Another week means moar anime. I actually have the finale of Higashi no Eden ready to go, but I decided to put that off until next week's post because I have some other things I want to do today. Plus, there is more than enough writing in this post as is, srsly.
Anime discussed: Axis Powers Hetalia, Azumanga Daioh, Basquash!, Cross Game, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Hatsukoi Limited, Hayate no Gotoku! + OVA, Higashi no Eden, Kanon (2006), Kemono no Souja Erin, K-On!, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, Sengoku Basara, Shugo Chara! Doki, Valkyria Chronicles, Vision of Escaflowne
-- Axis Powers Hetalia ep21: Sealand might be the most adorable character on this show. I like his spunk. Become a nation, little Sealand~! Italy showing his Italian spirit by vigorously waving a flag is very funny. He tries so hard, that one.
-- Azumanga Daioh eps 1-6: So, hey, I finally decided to tackle one of the comedy giants in the anime world, and surprise, surprise, I am loving it so far. My favorite character so far is definitely Kimura. Even with all the strange, pervy characters I have seen in anime, I've never seen anyone like Kimura. I just love the massive gulf between his obsessive perversion and basically every other aspect of his life. He's kind, he looks out for the environment, he is a good teacher ... and he loves to stare at high school girls. It's just so normal for him, haha. Something else that always cracks me up is how the girls have the typical anime reactions to Kimura's pervyness (sweatdrops, inner monologues, etc.) even though the breadth of his perversion is so deep and dark that they should probably be tasing him all day long, or at least calling the Japanese equivalent of the SWAT team. Of the girls, Tomo is my favorite, although I like them all. It's hilarious that she has so much energy with next to nothing to show for it -- she's not particularly athletic, and she isn't really focused on classwork. She basically uses her energy to straight up annoy the shit out of people. Tomo never says it directly, but you get the feeling that's her goal, haha. Yukari also cracks me up. Maybe it is because she is sort of like what Tomo will be when she is an adult lol. She's loud, boisterous, impulsive, temperamental ... and she's not above picking on her students. I feel so bad for Chiyo during the basketball game when Yukari holds the ball above Chiyo's head and mocks her, but damn it, it's also funny as hell. That is just who she is: Totally self-absorbed and not at all guilty about getting one up on someone, even if it is a diminutive 11-year-old.
-- Basquash! ep11: Hm, I think I will drop this series once the summer season rolls around. I am interested enough to see what leads to the halfway point, but beyond that the series is not really inspiring me to soldier on, especially since there are a decent amount of potentially good series next season. (Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Spice and Wolf II, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, etc.) There is nothing particularly bad about this episode that makes me feel this way (well, aside from it being a bit dull); this is just something I have felt for a while now. But the final contest to end the season should be a fun enough watch, I suppose.
-- Cross Game eps 1-5: I did not pay this series any mind at the beginning of the season, but I picked it up this week on bell's recommendation. And, wow, it did not take long for Cross Game to convert me -- the first episode is really impressive. It has a great sense of what it's like to just live life to the fullest when you're a kid and nothing really matters except the here and now, and what it's like when life suddenly does matter, and you have to deal with the things that make us human. The death of Wakaba Tsukishima at the end of the first episode hangs constantly in the hearts of Kou Kitamura, Wakaba's sister, Aoba, and Osamu Akaishi, because she touched them in similar, yet distinctly different, ways in their youth. Cross Game brings this up a lot, but it has not become tiresome, at least through the first five episodes, because the series does it in subtle, gentle ways that do not really hammer home the tragedy of Wakaba's death in an over-the-top way. In ep5, for instance, it is shown that Aoba still uses a cookbook Wakaba used when she took care of a fever Aoba had. It's just little reminders like that that show what is important to these people. They still like to have fun -- their lives revolve around baseball, for God's sake lol -- but they have grown up quite a bit in the meantime, as well. Akaishi used to be a bully; now, he is a pretty cool, grounded person. Kitamura was sort of a loudmouth, but now he is a responsible, if sort of spacey, guy. Aoba probably has the most growing up to do (at least on the outside), but she shows that she cares a lot about the people around her; it's just that she is not especially great at showing it.
Anyway, yeah, I am enjoying this series right now. These five episodes are just getting into the swing of things, so there is not too much going on right now, but I expect things will start moving pretty damn soon, what with the arrival of the recruits for the high school baseball team. (Including one voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, who is putting on his Leon Oswald voice for this role, haha.) Also, I have to say that I love the OP, "Summer Rain." It fits the tone of the series perfectly.
-- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood ep11: Not too exciting of an episode, but there are enough funny bits to make up for it, somewhat. Ed imagining what it would be like to be tall is the best part. "You guys are so puny." Haha. Winry freaking out with excitement about all the high-tech automail all around here is pretty funny, too. Can't wait to see Ed and Al's master next week.
-- Hatsukoi Limited ep10: Eh, this episode is kind of weak and does not work for me too well. Kei and Kusuda's romance is more annoying than endearing to me right now. The tsundere bullcrap gets really tiresome when it is the only dimension to a character. Kusuda is still amusing, even though he is also a one-note type of character (dependable perv!). Meguru's storyline is OK -- Takei is kind of funny when he shouts that he likes big breasts -- but the way this episode moves through it, it feels as though there is barely any time to develop it (pun not intended). I enjoyed this series through nine episodes, so I hope the quality does not take a sudden dive at the end.
-- Hayate no Gotoku! eps 38-40: lol, and the evil superintendent story comes to a close, and it ends in about as bizarre a way as I could have imagined. Hayate chooses to sacrifice himself to Kirika so that she won't bother Nagi anymore. Kirika agrees and brainwashes Hayate into becoming her personal butler ... by forcing him into an "ancient robe" that turns Hayate into a crossdressing catgirl. Any excuse to get Hayate into women's clothing. But Hayate is saved when Himegami Princess God and Hinagiku show up to help kick some ass, and Nagi arrives to snap Hayate out of his catgirl trance. Of course, it turns out that Kirika and Shion were under the spell of an evil ancient god, so Hayate and the crew have to take that down to free them. Mind, this is all for an ancient, powerful civilization of butlers. Butlering is Serious Business. Hayate gets victory by awakening the holy butler uniform, which looks sort of like Ozymandias' outfit from Watchmen. There are some pretty cool fights in ep39, and for epic fights, a ton of Gurren Lagann references are needed, of course. And then there's more Serious Business hinted at when Princess God says he needs just three more items to awaken the legendary God Butler Dragon. This show is so weird.
eps 41-43: These are an OK set of episodes. I actually wasn't into ep41 all too much until the twist that Shiori is the one who was going to resign rather than Katsura. Watching the students be like, "... What. -_-" and Shiori be all, "I LOVE YOU STUDENTS SO MUCH" almost makes the episode worth it. Ep42, which involves Nagi and Maria trying to find Hayate's weakness, is pretty funny. The best part is the narrator saying, "Nice timing~!" while Hayate and Maria are all, "WUT" when they walk in on Wataru grabbing Nagi's arm in annoyance, and it leads to Wataru accidentally confessing to Isumi.
eps 44-49: Now that's what I'm talking about! The series is finally getting back to what made it so fun in the beginning -- solid, funny stories crammed with random references. Guess the creators decided to step it up for the stretch run. It still amazes me how many weird, random references there are in this series. There is everything from Amuro Ray's famous line in Mobile Suit Gundam ("Even my father didn't hit me!") to more Evangelion references than I can count to 300 to freakin' YouTube. I don't know why, but I am always surprised at how in tune with American culture this series is. Anyway, all the episodes are good, but my favorite is ep44, which shows the process behind turning one of Nagi's manga into an anime. If there was any shred of a fourth wall remaining in this show, ep44 absolutely obliterated it. The narrator constantly has to tell the audience that the cheap, cost cutting measures employed by the animation company are not the way business is conducted in the anime industry. And then there is Nagi's crazy magical girl anime, which turns out to be more of a drama series with Maria and Hayate expies in love, and it's a bajillion times funnier because Norio Wakamoto is throwing out all this ridiculously dramatic, romantic nonsense. Of course, the episode has to end on a string of fanservice. Huzzah!
eps 50-52: In a way, I am glad the first season does not end on an "epic," story pushing set of episodes and instead concentrates on offering more goofy fun. Easily the most boring stretch of this series is where it concentrates more on building a larger story and purpose for everything; it just does not work very well at all, which is why I was so glad to see the show go back to its roots near the end. Ep50 is a pretty damn funny episode -- a quiz show paring Nagi and Ayumu that forces them to answer questions in ridiculous situations. (I could have just said they were on a Japanese game show, and you all would have got the idea. Oh well.) I love that the narrator hosts the game show, denies the entire time that he is the narrator and then at the very end is like, "Man, I had a lot of lines this week." Nagi using her gaming knowledge to work her and Ayumu out of a sealed room and then throwing out the correct answer about what was the first video game console got a good laugh from me too. Ep51 is all right. I enjoyed that the tease at the very beginning, which shows Hayate being pressured into accepting a large salary at a freelance butler company (again, this show is so weird ...) so that he can immediately pay off his debt to Nagi, ends up being almost inconsequential to the overall plot. Poor Hayate getting knocked around while he tries to not lose Nagi's present is amusing. Ep52 is a decent end to the first season. It reminds me of a Haruhi Suzumiya story in a way -- Hayate jumps through some weird time loop (which is foreshadowed by a Back to the Future reference in the beginning, which is maybe the first story-relevant reference I have seen in this series) and stumbles upon a young Nagi, who is being hunted by the Sicilian mafia, which wants her inheritance (Nagi and co. are vacationing on a European island). It's just a sweet story overall, with Hayate being able to protect Nagi at another point in her life.
Hayate no Gotoku is a fun series. It is a bit too long (the middle portion really drags at times, especially when it deals with a semi-serious plot), but it is funny most of the way, and I do want to watch the second season, so it definitely does enough things right.
-- Hayate no Gotoku! OVA ep1: Haha, the series goes full-on fanservice with its OVA. Everyone has fun on Nagi's private beach/island, except Nagi herself, who is self-conscious about her appearance and refuses to go out and have fun. Thus, she is a prime target for possession by a wandering spirit that had also been self-conscious during its life. There is not a direct reference to Shugo Chara! but Nagi's appearance during the possession, especially the glazed over eyes, reminds me of the kids who are possessed by X/? Eggs on that show. And the sheer scope of Nagi's land sometimes scares me. Nagi and Hayate wash up on what they believe is an uncharted island, but it's really a random island within Nagi's sphere of influence. Nagi doesn't even know it's hers!! That is crazy.
-- Higashi no Eden ep10: I'm glad the series is focusing more on the overall story again instead of just going "lol social statement." There is a ton revealed in this episode, although it is not as bad an info dump as I feared it would be. I feel a bit thick for not figuring out that Akira had moved the NEETs from Japan to Dubai so that they would not be targeted by the Carless Monday attack, and that his appearances in the four cities struck by the missiles were likely to evacuate others who were in dangered of being killed (i.e. the elderly, other NEETs, etc.). I like the twist at the end with Mononobe's (aka No. 1) plans being put off by No. 12, who may be The Supporter, Mr. Outside or both. (What better way to keep a game under your control than by acting as all the most important players?) I expected Mr. Outside to still be alive, so learning that Mononobe's research into Ato Saizo is likely to be a bunch of BS meant to throw him off the scent of Mr. Outside is not too big a shock. Saizo could be someone completely different from Mononobe's expectations, it could be an alias or just a red herring. Is it just me, by the way, or does it seem as though the three main Selecao are purposefully set up as having sort of goofy motivations? No. 10/Yuuki is acting on a personal vendetta against the government rather than a genuine concern for Japan's well being, Mononobe wants to completely do away with those he sees as having no worth to his post-WWII-esque society and Tsuji (whose number isn't revealed) just wants the game to end as soon as possible. An interesting thought I read is that Tsuji may be No. 12/Mr. Outside, since he specified that he had not spent any of his Selecao money. I'm not completely sure about that idea, since Mononobe would know if Tsuji were No. 12, but then again, Tsuji would be able to manipulate the Selecao system to his advantage if he were in charge of it, and certainly that would include messing with the information available to the other Selecao agents. Whoever No. 12/Mr. Outside is, he or she clearly does not approve of how Mononobe handles his business.
A few other thoughts to end this: I wonder how the returned NEETs will figure into the finale? And who brought them back? Akira could have set that as an order before his memory was wiped, or perhaps No. 12 is responsible for it. Speaking of the NEETs, I am interested in the exact nature of the betrayal that Akira suffered before he wiped his memories. It would make sense if he were betrayed by the NEETs (I certainly wouldn't trust someone who kidnapped me and suddenly sent me off to Dubai), but who was the person (or people) who personally betrayed Akira? Also, I lol'd at the Juiz!receptionist at the end of the episode. I think I am going along with the idea that Juiz is actually a computer system, and that person is the conduit between Juiz and the Selecao, but it's just funny seeing the voice behind Juiz in the flesh. She's kinda hot, too. :X
-- Kanon (2006) eps 23-24: Haha, I did not even consider that the actual Makoto would be the one to save Yuuichi and nurse him back to health. It clicked for me when she first reveals her face and I remembered that Yuuichi had named the fox after her. Continuity ftw. After all the intense, heartbreaking drama, I am happy that everyone gets a good ending after Yuuichi is able to face up to the past he forced himself to forget and be there for Ayu when he really has to be. Dreams and miracles have been a constant theme throughout the series, so I am neither surprised nor angry that the outcome in ep24 is essentially a series of miracles (Shiori conquering her illness, Akiko healing from her accident, Ayu being kept alive in the hospital for seven years and even a brief glimpse of what I assume is fox!Makoto at the end). It does feel a bit weird to jump into the finale when the miracles have already taken place, but I suppose that is the nature of miracles -- they hit you when you least expect them. But what I also like about these final two episodes is it is not just the miracles at work. They also show the strength of the friendships that developed throughout the series. Kaori and Jun are there to support Nayuki when Yuuichi is being healed. Nayuki, Yuuichi and Akiko are there for Ayu when she is in her coma. And Yuuichi is there for Ayu, to make her laugh and love and feel like a real person again.
Overall, I would say Kanon is my third favorite KyoAni series, behind Clannad and Air. Air works extensively with themes I love, so I prefer it just a bit more to Kanon, and I think Clannad works the Kanon formula just a bit better, while the final two-thirds of After Story is the best work KyoAni has ever done. But Kanon is damn good regardless -- top three KyoAni series is nothing to sneeze at when you look at its track record.
-- Kemono no Souja Erin eps 16-17: These two episodes really stand out to me in terms of art. The short fight between Ial and Hagal near the end of ep16 looks so good; the splicing of the battle stances and the eventual charges with the lanterns is very affecting. That last bump between the lanterns, followed by Hagal on the ground, is such a great shot. And then the flower motif in ep17 is just awesome. The nighttime meeting between Shunan and Simiya is a gorgeous scene -- the flower petals from the trees falling to the ground while Simiya stands in the moonlight and speaks about what a beautiful world she lives in ... man. You don't get great art like that every day. Those flower petals take on a more foreboding feeling after Damiya interrupts that talk, and that feeling pays off later during the assassination attempt on the queen. The flowers sprinkling everywhere, combined with the cuts from Ial running to Damiya presenting the gift of the beast-lords to the queen, adds a ton to the tension of that scene. This show is pretty friggin' confident now; it really knows how to tell a story. And that story is getting damn good now. There are so many elements floating around now, with the Saigamaru trying to take out the queen, Shunan wanting to change the world, Damiya planning whatever he is planning (he sounds subtly bitter when he says Simiya will inherit the throne because she is a woman), Ial's potential investigation into everything, the Mist People hanging around in the background and Erin's as of yet unknown connection to the slowly unfolding plot. Whereas I was not quite certain where the story was going before, I now believe the strings are being tugged ever so slightly in the background, and everything we see could be of importance.
I'm interested in a few things: 1) Damiya definitely does not want Shunan and Simiya together, lest Shunan actually gain the confidence and ability to go through with his dream to change the world. This would mean that 2) Damiya is working with the Saigamaru to achieve whatever his goal is. I am wondering if he is going to use the Grand Duke's position and the Saigamaru's stance on the Grand Duke's leadership to loophole his way into controlling the kingdom, but there is probably something more to his plot that I am not seeing yet. 3) The Saigamaru getting to Nugan is a bit interesting. Are they trying to strong arm him into cooperating with them? He is not having any of it now, but they would not approach him if they did not think they could eat away at him a bit. Finally, I just want to say that 4) Ial is a freaking badass (even if he does kill poor Hagal), and I like his new partner, Kyle, too. More of them ftw.
-- K-On! eps 11-12: Definite improvement over last week's episode. It is kind of nice that the slight rifts between friends in this show never really escalate into anything major. Ritsu acts like a bit of a jerk when she gets jealous of Mio hanging out with Nodoka, and Mio is a bit hands-off with her approach to Ritsu, although I do think she is in the right to give Ritsu a bit of time to herself at first after they fight. However, they have been friends for so long that they can get over it easily and remember what they like about each other -- Mio likes Ritsu's passion for life, and I think Ritsu likes that Mio can handle that passion and not be driven away by it. There is some good comedy in this episode, too. Yui's conception of taking care of a guitar is just perfect, and I also like Yui concentrating hard on her guitar maintenance. Sawako being all, "DAMN IT I'LL NAME THE DAMN BAND GOD" at the end is the icing on the cake. She's great when she cannot control the "perfect teacher" image she has cultivated for herself, haha. On another note, damn, next week is the finale? Ep13 must be a bonus episode, similar to what KyoAni did for Clannad, then. Huh.
And now the main story is over! Definitely a cute episode that reinforces the friendship among the main characters. Nothing really amazing or new with this series, but it is an enjoyable episode. I especially like the two songs at the end, although is it just me, or do the characters on this show look sort of weird when they sing and the shot is focused on them from the side? It is a bit distracting lol. The short bit with Yui running home, retrieving her guitar and then running back to the stage is cool, too -- nice and energetic, and it shows how she really lives for performing onstage. There are a few jokes that got some good laughs from me, too: The beginning with Yui's dream is really funny, and Ui impersonating Yui had me laughing the entire time because I called it almost immediately. (The short flashback with Ui learning how to play guitar, and Yui being all, "So that's how you're supposed to play it!!" is hilarious.) Mio actually getting into dressing up Tsumugi took me surprised and made me laugh. She can't take it, but she will sure dish it out, haha. Also, Yui making up with Azusa is just too adorable. :)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2 ep2: Ah, yeah, "Endless Eight." Took me a bit to remember all of this story. For anyone who watched this episode and wondered what the point of it is -- well, just know that there is more to it than what you see in this episode, because this will be another two-parter. Anyway, seeing as this is a set-up episode, this actually is not bad at all. Some humor, a bit of fanservice and a bit of energetic fun goes a long way. It's episodes like this where Kyon really shines, because his unique charisma and sarcasm are able to keep relatively plotless episodes afloat. (Side note: My favorite sarcastic!Tomokazu Sugita moments are the ones where he gets briefly angry and indignant such as when he describes how he set out a teru teru bozu so that it would rain, but it ends up being incredibly clear instead. ur doin it wrong kyon lol) I really like the fireworks scene, as well. Kyon riding his bike and launching a crapload of fireworks is really awesome. Speaking of awesome, the new OP sequence rocks. I love all the comic book-esque effects and whatnot are wonderful. I'll enjoy watching that every episode. :D
-- Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ ep9: Well, Zwei and Ein's -- or should I say Reiji and Elen's -- jaunt did not last long. I don't feel too sorry for Scythe Master being the target of Inferno, because he's a shady bastard, but I am also not very trusting of Claudia right now, since she is also a shady bastard. She is not about to let Reiji go so easily just because he is going to kill Scythe Master. Hopefully Reiji is aware of this, as well, and has something ready if (or when) Claudia betrays him. I'm wondering if Ein/Elen went along with Scythe Master willingly, or if he had to use a bit of force to get her to join him. Elen is made of stronger stuff than she believes right now, so I am thinking/hoping that she put up a bit of a struggle, because she wants to forge her own identity, just like Reiji is encouraging her to do. Also, and I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but Lizzie is pretty hot. I mean, damn. Wouldn't want to cross her, though. I don't doubt that she pulled the trigger on the same two thugs Reiji came across earlier in the episode.
-- Sengoku Basara eps 9-10: There we go. Now that the focus is back to the main story, my enjoyment of this series has shot up another few notches. Ep9 is a bit sad because Mitsuhide is a huge dickweed and orchestrates a dual strike that severely injures Uesugi and just about kills Takeda. (I am a bit fuzzy on that, however. Ep10 sort of implies that Takeda survived the attack but is in a more severe state than Uesugi. Either way he is dead as far as the series is concerned.) Uesugi's battle is sort of disappointing, mainly because he has not done much of note in the series despite having a metric crapton of potential. He shows off some nifty sword moves and takes out Nouhime's minigun before succumbing to an arrow to the leg and several gunshots from Nouhime that were meant for Kasuga. Solid enough fight, but I wish there were more, which tells me this series has spoiled me a bit regarding enormous fights, haha. Takeda's fight with Mitsuhide is more how a great leader should be toppled, though. Mitsuhide approaches this battle like a total bastard, messing with a dam and forcing Takeda to try to rebuild it so that a village is not flooded. While Takeda is busy with that, Mitsuhide slinks out of nowhere and fights him, all the time mocking Takeda for wanting to protect the village. What a slitherly, snaky son of a bitch. Takeda puts up a good fight; however, his desire to protect the village ends up being his downfall, as he leaves himself open to attack when Mitsuhide destroys the dam. Poor Sanada is beside himself when Mitsuhide slices up Takeda.
In ep10, Mitsuhide briefly destroys the creepy scale by quivering in anticipation of the violence he will wreak upon Masamune and Katakura before deciding to leave rejoining his crazy, sake-swilling boss. Most of the rest of the episode is Sanada mourning the loss of Takeda before Masamune delivers an awesome speech and Katakura and Sasuke give Sanada the verbal kick in the ass he needs to snap out of his funk and join Masamune in the march to take down Nobunaga. I am glad Sanada's sadness does not last long; not that he should not be sad, but he is at his best when he flies forward and fights. In the middle of ep10, Mitsuhide presents Nobunaga with a battle plan he cannot refuse, and so Mitsuhide will be armed to the teeth and ready to crush Masamune and Sanada. However, ol' Snakes is getting a bit power hungry, and the next episode title basically gives away that he will betray Nobunaga and try to seize some glory for himself. Something tells me that will not go over so well.
-- Vision of Escaflowne eps 7-8: Once again, the Dilandau/Folken scenes are by far my favorites. Those two need their own spinoff, seriously. I would watch the shit out of it. Anyway, their interaction is always so awesome. Dilandau is so creepy and insane in ep7, obsessively stabbing at the bottle of wine, and basically raging like crazy, while Folken is pretty much like, "-_-" the entire time. Steven Wright could not deadpan Dilandau's bitching any more than Folken does, although on the inside you know he is screaming, "OH MY GOD WILL YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK ALREADY JESUS." Meanwhile, Dilandau is rubbing the mark Van left on him like crazy and comes this short of fetishizing the damn thing. Dilandau slapping the poor messenger soldier after he reads the, "P.S. Don't get carried away" part of the letter he delivers is the icing on the cake. Fuck, Dilandau rules. <3 I could watch him make crazy faces all day, especially as he is burning towns to the ground just to get back at Van, as he does at the end of ep7.
What is kind of rubbing me the wrong way right now is the romance subplot. It feels so weird and awkward to me lol. Everything from drunk!Hitomi to Van with wings at the end of ep8 is just one long string of, "What the hell." (Right now I am going to assume that Hitomi is just seeing things/having a vision/whatever when she sees angel!Van.) Allen being a player is kind of a facepalm moment, too; ironically, though, it is Hitomi he is unintentionally leading on rather than Millerna, who he seems to genuinely like. But eh. The romance is the least interesting part of the show to me. Give me more psycho!Dilandau, more fights and more crazy twists plz.
Last random thought: The Destiny Prognostication Engine is a silly ass name. Maybe the Zaibach empire should use it to future up a better label.
