First Impression: Natsuyuki Rendezvous

For some reason I totally forgot about noitaminA shows this season. I can't say that it doesn't has an impact since I did notice people talking about this show a lot on twitter. If I didn't check my preview before I write this first impression post, I would have not noticed that this was featured in the supposedly prestigious list of anime that are featured in noutaminA slot.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous is about this guy Hazuki Natsuyuki who has a crush on a lady who is the owner of a flower shop. That crush turns to love and when opportunity presented itself, he applied to work part time there. He then met the deceased husband Atsushi Shimao, who basically is a ghost, and totally has no respect for the dead even though he's trying to score with Rokka. This show is going to be about acceptance of fate, challenging oneself for the sake of love, and learning to let go when it's time to do so.

Just for the record, I am a fan of Atsushi Shimao. I see a lot of myself in him. At the same time, I am Hazuki who is crushing on his co-worker.

I have no complain about the art, animation, overall sound and other details. I freaking love the OP and ED. It managed to move me the first time I heard it and that's great. Quality anime is full of quality after all.

Watching Natsuyuki Rendezvous is like watching my life gets animated. It wasn't funny or fun at all.  I mean, Rokka and Natsuyuki even work together. That is just too much of a coincidence.

Given my condition at the moment, I have my own reason for delaying with the first impression. I am struggling with my own emotions and feelings towards my crush too so watching this just reminds me a lot about my repressed feelings towards him that it sort of hurts... and as I have feared, I was left with the feelings of bitterness at the end of the episode.

Which mean that this show truly deserved the noitaminA slot, if it can moves me like that. Having said that, I still hate having this feeling though. Just goes to show how fucking vulnerable I really am actually.

If only people bother to see through my facade.

Episodes: 11
Aired: Summer 2012
Genres: Drama, Romance, Supernatural, Josei

arts & animation 9/10
story 8/10
characters 8/10
sound 9/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 8.6/10

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First Impression: Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu - Uta Koi

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

Episodes: tbc
Aired: Summer 2012
Genres: Historical, Josei

art & animation 6/10
story 7/10
characters 7/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 7/10

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First Impression: Sakamichi no Apollon

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

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Zanbara

You guys probably know how much I like blood and weaponry especially that of a katana right? I love violence in anime/manga. They promised so much blood and action. They make me drools.

Hence why I love reading Zanbara. I first read it back in February and kinda forget about it until I check my mango list again. Zanbara is created by Katagiri Ikumi. The same mangaka that collaborate with author Ninomiya Ai that created another josei Are You Alice?

Ichiyo and Akehiko

Zanbara is set during the Bakumatsu period so that in itself is interesting because stuff like this always reminded me of Amatsuki, which is one of my favorite manga of all time.

Like most manga that falls under the josei category, this one is full of bishie too. The two protagonists however are still underage. They are both 15. Wait, 15?! Ichigo is 15 but he looks like it was legal to rape him. These two kids definitely looks like shouta. Crap, my inner shoutacon is beaming ^_^

*spoilers up to chapter 5*

These two brothers (by adoption) are always competing with each other. From fighting to the smallest chores. Ichiyo is the serious one while Akehiko is the easy going one. Ichiyo often forget stuff and Akehiko will remind him about it. Ichiyo is a sleepy head and Akehiko is the energetic one that will carry Ichiyo when he's asleep. Oh and they are both ill-tempered. Perfect balance.


One day a thief got into their house. As expected the two of then chased the running thief and split up hoping that they cornered him. That they did but they were only armed with wooden sword while the thief has a katana. That's when they met Okita Soji. Yep, you guessed it. He's from the Shinsengumi. Again, what's with the name? Is it some kind of like a designation? Anyway, Okita might looks like he's a pansy but he's fast and good with the katana *squeals*

Obviously Ichiyo and Akehiko was amazed by Okita's skill and that's why they want to join the Shinsengumi. They want to be the best and the strongest. I have no doubt that they can.

The truth is, the family was hiding Ichiyo so when trouble appeared (someone broke into their house), the family decided to send them both away to the capital as a way to protect them. They took this opportunity to visit the Shinsegumi.


They met with lots of different people and even ended up being a bodyguard at one point as they searched for their destination. Ichiyo also begin to change. He became more solemn and this made Akehiko laden with worries. He made me worried to. Uguuu~

So yeah, I'm not going to spoil anything else. There's a lot of chapters coming up and I look forward to it. Reading Zanbara is fun. It has you on the edge but calms you down with the subtle humor and the ongoing banter by the two protagonists.

I so approved of this josei.

story 8/10
art 10/10
characters 10/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9/10

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Are You Alice?

Another josei that I picked up recently. This manga pretty much is the alternate version of Alice in Wonderland with a little twist here and there. For example, this manga is full of bishie (one of the reason I picked it up in the first place).

I saw Are You Alice in mangafox a couple of months back but for some reason was not interested in it at that time. When onemanga released it, for whatever reason I feel intrigued to see what it is all about. Although the story might be similar to Alice in Wonderland, I am sure the mangaka (collaboration between Ninomiya Ai (author) and Katagiri Ikumi (artist)) might just promised something twisted that will entertain me. Probably.

Pfft who am I kidding. Of course it will. This manga falls under the josei category for a reason.

The reason is, they made it a all male-characters. Bishounens at that. So yeah, I'm pretty much where I want to be right now, blissfully ignorant of the real world ^o^

At first the story kinda confuses me. The protagonist is obviously a male but everyone keep referring him as Alice. Alice, obviously, is not a male's name, unless he's gay and Alice is not gay (sadly). The same goes for QUEEN of Heart when obviously he has an analog stick attached to his pair of balls but people keep referring him as a she. So what the heck? And if that ain't confusing enough, they put Alice (yes, THE Alice from Alice in Wonderland) besides the protagonist and she is evil! Yep, that is pretty much how fucked up and twisted this manga version of Alice in Wonderland is. People might hate it but I happened to like it. Definitely something different and in my book different is always good.


I can't remember the story of Alice in Wonderland to be honest but in this one, the Queen (shouldn't he be called KING instead?) of Hearts wants Alice to play the "kill-the-white-wabbit game" in order for him to keep the name Alice.


Alice may or may not turn out to be the real Alice. I guess I just have to continue reading to find out what happened next. After all, it is only three chapters so far.

Art 9/10
Story 7/10
Character 8/10
Enjoyment 7/10
Overall 8/10

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di(e)ce

I picked up another manga. I know... I totally need to be disciplined! -__-

Anyway, since di(e)ce is a josei, you can bet your shiny ass that all the bishies are freaking delectable. Which pretty much explained why I picked this up in the first place. I swear bishounen is my ultimate weakness!

Kazuki Naruse is the King of Setoukou school, and share the same face as Haruki Koutake who is the president of the student council. They are both highly popular. Although they share the same faces and even the same birthday (November 11) they are not related by blood. Kazuki Naruse is known as the King because he pretty much excel in gaming, and also the start of Setoukou basketball team. Haruki is the more reserved of them two and the pair's voice of reason, and is childhood friend of Kazuki. If anyone should know Kazuki inside out, it will be Haruki and vice versa. They has totally different personality.


There is this other dude named Sion Saiguji who is challenging Kazuki in everything he's good at. I am yet to learn what his motive is , whether he is an friend of Haruki/Kazuki or a foe. He seems useful for reducing Kazuki's body temperature though. He said he has to fulfill his duty of protecting Kazuki but I won't trust a guy with devious eyes like him

(In case you haven't notice, I is a fan of Haruki)


The story starts when on Kazuki and Haruki's birthday. they were both trapped in a game that will change their fate. The whole school was under a spell and started to kill each other. There are only six persons that affected by the mind controlling shit: Kazuki, Haruki, Yuki and Sion (the other two aren't introduced yet). And so the game of survival begins and Haruki and Kazuki friendship (I rather fond of the word relationship @_@) is put to a test (no fucking thanks to Sion!!). It fucking break my heart when Haruki left Kazuki.


This will be ongoing so watch this space.

Art 9/10
Story 9/10
Character 10/10
Enjoyment 9/10
Overall 9/10

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Honey and Clover II

I was first introduced with this anime when it was shown on Astro channel 25 but unfortunately I was not able to follow the series.

I bought the DVD last week (both season 1 and 2) and once I started I could not stop. Nevermind if I have to be awake at 4am in the morning as long as I finish it. It was addicted and with every chapter I fall in love more and more with the characters. This is the first anime that I do not have any antipathy towards at least one of the character. Imagine that!

I can assure you that even viewers outside the target demographic attest to its greatness, pointing out its heartfelt storytelling and unique visual style. It was supposed to be just good enough for sophisticated female viewers—and it ended up being good enough for everyone. Funnier than most comedies and more touching than most dramas (even the live-action ones), Honey and Clover has emerged as one of the best anime I had ever watched, and I've watched plenty.

The story begins right in the middle of things—Takemoto in his second year of college, Mayama nearing graduation, and Morita stuck in seventh-year hell. Then Hagu-chan came into the picture. She simply joins the cast, and the drama-go-round begins. There is no epic quest to fulfill, no convoluted conspiracy to unlock, no childhood friend to win over—it's just a bunch of college kids figuring out what to do with their lives, and it is fascinating. Every character gets a moment in the spotlight, with story arcs transiting flawlessly between each other. Even Takemoto, who spends most of the series as a neutral observer, closes things out with an inspiring personal triumph. The mood of the show switches effortlessly from madcap comedy to utter heartbreak and everything in between, yet nothing feels out of place. Within a single episode, a game of Art School Twister takes humor to new heights, and yet minutes later, Takemoto muses upon the meaning of friendship.

Honey and Clover succeeds because of its characters' complex personalities. Morita emerges as a quick fan favorite with his bizarre antics and affinity for money, but to focus on him is to miss out on the intricate relationships between everyone else. I can see myself dating him in real life. My heart reach out for Takemoto as well in his struggle to wins Hagu-chan love. In particular, Ayumi's unrequited attachment to Mayama is sure to arouse plenty of indignation about the portrayal of women in Japanese entertainment. But maybe that anger is because Ayumi openly reveals everything we hate about themselves: weakness, insecurity, and the tendency to do really stupid things in the name of love. She is the most human character in a cast of incredibly human characters.

If Honey and Clover has any faults, it's that you want it to keep going after it's over. It ends just like it begins—right in the middle of things, with so much more yet to be experienced. Without realizing it, you've become part of that circle of friends: you've shared their heartbreaks and triumphs, walked alongside them as they poured out their feelings, and watched each one of them learn a little bit more about themselves. Whether in school or not, who hasn't asked themselves at some point: "What do I want to do? Who do I want to be?" Honey and Clover may not have the answers, but it's all about trying to find them.

The other thing I realize when I had finished this anime is this: people do drifted apart as we get older...

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