It has been a while I got this excited for an anime. In fact, I can't remember the last anime that got me all worked out like this. Needless to say, I think Aku no Hana is a very awesome anime. I definitely recommended it to everyone.
It’s that day when I got another level up in life. I’m turning a year older again today. So many things have changed in a course of a year. I read what I wrote on my birthday last year and I almost choked with laughter at how ridiculous everything sounds.
So overall, year 2012 has indeed been kinder to me. I have achieved what I set out to achieve but most importantly, I unexpectedly found love which is easily the highlight of the year for me.
I need an outlet to express how I feel nowadays. To be honest, things are going too good for me at the moment to the point that I am sort of living in fear for I do not want these extremely good feelings, and the love I have for him to end. If all these are gone tomorrow, there is a big probability that I might lose sanity.
Welp, looks like we are having this conversation again after so many years. Well 2 years and 3 months to be exact. The last time I wrote about my crush, I was in a different state of mind where I know it can be nothing more than just that, a crush.
I don't remember writing my preview thoughts for this show because it wasn't included so I checked MAL and by just looking at the poster, I can pretty much tell that I'm gonna like this show at all.
And boy I was right. There's too much muscle involved. The protagonists are giants while everyone else are midgets. The story took place during the Sengoku Era so there must be some political shit involved as well as samurai and what not. In any other show, I would probably be interested but this is just too blurgh for me.
Some fujoshi might like it though since the two protagonists are best friends and all so they are definitely BL material.
Watching the first 5 minutes were torture so I decided to stop. I'm dropping this shit.
Episode:tbc
Aired: Summer 2013
Producers: Studio Deen
arts & animation 4/10
story 4/10
characters 4/10
sound 4/10
enjoyment 2/10
overall 3.6/10
I find myself attracted to anything historical as of late. First it was the Shinsengumi era, then the Nobunaga era. Besides, this one is produced by Madhouse so I expect something tolerable if not great. I did change my mind about it when I saw the character designs so at least they have done something right there.
Ambition of Oda Nobuna is pretty much like any other anime that evolves around Nobunaga: of conquering Japan with his/her sidekick and enemies. In this show though, there is the added element from the future which is Sagara Yoshiharu, a really good looking boy, who somehow ended up in the era and is helping out Nobuna. I'm pretty sure they will end up together eventually but I just can't seem to care.
though I don't mind reading the doujinshi about these two =\
The comedy was cheap and borderline stupid. Most of it comes from the over-reaction from Yoshiharu. The story was weak and doesn't has anything new to add for this genre of anime. Basically I was disappointed.
But like I said, at least Madhouse does something right with the character designs, animation and the whole shebang. They were above average. Too bad the story failed to add value to the arts and animation otherwise this could have been tolerable for me.
Which means I am dropping this show without any regrets whatsoever. I'm not saying that it is shit though. It's just not my cup of tea.
I have high hopes for Utakoi because I am a sucker for romance. Thank goodness that this show delivers what it has promised. It has the necessary elements that made the translation and adaptation of the poetry works exceptionally well.
The strength of this show definitely lies with the romance story line which is narrated by Fujiwara no Sadae, brother of Fujiwara no Takaiko. He tells the story of two different love stories, the first being that of his sister and Narihira and the other about Narihira's brother Yukihira and his wife Hiroko. Narihira and Yukihira have two very different personalities thus they approached romance and responded to love differently as well.
I am not a fan of the art and animation though. It's too one dimensional for me. Having said that, the character designs weren't bad, at least it make perfect sense why Narihira is a womanizer because he really does looks hot. It is also interesting to see the setup since the story took place in a different era of the old Japan. At the same time, they do not forget the culture of that time which is very important in my opinion for a historical anime.
I find myself liking both the OP and the ED, I thought they were both have catchy tunes. I'm not complaining about the seiyuus either. They all breathed in some personality in their characters. Narihira for example, sounds smexy as fuck, and this is credited to his seiyuu. Same goes for the tsundere Takaiko.
I like what I see but given how busy I am, I am not too sure whether or not I won't put this in the backlog after a few more episodes. That remains to be seen I guess but for the time being, I'll enjoy the romance. It's sweet and just makes me want to cuddle with my crush. Gosh I miss him terribadly T__T
My first thought when I saw the first few second of this anime is... WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ANIMATION? So yeah, it wasn't a good first impression at all. The animation was worse than Blassreiter, if you guys still remember that shit. I don't know what the hell Studio Peirrot was thinking. This is clearly not how anime supposed to be done.
And then I heard the voice of the main shouta who this story of Kingdom is based on. I knew right away Morita Masakazu is his seiyuu because Xin has Ichigo's voice. I dunno why this disturbed me but it does. I feel all weird hearing Ichigo's voice in other character. My brain just can't compute but somehow it make sense because Ichigo Morita's voice is somewhat perfect for rebellious shounen character. Argh shit my brain can't compute...
Somehow I have always feel like Morita is exclusively Ichigo... >_>
I was ready to drop this show but the voice of Ichigo prevented me from doing so which is a good thing in hindsight because I ended up enjoying this preview episode of 50 minutes quite a bit. Surprisingly so.
Kingdom is about a kid named Xin who is a slave. He has a best friend named Piao who looks exactly like the King. Since the kingdom is in the state of upheaval, Piao was called forth of the palace to be the dummy and he got killed. Piao managed to go back to Xin though and tell him to go to a village full of murderers where Xin found the young King who looks like Piao.
I'm guessing Xin will take care of that young King from now on.
It's a typical shounen show but since I am a sucker for shounen, I found it entertaining despite the hideous art and animation. Will I continue watching this? Most likely.
My advice, if you are not a big fan of shounen, best not to watch this at all or it could give you eye cancer.
Number of episodes: 38
Season: Summer 2012
art & animation 5/10
story 6/10
characters 6/10
sound 6/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 6/10
Furusato Saisei: Nihon no Mukashi Banashi? Is this show even in the chart for Spring? I can’t be sure but hey I like the sound of the OP. It sure does sounds “Japanese” and I usually enjoy that kind of music. It must be the culture differences that intrigue me so. The same goes for the ED.
Just from the title of the show we can tell that this would be a kiddy show but I found myself enjoying all the tales that has been passing down for generations to the Japanese kids. It is definitely a good thing to compile it into an animation, just so that the new generation of kids would have a way to learn about it and hopefully won’t forget about it. Malaysia, in my opinion, should have done that kind of things too. The only Malaysian kids tale that I remembered watching was the Kancil series, especially Kancil and Sang Buaya.
Folktales from Japan has several short stories in one episode. It was certainly a good reminder for the inner kids in us. Everything about this show is very simple with only couple narrator who becomes the seiyuu for several characters through out. There is nothing spectacular about the arts and animation but it does what it is supposed to do so it is all good for me.
In the end, I sit through the 24 minutes of the episode without nothing much to say other than it was averagely good. I got to learn new tales from other country which is enough to entertain me.
arts & animation 5/10
story 8/10
characters 6/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 6.4/10
Kids on the Slope is another anime that is featuring in noitaminA for Spring 2012, besides Tsuritama. It is a show that was setup in the year 1966 which is refreshing given that you won't see female students wearing mini skirts to school, and there are no fancy school uniforms. It is all back to basic.
Lets take a walk into the past, ladies and gentlewomen.
(c) pixiv id 3299945
Since I have watched Tsuritama, I can't help but noticed the similarities between the two shows of noitaminA this season. They both deal with the protagonist having trouble adjusting to new school even though both are used to transferring from one school to the other, both has issues with panic attack and then making new friends through something that they have in common. In this show's case, it is music. Specifically jazz music.
But it doesn't necessarily means that it is a bad thing though because the way these two executed their story are very different indeed. While everything is bizarre in Tsuritama, it is quite the opposite for Sakamichi no Apollon. There is restrain and subtlety involved as they delved deeper in the bond that they are creating for these characters. It is more heart-felt in a way.
There is obviously connection made between Kaoru Nishimi and Sentarou Kawabuchi. You can already tell that much by their first encounter. It was too obvious to not notice the chemistry between these two. Sure, Nishimi went all red whenever Ritsuko said something cute but it wasn't her that cure him from having seizures/panic attack. Like he said, what kind of magic is that?
It's BL magic of course!
Nishimi keeps transferring school because his dad is a Marine officer and isn't around much so he has to stay with his relatives from time to time. He sorta looks up to his father and adores him. He plays the piano to fill in the emptiness in his heart whenever he missed his dad. His mom left them both which kinda affected Nishimi a little, if not much and the absent of his father doesn't help much either.
Kawabuchi is the class delinquent. Everyone is afraid of him except Ritsuko who knows him since they were children. He isn't bad, he is just misunderstood by his peers and the people around him. For example, just look at the way he treated Nishimi. He might be rough but that is just his style. He is good with drums and I have a weakness for the person behind the drums. I mean, I fell for Ritsu, didn't I? Just like Nishimi, I too was very impressed with the way he plays the drum. I can't wait to see him and Nishimi start playing jazz together.
I have to say that I am loving the old style art and animation which of course fits perfectly with this show. I have never heard of Tezuka Production before but I have to give credits to them for making everything about this show so good from the arts, animation to the seiyuu and most importantly the story itself. Kudos to Shinichiro Watanabe for the excellent directing as well. Those angles and camera shots during Kawabuchi's fight and Kawabuchi playing the drums... well, suffice to say that it made me fapped. Then again, this is to be expected. He is the same director that directed Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo after all... and those are masterpieces.
I who usually don't give a shit about the OP and ED, is certainly giving a shit now, especially with that ED. For some reason it touches my heart and believe it or not, I shed tears the first time I listened to it. For a foreign song that I don't know the meaning of the words are to do just that... brilliant indeed.
noitaminA has certainly made up for what they were lacking for the past couple of seasons. I couldn't be more grateful and this show is definitely getting my approval. I don't care how fucking busy I am, I will make sure that I won't be missing these two shows from noitaminA.
art & animation 10/10 story 10/10 characters 10/10 sound 10/10 enjoyment 10/10 overall 10/10
Episodes: 12 Producers: TMS Entertainment, Media Factory, NIS America, Studio Saki Mura Genres: Action, Adventure, Historical, Seinen
I am hoping that there would be a lot of bishie for this show and that is the only reason why I want to check this out. This could possibly be another Sengoku Basara. We still have Date Masamune as one of the characters but it was to be expected. This is a story of Sengoku era after all. Brave 10 is directed by Kiyoko Sayama, the same director for the likes of Vampire Knight and Princess Tutu. Not exactly convincingbut he was also the one responsible for the storyboard of Death Note so there is still hope, my friend.
The story evolved around Isanami who was pursued by some clan who wanted her special power that she wasn't aware of. While running around to save herself, she met with Saizo, a ronin samurai who helped her out but got stuck with her in the end. Together they went to see the Lord Sanada Yukimura who protected them both and hired Saizo to be one of his 10 brave warriors to fight alongside him against the evil guys. Obviously there will be at least 1 new warriors to be introduced for every episode leading up the climax, which would be interesting indeed.
The art is colorful and the animation smooth but it lacks soul in my opinion. Even the fight happened too fast and wouldn't allow us to savor the kill or the actions, which isn't that many to be honest. The characters are designed by Yukiko Ban who has been involved in project like Gintama. Naturally I can't find fault with anyone who is involved in Gintama and indeed there is no flaws that I want to point out. The characters are bishies alright and if in real life, would most probably seemed out of place in the world of ninja and samurai. I didn't specialized in Japanese history so I wouldn't know if the background is appropriate to that era but as far as I notice, there are just trees and more trees. One thing for sure, I don't think Samurai of that era walking around with Saizo's kind of attire so the believable factor isn't something that they focused on for this show.
The OP is performed by Ono Daisuke and Tetsuya Kakihara who are also the seiyuu for both male protagonists respectively. I like Ono but I don't think that fact can make me like the OP as well. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. It made Saizo lost whatever little badassness he got left. The ED on the other hand is an improvement thanks to catchy tune by ADAPTER. The BGM however is sorta lackluster. I want to compliment the seiyuu but at some parts I feel like they are forcing themselves to be their character and as a result, it sounded kinda fake and not as crisp as I would like them to be.
As a whole, this show just pretty much provides me with a feeling of monotone. There are some parts that can used a little bit of improvement but if you are into bishie and a Sengoku era otaku, and wouldn't mind all the flaws that I mentioned above, than this show just might satisfy your palate. As for me, it was okay but I wouldn't feel bad if I missed it. The only good thing about this show is that it made me wants to collect my own 10 brave heroes.
art & animation 7/10 story 6/10 character 7/10 sound 5/10 enjoyment 5/10 overall 6/10
When I first saw this anime on Animax, I was sceptical. I didn't follow it through. The second time they showed it, I thought, why the hell not since there are no other anime worth watching on that channel anyway since I've seen most of it.
Oh boy I was in for a surprised. It turned out to be quite a saga for me.
D'eon De Beaumont (c) gesshi
The creator, Tow Ubakata took the concept of the real Chevalier D'Eon who was discovered to be a man upon his death and turned it into a fantasy action novel that involved 'poet' and spells. Ubakata managed to retain the facts of the actual person history in the midst of supernatural flick that he created. I was impressed.
The story is about D'Eon de Beaumont who was set out to find the truth behind his sister's death/murder, Lia de Beaumont. The restless soul of her sister used his body as a vessel to seek revenge. He with three other friends become spies for French King, Louis IV. His majesty order is to regain the Royal Psalm and bring it back to Versailles. Along the way, he learned the truth about everything that makes him question his loyalty to the country.
In order to fully understand what is going on, you need to pay attention to the heavy dialogue, especially when it comes to the psalm which wasn't fully explained till the end. It was rather slow-paced in the beginning since it takes a while to get going but kicked ass when it does. The story is full of unexpected twists that will keep you on the edge till the end. Just brace yourself for the climax. There are some heartfelt moments in it too that makes watching this oh so worth it.
It took me a while to get fully acquainted with the characters because there are many with complicated names to boot. But I get the hang of it soon enough. Durand, Robin and Teillagory are the three friends that accompany D'Eon on his mission. The viewers will soon introduced to other characters like Maximilien Robespierre, an acquaintance of Lia and King Louis IV. I am rather fond of the sub-characters if compared to D'Eon. Apart from his love to his country and the people around him, D'Eon is pretty blah. Durand, Robin and Maximilien are my favorites due to their interesting characters. They gave out a sense complexity and mysteriousness.
I didn't know this series was produced by Production I.G, the same production studio that produced Ghost In The Shell until the third episodes when I did some research on the real D'Eon. So obviously, there are little faults to be found in the animation. They have done their research for the building, setting and characters designs which turned out to be very detailed, and managed to capture the feeling of monarchy. The swordfights are clean, swift and brutal, as expected of the knights in that era.
I like the OP and ED but I won't say that they are my favorites. I should say that the rich orchestral background music plays a role in this anime too. It further enhanced the atmosphere and added the element of suspense and drama. It was to be expected since it is from Michiru Ooshima, the same man that is responsible for Fullmetal Alchemist. I couldn't find any flaws with the voice acting either so they must have done a good job. Surprisingly, even the dubbed version is not that bad.
I really enjoyed watching this series and have no qualm what so ever to rewatch it. If you like to watch something with unique plot, this is definitely the one you should put on the list. However if you are those people who watch anime for the action or moe-ness, forget it. You'll be thoroughly disappointed.
Is it just me or is the first few seconds of Dantalian no Shoka sounds like a woman having sex? Turns out, it wasn't even a woman but a small boy *facepalm*
Dantalian no Shoka is a place who-the-hell-knows somewhere in the universe or in your imagination. That's where the episode started which is fitting I guess otherwise the explanation for it will drag on forever. It's also where the small version of our protagonist, Hugh Anthony Disward, met Dalian for the first time.
(c) G Yuusuke
Fast forward a few years, Huey is all grown up and is a fine good looking young man. One day he received a letter of his dead grandfather who was a book-lover. In order for him to inherit the place, he has to take responsibility of Dantalian no Shoka. To be honest, I envy him. I wish someone would leave me a mansion full of books as well. That would be heaven on earth and I don't have to step out of the house ever again. Anyhoo, all the books in the mansion were moved to the basement where he once again meet Dalian, who his grandfather wants him to take care of.
Huey has no recollection of Dantalian no Shoka and he's pretty skeptical when Dalian tells him what it could mean. He is not a believer of fairy tale at all. Not even when Dalian told him that Conrad killed his grandfather for he believed that his grandfather was killed by a burglar. Conrad stole a Phantom Book and the content of that book came to life and murdered the household.
I was pretty surprised at how sharp and fluid the animation is when the characters from the book appeared and started attacking Huey and Dalian. I guess I am underestimating Gainax too much. Thank goodness that Huey is somewhat has skill with gun so that he can saved both of their asses but not from dragon though. This is when Dalian shows her true self.
The mysterious key that Huey has with him can open the lock on Dalian's chest. Since Dalian acknowledge him as the keykeeper, he gets to use the power of Dantalian no Shoka. For every problem, it will produce a genuine grimoire for Huey to read which will destroy the thus solved the problem.
Watching Dantalian no Shoka is kinda dejavu. This show reminds me of the book Inkheart (and it's series) where characters come to the real world and will most definitely create havoc. I love that book. I can't say the same thing about this show though. I need to watch a few more episodes before I made up my mind.
art and animation 7/10 story 6/10 characters 5/10 sound 5/10 enjoyment 6/10 overall 6/10
Ikoku Meiro no Croisée is a seinen adaptation of the original which is a good thing for me since I like seinen. I like josei even more but still I like it. I used to read seinen manga all the time until I quit reading manga last year.
The story took place in the 19th Century France. Yune is our female protagonist. I think she's 10 years old. She is in France for some reason following some hairy white ape back. That hairy white ape has a grandson name Claude (I thought his name is Oscar?) who owns a blacksmith store. I don't know what the rest of the story is but I guess it's about Claude and Yune trying to get use to each other. Yune does seems out of place and Claude has to get use to the Japanese culture that she brings with her. He's not very welcoming but soon that will change. This is also a story of Claude trying to bring back the glory of his store which has run for three generations.
It's funny that Claude and everyone else are supposedly converse in French and Yune is the only one who can speak and understand Japanese. And yet this show is done in Japanese with English sub. The irony.
And wait... I just learned that the hairy white ape is Oscar *facepalm*
This is the first first impression post I am doing for anime from Satelight. Considering that my eyes don't bleed at how bad the arts and animation is, I think they did a decent job. It should be since they aren't really inexperience. They did Basquash and Fairy Tail and even collaborate with Madhouse for Hellsing Ultimate. I am not sure what is wrong, whether I'm being too critical or the characters do indeed seem a tad different from the original. They are cute enough but I keep imagining Enma Ai in Yune shoes, and Ren as Claude, at how much more awesome the anime would be with design character like them. I can't say that I didn't love the kimono Yune is wearing though. Japan indeed has one of the best cultures and heritages in the world.
Having said that, this show is kinda too predictable for my liking. I will give it another episode or two and see if it picks up the pace otherwise, this could end up in the on-hold list for who knows how long. I have at least 75 shows in that list.
is it bad if I want this to happen already? (c) hibiki bagawa
Jeebus, I am getting worst by the day, aren't I?
art and animation 6 story 6 characters 7 sound 6 enjoyment 6 overall 6/10
The OP of Gosick definitely got me excited. Looking at the characters designs, I was impressed and immediately like the male protagonist. This opinion, of course, will change immediately as well if he turns out to be a wuzz. I predict the goth girl to be a typical tsundere. Just throwing the idea out there.
The start of the episode shows some old whacked job lady sprouting some prophecy nonsense about a boy who will cause the end of the world. To stop this, she told the villagers to sacrifice 11 hares. So it was a pretty bloody and gore start for Gosick. I'm not complaining. This just might be my cup of tea.
That's two good points in a row.
(c) takeda hinata
Kujo Kazuya is the male protagonist that I referred to earlier. Everyone at school avoided him and called him a "dark reaper" for some reason. Apparently he's not from Saobure but was sent there to further his study. Guess what? I changed my mind because he did turn out to be a fucking wuzz. Damn it for false hope. I was right about the Victorique (that's the name of the goth girl) too.
They met in some sort of arboretum where they also met Grevil de Blois. A fitting name for a guy who has a giga drill breaker for a quiff. I almost forgot that this is the parody for Sherlock Holmes. It's hard to take this seriously with sidekick like Kujo, police officer like Grevil and an over-zealous teacher with megane as big as her boobs. Besides, when Grevil told the story of the murder, even I can conclude that the maid was the murderer even before Victorique told him so since the old lady obviously died from a gun shot to her left eye. Jeebus.
Thankfully the gore stuffs are pretty gore. I like that part a lot.
So... basically Kujo is boring, not meant to be a leader type of guy. He could used the lift but instead opt to climb thousand staircases instead. I called that dumb. Victorique is smart (duh) but totally unsociable and Grevil got all the credits from her hardwork of solving cases, not that she mind but Kujo won't let it slide and took it upon himself to interfere with her life. I guess she was thankful for that since thanks to him, she got to experience the outside world now. And thus the trio were created and the story started.
Aoi Yuuki is definitely suited for Victorique role. She has done many similar characters before: Mina Tepes, Murasaki Kuhouin, Korone and Noel Kannagi to name a few (I was surprised to find out that she did Shinra). As for the other seiyuu, I'm not really familiar with any of them. That's another word for me to say that they are forgettable.
The ED is kinda dark and mysterious to match the theme of the show. After a few minutes, I realized that I can't remember how it sounds like. Same with the OP though I do remember the MV so it wasn't so bad I guess, just forgettable, like the seiyuus. LOL
My verdict for the first impressions is this: it was average at best. There's nothing really stands out about the characters, animation, story and sound. Having said that, if you want an anime to watch, this is a trillion times better than Rio: Rainbow Gate! I might watch this or might dropped it after few episodes. We'll see.
art & animation 6/10
story 6/10
characters 5/10
sound 5/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 6/10
Okay, lets be honest. The first few minutes after watching this show, it occurred to me that it looks similar to Strike Wicthes but instead of using something to help the girls fly in the air, this show used nothing. Absolute nada. They can pretty much stand on top of the plane with two samurai swords in their hands. It was like their feet have magnet or something.
That's logic #1 thrown out of the window.
Then they can pretty much cut the plane in two using only their swords.
Logic #2 fucked up.
Having said all of that, the art really got me excited. It is certainly eye catching.
The chart didn't say anything about this show being ecchi though so it was unexpected. With any other show I would have dropped it in millisecond but like I said the art made all the difference. I'm gonna stick around for at least a second episode then we can decide from there.
*edit: I did a background check on the production team. Arms are well known for ecchi/yuri/hentai-ish anime. I should have known -_-
5 minutes in, the male protagonist has already kissed the naked female protagonist thus pretty much claimed her as his. They happened to share the same name too. Fate? The rest of the episode is pretty much a flashback of how things came to be: Yagyuu meeting Sanada, the maid horniness for her master, naked chic, ninja chic, etc. It was a pretty decent episode and definitely have me geared up for the 2nd episode.
The title already hinted that this going to be a show with lots of girls. So like any other show like this, I will of course ended up with list of girls that I want to die. But I'm gonna save the name for the end review of this show, if I ever managed to finish it. This show is also a harem. I really don't like harem. It just retarded in my opinion so hopefully the story line will make up for it.
Though it says samurai, I am yet to see any real action going on. The fight scene was pretty much butchered by the ink dots and the production team took a safer road. No slashing, just the sound of it. Kinda lame though because I was hoping that we got to see lots of blood in this one.
The arts kinda remind me slightly of Tower of Druaga and some of the character sounds familiar especially that of Sanada but I didn't bother to check who are their seiyuus. The OP and ED kinda meh, not my cup of tea. *shrugs*
The good news is, by the end of the episode, I don't feel like I was watching Strike Witches anymore. Also yuri and ecchi fans would probably gonna love this one ^_^"
art & animation 8/10 story 6/10 character 6/10 sound 6/10 enjoyment 7/10 overall 7/10
So this was the anime that everyone is making fun of because the mandarin sucks dick. Since I don't speak Mandarin nor do I understand them, I didn't see what was so funny though.
It started off with an interesting action sequence so this series becomes totally acceptable in my book almost instantly. The set up was in Shanghai year 1930s and the hero is a total bishie. This is about a Japanses spy team in the land of China. Each and everyone of them has special ability that made them useful.
Aoi, the bishie has some sort of a wind manipulation power, Yukina is a telepathic, Natsume is a sharp-shooter/sharp-eyes and Kazura... well, his power took me by surprise. It's not so much about his power but the way the animation was made. I am totally diggin it. He's a fucking teleporter.
Aoi, the daredevil
Kazura, the no nonsense teleporter
Yukina, milady of telephaty
Natsume, the quiet sharp-shooter
There is a lot of information to digest though but I'm sure as the episodes multiplied, it will all becomes clear, like it mostly does with this kind of story.
This one is so getting my seal of approval. The animation was sleek. The action sequences were awesome. The plot is good. I couldn't ask for more. At last, a real action anime for the season. If only it has more blood in it, it would have been perfect.
art & animation 9/10
story 8/10
characters 9/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9/10
Let's be honest. I lol'd when I read the English titled of Futatsu no Kurumi but that's because I am a pervert and can only think of one kind of twin nuts. (Un)fortunately this Special episode has nothing to do with 'em balls.
This 46 minutes episode is produced by TV Asahi and Shin-Ei Animation and was released during the 2007 summer. It tells the story of Ayaka who travels back in time to the bombing in the 1940's. Appropriately so after she made fun of her grandma. She learns the way of the old and be more appreciative in the future. It is pretty heart wrenching at times, what she experienced during the war. It was all too fucking real...
The direction could be better. Tetsuo Yasumi I think was influenced by his former directing works such as Manmaru the Ninja Penguin (lolwut?) and Minetaro Hirai with Shin chan. Although the story was pretty good, it is not something that we have not seen before. I think they are trying too much to immitate Grave of the Fireflies, which by the way, is one of my favorite movies of all time.
I can't say that I like the character design but it was to be expected from Junichi Seki I guess. Props for Shinji Kawaai though. I really likes the details on the background. If only Masae Otake can do a better job at blending these two together...
I only know Eri Kitamura as the seiyuu of this episode. Her resume is pretty impressive with the latest being Kureha from So.Ra.No.Wo.To. I think she did a good job playing the kid with emotional burden. The same for the other seiyuus. Job well done. Sometimes I feel like Sokuichi steals the show ^_^
As for the music... no OP just ED and appropriately oldskool. Not my taste though. The BGM can be improved to further enrich the content of the episode.
Right that's about it.
Oh yeah I almost forgot. Why Two Walnuts? Apparently one of the kid that Ayaka met in 1940's (Tomoko) has a father who works a a carpenter. Before he was drafted, he carved 2 bells out of walnut. Tomoko gives one of the walnuts to Ayaka for safe keeping.
Art 6/10 Story 7/10 Character 7/10 Sound 6/10 Enjoyment 6/10 Overall 6/10
Original story by Bones Director: Masahiro Ando Animation Director: Itou Yoshiyuki Character Design: Saito Tsunenori Art Director: Morikawa Atsushi Art Design: Takeuchi Shiho Screenplay: Fumihiko Takayama Music: Naoki Sato
Less than 5 minutes in we already have awesome bloodfest that made me go BAM! whenever someone got killed (brutally I might add but oh so awesome). I knew then that I am going to like this film very much ^__^
And right I was. The actions are non-stop. I am smiling from ear-to-ear whenever a fight starts because it promises oh so freaking awesome fighting sequences and bloodfest.
I really like the art. The animation is freaking smooth it is definitely movie-like quality. What the heck am I saying? This is a movie! duh!! But like I said, because of the smooth animation, all the actions that follow are exceptional. As for the background, it is like water-colored painting-isque. Very pretty indeed. Gotta give props to the Art and Animation directors as well as the Art Design guy. They really did a good job.
Props for the character designs too. They did an excellent job. There are plenty of characters and they don't just stand there with a blank for a face. They all have their own characterizations, even for the extras. I won't go into details about the characters except for these three:
Kotarou
Meet Kotarou, the very bossy kid who is on the run from the Ming. With him is Tobimaru, his loyal dog. When Tobimaru was wounded with a poison weapon, Kotarou hired Nanashi and that is how they become attached to each other. He lived in Ming (China) two years prior and now the Mings are looking for him. For what reason? That would be too spoilerish >=3
Akage/ Akaoini/ Nanashi
oh hell yeah that is blood!
A former very skillful swordman who choose not to draw his sword again. Even though he carries one around, he tied his sword so it would be VERY difficult to draw it. He met Kotarou when he accidentally came across his hiding place and saved him when the Ming attacked. When he found out that Kotarou was taken by the Ming, he does not hesitates to rescue him. By the way, the reason he doesn't want to be a soldier anymore has something to do with his background. Aye, very awful indeed. Oh did I mention that he is actually a red head? *nosebleed*
Rarou
Rarou is part of the Ming mercenaries army of some sort. It was easy to recognize them since they wear the red cape. They are given the task to catch Kotarou. It has something to do with the Elixir of Immortality. Like many other skilled swordman, he always look for stronger opponent. So you pretty much can tell with who the epic battle would be. thehehe...
So what else did I miss. Oh yeah the story! I'm sure you can pretty much tell what the story is about by reading the characters' info so lets skip that part. Just know that the pace was great and they keep you guessing what is going on.
I have no complain whatsoever when it comes to the music scores. They were excellent. I remember mellowing when they played the calm music in the background and anxious as hell when it comes to the battle. They definitely play a part in setting up the mood for this movie.
You may have notice that there aren't that many screencap. That's because I was too busy drooling and spasm and squealing and FUCK EVERYTHING ELSE when I watched this. I have lost how many BAM! moments it had. Must be more than twenty, at least. Oh man, this is why I so love carnage. They promised a lot of bloodfest. Bloodfest is like... orgasm man. I just can't express with words what it does to my state of mind. Total bliss!
I watched this the second time to actually get the screencaps yet the same thing happened. It is only on the third try that I get all these screencaps, and I still got distracted. Aight, here are some of my favorite scenes. No bloodfest scene because a screencap won't do justice at how bloody awesome it was. I swear I got tears in my eyes. Oh man IT WAS BLOODY FUCKING AWESOME!
nothing says bonding like taking a pee together
They weren't doing waltz btw ^__^
I can't take my eyes off of Nanashi *nosebleed*
*ehem* So yeah, if carnage and bloodfest is your thing, don't fucking miss this.
Like Kara no Kyoukai 7, just 10 out of 10 will not do justice fort this movie. So it will get the extra stars.
art 10/10 story 10/10 sound 10/10 character 10/10 enjoyment 10/10 overall 10/10***
OMG this was supposed to be the promotional video for Gintama the movie: The Birth of Shiroyasha? Why the hell we did not get to see the movie?!?!!
oh wait. That's because it was a fucking troll!! LMAO
Damn I should have known! Gintama just fucking trolled my ass and like always I fucking love it!
The animation quality for first part of the OVA is awesome, like it always does whenever Gintama got on serious mode. The second part of the OVA though is of the typical Gintama.
You get to see all your favorite characters, none were left out. That is how caring Gintama is towards their fans, who despite getting trolled, still love this shit. It was probably because we do want to see a movie made or simply because we all eager to learn about Gintoki's past. Even though this is fake, it is still made of awesomeapplesauce.
Gin-san and his beautiful quote
As a Gintamards, I have no problem being bias as fuck and will give this OVA 10 out of 10 because Gintoki is freaking amazing. So are the fights, the troll, the jokes, the troll, the naked Hasegawa, Zura janai Katsura da, the troll, Shinpachi got cut into half, the troll, the mini Gin-san, the Joui, the troll, Shinsuke losing his eyes, the troll, and more trolls. XD
Here is the OVA. I'm sure you are so going to fucking love this :)
Art 10/10 Story 10/10 Sound 10/10 Character 10/10 Enjoyment 10/10 Overall 10/10
