心の距離は
物差しじゃ計れない
こらえきれず こばれた涙
2人で拭いあえば
自転車でくぐり抜けたあの虹のように
ハッピーな色でいよう いつまでも
君と大っきな大っきな声で笑ってく
ハッピーな色でいよう いつまでも
February 19, 2005 | 16 Comments
This episode is an awesome conclusion to the Reo arc. It's good to see this one turned out to be as dark and tense as I thought it should be. Credit also goes to the writers for being able to insert one or two additional comedy scenes into what otherwise would have been a rather dark episode. While some of the comedy scenes feel slightly inappropriate, their inclusions are generally well thought of. In addition to this, the episode also presents some interesting background information that I hope will be developed in the remaining episodes. It's unfortunate that this is only a 26 episode series because I can really see the storyline going into a second season if they have the budget to produce it.
February 12, 2005 | 30 Comments
It's kind of disappointing to know that the drawings for this particular episode are not as good as the other episodes. Once the setting moves out of the school area, it seems that the designer have no clear idea on how the outside world should look like and as a result, the surrounding background images look dull and uninspired. The city looks like a bunch of tall boxes lined up one after another without any interesting feature to distinguish one set of buildings from the rest. Thankfully what the episode lacks in style, it makes up a lot in the storyline. I think plot-wise, the series is definitely heading in the right direction. It's good to see how some of the minor words or conversation that seems meaningless in the previous episodes finally becomes clear in this episode.
February 5, 2005 | 22 Comments
I've been waiting for this action-filled arc for a while and this one certainly didn't disappoint me. The ending turned out to be quite tense and exciting as well. As expected though, it made me wish that next week will come faster. For those of you who are into seiyuu, this one marks the appearance of Suzumura Kenichi, who's probably best known for his role as Kamui in X TV series. This casting seems to be intentional since Suzumura is also a singer and his role as Reo requires someone who can at least belt out a tune. Unfortunately, the song included in this episode seems to be the usual rock and roll variety which is not particularly special in any kind of way.
January 29, 2005 | 13 Comments
I can't believe that the series already reached the 12th episode by now. It certainly hasn't felt that way. But sure enough, next week will be the end of the first half of the series. I think so far I've been happy with the anime except for a few minor things here and there. This is mostly has to do with the fact that the anime writers have re-arranged scenes that I thought were already perfect in the manga. But if I really think about it from the anime writers' POV, I think the re-arrangements do make sense. Anyway, I'm just relieved that the anime has now included the dark elements from the manga. I think as long as the anime keeps up the balance between the comedy and the dark elements, this series should become one of the best anime series of Autumn 2004.
January 22, 2005 | 12 Comments
Well, now I know that I can still download stuff even though my download limit has already been used to its last byte. However, the consequences of doing such is that I actually have to wait for 9 hours to complete a download of any file that is bigger than 150MB. Sheesh. Oh well, beggar can't be chooser. Anyway, back to this series itself, the anime finally decides to incorporate some of the darker elements of the manga. I wish that it had done it earlier though because as it is now, the shifts between the light episodes to this one feels so abrupt. Having said that, it's better to be late than never. Every single darker element from the manga suddenly make an appearance in this episode and what a stark changes it does to the show. The school which has always seem safe has now becomes foreboding.
January 15, 2005 | 26 Comments
I really like it when a boarding school-based stories like this one features its own little town. It reminds me a lot of classic English fictions from Enid Blyton as well as the recent Harry Potter series. Another interesting part of this episode is the use of "The Little Match Girl" fairy tale. This is the famous Hans Christian Anderson tale where a poor little girl is ordered by her cruel father (or mother depending on which version you read) to sell some matches on a cold winter day and therefore the poor girl ends up frozen dead the next day. Yup, charming stuff. The kind of fairy tales that will traumatise kids for a long, long time. Other examples of this are the non-disney version of Hansel and Gretel and The Little Mermaid. Warning: this entire entry + comments contain future anime/manga spoilers. Consider yourself warned.
Well, here's the first original episode created specifically for the anime. In my opinion, this is not bad effort but at the same time, it's not impressive either. The focus here is mostly on Amanatsu, a Mikan-lookalike robot that has been created by Hotaru. The episode has some funny moments in it but overall, if this is a taste of future fillers, I think I'd prefer it if they stick with the original storyline. The problem with this particular episode is that it doesn't advance the story whatsoever. Admittedly, this is supposed to be a filler episode so advancing the storyline may not be at the writers' top priority list. But considering the fact that there are enough material from the manga to go around for 26 episodes, I don't understand why they need a filler episode.
December 22, 2004 | 6 Comments
Gakuen Alice OP Theme
Performed by Kana Ueda
Kanji/Kana version
ジリジリと鳴り響く 目覚ましで起こされた
キラキラと太陽が 今日もまた 絶好調
眠たい目こすっては 君の背中追いかけて
駆け足でつまずいて転んでは 落ち込んだ
授業中 空を見て
ポカリ 口を あける頭に
命中した 紙飛行機のメッセージ
「いつもいつも笑ってて」
今君のすぐ傍で分かち合える毎日
どんな困難だって 飛び越えられる
明日を２人で 迎えれるようにね
曇り空の日だって 幸せ色で笑うから
ピカピカの太陽のように
チリチリとこぼれてく 砂時計見つめては
キラキラと涙した 今日の君 絶不調？
潤んだ目 君の背中 そっと叩き
思いっきり 微笑んで 太陽に ささやいた
「もっともっと笑うから」
今君のすぐ傍で分かち合える毎日
どんな難題だって 解き進めるよ
明日を笑顔で迎えられるようにね
雨の空の日だって 2人一緒で笑おうね
ピカピカの太陽のように
今君のすぐ傍で分かち合える毎日
どんな困難だって 飛び越えられる
明日を２人で 迎えれるようにね
曇り空の日だって 幸せ色で笑うから
ピカピカの太陽のように
December 20, 2004 | 27 Comments
Okay, so in essence, the basic story of this episode has not changed much. But I hate how once again the anime decides to exclude some of the manga's darker elements. Admittedly, some of the darker stories are still here but by replacing some of them, the end result is not as strong as it could have been. In the manga, one can really feels that there's something inherently wrong with the whole situation and yet, there's nothing Mikan can do about it. That kind of helpless feeling is sorely lacking from this version. I'm happy that the anime does a very good job in showing the comedic side of the series, such as the idiotic divination dance. But I really wish this version had included more foreboding and darker elements. Even Jinno-Sensei looks more silly than threatening in this episode.
December 13, 2004 | 13 Comments
Ugh, I think I got a flu. So please excuse me if some of the things that I say don't make sense here. I just feel like going to rest soon. Anyway, this is another fun episode which is a welcome change after last week's mediocre one. The focus here is on a Dodgeball competition between Mikan's team and Natsume's team. I personally never play the game so I have little knowledge about the game apart from the part where you basically win by getting people out of your opposing team. This can be done by hitting them with the ball or catching the ball which is thrown by an opponent before the ball hits the ground. I'm not sure about the number of people allowed per team. I think Mikan's team has at least 8 people. Seems to be an unusual number for a ball game.
I am not too crazy about this episode mostly because it lacks in comedy and yet, it fails to present the dark story that was in the manga. Never the less, it is interesting to know more about the school and the way it operates. In this particular episode, it's obvious that major classifications of Alices are used to group students together for training. I think this makes a lot of sense in the way that some students in schools are normally grouped by their interest in a particular subject (biology, social sciences, etc). Anyway, there isn't much of Hotaru in this one either and she seems to be a bit out of character somehow. Was it just me or did she actually smile in one of the scenes? The Harry Potter references seem to be quite thick in this one as well. Especially with Noda-sensei's ability to manipulate time just like Hermione's time turner in Prisoner of Azkaban.
November 28, 2004 | 8 Comments
And the procrastination continues. Having said that, I'm not a believer of 'all study and no play' is a good thing prior to exam so yay! to procrastination. Anyway, this episode is another good one for the series. I'm really tempted to say that this is a keeper but I'll wait until a few more episodes. But if they keep the quality like this, I'm sure I'll be quite keen to have this on my DVD collection. Plot-wise, I realise now that despite its outer similarity to Kodocha, this series seems to focus more on the adventure/mystery/comedy aspect of the story instead of on the serious drama path that Kodocha often takes. It doesn't affect my enjoyment of the series but it does require me to adjust the initial expectation that I had when I first watched this series. Besides, I find it hard to believe that Mikan is capable of angsting longer than a couple of minutes.
November 21, 2004 | 14 Comments
Please be aware that the following episode contains violence perpetrated by a stuffed animal. Grown-ups who have fear of dolls, clowns, and stuffed animals, are advised to stay away from this one. I am not going to be responsible for the massive therapy bill you'll incur on your side once you see this episode or read this recap. Similarly, small children are advised to divert their attention away from this episode unless they want to become one of those traumatised grown-ups.
Joking aside (or not, depending on who you are), I can't be the only who think that this episode reminds me of that song, The Teddy Bear Picnic. Having said that, judging from the lyrics in the manga, it seems the song that Tachibana-sensei had in mind is actually Mori no Kuma-san. Because of this, I ended up scouring the net looking for its lyrics and along the way, stumbled upon some amusing Japanese teddy-bear related articles. These include: a literal Teddy Bear Picnic, a recipe for 'Bear in Forest' cake, and an awesome Flash animation.
November 14, 2004 | 4 Comments
Update: Subtitled version of episode 1 is out now at Animesuki.
I think I finally cave in to the opening. The music is not that great, but seeing Mikan trying to chase Hotaru over and over again without much success is quite amusing. As for the episode itself, unfortunately I didn't enjoy this one as much as the last one mostly because there are some unnecessary fillers added in between the original story. They're entertaining to watch at first but eventually, it kind of disturbs the flow of the story a little bit. Despite that, this episode does a good job of showing the nightmare of one's first day at school. If you had a bad experience back then, you'll probably sympathise with Mikan a lot here.
Well, the Kodocha effect is finally here. Natsume and Mikan finally meet one another and the 'sparks' begin to fly out of control. The 'sparks' that appear here are not the romantic kind though. When it comes to these two, the 'sparks' are more of the flaming arrows and meteor rain types. It also seems to me that the 2nd episode follows the manga storyline quite closely and as a result, some of the situations presented in this episode are quite 'colorful'. They're all comedic in nature but there's a possibility that some people may be weirded out a bit by the joke. This episode is also prelude to a chapter where I started to dislike Hotaru's cold attitude. It's good to know that this will eventually be explained in the future but I can't help but feeling sorry for Mikan sometimes. Anyway, check out Matthew's blog, Momotato Daioh, JASCII, and Ume's Journal for more opinion on this series.
November 1, 2004 | 13 Comments
If you're interested, there are some scans from various anime magazine on the series info page. Ditto with other October anime series' info sections. Anyway, this episode turns out to be a rather good first episode. If you like Kodomo no Omocha I think you'll be amused at this little title. The choice of colors for the animation are also appropriate with bright colors dominating most of the scenes. Opening and Ending theme-wise, there's nothing out of the ordinary here. In fact, the opening makes the series looks too kiddy. Teddy also looks kind of crappy here. If you see the manga version, it actually has furs. Here, however, it looks as if someone has shaved its body or something.
October 10, 2004 | 14 Comments
This title is one of the new autumn anime that have been receiving quite a lot of attention from various anime magazines. You can practically find different anime illustration for this series appearing on each individual magazine from Newtype Japan to Animage. To be honest, I have no idea if this is a part of the promotion from the producer of the anime, or if the magazines are genuinely interested in this series. However, the fact that the series receives 26 episodes right off the bat suggests that at least the producer believes in the series enough to give it a full season. There are at least 5 volumes of the manga so far, so I hope that the producer has enough stories to fill all 26 episodes without the need to resort to filler or to over-condensed it like Pierrot Animation condensed Midori no Hibi.
