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ローゼンメイデン 
Well, I hope you're hungry because I have tens of food screenshots here. :D Well, this episode surprises me a little bit because I didn't expect to get a new ED theme. To be honest, what I really want is a new OP since the current OP is not that hot. The 1st ED was actually kind of good but the new one is not bad as well and comes with a slight Spanish touch. I am mostly happy because the ED now incorporates Shishio Gen, who happens to be my favourite character in this series. It seems as if it'll be ages before he's incorporated into the series but I hope the wait worth it. This episode itself is a lot lighter in comparison to the one before it. I am surprised that the writers split this story into two episodes though. I really thought that they could have squeezed everything into just one episode.
I think it's often easy to forget that Kekkaishi is a shounen series with not-so-big following. Having said that, I am still amazed of the animation and character design quality shown in this series. There is a good amount of polish given to the series that I haven't seen given to other series except maybe Death Note and D.Gray-Man. In those cases, however, they both are extremely popular series with large followings. On the other hand, I'm not sure if Kekkaishi has the same amount of followers. It's quite unfortunate if it doesn't because the story is a hell lot more entertaining than other shounen series so far. The colour scheme is also a lot more pleasant than most other shounen series, which is a surprise to me. I hope the series will maintain this quality once we get to a more intense arc.
One impressive thing about this series is the fact that Sunrise somehow manages to keep a rather consistent quality in most episodes. Most shounen series tend to go down in both the character design and animation after a couple of episodes. With this series, however, there have only been one or two episodes where the character design or animation were downgraded. The burning scene in this episode is a good example of how good-looking this series can be. The fire that the animators drawn in this episode is unusually high in quality. Another thing that impresses me is the quality of the voice-acting. Without the right VA, I doubt that the series would have been this entertaining. This is especially true in Yoshimori, Madarao, and Hakubi, each of whom has a unique way of tonal range and line delivery.
February 19, 2007 | 
10 Comments
Well, I was hoping there will be a new opening/ending theme but unfortunately there isn't one. It kind of make sense though since I don't see the point of changing the opening when Shishio Gen has not even appear on the series. Having said that, I think the series' first opening should not feature either Masamori or Shishio and then after 12 episodes, they add them in. I just think it's a lot more exciting that way. The only reason why they feature these two characters right from the start is probably to attract the manga readers. But I assume manga readers would have watch the series in the first place anyway so there is no need to show every characters in the series right from the start. If anything it's kind of a spoiler for those who have not followed the series. At any rate I'm just happy that Masamori finally appears in the series. This means we're going to see the Urakai arc very soon and meet several new characters.
February 19, 2007 | 3 Comments
Playing catch up can be so tiring. I can't believe that I sometimes let myself get behind in terms of episodes especially since I hate having to catch up on post. Anyway, I've done episode 12 and 13 now and hopefully I can do episode 14 and 15 soon. But not that soon, I'm afraid. At a time like this, I wish the broadcast is on break once again so I can catch up with the rest of the episodes. I am not even sure about the number of the last episode that went on air. I think episode 16 is supposed to be aired tonight but don't quote me on that one. Anyway, this is basically a continuation of episode 11 and while there aren't that much movement, what are shown are pretty good.
February 8, 2007 | 12 Comments
If there was one animated feature that I can blame for ruining my childhood, I'd say it was Bambi. I still remember how shocked I was when I saw Bambi's mother got shot by some hunters in the forest. A lot of years have passed since then and I thought I have completely forgotten about the scene and how traumatising it was for a 5 year old. Come to think of it, I've never seen that film again after that. Maybe my subconscious tries to protect my fragile mind. Thanks to this episode, however, I was immediately reminded of that movie again. This episode also proves once and for all that Sunrise is evil. It's not enough that they feature one scene of a deer getting slaughtered, they seem to revel in the act by featuring more deers getting maimed by humans. Joking aside, this is a great looking episode which I'm sure would look great on DVD. Although the animation used during the fight scenes are not completely fluid, it still feels grand.
Well, it looks like the subtitle version manages to get quite close to the on-air version. I think up to episode 9 has been translated now. Hopefully that means more people will be more enthusiastic in following the series. I also have to step up a little bit since I'm 2 episodes behind at the moment. Anyway, I find this episode to be a lot more enjoyable than the one that came before it. This is strange since there is nothing out of the ordinary in this episode. Having said that, the comedy makes up for the lack of plot. It also helps that the animation and character design looks a lot better this time around. There's just one thing that bothers me and that's the unpleasant OP theme. I'm starting to appreciate the ED but no matter how many times I listen to the OP theme, I don't like it. It's unfortunate because it gets awesome animation to go with it. Although it will be strange, I hope we'll get a new OP in episode 13.
Well, the new episode will come out this week so I better write something about this episode since I never got the chance to do it back during its original air time. Unfortunately upon rewatch, I remember why I wasn't excited about the episode. It feels a bit boring in comparison to the other episodes in the series (the patisserie chef episode, for example). It doesn't help that the animation is a bit sub-par this time around and the comedy is barely around. There's not much they can do with the comedy but I hope the lack of decent animation is because the animators are saving the budget for the Shishio Gen arc. Although we won't see it for a while, that arc has some of the most interesting Ayakashi and complex fights.
This is a rather disappointing episode especially in comparison to the previous one. I think one of the reason why Kekkaishi is a stand above other shounen series is because it has some interesting storylines. This time around, however, the story focuses on the usual training mode that most shounen series tend to have. Unfortunately, this kind of episode usually has little to no plot and place its focus mostly on the action. Normally I would not have mind this, especially if the opponent is an interesting one. Unfortunately, Yoshimori's and Tokine's opponent in this episode looks more like a Pokemon reject. As a result, this episode feels pretty similar to levelling up your character in an RPG game: it's boring and takes a long time before the action picks up.
November 28, 2006 | 7 Comments
This kind of episode is one of the few reasons as to why I like anime so much. Although this series appears episodic at a glance, the amount of character development and story included in here is phenomenal. It's the kind of story which makes me wish that I'm a writer who can write something equally as good. This is no small task since it requires the viewer to sympathise with a character of the week as opposed to a regular character that the viewers are familiar with. However, this episode manages this feat easily. In short amount of time, the story convinced me that the two brothers in this story really do care about each other. This is why I believe that a good story can usually be determined by the story's ability to move the viewer's heart and convince him/her that a fictional character's emotion is actually real.
November 20, 2006 | 7 Comments
The design quality takes a rather big hit this time around. Some of the character designs look horribly unproportional. Take a look at this scene, for example. I've never seen a character's head looking so inflated before. It's like someone has stuck a huge balloon on top of a body. The strange thing is that the drawing is actually neat and tidy so it's obviously not a mistake because the animator was in a hurry. The story is also a bit uninspiring this time around with more focus on action and less on character development. It actually doesn't matter much when I was watching it but I find it hard to talk about when I have to provide some kind of impression about the episode. I really can't wait until Shishio Gen, the guy that you see fighting in the OP theme, joins the team. I think that's when the story starts to take off in a big way.
November 13, 2006 | 9 Comments
The quality of the character design has gone down a notch in this episode, which is a bit disappointing. There are times when Yoshimori actually looks like an entirely different character. In general, however, I still enjoy the episode quite a lot mostly because it reminds me a little bit of Yakitate!! Japan. I'm also starting to like the ED song even though the singer's unusual voice took a bit time to get used to. The best thing about the series, however, is the delightful voice that each VA brings to the character that he/she plays. I'm especially amused with Hakubi's VA because there is a sarcastic tone in every line that he delivers to Yoshimori. The fact that his character is a dog makes the whole thing even more hilarious. The way he says "Yoshi" never fails to make me smile because the tone is so delightfully condascending.
November 1, 2006 | 19 Comments
It's unfortunate that the interest for this series seems rather low at the moment. I suspect this is because no one has subbed the series thus far. Of course it doesn't help that the first 2 episodes came out at the same time, making it harder for those who just want to give the first episode a try but don't want to waste half gigabyte just to see it. Having said that, if you have the bandwidth to spare, then please check out this series. Anyway, this is a pleasant episode which concludes the mini-arc involving Tokine's mystery guest. The good thing about Kekkaishi, however, is the fact that some of the mini-arcs are basically foundations for the series' major storyline involving Urakai. This is a mysterious organisation which makes its first appearance in this episode and will become important later on in the series.
October 23, 2006 | 12 Comments
Opening Theme: 「Sha la la - アヤカシ NIGHT」 (Sha la la - Ayakashi NIGHT) by 宇浦冴香 (Uura Saeka)
Download: AVI format | AVI mirror | PSP format (coming soon)
Well, 3 episodes into the series and the quality still holds up so I think this is going to be a good series to follow. The writers have also stop rushing through the story now and as a result, the pacing is considerably better. I think this will appeal to people who like Spirited Away or Inuyasha. Some of the creature designs in this series looks really good and seem to be based on old Japanese folklore monsters. The characters are also more developed now that the introduction is over. I like how the writers slowly reveal Yoshimori and Tokine's background and what actually happened between their family. As a side note, this week marks the appearance of the real OP. The OP is spoilery just like other Sunrise comedic shows like Yakitate!! Japan and features some characters which won't appear until later on in the story.
October 18, 2006 | 11 Comments
Well, this is basically the second episode of the series but it was aired at the same time as the first one. While the first episode contains the OP theme, the second episode contains the ED theme. I personally think neither the OP nor the ED are that special but they are passable. Voice acting are okay as well except for Madarao the spirit dog. I was expecting a female VA not a male VA who tries to act like female. I am also apprehensive of the fact that the writers cut out some of the manga material. This makes me wonder if there is a limited amount of episode reserved for this series. Thankfully the art and animation make up for the above deficiencies. This is definitely one of the nicest-looking series I've seen this season. As a side note, I've updated the pictures for the first episode so that it'll have the correct aspect ratio.
October 17, 2006 | 10 Comments
Opening Theme: 「Sha la la - アヤカシ NIGHT」 (Sha la la - Ayakashi NIGHT) by 宇浦冴香 (Uura Saeka)
Download: AVI format (21MB) | Download PSP format (coming soon)
This turns out to be a nice surprise. I kind of like the manga but I never expected the anime to look this good. It's a bit hard to see with this particular episode since I got a rather lousy raw for it. But you should be able to see how good the quality with the screenshots from the second episode. Another thing that I didn't expect was for the TV channel to screen 2 episodes at once. While I have no problem with the first episode, I do have small issues with the second episode which I'll talk about in the relevant entry. Anyway, the OP theme is included on the first episode but I don't think this is the real OP theme since it mostly just shows scenes from the first 2 episodes. I am hoping that next week's episode will show the true OP. I will update the screenshots once I find a better quality one. In the meantime, however, I hope these are good enough.
