Gundam 00 ep. 16-25

Episode reactions~ :D (EDIT: All of this, and not one spoiler tag! HOW DO I DO IT.)

16: I think the thing I like most about this episode is Setsuna's insane "GAAANDAAMU" raving. Also, lol@not-so-subtle recap. I don't think I like the Trinity girl. She's too perky. IMO, when you try that hard, you're not even cute anymore. And the loud-mouthed Trinity guy is obnoxious, too. >_>;

17: LOL @ Haro nii-san. Trinity girl gets +1 point at the beginning of this ep. Since the very beginning, I've wanted for Setsuna to get sexually harassed in some way. >_>;

18: WHAT A BITCH. -100 POINTS.

19: I find it interesting that Japan doesn't have a big presence in this show. And moreover, that the main character is Middle Eastern instead of East Asian. (Even though they gave him a Japanese codename for some stupid, arbitrary reason.)

Also, that last scene alone probably spawned 10,000 Setsuna/Lockon fans. xDD

20: I really hope that the UN guy and his... angel aren't supposed to be BL bait or something. Because only the realllly desperate would bite. Personally, I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole, the creepy bastards. >_>;

It's nice to see the HRL kicking ass for once; since the very beginning, I've actually felt bad for the enemies of Celestial Being, since the Gundams were so ridiculously overpowered. Nice to see things finally balance out.

21: The story's heavily foreshadowing that Saji will someday blow spectacularly. I can't WAIT! :D

......Okay, so screw Setsuna/Lockon, this episode probably spawned 100,000 Tieria/Lockon fangirls. xDDD

And Marina = less psychotic Relena

22: Noticed a lot of the men use watashi. I wonder if it's a military thing? Regarding the Trinities, at first I kinda pitied them, but then I remembered that they're pure evil. And deus ex machina Exia finally gets to kick some mercenary ass!

23: ....NO. NO NO NO NO NO. NO. THERE IS A SECOND SEASON. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.

I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS! [/Nowaki]

What a load of shit. :(

24: I like how the UN is ominous and hardcore in this show. So unlike real life. xD

25: (omg when Hallelujah slicked back his hair~ *o*)

Hmm. I think, in the end, it's a drawback that this show doesn't have One True Enemy, like a Zechs Marquise or a Char Aznable. Not only are the final fights rushed because of the sheer number of notable enemies, but they're a lot less epic too. That's one thing Toward the Terra definitely did right; even though that show also had a shitload of characters, it was very clear who the two main rivals of the series were and the viewers were equally attached to both by the end.

It's also kind of weird to see Setsuna suddenly become so passionate about everything, though I guess enough has gone down that would force him to change drastically... and wtf, Graham Aker. You so crazy. xDD

Ugh, Marina and Setsuna's "relationship" is so forced. If romantic development between the two of them is seriously pursued in S2, I at least hope it will be well-done and not rushed like it is here. I like the two of them separately, but together? At this point, it's almost as unnatural as Heero/Relena. >_<;

And seriously, Earth Federation? You'd think they would've laid that old thing to rest by now. xDD

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This show was def. worth watching, even though it took longer than I feel it should have for the plot to finally kick it up a notch. I think I'll probably wait a little while before starting S2. I feel like I need to take a breather after watching something this heavy and watch Major S1 or something. ^^;

Bad Locker Room Experience

The past few days, I had been noticing a woman at the gym who might be my high school senior year Language teacher. I wasn't sure if it was her or just someone who looked like her, since I would just avoid this person in the off-chance it really was my teacher. (I started slacking off in her class during the last couple months of school, so I figured I didn't leave the best last impression on her. >_>;)

So of course, I walk out of the showers into the locker room, and this woman was the only other person there. And I was wearing nothing but a towel. And I STILL couldn't tell if it was my teacher or not from across that room! But if it really was her, I felt like I could've just died from the awkwardness right there and then. Thankfully, after staring at her for a good 30 seconds without her noticing, I'm about 80% sure that it wasn't her... but if it was... I think I might have to start going to the gym at a different time. x______x

....When I head back to Kenyon, I'm taking all of my showers strictly within the dorms. x_________x

Anyway! Just started up on Gundam 00 ep. 14, which is when the new OP starts. The last time I heard that song was around the time it was released--I had almost forgotten just how much I like the brilliant green! I really like how I'm a fan of both groups who contributed the OP themes to this show. ^-^~

Gundam 00 ep.10

Oooooh. To be honest, up until this episode, I had thought this show to be only sometimes engaging, albeit very well-made. But this was an excellent ep! I esp. enjoyed crazyMPD!Hallelujah. Seems like things might be more interesting from here on out. :)

For the moment, I think Lockon might be my fav. pilot, but to be honest, I'm not particularly attached to any of them yet... but it seems like everyone has a traumatic backstory, so that may change in the future. :3

And I really don't get it! Why does Bandai only have the first 9 subbed eps uploaded on Youtube, even though they put all of the dub eps up? Half of the reason why I'm watching this now instead of later is to feed my soul-consuming Miyano Mamoru craving! WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THIS, BANDAI.

EDIT: ep. 11... veeeery interesting. And LOL @ Allelujah's reaction to alcohol.

Revolutionary Road & Why I Can't Hate the Asshole

That last part should be the title of a novel or something. :3

1) Watched Revolutionary Road with the family last night. I think I liked it just a little more than Gran Torino... the former is more polished, I suppose. It has an interesting overall theme (of the emptiness, yet also the allure of the idyllic, fifties middle-class American life), and one that is executed very well mainly due to the excellent acting of the entire cast. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, especially, have some very memorable on-screen arguments. (The climactic argument even contains a symbolically-significant scene in which Winslet runs from her house into the woods. That's how you can tell this movie was based off of a novel, haha.)

Not sure if I would ever re-watch this, however; the experience of watching it was downright painful, not because the film is bad, but because the tone of the film is SO heavy and hopeless. Even the happy scenes in the middle chunk of the movie are obviously ill-fated. Though it's definitely worth watching the first time through, if you can handle this sort of thing.

2) I've been thinking about the characters of Skip Beat! very often ever since I finished the anime, particularly of the two male leads, Tsuruga Ren and Fuwa Sho. Ren is clearly the better (and FAR more mature) person of the two--he's still a bit of a jerk, but in a way that is much much MUCH more endearing than Sho's asshole-ery. I was rather enamored with Ren throughout the second half of the series. He's just so... guarded and difficult to win over, but very charming, sweet, and supportive once he does open up. On the other hand, Sho is charismatic in his own way, but it's very superficial charisma. He's egotistical, manipulative, and genuinely uncaring of others unless it's fueled by lust or selfishness; he's like a little boy with very, very sharp claws.

So then why is it that Sho is the one who I think about a lot more often? Even though I do have a habit of liking asshole characters (e.g. Griffith), Sho hit all the wrong buttons with me. I hated Sho after the first episode and he definitely hadn't redeemed himself by the point where the anime left off. Yet Sho as a character excites me more than any other in Skip Beat! As strange as this will sound, Sho's biggest redeeming quality for me is the fact that he has no redeeming qualities. It's rare that a shoujo mangaka doesn't cop out and give the readers a reason to start sympathizing with the good-looking, charismatic jerk of a love interest.

Of course, he does still have the potential to change for the better and start genuinely caring for Kyoko, but I find it interesting and refreshing that this possibility is up in the air rather than something already pre-determined. (Since jerk love interests in shoujo anime are almost always Obviously Destined to Reform Their Ways Due to the Power of Love right from the very beginning--see Hana Yori Dango. Fuwa Sho, on the other hand, has maybe a 50/50 chance b/c he's just THAT MUCH of an irredeemable bastard.) If he does eventually mature (and I mean character development on a mind-blowing, world-shifting scale), I think I could grow to seriously fangirl this guy. In the meantime, while I don't by any means like the guy, I guess I find the idea of him very interesting.

Either that or I'm a masochist. Or maybe I just like Miyano Mamoru's voice too much for my own good? x_x

KyoAni Brainwashing & Vampires

Was at Magic Waters yesterday. I spent most of my time at a wave pool that simulates the wave bumps in the ocean. My mom was talking to me at this pool in the afternoon, when it was most crowded, and I accidentally called it "the masses pool." DAMN YOU, ENDLESS EIGHT.

Might make a 2nd post about Skip Beat! b/c it's just THAT awesome. Started watching Vampire Knight after that, and man. The vampires in that show are such annoying assholes. I mean, they've threatened Zero and Yuuki, like, every damn episode, and yet are all offended whenever Zero treats them as if they're dangerous. UMM HELLO VAMPIRES, YOU'RE THE PREDATORS IN THIS SITUATION. If they don't want Zero to treat them like monsters, THEN MAYBE THEY SHOULD STOP DOING STUPID SHIT LIKE JUMPING OUT OF THE TREE BRANCHES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT and approach them like normal people! And Yuuki is the most retarded one of all for insisting, "The Night Class kids are good!" just because she has a hard-on for Kaname. I mean, they've attacked her and Zero on more than one occasion! HOW STUPID CAN SHE BE.

I swear, Zero is the only intelligent character in this entire series. And he's probably, like, 90% of the reason why I'm still watching this show. It's as if he was molded to fit my tastes exactly; not only is he brooding and angsty, but he's even a total ho and undresses in front of people. How perfect he is for me!

After Vampire Knight, I'll either watch Guilty, finally finish up Code Geass R2, or finally watch past the first couple episodes of Gundam 00. Last night, I rewatched the first ep. of Gundam 00 with two of my male, preteen younger cousins. I had seen the first ep. of that anime at least twice before, but watching it with the boys was WAY more entertaining than watching it by myself. Especially since one of the boys is a fan of the series already, and has a huge anime crush on Sumeragi. xD