Yap, this is the most recent anime series that i've been completed. 26 episodes, Mushishi has given me a complete astonishment on how beautiful this seri is. Eventhough, Mushishi is produced by a not-too-popular animation studio.

Reason why you should watch Mushishi:

• Beautiful artwork. Yeah, simply beautiful. Here you can see mountain, sea n animal being drawn beautifully. Not many anime has this kind animation quality.
• Nice story. Mushishi is not a cheap story about moe girl or hero fighting to save the world. It is simply a bed-time fairy tale. But it has a deep meaning and touching story.
• Mushishi has won many awards such as 2003 Japan Media Arts Festival for Excelent Prize, Kondansha Manga Award 2006 for general manga, 2005 Tokyo International Anime Fair Award for Best Television Series and Best Art Directions.
• Because i recommend it.

Seriously, many people ask me, why does this name doesnt echo a lot? Why you ask? Simple, this is not a love story or saving-world story. This is just a simple fairy tale, but this fairy tale is enough to make you say, "Wow, this is a great anime." Not recommended though for the one that seeks ecchi eventhough there are many pretty girls here.

PS: An advice, dont try to watch all the 26 episodes in one go. Try watching one episode than have a thought about what that episode means. It has many filosofy and lessons to us as human being. Hope you enjoy Mushishi.

Anyhow, I've missed a couple of episodes here and there: Nabari no Ou 17 & 18, Antique Bakery 5, and Mahou Tsukai 4. I know work will pile up when I get back, so I'll just have to offer a short blurb on my thoughts here (we still have yet to get to the main part of this piece). Not surprisingly, the scene at the end of Nabari 18 whipped up a few leaky droplets at the eyes (blame the music for that). I still don't like the idea of Miharu and Yoite pairing up, but it was sad to see a change in Yoite's character.

Moving on to Antique - I have nothing to say. It's a slice of life, watch it yourself if you're interested - but I'm glad hints of the real story are showing up here and there. And Mahou Tsukai? Well, I don't think I can quite pinpoint my favorite part because all the little details make me love this series. Just watch Gouta-kun eating the shrimp tempura was fun to watch, I'm crazy, I know. But understanding Gouta's reasons for producing that drink for the customer definitely created a big impact.

OSTs, anyone?

Wow. I'm really packing this post in with a ton of stuff. But OSTs are a topic I’ve never touched on before. Of course, to save time, this can’t include movie OSTs, because I’d have too much to write about (Princess Mononoke, Mukoh Hadan, Byousoku 5 Centimeters), so this post only concludes for series. Now, I’m not an avid fan of OSTs to the point that I have millions, so the list is limited. But let me explain that I won’t rank my top five, because I can’t - I don’t know how to.

... And you can curse my stupidity in not knowing how to stream audio, so I'll just post videos from youtube. Some videos may have spoilers in them, so instead of watching, just listen.

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Baccano!

For those of you who don’t know, the term "baccano" means "noise" or "ruckus" in Italian. And as it suggests, it is packed with this and all the elements that make a series enjoyable to watch: craziness, action, violence, and humor. The OST reflects this accurately, from the sophisticated melody of the piano as the pianist hits up on jazz notes in Kioku no Tegami, to the mellow duet of piano and violin in Ringo no E no Ue no Rakugaki, and back to the cheerful and upbringing music the harmonica plays in Rojiura no Housoku. Each sound and melody represents something different for each character. For example, we have our main couple, Isaac and Miria - in the story to connect three different groups together. Their entrance into any story almost always is represented through the harmonica.

My love for the Baccano! OST even comes as a surprise for me, because I’m definitely not a fan of jazz. In fact, I dislike it. The plucking of the bass strings, the blaring of the trumpets, the highs-and-lows of notes from the piano… However, in Baccano!, it fits in just right. Even now, as I play the OST while writing each blurb, I can tell which characters each song is trying to portray. If you’re a fan of the movie Pulp Fiction, I recommend this series for you. And if you’re not I don’t know how that’s possible, just try listening to the opening - Gun’s & Roses - and I’m sure you’d eventually come to like the OST as much as I do.

Here's Nagai Nagai Yume no Naka no Utage, the main theme:

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Kaiba

It’s interesting. I’ve only realized last night that most of the science fiction series I watch have the best openings: Noein – Mou Hitori no Kimi and Dennou Coil. Kaiba, like these series, drew me in from the start with "Never". It is perhaps, the best, or one of the best. If I had never chanced across "Never", I probably wouldn't have started this series (the animation is a bit unique, if you haven't noticed).

But it isn't just the opening. "Initialize Me" was one of my favorite pieces from the start too. In case you're wondering what it sounds like, it always pops up near the end when distressing scenes are playing. And yes, Kaiba is the kind of series that makes me cry and scream - and maybe for others too, because it's definitely a little more on the darker side. But hell, who cares? If you haven't seen it, just watch it and you'll understand for yourself how much Kaiba draws you in with it's plot and character developments. And the music is heavenly. I can't offer much more to you on Kaiba now, because I haven't finished this series. Let me just leave you with these words, however - it does not disappoint.

Unfortunately, the Kaiba OST isn't well known yet, so I'm linking you to the opening:

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Mushishi

Watching this series literally makes me want to take Ginko's cigarette and smoke it because I revere the man that much. Here's to the Mushi master, because everything he does is beautiful.

The Mushishi OSTs are entirely different from the above two. They're more likely to have a native and peaceful feel. I can't quite explain it, but I've got both OSTs, and the several pieces sound like an amalgam of flutes, bongo drums, a piano, shakers and cymbals. Can't put it better than this, so have a listen. These are a few of my favorites: Tabi wo Suru Numa, Suzuri ni Sumu Shiro, and Tsuyu wo Suu Gun.

Here's Suzuri ni Sumu Shiro.

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Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Who can forget TTGL? There's not much else to say. With an epic series comes an epic soundtrack. It's also one of the only series I've seen that can use Latin and opera music and integrate it beautifully. Fight the power.

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Macross Frontier

So it isn't the image you were perhaps thinking of when I said Macross Frontier (and dang, he isn't even doing (ﾉゝ∀・)~キラ correctly), but anyhow, I think this OST is as good as TTGL's OST. At the same time, you can't really compare the two. They're definitely both really good at what they do.

Like Sheryl or Ranka? Either way, both of their voices are beautiful. Hell, even if you haven't seen Macross Frontier, listen in, because the Nyan Furo stands on it's own. It was only after listening to the OST that I started watching Macross Frontier. I won't go into Macross Frontier too much, cause I know a ton of people around here love it. So here's my favorite song:

Probably overplayed, yes...

Other thoughts/Misc.

• Longest post I think I've ever written.
• Other OSTs I'm waiting for right now: Mahou Tsukai, Natsume Yuujin-chou
• And for the person who got me started on this:

^ I was playing around, don't take it to heart. See you all in a couple of days~

]]> http://nekodan.wordpress.com/?p=834 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:41:54 +0000 bakaneko http://nekodan.wordpress.com/?p=834
After watching this scene, I could not get myself
near a window for a good few nights.

Maipeisu at THAT animeblog summed it up best in the post that

For an anime (or anything, really) to be successfully episodic, each episode must be a world unto itself, unique and engaging, and carve another purposeful notch into the overall story (character development, backstory, etc.)

The thing about Natsume Yuujinchou 3 is that its world is already getting a bit stale. It is not just the yet again another one-eye monster for the third episode in a row, but it is also that the new youkai who showed up do not bring anything new to the table: they either came peacefully to ask for their name's return, or they came violently knocking on the front door, stridently demanding the abnegation of the Book, just like what they've been doing since the first episode.

However, Youkai are supposedly beings outside the normal experience of people, and hence should exhibit traits that should surprise us.

One thing that made Mushishi worked was that each episode featured a different kind of mushi that differed not just in forms but also in purpose and behavior that sometimes are similar to human but often so radically foreign that we simply cannot identify them as anything but a completely different life-form. We could never figure out what Mushi are.

So, stop giving us helpless Cyclops, but instead, throw us off our chairs with some sharks armed with frickin' lasers.

I'm waiting for that too!

We're all just misunderstood.

Even though the theme of loneliness is being reintroduced with some variations---first episode about a consequence of loneliness: anger; second episode, a cause of loneliness: disconnects; and this episode, a nourishment of loneliness: misunderstanding---however, these variations are being portrayed with too much simplicity.

In this episode, every person or youkai were simply misunderstood: young Natsume, that youkai who faked as a girl, the creepy classmate Tanuma, the youkai "exterminator"---all turned out to constitute not a single bone of malice after all, but instead were just a bunch of artless, all around "good guys." Where is the shade of gray?

No lasting impression

OK. I will first admit that there were three scenes that raised my eyebrows and dropped my jaw.

First was when young Natsume realized that girl was no girl. I was moved by both the betrayal Natsume abruptly felt as well as the rejection the girl/youkai cruelly received.

Second was when Natsume jumped in between the monk and My Little Pony and yelled out his name to stop. It surprised me that the rumor of the Book's power over the youkai's names was real.

Third was when Natsume realized that the creepy classmate was just shy and scared of approaching him. It felt good to see that Natsume was able to break through the misunderstanding and tear down the wall between two kids who were otherwise of the same introverted, confused spirit.

Having said that, I will say that all three scenes failed to give a lasting impression. Scenes with good lasting impression is like intense weight-lifting exercises: after they are done, your arms continue to feel sore for the next few days. Natsume Yuujinchou 3 did not do that for me. As soon as the episode was over, I immediately went to search for mecha musume's pantsu that is Strike Witch 4.

I suppose the reason why they didn't work for me is the same as the title of the post by Maipeisu mentioned at the beginning: All's well that ends well... or not!? The episode just ended too well. As Maipeisu had said, there is no tension to nudge the viewers to yearn for a resolution in the next episode.

But all is well

Lastly, I will also say what Maipeisu has said: I will come back for more in the next episode.

There are still open, interesting questions.

The two biggest ones are Nyanko-sensei's motives and Natsume's grandmother Reiko's story. It's quite a contradiction that Nyanko-sensei on the one hand cries for a powerful youkai to come and finish Natsume off but on the other hand rescues him on the dime, not to mention that he himself is that powerful youkai already. So, as much as I have griped about the show, I still consider it full of potential. Hopefully, the writers hasn't run out of steam already.

Why do I keep thinking of Kyon?

 Mushishi is een Anime dat het leven van een man genaamd "Ginko" volgt. Ginko is een Mushi-shi. Dat wil zeggen dat hij onderzoek doet naar de vele Mushi in de wereld. Mushi zijn geen dieren, geen planten en geen geesten. Het zijn afzonderlijke wezens. Een beetje te vergelijken met schimmels en micro-organismen. Ze staan als het ware voor de primitieve belichaming van het leven. Ginko legt het in het begin allemaal uit door zijn hand te gebruiken. Hij wijst met zijn andere hand naar zijn vingers. "Stel je voor, deze vier vingers zijn dieren en mijn duim is een plant". Vervolgens wijst hij naar zijn middelvinger en zegt dat die vinger de mens symboliseert. Het verste weg van het hart. Vervolgens glijdt hij met zijn vinger naar beneden. Bij de pols komt alles samen. De dieren, de planten en wij, de mensheid. Op dat moment wordt het moeilijker om ze allemaal van elkaar te onderscheiden en daar zijn dus de bacteriën en micro-organismen. Hij glijdt steeds verder met zijn vinger richting zijn hart en stopt daar.  "En hier zijn de Mushi, ook wel Midorimono genoemd". Sommigen kunnen de Mushi zien, sommigen niet. Het is nogal raar om te begrijpen, maar na een aantal afleveringen gezien te hebben begin je er steeds meer van te snappen.

De eerste aflevering begint met een prachtig uitzicht op een bos met bergen op de achtergrond. Alles is erg mooi en gedetailleerd getekend.

De scène veranderd wanneer je een jongen ziet die verband om zijn linkerhand weghaalt. Hij pakt een kwast en schrijft het woord "Dear" op. Je ziet dat hij allemaal tekeningen heeft gemaakt. Maar wat betekenen die tekeningen? Plotseling zie je dat zijn woorden beginnen te bewegen. De jongen is niet verbaasd. Hij wist dat hij dit kon. Een Japans teken die erg veel op een vogel lijkt, kruipt uit het papier en begint heen en weer te vliegen. Dit is dus een Mushi. Je hebt er meerdere, maar dit is er één van. Hij vliegt naar buiten, gevolgd door de jongen die hem wilt vangen. De Mushi vliegt rondjes om een witharige man, maar wordt al snel door deze man gepakt. Deze man is Ginko.

Ginko heeft deze jongen niet per ongeluk gevonden. Hij wist namelijk dat deze jongen "speciaal" was. Dus doet Ginko een studie over de jongen...

Het is nacht. Ginko is nog wakker, terwijl de jongen nog aan het slapen is. Hij is op zoek naar de badkamer. Hij kijkt om zich heen en ziet een licht om de hoek verdwijnen. Hij besluit te gaan kijken. Hij haalt een puntig voorwerp uit zijn zak. Maar is dit wel zo'n goed idee van Ginko?

De aflevering is erg plezierig om naar te kijken. Maar het is ook een beetje raar voor de mensen die het verhaal nog niet helemaal begrijpen. In het begin dacht ik dat Mushi, geschreven tekens waren. Maar nadat ik de tweede aflevering heb gezien begon ik het steeds meer te begrijpen. 'Mushishi' is een kalme, spirituele én serieuze Anime waar weinig humor in voor komt. Als je veel actie verwacht, dan moet je waarschijnlijk ergens anders zijn, want hier valt het niet te vinden. Maar ben je op zoek naar een origineel verhaal en interessante karakters? Dan is Mushishi misschien wel dé Anime voor jou! Deze aflevering was in ieder geval erg..."betoverend". Het jongentje was erg leuk om naar te kijken en het verhaal over zijn grootmoeder was ook erg interessant. Het enige wat ik wat minder vond, was hoe ze uitlegde wat Mushi precies waren. Er bleef bij mij (en misschien wel velen anderen) nog veel vraagtekens over. Maar deze aflevering is zeker de moeite waard!

Cijfer:

After all the hostile chasing, Hishigaki ended up only wanting to ask Reiko, "are you okay by yourself now?" That was the moment when a one-dimensional youkai turned into a deep, complex character and an ordinary action sequence turned into a multilayered story with genuinely felt, internal turmoil.

The word "Natsume" means summer eye,
but this Natsume has cat's eyes.

From the start, Natsume Yuujinchou 1 immediately put us in the middle of a chase scene, where a Cyclops-like monster slammed the protagonist Takashi Natsume against a tree and pondered about pulling his tongue out. This set up a tense tone of mortal danger from which the show slowly revealed a much richer and deeper reality. By the end of the episode, the monster had only wanted to be called by her name---an act of companionship that I suppose most Youkai had been starved of in the world of Natsume. It truly brought out the theme don't judge a book by its cover.

Nothing Is What It Seems to Be

I'll sign her autograph book, with my phone number too.

Probably the most complex and interesting character of the show, Reiko started out being portrayed as some aloof, spiritually powerful fighter who enslaved youkai with her contracts. However, in Hishigaki's flashback, we see nothing but a free spirited, mischievous teenage girl who just wasn't afraid to talk to beings that most other people would run away from. Unlike the magical fighter spoken of, she did not cast any it's-over-9,000 spell or anything; she just sneaked in a smack on the head with a worn out wooden bat like a kindergarden kid in a schoolyard fight. And it was not contracts of enslavement she was extracting; it was more like an autograph of friendship that she was seeking instead. This really raised the question as to what her true power was: Was it really some supernatural reserve of energy, or was it just her spirit of friendship to inspire and lead the outcasts to follow her?

I missed Sesshoumaru.

The latter quality was already being displayed in her grandson, the protagonist Takashi Natsume as observed by Madara---the demon dog in cat form who owed his release to Takashi---who then agreed to lend his strength to help Takashi instead of crushing him and taking the Book of Friends as he was very capable of. When you can turn dangerous enemies into powerful allies like that, you cannot be weak at all.

I'm pretty sure that's not Japanese.

One of the other nice touches by the writers of the show is the use of names versus faces. As a human, I could not tell if a cat is a boy or girl, even though I have grown up with them all my life. Not only does this indicate the attention of details the writers have put in, but it also serves to expound on the theme that what we have perceived for one thing cannot be applied without scrutiny upon perceiving another. We're not in Kansas anymore. These are youkai with their own senses, own perceptions, and perhaps even own morals.

Companionship

Once a neko, always a neko.

A major theme of this show will be companionship. Every major characters are outcasts, but yet the Book of Friends will draw them all to cross paths with each other. So in this sense, the Book of Friends is really a book about making friendship, whose mere existence is offering such opportunities to those who cannot do so on their own, be it whatever their initial purpose may be. I wonder if the "power" of the book was simply just a ruse Reiko had setup in order to achieve just this very goal.

"I just ran out of toilet tissue."

So, this could be the format of the show: Each episode will feature a particular youkai whose name will be released with the result of learning something about their pasts. Some of them will be sweet; others, bitter; but it should be a flavorful experience with deep characterizations and themes. Had Takashi be traveling also, this show would instantly remind me of Mushishi. OK, let's not raise too high of an expectation here, and just let the show speak its own message.

She might call your name next week.

Well, seeing as now is college applications time, I'll be mulling over how to write essays without getting to thousand-word reports of my life story, as well as getting my ass in gear and getting first honors, basically A's for every subject for the entire schoolyear (also known as mental suicide), as well as other things I have to do, so I'll be rather busy. And dead-tired, considering I have both refresher courses on Math and Filipino, as well as Japanese classes on Saturdays.

On the other hand, a friend gave me his Shirakawa Nanaka figure because he had to throw her out, so yay for that. Yes, I display her that way because her legs are hot The legs are very well-sculpted. Also, thanks to a signal 3 typhoon, I'll be having no classes, so yay for that as well. I guess I have nothing to contribute anymore, so I'll just post a bunch of random wallpapers, courtesy of moe.imouto.org.

The story tells us about human's affection. We would do many things to protect the one we love, even though we're doing it wrong. The thing that looks good outside may not feel great inside.

You can download it from http://www.hana-mi.com

See more AMVs that I found under my Anime Music Videos category.

- Lukenut Mai-HiME-fanficciä nimeltä Windows of the Soul. Muutoinhan olisin jo täysin tympääntynyt koko ShizNatiin, mutta tästä on sentään vastuussa Lestaki, joka aiemmin kirjoitti erään naurettavan huonon animun parille kaksiulotteiselle sivuhahmolle 76 lukua introspektiota ja itsereflektiota. Windows of the Soul ei ole tosin ainakaan vielä onnistunut mitään vaikutusta tekemään, mutta Lestaki jos kuka saattaa onnistua tuomaan jotain uutta näinkin kuluneeseen aiheeseen.

- Suunnitellut viimein kirjoittavani sen tulikivenkatkuisen ryttäyksen animusarjasta Ghost Hound ja sen säälittävän tyhjänpäiväisestä lopetuksesta. Vinkki kaikille heille, joilla sarja on vielä kesken tai jotka sen suunnittelevat katsovansa: lopettakaa katsominen sinne jonnekin jakson 20 tietämille, nauttikaa vapaavalintaista päihdyttävää ainetta runsain määrin, katsokaa Serial Experiments Lain pikakelauksella läpi sattumanvaraisessa järjestyksessä, ja teeskennelkää että se oli Ghost Houndin oikea loppu.

- Suorittanut erinäisiä yliopisto-opintoja ei niillä niin väliä.

- Lukenut mangaa. Seuraavassa lyhyt arvostelurypäs lukemastani:

Vielä mangan alkuvaiheissa pidin animeadaptaatiota huomattavasti onnistuneempana tapauksena - manga tuntui keskittyvän liikaa shōnen-vouhotukseen ja ältsin siisteihin tappeluihin, animen ollessa tietyllä tapaa paremmin tasapainotettu tapaus. Viimeistään osan 15 myötä alkavat vaakakupit kuitenkin heilahdella päinvastaiseen suuntaan, sillä jumalauta tämä on niin hienoa.

Osa 15 on paikoitellen jopa raskasta luettavaa keskittyessään kertomaan Ishvaalin sodasta ja sen kansan järjestelmällisestä hävityksestä. Siinä sivussa Edin ja Alin satunnaiset näyttäytymiset flashbackien välissä ja jostain mukaan tupsahtaneet koomiset osuudet tuntuvat kuuluvan kokonaan toiseen mangaan. No joo, ehkä niillä on pyritty juuri tuota raskautta keventämään, mutta hitto vie, kun minä luen jotain raskasta, haluan sen olevan musertavan raskasta. Arakawan olisi pitänyt ryhtyä jo alun perinkin piirtämään aivan toisenlaista mangaa, toisenlaiselle kohdeyleisölle.

Setsun lapsuudenystävä Luca lähti aikoinaan kotikyläpahasesta pääkaupunkiin saatuaan selville olevansa kuninkaallista verta ja valtaistuimen oikeutettu perillinen. Nyt muutaman vuoden kuluttua Setsu lähtee morjestamaan kunkkukaveriaan pääkaupunkiin, mutta yllättyykin suuresti, kun palatsin parvekkeelta kansaa tervehtii joku ihan outo hyypiö. Mitäs peliä tämä on?

Fantasiashōjoa, jonka päähenkilö on rento androgyyninen naissoturi, tarinassa on nappaavia juonenkäänteitä ja tyylikin miellyttää silmää? Kyllä kiitos, otan kolme. Ai mitä, ei ole varastossa kuin yksi? No hyvä on sitten.

Taistelupuolella on paha taipumus luisua kohti turhaa powerleveleilyä eli kuka pystyy pieksemään kenetkin, maisemakuvauksen tai yleensäkin tosissaan piirrettyjen taustojen vähäisyys on suorastaan rikollista, ja huolimatta niiden käänteiden nappaavuudesta on juonenkuljetus paikoitellen hienoisen, sanotaanko amatöörimäistä. Hiiro no Isua tulee silti lukeneeksi hyvinkin mielellään, jo ihan senkin vuoksi miten Setsun sukupuoliperformanssia ei ole juuri problematisoitu: hän on yhtä kotonaan niin pölyisissä matkustavan soturin tamineissa kuin näteissä juhlamekoissa - mitä nyt jälkimmäisissä on vähän vaikea juosta - ja turha siitä on sen isompaa numeroa tehdä. Eikä Setsua esitetä edes mitenkään poikkeuksellisena erityistapauksena kaikkien muiden naishahmojen ollessa sukupuolensa vankeja, vaan Hiiro no Isun maailmasta löytyy myös muita sukupuoliroolejaan venyttäviä naishahmoja. Sokerina pohjalla Setsu on ihan lunkisti rakastunut Lucaan (vaikkei olekaan tavannut poikaa moneen vuoteen) ajautumatta sen vuoksi mihinkään punastelevaan, tsundereilevaan identiteettikriisiin. Kerrassaan virkistävää.

Animesarja on katsottu ja ihqutettu, tulin viimein tutustuneeksi myös mangaversioon. Ja siis huh, näin emotionaalisesti voimakasta maisemakuvausta en ole tainnut tavata sitten Yokohama Kaidashi Kikōn. On se kyllä hienoa, kun jo pelkkä usvan verhoama kukkula onnistuu aktivoimaan kyynelkanavat. Ennakkoluulot hiukan pelottelivat, että sarjan magia katoaisi värien, musiikin ja liikkeen mukana, mutta hitotpas. Se on kaunis, on se kaunis. Tästä jos saisi samanlaisen kunnon kokoisen painoksen kuin Vizin massiiviset Nausicaat niin... Ei, ei moista uskalla edes ajatella.

Edelleen suosikkini näistä hamaan ikuisuuteen jatkuvista shōnen fightan mangoista - hahmojen ja maailman suunnittelussa käytetty pähkähullu mielikuvitus kun tuntuu jokaisen osan myötä vain pähkähullaantuvan entistä enemmän. Water 7:istä ollaan pikku hiljaa siirtymässä Enies Lobbyyn, missä luonnollisesti tulee vastaan jälleen uusi rykäelmä omituisia otuksia joita pitää mättää turpaan. Ei nyt varsinaisesti mitään uutta auringon alla, mutta se nyt vain on niin hauskaa kaikessa naurettavassa typeryydessään. Vähän tosin välillä vaivaa se rohkeuden, uhrautuvaisuuden yms. sukupuolittaminen painottamalla miten se on miehen velvollisuus.

Erinäisistä lähteistä olen kuullut erinäisiä ininöitä siitä, miten Sogeking vääntyi suomennoksessa Ampunaamioksi joka siis on aivan kamala koska sehän siis kuulostaa niinku joltain hahmolta jostain pikkupoikien höhlästä supersankarijutusta. Noh, tuota... nimenomaan!

Introvertti Vanilla ja ekstrovertti Chocolat, noitatytöt ja ystävykset, saapuvat taikamaailmasta ihmisten maailmaan ja soluttautuvat paikalliseen peruskouluun ryhtyäkseen kilpailemaan taikamaailman valtaistuimesta. Se, joka onnistuu keräämään enemmän ja arvokkaampia "sydämiä", jalokiven muotoon loihdittuja ihmisten tunteiden kiteytymiä, kruunataan taikamaailman uudeksi kuningattareksi.

Lähinnä käy harmittamaan & kaduttamaan, etten jo aikoinani tarttunut animuversioon, vaan jostain perkeleen vajavaisesta syistä skippasin sen. Tyylikästä ja viihdyttävää, ja jollain tapaa vähemmän... naiivia kuin mahōshōjot yleensä. Päähenkilöt ryhtyvät aivan avoimesti ronkkimaan ihmisten tunne-elämää riistäessään sydämiä parempaan haltuun, ja jos noita itse sattuu rakastumaan johonkuhun, voivat seuraukset olla kohtalokkaita. Hitto, tässähän on mahdollisuuksia vaikka mihin.

Sugar Sugar Rune on vain sellainen sarja, että sitä ostaessa käy jälleen miettimään, jotta mitäköhän ne kioskin tädit ajattelevat tällaisen takatukkaisen partahyypiön tepastellessa kassalle kourassaan tällaista sarjakuvaa. Äh, hittojakos me semmosista.

Laiska hulttio Daichi Shinagawa (Yanki-kun) haluaisi niin kovin mielellään tulla vain jätetyksi rauhaan, mutta valitettavasti rillipäinen luokanedustaja Hana Adachi (Megane-chan) suhtautuu tehtäviinsä vähän turhan suurella innolla ja onnistuu jatkuvati vetämään poikaparan mukaan milloin mihinkin velmuiluun. Ja Hana... no, ennen kuin hän hommasi rillit ja päätti ryhtyä luokanedustajaksi, Hana oli edellisessä koulussaan vielä Daichia pahempi tappelupukari ja taisi ottaa vastaan turhan monta iskua päähän, sillä hän ei tunnu elävän täysin siinä samassa todellisuudessa missä me muut.

Ja koska päähenkilömme ovat tyttö ja poika, ei liene edes mahdollista että heidän välilleen ei jonkinlaista romanttista jännitettä rakennettaisi. Daichi on vakuuttunut siitä, että Hana tykkää hänestä, mutta taitaa jätkä lähinnä vain projisoida omia tunteitaan - mikä on kyllä aika sööttiä. Vehkaaminen tulee epäilemättä jatkumaan koko sarjan ajan.

Eli melko tyypillistä pöljäkomiikkaa ja manzaitako se nyt sitten on kun Hana tekee milloin mitäkin naurettavaa/typerää/uskomatonta/ällistyttävää/järjenvastaista ja Daichi joutuu kärsimään, tuskastelemaan, ja vääntämään hassuja reaktioilmeitä vieressä. Mutta hitto, se toimii kuitenkin ihan mukavasti. Standardini huonojen sarjojen suhteen kun ovat huomattavasti matalampia kuin standardini hyvien sarjojen suhteen.

Seuraavaksi voisin taas pitää parin, kolmen viikon tauon. Vaan kukapa tietää, arpa kohtalon on aina arvaamaton ja saatan mahdollisesti intoutua Ghost Houndia haukkumaan jo sitä ennen. Mainittakoon tässä jälkikirjoituksenomaisesti myös, että Tower of Druagan pari viime jaksoa ovat olleet fillereiksikin ällistyttävän turhia. KHHAAAAN ANDOUUUU GONZOOOOO!!

a.k.a.Bugmaster

Ça s'annonçait bien : Odagiri Joe (belle gueule du cinéma nippon et accessoirement pas mauvais acteur) + Une adaptation d'un anime/manga assez atypique + Otomo Katsushiro à la réalisation (précisons pour les imberbes de la culture pop japonaise : l'auteur-dessinateur d'Akira, entre autres).

Synopsis rapide :
Notre héros aux cheveux blancs (comme dans le morceau, que vous pouvez chanter aussi à condition d'avoir un balais espagnol sur la tête) voit les ectoplasmes des forêts qui tourmentent les hommes…il se trimbale une caisse de bois remplie de poudres de perlimpinpin pour les guérir, ou autre chose, après tout le film reste évasif…aussi bien il y cache ces godemichés en jelly violette assortis de poils de brosse à dent vibrants si chers aux érotomanes insulaires locaux.

Bref…C'est pas un boute-en-train, et il rencontre des gens qui suintent de l'oreille sans écouter Van Halen, qui ont les cornes qui poussent sans même avoir de conjoint et qui ont des tatouages amovibles bien mieux que les sales trucs cancérigènes au henné pourri, salamandre de l'aine ou papillon des reins, tribal des plages et kanji à l'envers…passons.

Mais chaque héros se doit d'avoir une enfance difficile, et un présent frappé du sceau du destin, patati-patata.

L'image est léchée, la musique discrète et donc sympa, le jeu pas mal, l'histoire pas inintéressante…voilà tout le problème. C'est pas seulement fade face à l'anime, c'est un peu fade tout court: pas de gros morceaux de bravoure.

Visuellement, c'est bien quand même, faut dire ce qui est : ultra graphique, très "animation" dans les découpages. Mais le jeu d'acteur est sans grande conviction hélas : ça assure le steak, mais pas sur la garniture…quoique vu le coefficient de verdure du film, mon image tombe à l'eau (croupie et hantée comme de rigueur)…C'est un peu le Cinéma Flunch : des trucs pas dégueu à volonté, plutôt équilibrés, mais pas le souvenir mémorable.

Peu de relief, dommage…le film est agréable mais l'attente plaçait la barre plus haute. À voir avec un œil vierge, ça doit être bien. 3,76/5

Liens : IMDB + Bande annonce

Q:"why is the rental magica anime out of chronological order?" A: Because they wanted to start on a higher note and get different exposition for the characters for the sake of scheduling tie-ins. I just totally made that up but at least one of those three was probably a factor.

Q:"Is the animation in the bleach tv series lousy?" A: Again insipidly so, avoid at all costs, the art in the manga is pretty fair and the weaknesses of the series are less exposed. I understand that the movie(s?) have fairer animation but they're also totally pointless and likely non-canon so who cares? animation fans? bleach otaku?

Q: "How many shakugan no shana movies are there?" A: one presently out and one in production the last I heard. There is also parody special which if I recall was on the dvd version of the movie called "shakugan no shana-tan the movie" this is not a movie and I don't even recall it being longer than the typical shakugan no shana-tan segments from the original tv series.

Q:"how many volumes of Busou Renkin are there?" A: 10.

Q:"can anal stimulation bring a person to orgasm?" A: Yes, orgasms are psychological to a large extent so if anything brings you enough pleasure regardless of what it is and there's a certain amount of physical stimulation then orgasm is possible. It is a lot more common for men to orgasm from rectal stimulation, particularly penetration, because of pressure to the prostate gland. Very likely though if you are not a masochist and anal stimulation is not a pleasurable sensation for you, such as anal sex being very painful for you with the pain never getting better after repeated sessions, then you are not likely to orgasm that way. Pleasure can be a very individual thing, some men and women can only orgasm with the aid of anal stimulation which I suppose would officially be an anal fetish but might actually be physical. I don't think there's been a vast amount of research in this area and frankly that's understandable.

Q:"why should you bleach your asshole?" A: you shouldn't, you really shouldn't. You shouldn't douche either but people are ready to apply aesthetics to areas that they can't be applied readily too. If you want to know how to bleach your asshole then also take my advice and just don't do it. I'm pretty sure that it doesn't actually whiten the area appreciably, which is naturally very dark looking compared to surrounding skin because the tissue is slightly different, there's more of it and it's more elastic so it can expand and contract to accommodate bowel movements of various sizes and is not related to discoloration by feces (probably). Bleach, or chlorine basically, really isn't a substance that you should ingest in any way since it is poisonous to most life forms (which is why it's used, by people like me, to kill stubborn mold).

Q:"Do credit card companies really hold payments?" A: Yes, although to be fair this is not always done maliciously and intentionally though it's usually closer to the latter than should be legal. Anyway as a matter of fact the majority of financial transactions are held for some certain amount of time for varying reasons, most part of due process like a business only depositing on tuesdays or something like that. The most commonly held payments are of course cheques, this is the reason why they haven't been eliminated even though the majority of people with an income are given "cheque cards". You don't have to think much about this one to realize that something is going on, all the major banks issue cards and are the money behind the card companies, but most card companies won't accept payment by card regardless of its holder, type, or issuer (I think the issuer might actually be referred to as the guarantor for the "actual money"). I actually thought that by this time we'd all have "money cards" and that both paper money and personal cheques would be obsoleted but that's another story.

Q: "how do you pronounce mushi?" A: Mushi is the pronunciation for notably the generic japanese word for insect but is possibly best known outside of japan because of the manga and anime series "Mushishi" which is a different type of mushi. Anyway in english it would be like the "mo" in "move" (or "moo" like the sound cows are said to make by english people who have never actually heard a real cow in their life) and "she". Mushi is two syllables in case you can't tell, actually all japanese words and written chraracters, and I assume korean and chinese as well, can be broken up into sets of syllables, that's actually all that katakana and hiragana are。　虫 (mushi)　むし  (mushi) see?

Q:"Is the soldier unit better than the archer unit in Dragonforce?" A: officially yes. Unofficially the archer is the worst unit in the game. However because their attacks are ranged an appreciable amount of archers commanded by a general with a high enough command (CMD?) stat will still be able to beat a small enough amount of enemy soldiers. If I remember correctly if the two basic square formations go against each other and the archers are held instead of advanced (stationary units attack faster than moving units, I think this is a flaw in the game personally but it's the way it works) something like 10-30 (22 is a number that sticks in my mind) soldiers will be defeated by the time they reach the archer formation (unless it's like 100 archers against 100 soldiers in which case there's less distance to cover). Because archers and mages continue to attack during a general's spells/attacks this number will tend to be even greater since usually you want to cast a spell as fast as possible. Broadly speaking it's only really shitty generals that have archers and you also are only likely to have nothing better to field than a small quantity of soldiers which can be mowed down by archers. Of note is that you actually aren't necessarilly much better off to have a number of archers or mages greater than 30 since it's only the front line that attacks the enemy and once the enemy gets close in only harpies will be defeated in great enough numbers by archers (mages who also fire faster will also defeat zombies) to be noteworthy. The problem with units that have archers is that they typically have troop annihilating spells (all priests (who have mages anyway) have the devastating holy shield) which will take out your troops even if you try to get fancy with formations and commands. But even if they have holy shield it is still worth it to  use the "special" (the english name, it's the first one anyway) formation and then disperse your troops and before advancing them ( they tend to try and head back towards the middle as they advance so you might want to disperse again) to minimize the units defeated. Of course this opens your general to attack so it's a bit of a gambit but dispersed troops are typically also out of the range of anti-troop spells (lighting fall, holy blast, and the earthquake move being the exception, I think they're even out of the range of the brunt of cyclone type spells although usually a few troops will advance into range during the course of the spell) and once you converge them back on the enemy they will reap them. If you "cover" your troops advance with a spell then while it's being used your general is invincible anyway. Other than dispersing you can concentrate your troops in the middle or use the "breach" formation and then use a spell that rakes through the enemy formation in that area, this is a bit safer for your general but most all type (troop and general) attacks go through at least part of the middle of the field, some like cross rush and sonic boom only go through that area in a straight line from general to general. Use whatever strategy is suitable. If you're the unit with archers going against soldiers then try to buy yourself time with as many spells as possible, and choose a broad initial formation and then have your troops advance or fall back to cover the margins of the field and block the enemy from your general and attack more of them at once. This is also a good strategy for the holy bomb attack that doesn't attack all (yours and the enemy's) troops (maybe only Goldark has that one) since if all the enemy troops advance it will wipe them all out at once. You have to advance a bit for that one, although if you hold or retreat a bit then when the enemy enters the holy bomb range your troops will not be in it even though you won't be able to get them all (better to only get 2/3 of the enemy than half of yours and theirs).

And there we have the most questions answered at once by me I think. It's extremely unlikely that this "feature" of mine does anybody any good but I keep plugging away anyway.

Autore: Yuki Urushibara
Disegni: Yasuhiko Umakoshi
Regia: Hiroshi Nagahama
Studio: Artland
1°TV: 2005
Episodi: 26

“Sono creature estranee, primitive e peculiari, sono "cose" diverse da ogni altro animale o pianta che abbiamo imparato a conoscere. Col tempo e con timore, gli uomini iniziarono a chiamarle "Mushi"” (Voce narrante, episodio 1)
“Sono vicini all'essere pure essenze di vita. E poiché lo sono, le loro forme e le loro esistenze sono vaghe. Alcune persone possono vederli, altre no” (Ginko, episodio 1)

[recensione via: animeclick.it by KillNeo]

Entità tra il naturale e il soprannaturale, presenti nella vita di tutti i giorni e, all'insaputa di molti ma non di tutti, influiscono su quest'ultima, nel bene e nel male. Ecco cosa sono i Mushi.
Ginko è uno di quei pochi ad avere il dono, se così lo si vuol chiamare, di vedere quest'esseri e trascorre la sua vita in un lungo vagabondare per il Giappone, studiando e aiutando le persone che vengono in contatto con queste creature.
Ogni episodio è una vicenda a sè, non è presente una vera e propria trama principale e, a mio parere, non è affatto un male, tutt'altro. La serie si discosta molto dai classici stereotipi presenti in tanti altri anime e sinceramente non saprei come classificarlo... I Mushi non ci vengono presentati ne come amici ne come nemici ma semplicemente sono ritenuti parte integrante della Natura e, come tali, vanno rispettati e temuti allo stesso tempo. In questo si coglie un messaggio "ecologista" dell'anime, dove un intervento invasivo, volontario o meno, all'interno di un ecosistema comporta delle ripercussioni a volte violente. In un episodio (il 15) Ginko ammonisce un bambino affascinato dai mushi affermando: "Puoi avere simpatia per loro, ma loro non saranno mai tuoi amici o nemici. Seguiranno sempre il loro percorso."
Le ripercussioni si possono notare nelle variazioni dell'animo umano delle persone con cui vengono a contatto ed ogni episodio dell'anime porta con se un messaggio.

Se volete passare una serata in allegria e spensieratezza quest'anime non fa per voi. Mushishi va seguito dall'inizio alla fine, facendo ben attenzione a non perdere ogni dialogo affinchè possiate comprendere al meglio la sua... "filosofia".
Una menzione d'onore per la splendida colonna sonora che, come già accennato nella scheda principale, sottolinea l'atmosfera onirica dell'anime.

Mushishi Opening:

Voto [aprile 2008] :

AniDB.net: Rating 8.79/10.00
Review Rating 9.27/10.00

AnimeNewsNetwork.com: Excellent/MasterPiece

AnimeClick.it: Rating 8.824/10.000
Review Rating 9.385/10.000

Marko’s Weblog: 91.0/100.0

[via: anidb.net || animenewnetwork.com || animeclick.it]

Neon Genesis Evangelion: A los 14 años Shinji Ikari es convocado por su padre a la Ciudad de Neo Tokio-3, luego de varios años de separación familiar. Una vez allí accede, aunque reacio, a la tarea de transformarse en el piloto de un robot gigante de nombre EVA01 y proteger al mundo de invasores enigmáticos conocidos como “ángeles”. A pesar de cuestionar repetidamente la razón por la cual aceptó la misión ofrecida por su frió y distante padre, el hacerlo lo ayuda a aceptarse a sí mismo. Sin embargo, el por qué del ataque de los ángeles y las intenciones verdaderas de su padre están aún por ser reveladas.

Bleach: Ichigo Kurosaki es un chico de 15 años con la habilidad de ver espíritus desde su nacimiento. Debido a esto, logra conocer a una Shinigami (Personificación de la muerte) llamada Rukia Kuchiki. Para salvar a su familia y amigos de espíritus comedores de almas llamados Hollows, Rukia le transfiere a Ichigo sus poderes de Shinigami. Con la ayuda de Rukia Ichigo descubre su verdadera vocación: proteger a los vivos y a los muertos del mal.

R.O.D.: Tres chicas llamadas Anita, Michelle y Maggie son contratadas para proteger al autor Japonés Nenene Sumiregawa durante su estadía en Hong Kong. En un incidente en el cual las “Paper Sisters” salvan a Nenene de un autor molesto, éste descubre que las hermanas tienen la capacidad de controlar el papel a voluntad, incluso lo pueden convertir en acero sólido. Al llegar a Japón después de un incidente en la aerolínea, las Paper Sisters se mudan al apartamento de Nenene y se convierten en sus guardaespaldas y en las encargadas de salvarnos de un libro que deletrea el fin del mundo. Más que literatura, libros y papel, mucha es la acción que encontrarás en R.O.D. (Read or Die – lee o muere)

009-1: En un mundo alterno, la Guerra Fría ha continuado por 140 años. Como resultado, el mundo ha sido dividido en dos facciones: el Bloque Oeste, y el Bloque Este. A medida que la Guerra Fría continúa, la tensión entre las dos facciones, así como la cantidad de armas nucleares que poseen, aumenta. Un juego de espías, conflictos y mucha acción que no puedes perderte por ANIMAX.

Hell Girl (Jigoku Shoujo): En algún lugar del vasto mar de Internet, hay una página Web que sólo funciona a la medianoche. Conocida como Jigoku Tsushin, el rumor dice que si publican un sentimiento de rencor en ella, el Jigoku Shoujo aparecerá y enviará a quien atormente al infierno. Existe una chica misteriosa que controla el sitio web y de la que sólo sabemos que vive con su igualmente enigmática abuela, tres muñecas de trapo mágicas y que siempre que una publicación en el Jigoku Tsushin la obliga, se convierte en el Jigoku Shoujo.

Black Cat: Train Heartnet es conocido como el Gato Negro por su rápida respuesta a ataques y ganó su título de Número Trece como miembro de la sociedad secreta Chornos. Es un maestro pistolero invencible, un asesino frío y carente de sentimientos hasta que conoce a Saya, una cazarrecompensas. Ella le enseña el valor de la vida humana, el arrepentimiento y a reconocer sus errores. A través de ella, Train aprende a amar y preocuparse por otras personas hasta convertirse él mismo en un cazarrecompensas que viaja con su compañero Sven y la misteriosa Eve.

Madhouse ha annunciato al Tokyo International Anime Fair che ha in programma di realizzare una nuova serie televisiva dedicata a Kyashan. L'uscita è prevista per il prossimo autunno.

Di seguito alcune informazioni sullo staff:
Regia: Shigeyasu Yamauchi (Saint Seiya, alcuni film di Dragon Ball Z)
Character Design: Yoshihiko Umakoshi (Berserk, Mushi-Shi, Guyver)
Sceneggiatura: Yasuko Kobayashi (Claymore, Witchblade, Shakugan no Shana)

[via: animenewsnetwork.com || animeclick.it]

10/10 (Sin lugar a dudas, una obra maestra de serie. No hay otra serie que se le iguale en temática y creo que tampoco existirá. RECOMENDADA!)