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ファイト／ステイナイト 
As far as resolution goes, this is not exactly what I had in mind for the series. I always feel that the anime suffers greatly because of the writers' decision to exclude some of the darker storylines and themes from the manga. I also find the excessive fanservice to be rather silly and distracting instead of enjoyable. On the positive side, the anime contains some lavish character design and background images courtesy of J.C Staff. I really hope the company will give similar or more attention when they get to work on the second season of Honey and Clover. Anyway, back to Karin, I think that overall this is not a bad series to watch. From time to time, one can sees that the writers are actually capable of writing some good and interesting dramas. Unfortunately their tendency to keep things light made the series feels rather generic.
Hmm, Karin anyone? Okay, I admit I haven't exactly been up to date with the series but it's kind of hard to do with my RL schedule as well as the new series I'm trying to keep up with. On the one hand, I need to finish what I started. On the other hand, if I fail to catch up with the recent releases, I'll have even more backlogs. Thankfully this series is almost close to its completion. If I remember correctly, I think there are only 2 more episodes left after episode 22. I assume J.C Staff will then work right away on the new season of Honey and Clover. Anyway, although it's hard to see from the screenshots, some of the animation in these episodes are quite impressive. In adddition to this, there are also some nicely designed static shots which I think helps to make the anime looks different from other comedy-based series. Right now I'm just hoping that J.C Staff writers can end the series on a good and conclusive note.
Usui's creepy eyes!! That was brilliant. I couldn't stop laughing for a while after I saw that scene. I'm glad the animators realise that the guy's eyes are unusually weird and strange. I guess Boogie-kun wasn't off the mark when he was making fun of Kenta's eyes a few episodes ago. Anyway, these two episodes mark the return to the comedic material. As a result, the previous episode's serious tone has mostly disappeared from both episodes. There are traces of it every now and then but in general, these episodes are too light-hearted to be taken seriously. I can't remember now if this is supposed to be a 24 or 26 episode series but either way, I think it's a good idea for the series to start a major arc now while there are still 6-8 episodes left. I really hope they won't leave the main arc until 2-3 episodes before the end of the series.
These two episodes turned out to be pleasant surprise. Well, episode 15 is actually not that special but it was necessary to facilitate the greatness that is episode 16. It's been a while since I felt any kind of emotion while watching this series but episode 16 brings a really good, tragic drama to this series. Moreover, it forces the viewers to question the relationship between Karin and Kenta. I really hope that these two episodes are signs that the series is going to switch into high gear as it gets closer to the end. From what I've seen so far, when the writers want to, they can actually craft a really good drama. It's unfortunate that most of the time this aspect of the storyline is not visited as often as I'd like it to. I understand that Karin is probably first and foremost a comedy series. However, I think the series' real strength is actually the drama that accompanies the comedy.
These two episodes are surprisingly good. Not only the episodes are hilarious, they actually show signs of potential conflicts as well. As usual, the focus is placed on the developing romance between the characters. Through this romantic development, however, several sub-plots emerge and they are more than enough to stall the main plot from time to time to prevent it from reaching a conclusion a bit too early. Of all the subplots, I'm mostly interested in the Ren and Fumio one because it presents the most conflict in comparison to the other subplots. The only thing left that the series has not touch upon is the background and explanation of Karin's blood-giving nature. I hope the writers will deal with this part of the story before the end of the series.
February 21, 2006 | 
9 Comments
These two episodes signal the return to the manga's plotline. This is a good thing because I personally am starting to get sick of Winner's subplot. It doesn't help that his voice is completely annoying and makes me want to reach through the screen and squeeze his neck. Come to think of it, lately I've been questioning some of the VAs' decision to use a particular voice for their character. Take Takahashi Mikako, for example, no matter how much I try, I can't distinguish her voice as Maki from her other roles such as Ayumi in Hachikuro and Rika in Hantsuki. Similarly, Suwabe Junichi's character, Ren, sounds just like Archer in Fate/stay night. This makes me wonder if these VAs were told to use their standard anime voice, or if they just couldn't be bothered changing their voice. I find this to be a bit disappointing because I like it when a VA make each character sounds different (ie. Kamiya Hiroshi - Takemoto in Hachikuro, Shinji in Fate/stay night).
January 16, 2006 | 10 Comments
I'm sorry that this ends up coming really late but I'm really flat out lately. In between work and trying to organise my trip, I barely have the time to sit down and watch something. It doesn't help that I kind of lost a bit of interest in the series. I feel that lately the writers have no idea what kind of series they want to create here. The storyline seems to be all over the place and lacks the urgency that the manga posesses in spades. I think this has been the case ever since Winner is included in the story. I think his appearance takes out a lot of the serious tone of the first few episodes. And unfortunately, it is the serious tone of the manga that I like so much about the series. Because of this, I decided to put this on back-burner. I'll still review it for now but the review won't come as fast as it used to be since I have other series to cover now.
Ack, I forgot that this episode is actually on today until someone told me about it. And here I thought that I have another free day since Rozen Maiden Traumend is not starting until next week ^_^;. Anyway, this turns out to be a wonderfully animated episode. I think the animators did a great job here. The story is actually really good as well although I can't remember if this particular story is to the manga version or not. But if this turns out to be an original story, this has to be commended because I personally think it's one of the better original stories I've seen. It's not exactly mind blowing but at least the story managed to make me care about the characters. I do have to wonder how long will the writers able to make the storyline interesting though. So far the episodes have been non-continuous and as a result, it's hard to get excited about some of the episodes.
December 22, 2005 | 5 Comments
First thing first, is it Winner or Wiener? I actually like Wiener better because it describes the character perfectly. But unfortunately the animators seem hell-bent on referring him as Winner. They even make a point of showing his badge several times to emphasise this very fact in this episode. Come to think of it, I don't really mind Winner either because it also has that double meaning of him always losing despite his name. But Wiener sounds funnier and the way his name is pronounced actually sounds like Wiener. Oh well, I guess in the end, it's up to how one wishes to pronounced it. But just to be on the safe side, I'll refer him as Winner since that's how it's shown in the badge.
December 16, 2005 | 9 Comments
Okay, I only have one hour before the party so unfortunately this will be really short. I think this episode demonstrates that the animators have done a good job in the visual style of the series. Karin's flower-shaped nosebleed looks especially good in this episode when contrasted against the green grass. I am also starting to get used to the story, which I think is lighter and less serious in comparison to the manga. I think this is one of those series where I just have to switch off the brain. Having said that, there are a couple of things about this episode that annoys me and unfortunately, one of them has to do with the addition of the new vampire hunter character. I simply think his character is a wasted opportunity for the series.
I really have no idea why but for some reason this episode is far more enjoyable than the one before it. I think I'll assume that this has to do with the bright colour scheme that this episode uses as opposed to the dull grey-ish colours that were used in the previous episode. I also think that comedy-wise, this is a lot funnier. Although the storyline-wise, I really have no idea how close it is to the manga because everything seems to be all mixed up. As a side note, the special edition DVD is now up for pre-order at Amazon Japan. The extra includes a reversible cover, a DVD box, and a special CD featuring radio program. In addition to these, 3 special 'Dragon magazine' all stars cards, 32 page booklet, and an undecided special present for first-pressed buyers will be included in the DVD as well.
Okay, I'll have to be a bit shorter with the summary today because I only have a couple more days before JLPT. This week's Mushishi summary will also come a bit late because that's the day when I have to take the exam. Anyway, this episode feels rather short for some reasons and unfortunately the animation is also not as good as the previous episodes. The majority of the scenes take place inside a darkened room and unfortunately the animators use mostly duochrome color scheme here. As a result, the majority of the episode look rather dull. I supposed it's inevitable that sooner or later the animation quality will go down a bit so that the animators will have enough budget to animate the rest of the series.
November 24, 2005 | 4 Comments
Unfortunately this episode feels a bit compressed to me. It seems as if the writers were trying to cram 4 chapters worth of material into a half hour episode. As a result, some scenes may be a bit hard to understand for those who haven't read the manga. I'm not sure how many episodes this series is going to have but if it ends up being 13, then that explains why the writers are in a hurry to include as many chapters as possible. Anyway, the animation also feels a bit off this time with the colours not looking as nice as in the previous episodes. Thankfully the characterisation reminds spot on although it's really hard to ruin this since the manga already does a good job of establishing each and every character traits. I am also glad to know that the VAs for Karin and Kenta did a good job in two key scenes within this episode.
November 17, 2005 | 2 Comments
Well, it's three episode down and the animation is still consistently good. So I think it's safe to say that J.C Staff are going to treat Karin quite well. Unfortunately the storyline seems to be a bit slower in pace this time around. I don't mind this because the episode in general is still pleasant to watch. However, I do miss a couple of scenes that were in the manga. Speaking of the manga, this episode seems to cover right up to the end of chapter 6 but the majority of its storylines have been altered a little bit to facilitate the 'happiness' theme that is presented within this episode. Unfortunately, the treatment of the theme is quite superficial and in the end, only serves as a way for Karin to figure out how she can get rid of her nosebleed problem whenever she gets close to Kenta.
November 11, 2005 | 15 Comments
Opening Theme: Scarlet by BRACE;d (9MB, for PSP/Quicktime) - Updated 20/03/2006
I am not sure if I like some of the changes that have been done to the series. For example, there is a clear attempt to make the series more perverted and I feel that this is unnecessary since the series is already good on its own. I also don't like the minor design change the animators have given to Ren, Karin's older brother. In the manga, Ren has a rather normal ear. In the anime, however, Ren sports a vampire-like ear, making him looking a bit weird. Apart from that, however, this is another nice episode for the series. The opening actually looks really good although once again I kind of wish they didn't go overboard with the nudity. A flash here and there is nice but as it is now, I think the opening makes the series looks like a soft-core porn.
November 3, 2005 | 16 Comments
Ending Theme: 「もうひとつのバースディ」 - Mou hitotsu no birthday by Fm.8 (9MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Wow, this is another nice anime from J.C Staff. It looks like they've learned a few tricks from producing Honey and Clover. This anime uses similar nice-looking airbrushed background that was featured in that other series. In addition to this, the series uses a really strong colour palette. As a a result, each frame is really nice to look at. You really have to see this yourself to appreciate the quality of the style. As a side note, the sponsor's announcement is actually delivered in English language. I wonder if that means the producers are very aware of the likelihood of the series being watched by the English-speaking audiences. Anyway, at the moment there is no opening theme but there is a simple ending theme.
Well, this is probably the last Fall series I'll pick up. I wasn't sure if I want to do this but I really like the manga and am keen to at least check out how the anime adaptation will turn out. Plus, I think I haven't got a light romantic comedy series in my plate at the moment. Karin is a perfect fit for this because despite its vampiric backdrop, it's actually quite light and I don't think this will change anytime soon even if the plot takes a slightly sadder tone in the future. Honey and Clover fans will probably be interested to know that Takahashi Mikako, who voiced Yamada Ayumi in that series will have a minor role in this series as the best friend of the main character. Having said that, please be aware that this series is quite different in tone and narrative-style from Honey and Clover. I think you're going to be disappointed if you watch this and expecting to see Honey and Clover.
