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.
People refer to this anime simply as Watamote and I said in my preview that this show has the potential to please me as a fan. Just look at the protagonist and you know that this has the right condiments to be good.
(c) Maimai Yuki
Oh and I secretly want her to end up with her younger brother ^w^
Watamote it is about a girl who has a really screwed up view of herself. She's unpopular but she has this very positive mindset when it comes to describing herself or if it has anything to do with herself. In reality though, she is just this awkward looking girl with bags under her eyes from playing all those otome games late into the night.
Her askew point of views, in my opinion, are the reason this show is so enjoyable. It's painful to look at her being so wrong about everything that has anything to do with social stuff but at the same time we just couldn't get enough of that. Or at least I can't. I wonder if people like her exist in real life.
One of the highlights of the show for me personally is when she wants to be social adept but whenever she looks at people having conversation and left her out, she has this fucked up conversation in her head about those people and they are most of the time full of sexual innuendos. It goes to show how corrupted her mind is LOL
So yeah, this show is definitely one of the most enjoyable show I've watched this season.
Episode: 12
Aired: Summer 2013
Producers: Silver Link
arts & animation 7/10
story 8/10
characters 8/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 8/10
overall 7.8/10
Besides Another, Daily Lives of High School Boys or Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is the other Winter season anime that I have high hopes for for the simple reason that Tomokazu Sugita is cast for one of it's main protagonist. I am a big fan of him and he is the reason why I become a seiyuu fag so naturally I will watch anything that has him as one of the casts, no matter how small his role may be. The only recent show that he did/do is SKET Dance which he played the big role of making it such an enjoyable show for me.
So needless to say, I am super stoke to check this show out. I have a feeling that Sugita will be just as awesome as he usually is sprouting random shits that only his character can think of. Aight boys, without further ado, lets dig in =3
(c) Asuda
Less than a minute in, I knew I was right about this show; boys who ran holding bowl of soup on the way to school and met with robots flying down from the sky attacking their town. If that is not random, I don't know what is. Why? Because this is not a mecha anime. This show is categorized in slice of life genre and in our real life, there are no giants robot invading the earth. And random is always good in my book. Plus this show is directed by the same guy who did Gintama. If you didn't know how I feel about Gintama yet, you are retarded.
Danshiko (that's what this show is called in anime fandom) is a tale of three boys; Tadakuni, Hidenori Tabata and Yoshitake Tanaka who are friends and attending the same highschool. Just like Kimi to Boku, they have the serious boy and the other two who will do anything in their ability to annoy the living hell of the serious boy, in this case Tadakuni. But it wasn't always about that. We are going to witness their daily lives routines and the people they acquainted and interact with as well which added to the fun.
There are several segments in one episode that cover different topic which tickled my funny bones. I personally laughed my ass off during the skirt segments. I knew boys who actually did that, especially when there was a gullible boy around. Tadakuni fits that description to a T. These segments are even funnier because almost each of it was triggered or initiated by Hidenori. The segment of Hidenori and literary girl at the river bank was awesome too. It's quite a turning point for me personally to be honest because I realized that I found a replacement for Kyon and he even wears a megane. A crossover of Kyon and Gintoki is just the perfect man, if you know what I mean.
Some people might questioned that this is not what boys normally do in their daily lives, but I assured you that for someone who grew up around boys and is still surrounded by boys in daily life, boys really did do all these meaningless stuffs and talk about useless stuffs. That is what make them so fun to be around. Girls on the other hands are boring. They pretty much talked about cute boys and the latest fashion and being bitchy about everything. What's fun about that? For example when Yoshitake voiced his concern about the hair on his nipples, isn't that real as fuck?
what I said
Needless to say, I will probably force this one down everyone's throat. So beware. I'm maximizing my virgin power for the sake of Danshiko!
art & animation 6/10 story 10/10 characters 10/10 sound 10/10 enjoyment 10/10 overall 9.2/10
p/s: I am glad that I didn't check out the pre-air show for Danshiko ^_^
If you are an avid for of Bleach like yours truly, you would notice how limited the figures are. Only few companies are making their scale figures: Megahouse, Toynami and Alpha Omega while Ben Presto and Bandai each have produced trading figures and candy toys respectively.
As a fan, I'm obviously disappointed.
But now Square Enix, who is known for Final Fantasy figures, has added three articulate action figures of Bleach for their Play Arts Kai collections! Thank you Square Enix for answering my prayer. Now all I need to do is trying to get my hands on these figures, or at least on Rukia =3
Each figures cost USD42.99. That's around MYR250 including postage from US. These figures made their naked debut (without paint) at the New York Toy Fair 2010 and is just released on October 27, 2010 last month. That's practically yesterday.
Aight enough dilly dally. Let's start out with the male protagonist, shall we? I don't really like the hair of Kurosaki Ichigo on this figure. It reminds me of durian and I'm not fond of that fruit. It's too spiky for my taste. I don't remember his hair looking this fugly in the manga. That's not the only reason why I don't like this figure. I don't recognized the face. It's like they get some dude wearing an orange wig and made him cosplay Ichigo. They could do a better pose on him too. This one is too plain for Ichigo. In conclusion, I don't think Square Enix managed to capture the essence of Ichigo which is kinda phail, imo. And sad because now I don't have a heart to buy him.
By the way, didn't the pose and design kinda remind you of something?
Next, let's talk about Kuchiki Rukia, the female protagonist of this series who is awesome as fuck. I don't fucking care if you disagree with me because this is my blog and I can fucking say what I want and considered it as fact.
Rukia got a much better treatment than Ichigo in her transition from manga to an action figure. Unlike Ichigo, Square Enix get her features right. She does look like Rukia. Maybe it's her trademark bang and her intense eyes but I love it. They even get her flat chest right. Sode no Shirayuki is obviously the most beautiful zanpaktou in Soul Society and I think Square Enix did a good job with it, with the ribbons and all.
What I don't like however is her outfit. Maybe it's a pre-requirement for an action figure but I think her shikakusho is too baggy at the bottom. It will just hinder her movements imo. The same goes to Ichigo's.
so gonna get!
Rukia comes with Kon, the plushie lion who always got bullied by the other characters. At least he is of some use in the movie.
Last but not least is the ever so popular (whether or not for the right reason is up for debate) tenth division captain, the chibi Hitsugaya Toshiro. Again, I'm not a fan of his hair although Square Enix pretty much get his overall design correctly. I think I'll put this one in KIV since I still have not have his figure in my Bleach collection.
If only they made a figure of Gin, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra...
My wish is for Max Factory to create figma for Bleach characters. I know I'll buy every single one of them even if it's Don Kanoji and Inoue.
I was very excited when I first saw this show. It has that unusual comedy that I always have a knack for. Was it original? Well, Akiyuki Shinbou is the director for Arakawa, the same man who directed Bakemonogatari, Maria+Holic and Zetsubuo Sensei. All four kinda have similarities: dark comedy and colorful cast of characters. But yes, I do think Arakawa has that originality to it. I mean, I haven't seen any other anime having a story about the people who are living under a bridge.
So, kudos to SHAFT.
The story: Kou Ichinomiya comes from a family that does not rely on anyone, no matter what the circumstances are. To inherit the family business, he has to prove that he can do just that. All that change when he met Nino who thinks she's from Venus and the rest of the denizens who reside under the Arakawa bridge. One thing lead to the other and Kou is suddenly Nino's lover much to the irk of (almost) every male under the bridge. There wasn't really a strong plot to Arakawa. They attempted to do one but it was half-ass.
Towards the end, Kou initial intend to inherit the family business kinda dead. Well, he does ended up a changed man although still very whiny about everything else. All that bullshit about not wanting to rely on anyone disappeared with every episodes as he developed and learned few things from the wacky denizens.
In the end, I think Arakawa Under the Bridge is an unusual love story. I feel like it sending all kind of deep beautiful messages such as
it is okay to be different as long as you love who you are
true love transcends everything that is normal
love is accepting the other half of you and allow him/her to complete you
you don't need words to express love. Action speaks louder than words
there is all kind of loves
If you care to look and learn from the poetry at the beginning of every episodes, you'll get the message. Those, for me, are the highlight of the show.
It is through the characters that Arakawa is given life. Well, I have already introduce Kou and Nino but they are boring. Lets move on the the more interesting characters. Allow me to introduce my favorite character of the series:
Hoshi
(c) minishiba3
There are several reasons why I like him the most
Sugita Tomokazu is his seiyuu
He plays the guitar
He can sing
He lives in a trailer
He is a shooting star
He is a potato
He is in fact a very successful pop-star in the normal world
He is good looking
He never gives up on his love
He is cool as fuck
My second favorite character made her debut in episode 7 and her name is P-Ko. I just love her red hair to death. She's the girl who loves the mayor and knows that it will forever be an unrequited love. The reason she loves the mayor? Because he's green. You see, her profession is pretty much the one who supplies vegetables to the denizens and loves everything that reminds her of her veggies. She is also useless with direction. Comparing all the characters in Arakawa, I think P-Ko is the prettiest. Like I said, it's her hair. They are so perfect =3
We can't talk about Arakawa if we didn't mention the mayor who wears a kappa suit but refused to admit that fact. He might seems useless but at one point, he did save the people from being chased out from under the bridge in episode 12. Everyone except Kou seem to sincerely love the mayor. Sister in particular kinda over doing it as can be seen in episode 10. The mayor is responsible of giving the resident their name. This is how Kou ended up as being "Recruit" or "Ric".
Then there is Sister who isn't really a sister but a fugitive foreign man wearing a Sister outfit. He runs the church and responsible for the mass. As expected from a man with his caliber, he solved every problem either using gun, or more guns. He's so hopelessly in love with Maria, the super-sadistic bitch that runs the farm. He also has a disciple. A kid named Stella who can grow as big as he whenever she wanted. She is evil and has successfully recruited the Tetsujin twin who believed the alien are after them. Let's not forget the Liner who walks around with a white-line-drawing thingy in front of him. He only walks on the white line he had make. In the last episode they re-introduce the samurai guy, Billy (man with parrot head), Jacqueline and the Amazon woman. All to gear up for season 2.
(c) kuren
Credit to Tatsuwa Naoyuki for the OP and ED video. I was a fan of the OP at some point because it reminds me of Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu. It is fresh and I like the theme that he used. It was also pretty telling about the romance between Kou and Nino. The OP song itself (Venus to Jesus by Etsuko Yakushimaru) wasn't that appealing to me. It was good but nothing special though I think I can recognized it when I heard it somewhere else. The ED (Sakasama Bridge by Suneohair) on the other hand sound more interesting to me. Maybe I am biased about it because Suneohair did the ED for Honey and Clover too.
In term of art and animation, credit has to be given to SHAFT for once again coming up with something that is visually attractive and unique. I actually have read people complaining about it but too me that is the most endearing part of SHAFT's anime. I love the art direction of the show. The extreme close-up on the facial expression really captured the emotions that the character has. That in my opinion, is one of the strongest point of this show. Guess what it reminded me of... Yep, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu. Again. Like I said earlier, the characters in Arakawa are the one that made this show enjoyable. This is made possible because the seiyuus did a good job. Sugita obviously. But through Arakawa I begin to take notice of Kamiya Hiroshi and Amigawa Chiako, the seiyuu for Kou and P-Ko respectively. Kudos to them for getting into the character so well. The humor in Arakawa are entertaining and craftedly done but I think because it focuses a lot more on the comedy, the series doesn't create a strong lasting impression. It was enjoyable to watch, but it is hard to give the show high praises because it did not leave this heavy impact. The characters were superb, the animation and music decent, the comedy golden, but something was missing that could have made this show much, much stronger.
Having said that, I am looking forward for season two. Bring it on!
(Edit: I've seen the first couple of episode from Season 2 and it's going down hill atm.)
Final verdict? Less than what I initially gave it.
art 9/10 story 6/10 sound 8/10 character 9/10 enjoyment 7/10 overall 8/10
I just completed season one like a week ago. I purposely delayed the completion because I kinda lost the feelings of awesomeness halfway through it. But since it was still fresh, I am motivated for season two of Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge.
The story picked up from where it left of. Basically they are still the same people with the same antics. Heh, I'm so glad that my mind is still fresh from last season's episodes. And I'm so glad they are still the same fucked up people under the bridge.
Kou asked Nino to move in with him, hoping that they'll be closer together. What he doesn't expect however that he got kicked out from his own home as Nino moved in. Basically they traded houses. In second half of the episode, Kou met the Amazoness who reminds me a lot of the President of in the Detroit Metal City. FUCKING CUNT! *chuckles* Ah DMC brings a lot of good memories...
The episode ends with the same dream Nino had at the beginning but this time around, she managed to see her as a child, with her parent, on a rocket blasting off to the sky. Yeah, extravagant as always.
Err, personally I think the OP takes a while for it to get going but then it quickly grows on me. As for the ED... What ED?
So yeah, I enjoyed it very much. It feels like watching the first episode of season one. Good feelings all around. This time looks like they are setting up a plot at the beginning on the season so it wouldn't feel forced like in the first season. More reason to follow this show, then.
art & animation 9/10 story 8/10 character 10/10 sound 9/10 enjoyment 9/10 overall 9/10
Shouta-con detected. FUCKING FAT and UGLY shouta-con at that. Urgh, I want to puke.
Obviously Alois has got different dark background story compared to Ciel. Or is it? I got the impression that Ciel was raped by a gang after his parent's death. So maybe they aren't too different after all.
Except that I think Alois is more sadistic and sinister. He fucking poke the eyeballs of his maid so leisurely. I feel bad for him when I thought he was being fucked by a fucking fat and ugly shouta-con. Now I think he deserved it.
The feel of this show is different from that of the first season. Sure both have it dark side but at least I don't sense any evil with Ciel and Sebastian. But with Alois, evil reeks out at every corners. Ciel and Sebastian fought the bad guys. With Alois and Claude, it feels like they are the bad guy. Ciel and Sebastian treat the people (even the enemy) with respect. Alois just fucking kicked them in the butt.
We got to see familiar faces like Droit who seemingly has taken the role of Grell for being an annoying jerk. And obviously there is Sebastian who for some reason need a black tea from Alois' mansion and he has Ciel in a trunk. Ciel seems like he's unconscious though. Heh, mystery!
Looks like it is Ciel/Sebastion versus Alois/Claude. I have no complain :D
The animation is decent. It was very reminiscence of the first season of Kuroshitsuji so you get the feeling of consistency there. In one particular scene, when Claude started dancing on the ledge and changed all the curtains and shit, the animation was very fluid. Coupled with the classical music, it turned out to be very entertaining indeed even though it was very illogical. I guess you just have to believe that these butlers can do anything. They are demons after all.
They got me with the plot on the get go. It was all very mysterious and dark. They don't bother with lengthy explanation. They will let the story tells it all. The characters of Alois and Claude are pretty convincing so they rocked that I guess. And I thought Claude sounds familiar. I did my research (just look at MAL for info actually) and found out his seiyuu is Sakurai Takahiro, the same seiyuu that did Kusuriuri, Kira, Kanda Yuu (what's with the K?) and Maximelien. Nice. Now I have less reason to dislike him. Kalafina did the insert song for the show so obviously it will be a hit. I need time to get used to the OP and ED though which are done by The GazettE and Matsushita Yuya respectively.
Well, I enjoyed the first episode. Look forward to the second one.
Art and animation 8/10 Story 8/10 Character 8/10 Sound 8/10 Enjoyment 9/10 Overall 8/10
Arakawa Under the Bridge is definitely one of the anime that I remember wanting to watch because it looks totally retard. A man with a star head? That looks totally awesome to me and this is produced by Shaft. That got to mean something, doesn't it?
Meet Ko Ichinomiya. He's the loser who was getting bullied by a bunch of kids. He is stinking rich and comes from a family that does not rely on anyone, no matter what the circumstances are. To inherit the family business, Ko has to prove that he can do just that.
Everything changes when he met Nino. The seemingly emotionless female who happened to be fishing when Ko tried to retrieve his pants back. The pillar gave out and he fell into the river. He would have died if not for Nino so his life motto of "never rely on anyone" was not applicable anymore unless he repays her.
Nino lives under the bridge (duh) and when Ko saw this, he immediately offered her a house which she declined. Ko was obviously befuddled. He doesn't want to owe anyone anything and Nino is making it hard for him. At last she asked for one thing: for Ko to love her. Heh, awesome XD
You'll get this only after you've seen the episode
That was the least of his problem though as he was introduced with another bizzare character. Oh man, I love the retardedness of this show. I mean, Ko is one hell of a determine young man who will do anything to repay his debt so when he met the weirdos, and what they expected of him, hilarity ensued.
I was rolling with laughter when I saw the last scene where Nino went back to sleep. This is certainly one of the anime that I'll be waiting weekly to see. So I guess Arikawa Under the Bridge is a replacement for Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu for the comedy department. I approved greatly.
lmaorofl WIN!
And we have yet to see the man with the star head. From what I read, his seiyu is none other than Tomokazu Sugita. I'm a happy camper.
Arakawa Under the Bridge consists of few episodes in one big episode. Not even half way through, we have seen 3 mini episodes and by the end of episode 1 we have 9 mini episodes. Different is definitely good.
art/animation 9/10 story 10/10 character 10/10 sound 8/10 enjoyment 10/10 overall 9/10
The story is about two people, Oz and Alice who made a contract in the Abyss, a place where the condemned was sent. At first I wasn't sure why Oz was sent there on his coronation night but gradually as the story progressed, the pieces of the puzzle fall into places.
The Abyss produced Chain, a doll-like creature that want to be in the real world to obtain power but the instability forced them to make a contract with a human, just like Oz and Alice. However, the Chain will gradually extinguished the human. Once the seal on the contractor's chest is completed, they, together with the Chain, he/she will be sent to the deepest Abyss and this time there is no turning back.
Oz comes back to the real world after 10 years he went missing in the Abyss so Gil, his best friend cum servant is much older than him and is working for Break and Sharon. These two, just like the Baskervilles, are searching for the Will of the Abyss and apparently Oz is the key to it.
The only reason Alice wants to get out of the Abyss is to search for her memories so together with Oz and Gil, they search for it. In their quest both Oz and Alice find out the truth about their past and at the same time, they try to stop the hand of the seal from moving, with the help from other people who either care about them or just using them.
The art is nothing amazing. The background or the surroundings are pretty much dead, as in static, most of the time. The colors used were too contrast with the characters at times which kinda made them looked out of place. Possibly to follow the theme of the show. Having said that, I really do like the character designs. The males especially are what I would called bishies. They are really pleasing to the eyes. The females aren't bad either but since I'm not gay, I'll leave it at that. To be honest, the reason that I was attracted to this series after all, was after I saw the characters in the DVD special, which kinda explained what a huge pro they are.
OZ Bezarius
I like Oz but my god he can be so damn annoying sometimes with his insecurities. He needs to grow some hairy balls, is what I think. Because he has yet to have them balls, I say he's gay for Alice. Oz is the key to the Will of the Abyss (wanted by the Baskervilles) thus he keeps getting into trouble as he tries to find himself and helps Alice.
Alice/B-Rabbit
She's the chain for Oz. She was once human but she got murdered and ended up in the Abyss as B-Rabbit. That was where Oz found her. She took Oz as her manservant which in truth is the other way around. She came back to the real world to find her memories in order for her to remain herself. A definite tsundere when it comes to Oz. Loves to eat, especially meat.
GilbertNightray
Gilbert 'Gil' Nightray is the loyal servant/butler of Oz and has the power of Raven from Nightray. He is Vincent's brother. Just like Oz and Vincent, he is one of the few who managed to escape the Abyss. He is the only one that can sealed B-rabbit's power. His weakness is cat. Definitely gay for Oz and can't see eye to eye with Alice which consequently provide quite a lot of comic relief.
Xerxes Break
Formerly known as Kevin Regnard. The user of Mad Hater's power. The most powerful one out of the bunch. Very sly and cunning. Reminds me of Ichimaru Gin what's with his gray hair and crimson eyes. They even shared the same kind of creepy smile. However unlike Gin, he is pretty funny with his carefree attitude. He loves sweet and you definitely don't want to piss this guy off. He has a very interesting background story that kinda surprised me. Eccentric guy over all and my favorite character in the series.
Sharon
I am not sure what her relationship is with Break but Break called her Ojou-sama and she has no qualm at beating his ass with her fan. She has a chain too named Eques. Definitely a sadistic.
Vincent Nightray
He wanted to erase anything that can recalled what happened 100 years ago. Master of Echo. Most definitely gay for Gilbert. Not so right in the head but he has very cool eyes. One could even named him the series' psycho resident. It is either you like him or you hate him. I happened to like crazy evil people ^o^
Jack Bezarius
The one who stopped the Baskervilles 100 years ago. He appeared as fragments of Alice's memories and helps Oz a lot when he is in a pinch. He also warns everyone about the return of Glen Baskerville which obviously will repeat the Tragedy of Sabrie again. By the way, he was the only friend of Glen and vice versa. It must have pained him to stop his friend from going berzerk. Pretty good looking fella ^^
Eliot Nightray
Another little brother of Gil. He is the voice of reason for Oz. I like him straight away. He is the only one who can tell Oz to be a man and take his own destiny into his own hands instead of giving up on his life thinking that it would solve all the problems. He's valiant and funny and cute has quite a temper. Definitely a Nightray. He hates the Bezarius and I can pretty much tell why. Could he be Glen's reincarnation? hehehe >3
Ada Bezarius
She is Oz's sister. Very gentle and such. I don't usually like this kind of character but I like her for some odd reason that I am not too sure what. She looked like she has a brother complex but then we found out that she has a b0nar for Gil. Priceless XD
None of my favorite seiyuus are in this production but Vincent was voiced by Jun Fukuyama so a plus there. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Oz was voiced by a female so yeah, the seiyuus are good nonetheless. Also I like OP song more than the ED song as it is more catchy but not as much as I like the song Lacey from the pocket watch. It kinda present the anime with a whimsical yet foreboding feel which is perfect for the theme.
I do enjoyed Pandora Hearts. The plots are mysterious which keep me guessing from one episode to the other. It makes me interested to see the next episode to find out what will happened. There are also occasional unexpected comedy in it that I appreciate. What I didn't expect however is the end. It poses more questions than answers which can only mean one thing... second season! I look forward to watching that.
This actually made me want to pick up the manga...
art 8/10 story 9/10 sound 8/10 character 9/10 enjoyment 8/10 overall 8/10
edit: Glo said that the anime ending is different from the manga. But... isn't the manga still on going so how was that possible? =\
