Continuing this blog’s efforts to give you the news, I sent my intrepid reporters out to find what was topping the Christmas wish-lists this year.
There you have it. Remember to keep a look out for the next Anime Investigative Report, you never know what we’ll discover.
Posted in anime, anime investigative reports
I figure it’s appropriate to start writing this on Turkey Day. Physically, I’m stuffed and yet I’m trying to figure out a way to have another piece of my Mom’s apple pie – it’s simply impossible to make a better pie crust then hers. Mentally, I’m stuffed from the huge number of great fall anime shows and yet I can’t help but get excited over the new season.
My criteria for picking shows is the same as last time. I’m looking for which animation house is doing it, if the summary/source material sound very enticing and if one of my favorite seiyuus will be involved.
The safest bets of the season are the sequels; so let’s start with them.
AKA: Natsume Season 2 or Natsume’s Book of Friends 2
Studio: Brains Base – Kamichu, Kurenai, Baccano
Official Site
The first season of this supernatural slice-of-life show aired during Summer 2008 and was the best show of the season. During that season we were introduced to Natsume who can see spirits, like his grandma. With his grandma’s passing, he receives her Book of Friends which contains the names of all the spirits she subjugated during her life. Having the names means that one can control that spirit so this book has great power. Invariably, he begins to meet spirits that want their names back, want the book, or just want his help because they can talk to him.
If you are looking for a show with great characters, a relaxing feel, and a story that can warm the heart and make you laugh a bit – there’s no surer bet then this show for this season.
AKA: Minami-ke Season 3
Studio: Asread
Seiyuu: Marina Inoue, Minori Chihara, Rina Satou
Director: Kei Oikawa - appears to be his first time directing
Offical Website
The second surest bet for this season is the third season of the comedy Minami-ke. This show follows the lives of the three Minami sisters, who live together in one apartment, and their interactions with their friends. The oldest sister is in high school and acts as the mom, the middle sister is in middle school and acts like a typical middle child, and the youngest is in elementary school and hates dumb people. The first season was one of the funniest and well-done comedies I have ever seen. A different studio, Asread, was put in charge of the second season and while it was still a very funny show, it wasn’t as good.
I think the same conclusion was reached over in Japan because while Asread is animating the third season, Studio Doumu (behind the first season) is in charge of production. The thought of getting more of the traptastic Maka-chan, Hosaka and his fantasies, Fujioka and his quest to get Kana to like him, and the Minami sisters makes me almost giddy in anticipation.
AKA: Birdy Season 2
Studio: A-1 Pictures Inc. – Kannagi
Official Website
Another sequel of a Summer 2008 show. In the first season we meet Senekawa, your typical high school student, who likes to explore abandoned buildings. This hobby brings him trouble when an intergalactic police agent, Birdy, accidentally kills him. Luckily for Senekawa, Birdy’s civilization has a means to regrow a copy of his body; so, while that’s being done Senekawa’s mind is placed along side Birdy’s. The body can morph to fit the form of the person that’s in charge of it and that allows Senekawa to be a high school student by day and Birdy to be a police agent by night.
One of the drawbacks of the first season, which became obvious over the course of the show, was that the show had a small budget. So, for example, the show had a number of good action scenes but they occurred almost exclusively at the beginning or the end. Hopefully, the fact that it got green-lighted for a second season will mean that more money will be spent on it and the show can reach it’s full potential.
AKA: Corpse Princess Season 2
Studio: Studio Feel – Da Capo 2
Official Site
The fourth sequel that I’m looking forward to is the sequel to the currently running Shikabane Hime: Aka. The second season sees a switch from being a Gainax production to being a Studio Feel production.
In this anime, if a person is greatly attached to this world when they die then instead of moving on that person can come back as a Corpse. Most times these Corpses become dangerous monsters that need stopped but sometimes these Corpses retain their human-form and agree to hunt the evil Corpses. These Corpse hunters can attain heaven after killing 108 evil Corpses.
Because the first season is still airing and the animation studio is changed, it is impossible to fully use the first season as a guide for this second season. However, I’m optimistic that this show will turn out good. Many people probably will not share a similar sentiment because they were disappointed over the first season. I think much of this disappointment stems from this show being the first series after Gainax’s masterpiece, Gurren Lagann. The characters have been solid, the animation has been top-notch, and the evil Corpses have been original and interesting – which has been more then enough to get me wanting more.
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That’s the final sequel that I’m interested in, all the other non-OVA sequels are to shows that I haven’t seen and thus I won’t attempt to watch. For a more complete listing, try here or here. Now it’s onto new shows. I’m going to combine how excited I am about the title with how sure I am it will turn out good and list the remaining from highest to lowest.
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Studio: Shaft - Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Seiyuu: Asami Sanada, Marina Inoue, Yu Kobayashi
Official website
Shoot me – I can’t help but being excited about this show.
The story is about a second year high school student, Kanako, who has a phobia of men and so she transfers to an all-girl school to find her yuri love partner. She meets her ideal girl in the form of Maria, the most beautiful and popular girl in school. The twist is that Maria turns out to be a sadistic trap. And it gets even better. Maria+Holic is being animated by Shaft who did such a bang-up job on the twisted Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.
If this show can exploit it’s crazy premise for laughs and make us like the characters then Maria+Holic might be one of the top shows of the season.
AKA: A Tale of Genji
Studio: Tezuka Productions
Official Site, More info here
From what I’ve read, the novel this is based on is 1000 years old and considered the world’s first novel. Even if I haven’t read many books that are considered “classics” I give them their due. For example, I might not have gotten Shakespeare in high school but the fact that we’re still talking about him 500 years later must mean there is something to his work. Likewise, the story this anime is based on wouldn’t have lasted a 1000 years if it was garbage. Therefore, I’m excited about watching this show.
If you want a little more help to decide, I was reading from the summary – “The story follows the happy but sorrowful tales of the glorious youth Hikaru Genji’s love, and the women in his life who strive to make their love towards Genji significantly differently from others.” – and it almost sounds like this show has what’s considered harem elements to it. I’m probably wrong but if you were going to pass on this show because it’s a classic, it might be worth your time to watch a couple of episodes.
Studio: Madhouse – Death Note, Kaiba, Kurozuka
Official Website
This is another title I’m very interested in. The plot has the possibility to be interesting – A young woman is an anti-government protester in the year 2020 and has a robot that doubles as her motorcycle to help her. I always enjoy a good diasporan SF tale like “V for Vendetta” and this sounds like it could be something similar. Based on Madhouse’s current string of successes, I feel confident that this will turn out to be another.
Studio: Production I.G. – Ghost in the Shell:SAC, Library War, Seirei no Moribito
Because Production I.G. is behind this and because the story comes from the same person that did Seirei no Moribito, I’m going to check this series out. However, the story to this one doesn’t grab me – After her mother, a veterinarian, is executed for allegedly killing a clutch of fighting snakes, the daughter Erin is adopted by a beekeeper and meets the king of the animals in the mountains. Erin follows in her mother’s footsteps to become a veterinarian and this decision will put the fate of the kingdom of the animals in her hands.
Just from the summary, I’m getting environmental vibes and that’s normally a big turnoff. If it wasn’t for shows like Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke and Pom Poko that had an environmental message without being over-the-top sickening like Captain Planet or Ferngully – I’d just skip this one. Instead, I’ll give this show a fair chance to like it.
Studio: Brain’s Base – Kamichu, Kurenai, Baccano, Natsume
Official Site
In another case of great studio, weak story comes Akikan!. In this one, Daichi just wanted to buy a can of melon juice pop from the vending machine but what he got was a can that magically transforms into a girl who needs carbon dioxide gained from kissing to stay alive. This has brain-dead written all over it but Brain’s Base has a track record of making great shows with interesting characters that you end up liking a lot. I don’t know if they can work their magic here but I am willing to watch a few episodes to see how this turns out.
Studio: Zexcs - Wagaya no Oinari-sama
Director: Itsuro Kawasaki
Official Site
Chrome Shelled Regios is set in a future where “Pollution Beasts” have forced people to live in mobile domed cities. The pollution has also given people powers which they can use against the pollution beasts. Our hero is a high school student in training to battle these monsters. To me the story has possibilities but it could easily devolve into a generic fantasyesque hack-n-slash series. The reason I was initially going to catch this was because of the studio behind it, Zexcs, did a very good job on Wagaya no Oinari-sama. However, I found the trailer and my opinion of this shows chance of being a good show has gone up in no small part to having nice looking animation - which was the weak point for Wagaya.
From here my interest in the shows drops enough that I’m only kinda interested in catching them.
Hetalia Axis Powers is a gag story where the major countries of the world are made into people that display the stereotypical view of the country. So, for instance, Italy is shown liking pasta and women and Japan is shown as an otaku. It’s supposed to retell history between WW1 and WW2 among other things. The concept is so out there that I want to see it but I wonder how the politics of the time will be shown. I can accept and expect some slanting when retelling history of this time from the Japanese point of view (like what I expect when I ask a southerner about the Civil War) but I will get very angry if they animators bring up their role in dragging us into WW2 and either use it for laughs or making it look like it was the American’s fault. Therefore, I think it’ll be best if I read a couple of reviews first – I really don’t want to get overly angry and feel like I need to rant about the historical inaccuracies of an anime show. Another reason to temper my enthusiasm is the studio behind it is Studio Deen which I still equate with their work on Higurashi.
Asu no Yoichi is a romantic comedy about a boy who’s a swordsmen, like his dad, and he decides to leave their mountain training facility to continue his training in the city. This being a romantic comedy, he ends up in a dojo with four females and presumable wacky hi-jinks ensue. This sounds really generic and I’d skip it totally if AIC wasn’t doing it. AIC was responsible for Seto no Hanayome which I found much funnier then it should have been. If they can do the same thing here, it might just be worth the time to watch it.
The last title is Kurokami. It’s appears to be about a computer programmer named Keita that tries to protect a Kuro (some sort of being with powers) from another Kuro and in the process he loses his left arm. The Kuro that he was trying to protect replaces his arm and in the process a contract is formed between the two. I’m feeling neutral about the story and I’m feeling less then neutral about Sunrise being behind this; however, the picture is particularly interesting and the last time a preview picture of a show made me feel that was Kaiba. On the strength of maybe my gut knowing something I don’t, I’ll catch a few episodes of this because it might turn out to be good.
A word of thanks for the people that created the above chart, and to THAT Animeblog for having pictures that I stole for my preview and also to MyAnimeList for the same reason.
Posted in anime, season preview
Apart from the last episode of Outlaw Star we have released other shit this week. Here it is:
Enjoy these new episodes.
Regards.
- The_Soulforged
YSOSRS?
Tekkaman Blade or Gangrape Hentai?
Saturday Night Fever dancing!
It’s all been said already but I’m still going to say it: The Strike Witches’ logistics side seriously need to indent them some pants. And the crotch shots were pure orz multipliers.
Oddly enough, I still decided to give this series a go because two of my favourite doujin artists/circles, chanomi and tamago no oheya, seem to have picked up on a heart of yuri-tinged comedy gold underneath all the awful fanservicey elements.
I’ve only seen the first four episodes. So far I’m really liking Mio’s HOHOHO and Minna’s Latent Tanaka Rie Evilness as well as the chara interaction but I’m not sure if it’ll be worth my while to continue. Perhaps I need to go wash to bring out my inner evil.
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©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.
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As Meister Sara said to Kazu-kun: ‘When you are Emperor, you can have your own harem!’ It should have been obvious that Lelouch wasn’t planning on sticking around when he didn’t immediately conscript all the captured bishoujos into a harem led with C.C. wielding the whip as Chief Concubine. And he didn’t even have a nekomimi Otome’s objections to deal with either!
P.S. Seirei no Moribito was excellent.
©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Every year on Thanksgiving, about the time my stomach is urgently signaling me to please stop eating, I think to myself that Thanksgiving was one of the most ingenious holidays created. It’s hard not to be thankful when you’re eating turkey with your family, eyeing the apple pie, and figuring which couch or chair you plan on crashing on afterwards.
I’m thankful for all the standard stuff most people are but this year I’m also thankful for all the people that have come by this blog, since it’s founding in January, to read and comment. I still can’t quite believe that I’ve had over 70,000 hits in less then a year.
To commemorate the holiday, I thought it would be a good idea for the first of my Anime Investigative Reports to find out what anime characters are thankful for. So I sent out reporters to ask: What are you thankful for?
Look for more Anime Investigative Reports in the future, you never know what we’ll discover.
Posted in anime, anime investigative reports
We have completed another series! This time is Outlaw Star in its Remastered Version. You can grab the complete series in our bots in IRC channel and also in via Bittorrent.
The torrent link is the following one:
Outlaw Star (Remastered) Torrent link
Hope you enjoyed the series.
Regards.
- The_Soulforged
See you!
I was hoping to get this out on Monday but I ended up putting up the Christmas tree instead, which can see pics of over at my personal blog.
As we’re nearing the midpoint of the season, it’s getting to be that time when I get to look ahead at the next anime season and reflect on the current season. Due to the high number of quality shows, I think it’s prudent to wait a few more episodes before posting my reflections but I hope to write my winter preview this week. Right now it’s time to look at the scores.
The scores:
Soul Eater, episode 31 – 12/12
Soul Eater, episode 32 – 12/12
To Aru Majutsu no Index, episode 6 – 10/12 A
To Aru Majutsu no Index, episode 7 – 9/12 A-
Kannagi, episode 6 – 11/12 A+
Kannagi, episode 7 – 10/12 A
Skip Beat, episode 5 – 10/12 A
Skip Beat, episode 6 – 12/12
Skip Beat, episode 7 – 12/12
Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 4 – 11/12 A+
Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 5 – 11/12 A+
Kemeko DX, episode 5 – 11/12 A+
Kemeko DX, episode 6 – 10/12 A
Kemeko DX, episode 7 – 11/12 A+
Earl and Fairy, episode 5 – 8/12 B+
Ga-Rei Zero, episode 6 – 12/12
Kurozuka, episode 5 – 11/12 A+
Kurozuka, episode 6 – 12/12
Chaos;Head, episode 5 – 12/12
Chaos;Head, episode 6 – 12+/12
Toradora!, episode 7 – 12+/12
Xam’D: Lost Memories, episode 14 – 12/12
Xam’D: Lost Memories, episode 15 – 11/12 A+
Clannad S.2, episode 7 – 12/12
Clannad S.2, episode 8 – 12++/12
Hyakko, episode 5 – 8/12 B+
Michiko to Hatchin, episode 4 – 11/12 A+
Yozakura Quartet, episode 7 – 9/12 A-
Somedays Dreamer’s S.2, episode 9 – 12++/12
Which shows have momentum this week
Up – Kannagi, Kemeko DX : Both shows seem to have gotten their acts together.
Down – To Aru Majutsu no Index : It lost any momentum that it had when it decided to reset the show at the end of the sixth episode.
Thoughts and Highlights
I guess I shouldn’t be shocked that To Aru Majutsu no Index continued it’s downwards momentum. I’ve totally given up on my initial thought that the Shana-group of J.C. Staff had finally learned how to adapt a light novel properly. It’s still an enjoyable series and as long as Yoshida’s clone doesn’t show up – it still might end up a better series then Shana. On the other hand Kemeko DX and Kannagi have been gaining momentum by making the story more compelling , fleshing out it’s characters, and making the viewer laugh more.
The best episode of this bi-week period comes from Somedays Dreamer’s Season 2 though Clannad gave it a good run. One reason for it’s placement above Clannad this week is, whereas Key’s story twists aren’t as surprising as they once were (not that I’m complaining), Somedays Dreamer’s actually shocked me with it’s twist towards the end of the episode. Too many people, it seems to me, judged this show early based on it’s art style and not on it’s content. With each episode my estimation of the show increases and I’m getting to the point that deciding between Natsume and Somedays Dreamer’s is becoming difficult.
Hyakko - Nonsensical English is always funny
A look at the other end of scale displays the potential difference between two shows, Hyakko and Earl and Fairy, that scored the same. In Hyakko’s case, I was positive that after the fifth episode, I could safely drop it and know that I wasn’t missing anything; instead, the episode was much better then I hoped and gained the show a week reprieve from being cut. On the other hand, after the horrible fourth episode of Earl and Fairy, I’m not sure that I can get back to enjoying this show as much as I initially was. The fifth episode was better but I currently don’t have much interest in watching the sixth but probably will, only to give the show one last chance before dropping it.
One of the things that I hoped to show when I did my ten most influential animes was to show that I end up having many different types of shows that I enjoy. I point this out because it feels kinda wrong to give both episode 32 of Soul Eater, an Excalibur episode, and say episode 6 of Kurozuka the same score but both excelled at the type of show they are.
And finally, there’s a few brief comments I wanted to make:
I finally watched this landmark GAINAX franchise after picking up a (very cheap and almost certainly pirated) DVD box set from Stripey’s favourite R3 DVD shop. Both Top wo Nerae! OVAs have long languished as a ‘classic’ (defined as something everyone knows but very few actually have seen) in my book. But intermittently there have been reminders. Evirus spoke well of it (Gun Buster) and its sequel (Die Buster). Kurogane had much praise for the latter; Kabitzin described it as ‘feel[ing] like some kind of perfect amalgamation of Evangelion and FLCL’ - I’d also love to read his thoughts on the final ep and review the series as a whole *poke poke*. And, most recently, Myssa Rei’s comment on one of Stripey’s Gurren Lagann posts.
Despite the art style feeling a bit dated, I’m glad I watched Gunbuster. If only because that’s another ‘classic’ I can tick off. But also because I also managed understand and enjoy Diebuster, especially its conclusion, so much more.
Thus no prizes for guessing that I enjoyed Diebuster more than Gunbuster. The reason, which should be predictable for my regular readers, was that the sequel had a better focus and development on the Oneesama-kouhai relationship between the two leads. Noriko’s traumatic loss of her father and Amano’s anxiety about Co~chi~ left me non-plussed at best and distracted at worst. But the ups and downs of the Nono and Lal’C was the gattai of the MariMite and Gurren Lagann gen(r)es of this series at their best. Stripey holds up Nakahara Mai’s work as Tohika Mai by pointing to how Mai’s emotional states were effectively conveyed with the way she called for Kagutsuchi; I got something similar out of the varying tone of Nono and Lal’C’s ‘Oneesama!’ and ‘Nono!’ exchanges.
The first encounter of admiration. Admiration and the naming of Lal’C as ‘Oneesama’. Despite Lal’C’s obvious annoyance, she did stand up for Nono in a very cool way, was also deeply concerned about her safety during her battle, was aghast when she thought Nono had not survived (and then relieved by the proof that ahoge is life).
Revelations and hints as Nono’s concern for her Oneesama leads her to display her Lightning Kick and Lal’C’s breathless ‘Nono…’ said it all about her amazement at this strange girl’s abilities.
Not being Topless, Nono couldn’t move Dix Neuf but yet, when Lal’C swallowed her pride and called for Nono, who responded to her Oneesama in the affirmative, there was a mysterious power-up. Gattai without saying the word and yet another hint about the sources of power. And there was a nice moment of listening to your heart.
Things are, of course, not smooth sailing all the way. Nono is part of the Fraternity but does not have the psychic powers of a Topless. The struggle for recognition leads to tension; Nono wants to be useful to the one who seems most like ‘Nonoriri’ but Lal’C’s affection cannot overcome the nexus of pride and reason. One can become so captivated by piloting the Buster Machine that friendship pales in comparison; Nono realizes that she’s never really had a friend before Nono came along.
The truth revealed with Nono having found herself and proven her usefulness beyond a shadow of doubt. Thus her confident greeting of ‘Oneesama’ and a previously helpless Lal’C calling Nono shocked and awed.
Partings and reunions. But we often can’t handle the truth all at it and all at once. Lal’C had her confidence in Topless abilities to defeat all her enemies and her faith in the camaraderie of her fellow Topless ruthlessly stripped away. Emasculated and helpess, she finally learned that Nono was afraid too.
Let’s fly… together… Damn this was as cool as Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora’s key line was cheesy.
And another parting. Nono rejected the Earth forces’ dumb and suicidal plan, turned her back on Lal’C. Imagine the pain she was feeling. But this was the only thing she could, for now, so that her Oneesama could live on and not throw her life away in this senseless way.
Biggest cat fight ever. The cry of ‘I wanted you to call me Lal’C!’ revealed how being called ‘Oneesama’ could be a wall, a gap, a burden. From conflict, though, came understanding.
And the triumph of determination and guts. This, being between girls, is somehow a lot less gay than when it’s GAR.
A farewell to arms, I give you my heart.
It was rather sad that there was no happily ever after. By which I mean HAWT NONO X LAL’C YURI. But given how Buster technology was sealed away in the aftermath of Noriko and Amano’s return, it would have merely postponed Nono’s farewell. At least, with the final vision of opening the door, they had a final meaningful moment together. And, as with Nono’s speech after her awakening in Ep 4, Lal’C has reached the Top as she truly does have a Buster Machine in her heart and that Buster Machine is Nono.
©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.
.We have some sad news today. Kurtz, the owner of GP|Kenichi bot and forum host can’t afford anymore the server so they are going to be offline by the beginning of the next month. Thanx for your effort to maintain it alive.
So if you want to download something off it do it quickly cause the other server/bot is already full so we won’t transfer the shit from one to another. Also if you have, or know someone who has, a dedi server we can use as a secondary bot and forum host please let us know, this is important.
Thanx in advance.
Regards.
- The_Soulforged
Before I begin I wanted to mention that my computer is giving me grief again. Hopefully it’s something simple this time like a faulty power supply, and not something expensive. This means I’m stuck using my circa 2002 laptop to watch anime and write my posts, so while I hope this doesn’t affect how much I write, it might.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, I don’t presume to think there’s many, you’ll have noticed that I don’t do episode review posts that often. Most episodes don’t give me enough to say to make doing one worthwhile but this episode made me want to write one. This post contains spoilers so read on at your own risk.
Rating: 12++/12
A true WMD, thought for some reason I want to try it.
Yukine tries to put a brave face on but she’s worried about the boys in her brother’s gang as well as the rival gang. She hopes both sides would stop fighting but the situation is rapidly deteriorating when the other gang believes that Yukine’s brother is back thanks to Sunohara’s lie and Tomoyo’s butt-kicking of several members of the rival gang. An all-out-war seems inevitable and even Yukine’s good standing on both sides can’t stop it completely. The rival gang’s leader proposes a one-on-one fight against Yukine’s brother to settle which gang will submit to the other and Yukine agrees, realizing this would minimize the bloodshed.
Sunohara agrees to step in and fight for the “hospitalized” brother but before the fight is to start, Sunohara along with every guy but Tomoya has some of Sanae’s newest creation and is knocked out. (See bottom) Tomoya takes it upon himself then to fight and holds up better then I thought he would against the rival gang leader. Sunohara once again makes the situation worse by trying to jump into the battle and it’s only the arrival of Yukine’s “brother” that stops a larger fight.
At this point, my sister and I both thought something was up and we were right when Yukine’s “brother” is punched by the rival gang leader and it turns out that it’s Yukine. This stops the fight and later at the brother’s grave both sides make peace. As this is occurring Tomoya notices an orb of light floating up into the sky and we’re given the first hint of how the lonely world is linked with our world.
My high school English teacher would probably be happy that I thought of “The Outsiders” when I watched this episode. I might not remember it totally but the story was about the youngest member of a gang, Ponyboy, and how his experiences in the gang matured him. Ponyboy was different from the other members of the gang. He had the intelligence to move beyond being a street thug, if someone would give him a bit of help, and he was still young enough that he was able to change his thinking and realize that the members of the rival gang were real people like himself. The title comes from a part towards the end of book, one of the characters tells Ponyboy to stay gold i.e. don’t let the circumstances of his life change what he is.
I’m reminded of this book because one of the messages that I got out of reading the book was that even people that society considers less than desirable have intrinsic worth and are as capable of being good people as those that are well-off in society, if they are given the chance. This was the same vibe I felt during this episode. Some might charge that this ideal paints a much nicer picture of gangs then we, in America, are used to seeing and would lead to a conclusion of this message being unrealistic.
While I don’t think gangs are typically as nice as what was shown in this episode, I also don’t think it’s totally unrealistic. I remember watching a show on the history of gangs in America. In it, they showed a gang that existed in the 1960’s that tried to be a positive force. And it was successful; the kids were non-violent, went around beautifying the neighborhood, and this gang also gave them a place to go, have a family, and help them with their future. This gang was successful for many years but the police and “concerned parents” decided that even a good gang can’t be allowed to survive and they got targeted like the rest. I don’t know if it could have continued to be good but it’s hard to deny the need for a separate place for kids to be able to go to if their situation is less then ideal.
To me, Yukine represents what happens when people actually take the time to understand teenagers and their problems. In the end she was more successful in actually helping both of the gangs then the police or the schools could have been.
Moving on, since I’m about to slip into a rant about how schools are currently designed to make boys fail, some thoughts from specific pics.
This was the point that I think Tomoya figured out about Yukine's brother.
The rival gang leader reminded me of Kuwabara from Yu Yu Hakusho, which is a seriously underrated shounen series and really deserves a new version
KyoAni really can make anything look gorgeous, even the night.
I'm reminded of the scene in Lord of the Rings when the hobbits charge first.
I wonder if the West and the Japanese independently decided to associate black with death or is there some connection.
I was actually hoping that Sunohara would have had the chance to help Yukine and maybe even see them become a couple.
Something I’ve noticed with this season of Clannad that I haven’t before – either because it is new or I never noticed before – is that KyoAni seems to be experimenting with showing some character movement in a highly stylized manner. See below for some examples. I’ve seen how they will stretch a person during rapid movement in previous series to help convey the movement but this is something different. It kinda reminds me Kaiba’s animation, though that might just be because Kaiba was the last anime that I watched that had a weird animation style. It could be because the animators are practicing for a future show within a relatively safe show to do so and not have to worry about alienating viewers or maybe they just want to try something new. I like to see them willing to experiment but it does feel a little out of place in the context of the entire animation style.
The fight scene between Tomoya and the rival gang leader continued to show why KyoAni is one of the best animation studios out there. It’s hard to show in still screenshots but the fluidity in the character’s movements coupled with little tricks like shacking the camera, stretching the body, and going in and out of focus, all make the action feel more realistic and the characters seem to fight with more speed then what’s typical. So in the end, I was on the edge of my seat, practically feeling the punishment that Tomoya got during the fight. The other thing that KyoAni does so well is how the characters can convey feelings so well. If you see the shots of Nagisa during the fight, it’s hard not to feel something as she’s put through that pain.
The final thing I wanted to point out was the epic Kanon reference; it had my sister and I rolling in laughter. I decided to whip up a quick 4 panel comic for it and you can see that below.
Posted in anime, episode review 
From my AFA08 experience, it seems that Singaporean attendees didn’t just like to take pictures of cosplayers but with them too. I certainly don’t recall that being prevalent when I attended ComiKet 72. I also dug out an old photo album of my visit to Otakon 2000 to see if attendees of that Baltimore, MA convention also had a ‘with’ predilection; ended up scanning a few to share with my readers. In the ancient year of 2000, SNK/CAPCOM game charas were all the rage. The biggest anime were Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon…
… Final Fantasy VII. There were soooooo many Riona cosplayers. Throughout my visit between 4-6 August 2000, I saw only one Tifa cosplayer. Bless her and long live the profession of bar wenches!!
Record of Lodoss War with very cute Shiris cosplayer. No Pirotess though. And, in the fine tradition of Sailor Bubba - don’t take cosplay too seriously, k? - the Subversive Sailor Scouts ran around creating general mayhem and fun. I imagine most of them are respectable family/salarymen. It’s not just Facebook that brings back the unwanted memories but animu blogs too!
Revolutionary Girl Utena was also really popular with the female demographic of the anime fan population. And, oh, it does seem that there was always a healthy proportion of female fans. At least in the US.
I wonder what these cosplayers would have thought of Slayers Revolution?
At C72, cosplay that revealed a lot of skin did exist but was a relatively low proportion. But girls, often young teenagers, at Otakon were prepared to flaunt their figures includng a creative take on Pikachu and the standard outfit for Urusei Yatsura’s Lum.
So what are men to cosplay if we’re not the bishounen typu? There’s also monsters, cabbits and Ikari Gendou.
Speaking of Mr White Gloves, the Evangelion wave had well and truly hit US shores by 2000. The very spirited Asuka cosplayer spent a good afternoon terrorising any Shinji cosplayer she managed to find. LOL And Rei clones were almost a match for the Riona army.
Ruri Hoshino was also a popular choice but it’s interesting to see how the appeal of Evangelion has been kept alive and even continues to grow while most people nowadays have never even heard of Martian Successor Nadesico…
More Old Skool for the road. Saber Marionette, El Hazard: The Wanderers, Vision of Escaflowne, Serial Experiments Lain. Actually I haven’t even seen Saber Marionette meself… (-_-);;
I was also surprised to discover that US anime fans were upset with censorship of their animu… I can’t remember which specific anime it was about. Kite? Some guy representing ‘U.S. Censor’ was ceremonially beaten, sliced up, shot etc etc. Until a staff member came up to the little demonstration and said: ‘As a member of Otakon Security, I have to… join in and do my duty!’ *rains mock kicks on the ‘U.S. Censor’* LOL
No one was arrested. Even though there was a Natsumi Tsujimoto cosplayer present at the con.
©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.
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Day Two purchase, again from Collateral Damage Studios, were a set of prints depicting Lutecia, Subaru, Teana, Erio and Caro, Vivio in child and adult forms which had run out by the time I got to their booth yesterday. Pity they didn’t do a set for the Yagami family though.
It’s hard to suppress the Eva fanboy in me despite the perpetual feeling of being milked and exploited. But Evangelion@School looks like it’s going to be hilarous. Plus we get three times the Rei goodness.
Haruhi seems to be a popular character but she’s difficult to carry off well since an ‘in-character’ cosplayer needs to be able to convey her arrogance and confidence too.
When I asked this girl for permission to take her photo, she asked if I knew she wasn’t cosplaying. I was going to launch into an explanation about how she did zettai ryouki very well but decided against it. Good that I refrained too. Because the moment I got my shot, others started to take pictures too. That kind of freaked her out and she made her escape.
In contrast, this pair of Ouran cosplayers were very hospitable indeed.
And these girls seemed to be having a blast.
Girls can look especially good when cosplaying guys. But, of course, they can look very good in female goth dress too. This outfit was spectacularly backless too…
This Yzak cosplayer was visibly taken aback by my very pink Lunamaria t-shirt. Come on, GSD isn’t *that* old a series, is it? There was a Lunamaria cosplayer yesterday too but I didn’t manage to get a shot of her. T_T
The Kagamine Len cosplayer was my favourite of the day.
Girls just wanna have fun. Really liked how this quartet was equally keen on getting photos of other cosplayers too.
Perfect prop for this Ranka cosplayer over at the Collateral Damage booth and posing with the artist too! Wonder how much it was eventually auctioned off for?
Autographed by May’N herself and, thus, Not For Sale. Missed the concert as I had to leave at about 330pm. Saw only about half of the Cosplay Mania skits too.
I didn’t think that the range, quantity and quality of stalls, merchandise, events, cosplay etc etc. was all that great. But, nonetheless, the event had a very positive feel about it. I think most event goers had fun and the event was actually novel enough and small enough to have a cosy sort of feel about it, something that’s impossible for the big Japanese and North American cons. Hope that AFA will go from strength to strength and looking forward to next year’s event.
©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.
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I was there. My only purchases - a set of Collateral Damage Studios works: three beautiful Nanoha prints (art by Xeph and Mycstea) and a hilarous Burning Arisa doujin (art by WaHa) for SGD 45.
Too tired to do a proper write-up. Just brief notes.
Venue wasn’t all that big. Lots of empty space fenced off too. But good deal of human traffic through the afternoon.
Anime
From the Xedo booth.
Cosplay
Ami-chan is Super Super Super Cute!!!
Despite having had my Lumix camera for years, I only learnt that I should adjust the white balance for taking photos under indoor fluoroscent lighting this afternoon. orz
Extremely genki Lime cosplayer. Top marks for her positive attitude and sunny disposition.
Quite a lot of the most interesting cosplay activity seemed to be taking place outside the event hall/rooms.
Figures
Is it me or does Saber look better from behind?
At 1/6, Ryoko was way too big for my collection and I’m not partial to reclining poses either. Pretty damned gorgeous nonetheless.
Art
LOLOLOL at Aika, Alice and Aria-shachou in the background. From my POV, the one offering the rose must, of course, be female. Ahaha~♥
Didn’t who the artist was. Might it be Impz??
©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.
.Here are the weekly releases update:
Enjoy them.
Regards.
- The_Soulforged
