First Impression: Arcana Famiglia

For the first five minutes of the show, I was cringing with disappointment. I thought the setup of the story was too bland as J.C. Staff chose to introduce the Arcana Family through some street brawling. It wasn't impressive at all. Even more so when I found out that this show is categorized as romance and shoujo. I was expecting some good action shounen anime >_>

Regilo is an island that is protected by the vigilante association that call themselves the Arcana Famiglia. The head of the organization is know as "Papa" and he has a daughter who is also part of the gang. Her name is Felicita. The top family members received or rather make a bond with some Arcana card that allows them to use it's power. On his birthday, Mondo decided to let go of his Papa title by picking the winner of the Arcana duel. Those who wins will also get to married Felicita and hence some conflict occurred since she's not willing. This is when her knights in shining armor came to the rescue.

(c) HuneX

I am sure there will be somewhat a love triangle in this story between Liberta, Felicita and Nova. Though it would be funny if all the males become her harem since they are way too old for her.

I do not feel anything towards any of the characters in this show though I thought that Pace is rather cute. Then again, I am always biased when knowing that Sugita Tomokazu is his seiyuu.

Speaking of which, all the seiyuu did a pretty excellent job since they fit with their characters so well. At least this doesn't add to the bitter disappointment of the story itself. Having said that, the OP and the ED are not good at all. I though the ED was rather annoying to be honest.

As for the animation, I was expecting something great if not mind blowing since this is J.C. Staff we are talking about. The end product however was just another average looking anime. I hope the quality of the show improves as the story gets more serious (hopefully).

I can't say that I didn't enjoy the show but on the other hand it is something that is so average, I feel like I have watched the same shit before. It almost put me to sleep. 

Episodes: 12
Aired: Summer 2012
Producers: J.C. Staff, Sentai Filmworks

arts & animation 6/10
story 6/10
characters 7/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 6.4/10

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First Impression: Hiiro no Kakera

I accidentally find out that Tomokazu Sugita is one of the seiyuu for the main character of this series and so I feel obligated to check this show out. I wasn't thrill that this is another harem-shoujo anime but I will (hopefully) persevere the first episode without having to rage quit.

who lets the bishies out?
(c) Kazuki Yone

Hiiro no Kakera or Scarlet Fragment in English is about Tamaki Kasuga, a young girl who apparently has the Tamayori Princess blood running in her. As such, it is her duty to take over her grandmother's job as head of the temple which means she has to seal the Onikimaru so that the Gods who have turned into ghost won't be a nuisance to the real world. As a princess, Tamaki has four bodyguards from the Shugogo House: Takuma Onizaki, Yuuichi Komura, Mahiro Atori and Suguru Oomi. In short, they are her future harem.

Because this series is classified as romance shoujo, I expect some love triangle and what not. Personally I want Tamaki to end up with Takuma because I'm biased towards that male character for obvious reason. Heh. There would also be some dorama since there are apparently villains in this series as well.

Does this considered as bestiality?
(c) pixiv id 3128153

The arts and animation for this series are average at best. The character designs are pretty generic but hey, the bishies still look good no matter what. A few times, I thought that the animations were rather disjointed from one scene to the other and wasn't smooth at all. Given that there are so many studios involved for this project, I expected something with better quality.

But I guess they spent a lot on seiyuu which makes this show rather enjoyable to watch. I can't really comment on the OP and ED though because I'm watching the preview episode where Marie Miyake (seiyuu for Tamaki) and Kousuke Okano (seiyuu for Mahiro - I have never heard of him before tbh) were introducing the anime with so much gusto.

For some reason, I rather enjoyed watching this first episode. At least I wasn't annoyed which says a lot considering the genre of this show. Will I watch this? Perhaps. One thing for sure, this series won't be toss to my anishit list.

arts & animation 6/10
story 6/10
characters 7/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 6.8/10

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First Impression: Tsuritama

Surely by now you would have known that I am a fan of A-1Pictures. They didn't come out with any anime last season so I was really looking forward to watching two of their anime this season and Tsuritama is definitely one of it, especially so since it is featured in noitaminA and Tomokazu Sugita is one of the seiyuu. But then I started notice people's reactions to the show and though it doesn't dampened my excitement, it sure does rings some warning bells in my brain, just so that I won't be disappointed at the end of this episode.

Having said that, I can understand why people are whining about this show, especially you boys: it is featuring the story of four boys. If they were girls, I am sure the reactions would be different indeed.


Well, thank goodness that I didn't let others' opinions influenced me because I ended up enjoying every second of Tsuritama and dare I say it that my faith in noitaminA has been restored!

It is a show that I can't figure out how it will end after watching the first episode which is always a good thing. Predictability can be so cliche and I am not that good at dealing with cliche shit. Tsuritama starts with a tale of dragon with five heads that darkened an island with horrors and such until a goddess appeared one day from a purple sky. The dragon then fell in love with the goddess and before I knew it, there's Haru, one of the boys, who claimed himself to be an alien. He certainly has abilities of controlling people using his water pistol and communicating with fish. It looks like he was searching for something until he found Yuki, whose grandmother is quite hawt to be honest, and has some panic issue. He wants to be normal but has problem dealing with attentions. He transferred to the city by the sea because his grandmother got a new job there. The two of them are Natsuki's classmate. Natsuki is the prince of fishing - oh did I forget to mention that this show has a lot to do with fish and sea? - and has quite a cold persona, which is his charm in my opinion ♥

The first time they met, they were brought together by Haru who brainwashed them to go fishing with him. Yuki seeming has found something in fishing that might help him with his panic attack - and friends too - something that he always wanted.

But they are being watched by Akira, some sort of a prince who is always with a goose, and surrounded by bodyguards. It is still not clear who he is and what his deal is but the episode definitely got me interested in finding out more about everything.

I think Ryota Ohsaka does a really good job at voicing Yuki, given the fact that he is a novice. Yuki is not a one dimensional character and if he can carry his character well, I'm sure he has a bright future as seiyuu right in front of him. Needless to say, given the 1 minute introduction, was enough to makes me giddy of Akira simply because of Tomokazu Sugita. Haru's voice is rather annoying but I think it fits perfectly with the kind of character that he is which says a lot of his seiyuu, Miyu Irino. Kouki Uchiyama deep and serious voice makes me fall for Natsuki so yeah needless to say, I am a fan of all four :D

Everything about Tsuritama is vibrant and bizarre, starting with the character all the way to the animation and arts, which I must say, is something that I love to see in many other A-1 Pictures. It gives the feelings of watching a mix anime between SHAFT and Toei animation. Speaking of which, Tsuritama is directed by Kenji Nakamura, the same genius who directed Mononoke and C. Knowing this just makes my expectation for this show grows exponentially. It is rather careless of me, I know, because this could end up to be another Fractale but hey as long as I'm entertained, I won't complain much.

Yes, I know that I am biased as fuck. Aren't you?

Which mean I love the OP and ED too, especially the ED ^____^

Like I've said, it looks like I am most likely gonna spend my Spring watching A-1 Pictures anime and nothing else.

art & animation 10/10
story 9/10
characters 9/10
sound 10/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9.6/10

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First Impression: Daily Lives of High School Boys

Episodes: 12
Producers: Sunrise, Square Enix
Genres: Comedy, School, Slice of Life, Shounen

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 ^_^

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First Impression: Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

I heard a lot of shit about this one and I have no doubt that this will turn out as shitty as I have predicted in my Fall preview. However, knowing that Tomokazu Sugita is part of the cast makes me feel oblige to check this out. I wonder why does he has smaller roles nowadays. I miss him having a grand character that fits his awesomeness.

(c) Tori

I was almost fooled when I heard the song sang by a girl at the beginning of the episode. I must admit that it was sang beautifully. Thank goodness they showed us the face of the male protagonist. He looks like a retard. In fact, all characters look like a retard from up front. Apparently they don't have a nose >_>

After watching the first episode of Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon or Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere (the title itself is full of shit), I seriously has no idea what the story is about. They don't care to explain anything to us like Fate/Zero did but instead they decided to introduce us with the characters using a training method where the student must defeat the teacher to pass whatever class they are in. I assumed it's a training for becoming a soldier kind of thing since at the end of that training they have to fight a demon (yes, apparently they decided to put everything into this show).

It seems like these people being oppressed and the only freedom they have is when they are still a student since Musashi (the city they are in now) is an exile. These students have some sort of summon weapon, or a power boost for their weapon. Again, I can't be sure. There are also some mecha flying.

There is definitely too much visual to digest T___T

I can't say this show is ecchi but damn it that sounds of bouncing boobs are really distracting and annoying. Other than that, I'm fine with the whole ridiculous size of melon pans. The characters of the show are definitely a diversity. We have a naked man with bat ears running around, a robot, a heterochromia, a blonde girl who has a b0nar as a summon weapon, a juggernaut, an indian, a fatty, a talking red blob whose name is Renji, giga drill breaker, some dude with ninja skills, lesbians and of course our usual suspects of good for nothing male protagonist who-has-nothing-going-on-for-him-yet-he-is-a-pervert-who-gets-to-fuck-all-the-girls-and-be-a-hero, his quiet counterpart and few others. If nothing else, it is actually entertaining to see that many characters interacting with each other as they want to take down that nimble teacher of theirs. The fact that the Aoi Toori is a fucking retard who fondle his teacher's breasts without shame is kinda fun (and annoying at the same time because of that damn censorship!) because he's a total tool.

Well, in the end, I guess this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's still shitty with that overly dramatic story that it has in store for us. Perhaps they can balance it out with the diverse characters. Who knows, right though I doubt it?

arts & animation 6/10
story 4/10
characters 7/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 6/10

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First Impression: Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!

Oh fuck. I was ready to hate this show when I saw that one of the character has Tomokazu Sugita as it's seiyuu. Not only him, but it looks like almost all my favorite male seiyuu is in this show. Damn... I might just changed my mind about this show. This better be good and funny otherwise I would have to slit my wrist. This is like Miracle Train all over again.

(c) kawagishi keitarou

I swear that watching this show is like watching Ikkitousen to a certain extend. They even have almost the same kind of characters for the show. I am honestly just lost for words. I mean... Ikkitousen is in my most hated anime list, so I don't see how this show would be any different when the setup is so damn similar. Jeebus, can't they do something original anymore? At least changed the character design! I see Ryoumou Shimei and Kan'u Unchou on the get go. If that's not weird enough, we even have that old fuck Yamaji making a cameo. WTF?

That's when I know I shouldn't be taking this show seriously. They just have so many cameo I have lost track.

This show is random. It reminds me of Baka to Test to Shoukanjii in a way. I can't even find words to explain what the episode is all about. You just have to see it for yourself. And guess what? I did have fun watching this shit. On to episode 2 then.

arts & animation 6/10
story 5/10
characters 6/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 8/10
overall 6.6/10

p/s: surprisingly there's little to no ecchi in this one.

edit: This show is dropped after episode 2. It's get way too stupid and annoying for me. I've been trolled.

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First Impression: Sket Dance

At first, the only reason I was remotely interested with Sket Dance is because Keiichiro Kawaguchi is directing it, the same director that did Zettai Karen Children which I am a fan of. I still have my doubt though. Then I learned about the cast. The crossover makes a lot of sense all of a sudden.

http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=879083

They hire Tomokazu Sugita as one of the main seiyuu. That's decided it for me. I'm gonna watch this shit (If it wasn't for my outrageous working scheduled, I would have done the Sugita Quest like Glo does his Rie Quest. That's how big of a fan I am). Did you see how I choose my anime now? =3

Academy Activity Support Club or Sket-dan for short is just like Gintoki's Yorozuya. In fact Sket Dance is more or less Gintama in modern days. There are Himeko, Kagura double, Switch as Gintoki double and Bossun who supposedly to be the leader. They do odd stuff in that little club of theirs, solving mysteries and so on.

There are still few characters that haven't been introduced yet so that adds to the reason why I need to continue watching Sket Dance.

fappable character like this one
http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=879083

Though the jokes were a tad slapstick at time, they were able to make me chuckled. Mind you, it's not out right laugh out loud kind of thing. I have a feeling if this show is done by a much more experience production studio, it could turn out so much better. Or maybe I'm just being harsh towards Tatsunoko Productions for not hiring a strong capable writer than can do randomness like that of Gintama. I said this because it falls a little flat for me and it is kinda cliche.

The animation is nothing to boast about but I should give credits when it is due. They took it up a notch when it comes to the fighting and there are some slick moves going on. If only the effort is continuous throughout the episode. Then again it is all comes down to the budget. Having said that, the casts are pretty impressive and I am glad that they spend their money hiring the right people for the characters. Sugita is awesome as always.

Well, this show doesn't blew me away but for obvious reason I am going to keep watching this.

arts & animation 7/10
story 7/10
characters 8/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 7/10

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First Impression: Beelzebub

Personally, this is one of the anticipated shows for winter just because I am reading the manga and I expect good things from it. On the other hand, I tend to stop watching shounen anime half way through because I got distracted by other anime or was simply too busy to catch up to the many episodes. It happens with Soul Eater and Fairy Tail although I still watch them occasionally when I'm in the mood.

Since I know what to expect from Beelzebub, I will be more critical when it comes to the adaptation. If they do this the shitty way, I will probably not going to watch it for the sake of shounen alone. But then again, I like Oga so maybe, just maybe, I'm gonna ignore the shortcomings of this one. I have to remember one thing though. This one is from Studio Peirrot. I shouldn't have high hopes for it.


I shouldn't explain what this show is about I guess since most of us already know the story from reading the manga and synopsis. What I'm doing here however is just pointing out some stuff about the show.

1. I know the manga has some comedy in it but the anime has totally took the comedy to a different level. This kinda reminds me of Gintama except that it can never be that awesome and should grovel down to one of the best anime of the decade.

2. Just like the comedy, they kinda over did it with the electricity shit as well. Or is that how it was in the manga too? I've stop reading after I learn that the anime is going to be released. Maybe I should really stick with the manga.

3. One thing doesn't change though. The baby is just as annoying as I remember him to be. I can't wait for him to grow up :3

4. Now that I've seen Furuichi got animated, I like him. He reminds me of Shinpachi, always the voice of reasons.

5. You know who would be perfect seiyuu for Oga? Sugita Tomokazu. Unfortunately, it's not so I'm just gonna be contented and pretend it was Sugita. Besides, Sugita does play a role in this one as Kanzaki. So it's all good.

Am I going to watch the next episode? Yes, I am. Was I impressed? No, I am not.

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

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First Impression: Starry☆Sky

Reverse harem? Why not just total BL instead? If it was, I would be the first to raise my hands and claim this as my favorite even before I've seen the episodes. As it is, this is still targeted for the female audience. I doubt many males would want to see some bunch of guys chasing the the only female in school.

The start was weak as fuck. We got the protagonist reminiscing as he looked at the sky and queue flashback. When he was a child, he met a girl who he spent time with doing nothing but staring at the night sky. Boring stuff especially when I know what to expect for the entire show in less than 10 minutes into the episode. That is definitely not good. I already know that the protagonist will do whatever it takes to meet the same girl that he fell for when he was a kid and it just so happened the same gal is going to the same school that he is transferring to. Cliche as fuck.

(If you feel like all these setups looks familiar, that's because it is: La Corda D'Oro ~primo passo~)

Well, this is a show full of bishies so I can't complain much when it comes to character designs even though they all look like your typical bishounen. So I guess I had to complain about that. I just wish they paid more intention to details and the animation was really terrible. It's like they don't even bother trying. Fuck you Studio DEEN. Not when you have a whole bunch of bishounen at your disposal.

I usually channel my hatred to the subject of reverse harem but not in this case. At least not yet. I am actually disappointed with Kenichi Suzumura's performance in this show. It was as weak as the fucking show itself. It is hard for me to dislike a bishounen but yes I dislike Tomoe the moment he opened his mouth. HOWEVER! I didn't expect to hear Sugita Tomokazu in this one. Or Jun Fukuyama or Yuuichi Nakamura or Mamoru Miyano or Junichi Suwabe or Kamiya Hiroshi. Fuck, now I feel like I'm obligated to watch this shit just like with Miracle Train, which I have yet to complete.

The good news is, each episode is only 12 minutes long. That will save you from permanent brain injury. There's only one way for me to watch this shit. That is if Tomoe Yoh sucks my imaginary dick. Better yet, why not the whole bunch of bishounen do just that. Then maybe I might actually enjoy this piece of shit.

oh fuck yes! :D
(c) Omtn-DNfanzZ

Having said that, I am really looking forward for all the potential yaoi/BL fanarts >:3

Art 6/10
Sound 6/10
Storyline 5/10
Characters 7/10
Enjoyment 5/10
Overall 6/10

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The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

I have watched the LQ because I was too damn impatient and never did regret my decision. Watching the HQ now, no words can describe how fucking awesome this movie is. Call me a biased fucker or whatever, but Haruhi and Kyon can never do no wrong in my eyes. No flaws, only pure bliss.

Having said that, after countless of rewatched, I found Kyon and Nagato's moments to be extremely dull.

Also they said that a picture worth a thousand words. This is so true for this review.


p/s: Just wanna say kudos to Sugita for a job well done. If he phailed, this movie would have phailed too because the entire movie is pretty much about Kyon doing the monologue.

art & animation 10/10
story 10/10
character 10/10
sound 10/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 10/10***

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Arakawa Under the Bridge

(c) shishio

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

1. Sugita Tomokazu is his seiyuu
2. He plays the guitar
3. He can sing
4. He lives in a trailer
5. He is a shooting star
6. He is a potato
7. He is in fact a very successful pop-star in the normal world
8. He is good looking
9. He never gives up on his love
10. 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

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First Impression: Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge

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

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First Impression: MM!

When I first saw the synopsis in Scamp's chart, I thought that this show might be interesting as it focus on masochism. What I didn't expect however is how fucking stupid this platform can be if they fucked it up.

The person who has the masochist tendency is none other than the protagonist, Tarou Sado. One day he went to the 2nd Volunteering Club (WTF is with that name anyway? It represent shit about the club) to tell about his "problem". Little that he know the president is a psychopath. Fortunately though this just works perfectly for a perverted asshole like himself, who loves being abused and fuck he was being abused from start to finish. Jeebus, it gets on my fucking nerves.

For fuck sake, if you want to cure someone who is a masochist, fucking stop abusing them! But then again Mio is pretty much a tsundere sadist. I say fucking cure yourself first, you slut!

Whoa, I was ready to give this shit up when suddenly I was hit with a BL plot?! WHAT?! This is so not fair!! Thank fucking heaven that the BL ended before it even started otherwise I might be forced to watch this shit till the end >>

The fact that Tarou is voiced by Jun Fukuyama and Tomokazu Sugita even has a role in this one does nothing to calm my rage. I can't believe I just wasted half and hour on this shit.

art and animation 5/10
story 3/10
character 4/10
sound 5/10
enjoyment 2/10
overall 4/10

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First Impression: Togainu no Chi

Finally, the show I have been waiting for this season! I am reading the manga and have enjoy every moment of it so far, especially the doujinshi *chuckles* So yeah, because of that fact, I'm going to be overly critical with the anime because I know how the story goes already. If the studios fucked up, then I'll know for sure.

Speaking of studios, this is the only anime that is produced by A-1 Pictures Inc. this season so I expect really good stuff here. A-1 Pictures Inc. has never disappoint me so far so I hope they won't start with this one. A-1 Pictures collaborate with Aniplex and Picture Magic. I am kinda worried though when I found out that Naoyuki Konno is the director for this show. I was worried that this might turned out like Dance in the Vampire Bund *shudders*

(c) 8055

One of the many reason why I like Togainu no Chi is because how bloody and bad ass the series is. There will always be fights, and killing, and such. It is definitely my type of anime.

Togainu no Chi takes place in after the third world war or something and Japan was divided into two parts, the north and the south. Those on top just made matter worst. They are hungry for power and money and doesn't really care to unite the country again. At Toshima (used to be known as Tokyo), Vischio has taken over the ruling. They created a game called Igura where they used tag as prizes. You must pummeled your opponent until he's dead and collect his tag. If he isn't dead the "cleaner" will take care of that matter. The small tags can be exchanged for drugs or other necessity. The five special tag will determined you as a winner which mean you have to defeat Il-re, the famous King of Toshima.

It was good that I read the manga first hand though because the anime jump straight into the action and it seems like they are getting into the details how Akira ended up in Toshima with a mission to kill Il-re. Basically he was framed by the police for a crime he didn't do. But it is not like he has much of a choice. Its either torture in prison, or fight for survival in Toshima. The purpose of defeating Il-re is to get to Vischio and annihilate the drug company.

Akira sure is lucky to meet Shiki in his first night at Toshima. Otherwise he would have been dead fighting the drug induced assholes. Shiki brings carnage to the show y'all!

I love how bloody this show is ^^
(c) sena

In the manga, I always like Akira and Gunji the most. Two very contradict characters. Akira is the quiet type kind of guy who lets his action speaks louder than his words. He's a good hand-to-hand fighter which is why he was sent to Toshima. Akira who have never known fear before practically pissed in his pantsu when he met Shiki for the first time. LOL, the anime totally changed my mind about Shiki. I like him before but not to this extend. Shiki is the dude who always clad in black and carries a katana around. He kinda works for Vischio and the upper up by distributing drugs or something (can't really remember) but he's a good guy. Keisuke is Akira's friend from back home. He's a wuss and obviously gay for Akira. He is pretty annoying for a guy because he's so weak. But that will change in the future. Hmm, so far those are the only characters that worth mentioning in this episode right?

I love the fact that the anime gets the character designs right. I love how intense both Akira and Shiki eyes are because even in the manga, that part of them kinda pushed through. Kudos to the production team for getting the essence of their character right. It feels like they pop right from the pages. The animation is awesome as well. The fighting is bloody and the punches and kicking and all the slick moves are smooth and fluent. Kudos again because ultimately Togainu no Chi is all about the fights.

As for the seiyuu, I can't say that I am please with the fact that Tomokazu Sugita is doing my least favorite character of the series, Keisuke. Let me point out though that I almost didn't recognize Tomokazu because he sounded so different from what he usually does. I guess this goes to show that he has the versatility as a seiyuu. And who knows with him as Keisuke, I might end up liking the guy. If I never paid attention to Hikaru Midorikawa before, I certainly am now. I love Shiki's voice and I think this is a big break for Hikaru. I expect to hear more of his voice used for the protagonists in the future. I surprised myself when I don't recognize Akira's voice at all. He shares the same seiyuu as Gilbert Nightray in Pandora Hearts. I love Gilbert. I should have recognized his seiyuu Kousuke Toriumi. Another seiyuu that I have to put on my map.

I like the rock/metal sound of the OP music from GRANRODEO. It suits the theme of the anime, dark and gloomy. As I listened to the background music, I found myself drumming to the beat. They cleverly used percussion and made it suits the feel for any particular scenes. I already made up my mind that I'm gonna like the ED the first few seconds I heard it. It just has that certain quality that I always fall for. It is also kinda catchy. So yeah I'm quite happy with the overall sounds for this show.

Thank you A-1 Pictures Inc. for finally brought me an anime that I will follow this season. And thank goodness that I have more good feelings about this show compared to what I first thought about Dance in the Vampire Bund. Speaking of that show, doesn't Kira kinda looks like Akira a lot?

art & animation 8/10
story 9/10
characters 9/10
sound 9/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9/10

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First Impression: Sex Pistols

Yay! Another yaoi OVA! *dance* The world could use some more of it. Or at least balancing the amount of quantity for yaoi and yuri anime.

The story: Sex Pistols is about a bunch of guys who found out that they do not evolve from monkey, and about finding their mate. Yeah... not the strongest plot but that's how people have been treating yaoi. It makes me rolls my eyes. How very unfair, if compared to yuri.

Madarame cannot stand males and his seiyuu is the great Tomokazu Sugita. So, however hard I tried, I can only see him as a comedic character. This is not the first time he's in yaoi though. He has done Seitokaichou ni Chuukoku and Switch, which was not really a yaoi but many people has the misconception that it is so because the lack of female characters.

And I found Noririn's voice to be so fucking familiar too. I did a check up and apparently his seiyuu is the same person that did Yoshii Akihisa, Shimono Hiro. He is getting recognized in my head so that's a good sign.

yeah >_>

Madarame is training Noririn so everyone else can stop their urge to fuck him. I am not sure what kind of animal he is. But Madarame is half snake and half dragon I think and Kunimasa is a white leopard. Pretty sexy if you asked me.

Fujiwara has the biggest crush on Madarame but since Madarame has problem with men, and since Madarame saw that he is a monkey descendant, his crush remains as unrequited love. That does not stopped him from having sex with someone else though. He kinda looks like Madarame but with different tattoo. So I'm confused.

LMAO this is good.

Why? because I dunno what to expect in the next episode.

Also I love the comedy.

art & animations 6/10
story 8/10
characters 8/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 8/10

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First Impression: Arakawa Under the Bridge

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

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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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