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    2006/7/18

    Tsuyokiss: Episode 2

     
    Episode 2: I Hate The Student Council!!
     
    Impressions:
    I felt that the second episode is not as good as the first; not only the story, but the quality of the animation as well. The last part where Otome saves Sunao and blows up the motorbike is far too extreme. Yes, I know the show is not the type that strictly forbids such exaggeration, but I found it didn't fit in with the rest of the show (yes I know it's in the game, but I haven't played it so this thought is just what I think). Leo didn't make much of an appearance either – I thought he would be the male lead who Sunao ends up falling for (if she hasn't already). Sure, the story might pick up later, but I was hoping for more character development. I would also like to mention the amount of fanservice in this episode (not to mention the ED, which will probably remain the same throughout the series). This episode is littered with it, and I suspect upcoming episodes will be as well. 
     
     

     

    Summary:
    As the fansub hasn't come out yet, I can only give a very brief summary of events. I will probably update this when it comes out. I also didn't paragraph the text to make it look chunkier – hehe.
     
    Sunao is having a dream about when she was young. She starts arguing with the class until Leo stands up and gives some words of encouragement. Sunao is touched by this – that is, until Leo turns to her and calls her 'daikon' (which means, er… judging by the visual accompaniment, a radish?) Suddenly, everyone starts calling her 'daikon'. She wakes up when she falls out of the bed. After breakfast, she cheerfully heads to school. She bumps into Leo and falls down. Leo apologises and offers her his hand, which she refuses. She is still upset about him calling her 'daikon'. She gets into a \n argument with Kanisawa. More talking… Erika comes, calls Sunao 'twintails' (I think), rides into school on her bike… Otome appears, which seems to resolve the quarrel. Sunao asks her about her katana, before the bell rings and everyone goes to school…things happen – Sunao gets her club approve and tries recruiting people for her theatre club…The next day, Sunao performs during the fashion parade, which basically guarantees her no viewers. She performs in front of the talking bird, before being confronted by a gang of motorists. Otome comes to save the day by beating the crap out of them. She performs some inhuman moves – such as jumping several metres into the air – and even blows up the motorbikes (while the gang is fleeing). What happens to the gang is unknown.
     
    Preview:
    0:04 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Tsuyokiss
    2006/7/17

    Zero no Tsukaima: Episode 2

          
     
    Impressions:
     
    Many people are saying Zero no Tsukaima is just like Harry Potter, using the same costumes and sets. I agree – with the robes, large castle, dining hall, old headmaster with long white hair and a beard etc. – but what else can they use? There aren't exactly many variations in design when you're dealing with a magic school. They are usually made to look grand and classical. I wonder how it would turn out if a show places magic upon a futuristic setting, which sleek, shiny buildings and flashy uniforms. Anyway, I think people should stop looking at this show's resemblance to Harry Potter. Take a look at the storyline, the characters and mood, and if you still don't like it, then don't watch it. I think that the storyline is quite interesting and the characters are drawn well, but the way they act is slightly abnormal. Saito accepts the fact that he is in another world full of magic far too quickly. Louise really does see Saito as a 'thing', as she doesn't mind getting naked in front of him – that's just not right. Any normal person, regardless of whether they had magic or not, would still consider something who looks, speaks and acts like a human, a human. But since one of the genres of this show is romance, the fact that Louise does not think of Saito as a human will be an indicator of relational developments later on. When Louise starts to think of her Familiar as human and starts to show some more dignity (like in Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu) then we'll know she's fallen for Saito. I believe that this has already begun to develop when Saito fights Guiche.
     
     
    Summary:
    Before being summoned by Louise, Saito had been a normal boy on Earth. That is, until he saw a glowing egg-shaped object in the middle of the street. No one else seems to see it so he rubs his eyes, thinking he might be seeing things. When the object does not disappear, Saito approaches it and cautiously touches it with one finger. A ripple emanates from the place he touched it. Saito decides to investigate further, but as he touches it again, his finger goes through the object and opens up a hole. He is then sucked into oblivion. With Louise's commands in the background, Saito falls from the sky and lands in from of her.
     
    On the same night as when the last episode left off, Saito has been chained up in Louise's room. He explains he has come from Earth, but Louise does not believe there is another world. Saito demands he is returned back to Japan, but Louise gives a quick refusal, saying it's impossible while undressing. She says to a blushing Saito that once the contract is made, nothing can be done to break it. Louise clicks her fingers and the lamp goes out. She proceeds to change, taking off her bra. Saito covers his eyes in desperation and asks her why she can't do it when he isn't there. Louise replies with a 'why?' Saito asks her is she is fine with a man seeing her naked. Bemused, she states that Saito is just a Familiar. She takes off her panties and tosses it onto Saito's face. However, he can't see her properly as the room is dark and the open window behind her is creating a silhouette. Louise quickly puts on her night gown and crawls into bed. She tells Saito to wash her clothes. He refuses but when Louise tells him she won't feed him, he complies in the end.
     
    In the morning, Saito pulls off Louise's blanket and tosses her a clean change of clothes. She asks about her underwear and Saito tells her to get them herself. Using the same threat, she forces him to get her underwear as well. Once again she changes in front of him, but this time Saito has gained enough control of his body to turn around and not look. He asks Louise to take off his chains. She tells him that he must dress her if he wants the chains off. He does so reluctantly, and as she is unchaining him, Saito notices that she's quite cute as long as she keeps quiet. The two then head down for breakfast. Saito believes he is able to eat the feast with everyone else, but he learns that he has to sit on the floor and eat a single piece of bread.
     
    After breakfast, the two head outside. Saito notices that the 2nd years are sitting around outside with their Familiars. Louise explains that they don't have classes today as the time is meant to be used for communicating with their newly summoned Familiars. He notices that many of the Familiars are being held and stroked by their masters, and says he doesn't want to do such a thing (meaning he doesn't want to be held and stroked by Louise).
     
    Kirche comes, startling Saito with her salamander. He tells her to put it on a leash but she assures him that all Familiars are completely obedient to their masters (probably with one exception – Saito). Kirche then accuses Louise of not summoning a real Familiar, but randomly selecting a 'commoner' (meaning someone with no magical powers) and transporting him to her side, masking it with the explosion. Louise defends herself by saying that she did the proper procedure and Saito just happened to come out. Kirche leaves a final comment as she leaves, saying that Saito is perfectly suited for 'Zero' Louise. Louise vents her anger out at Saito, demanding he bring her a cup of tea.
     
    As Saito is wandering around, he comes across someone's Familiar, which is in the form of a small sphere with one eye. Startled, he staggers backward and accidentally bumps into the maid, making her drop the piece of cake she had. He picks it up and places it back on the plate. The girl, called Siesta, notices the mark on his hand and realises he is Louise's Familiar. She says that a commoner being summoned as a Familiar has become gossip overnight. This brings Saito to ask her about 'commoners' and 'nobles'. The girl explains that those who can use magic are nobles and those who can't are commoners. He asks her if she's a noble too, but she says that she's just a commoner like him.
     
    As the two are still conversing, Guiche cuts in and asks if the cake is ready yet. Saito tells Siesta to let him take the dirty piece of cake to him, as he wants to exact revenge on him for levitating him yesterday. Guiche is talking to Montmorency, saying he had spent the whole of last night talking with his Familiar, Belldandy. Montmorency does not completely believe him and asks about the rumour that he's been dating a first year student. As he is denying this, Saito comes with the cake, remarking that he's figured that second years wear black, so the girl wearing brown from last night must have been a 1st year. Panicking, Guiche tells Saito to go back to his serving duties. Saito says he isn't a server, which makes Guiche realise he is Louise's Familiar. As he leaves, Guiche sees Katie, the 1st year from last night, and starts dragging Montmorency away. Saito points out where Guiche is and Katie rushes over to him. After some distressed talk (with Saito's help), it becomes obvious Guiche had been two-timing the two girls. He gets slapped by Montmorency in front of everyone.
     
    Embarrassed and angry, Guiche challenges Saito to a duel. He agrees and is told to meet in front of the vestry. Louise comes and scolds Saito, telling him that they are going to apologise to Guiche and hope he forgives them. He refuses and asks someone where the vestry is.
     
    In the headmaster's office, one of the teachers informs him of Saito's rune. Its design was not something the teacher recognised, but after some research he found that it matches one in a book, and appears to be very important.
     
    Outside, a crowd has gathered around Guiche and Saito, who are now facing each other, prepared to fight. Louise comes running and tells Guiche that it's forbidden to duel. He says that it's only forbidden for two nobles to duel. It's not a problem for a noble to duel a commoner. Louise says this is only the case because something like this has never happened before. She says this with pleading eyes, which makes Giuche think she has developed feelings for Saito. Embarrassed, she makes a face and immediately denies it. She is only worried because she doesn't want to lose her Familiar. Ignoring her pleads, Guiche begins the duel. He swings around his rose, which appears to be some sort of wand, as a petal falls down, which opens a rip in the ground. Out comes – a very blue looking warrior – who Guiche calls the Bronze Golem, Valkyrie. It attacks with lightning speed, striking Saito in the guts before he can react. Louise rushes to his side as he falls onto his knees, clutching his stomach. She tries again to stop him, but he ignores her and continues to fight.
     
    The headmaster, who is now examining the book with the picture of Saito's rune, says that something like that only exists in legends. He is amazed that the Louise had been able to summon it. He says it will surely affect one of the Lost Penta's corners. He tells the teacher that he must never allow this information to be leaked.
     
    Back at the fight, Saito is being thrashed by Guiche's Valkyrie. With each punch he receives, Louise utters a gasp (how cute!) When he gets thrown onto the ground, Louise stands between him and Guiche, once again asking him to stop. Louise is on the verge of tears and Saito asks her if she's crying. She denies it and shoves him back. Amused, Guiche offers Saito one last chance. He summons a sword from another rose petal, which Saito goes to take. Louise tells him that she's giving him an order as a master to stop fighting. Saito in turn explains his resolve. He has already accepted the world he will be living in, but he won't now his head down to anyone. With renewed determination, he takes the sword in two hands. His rune begins to glow, just as Valkyrie charges at him. Saito swings the sword and cuts the opponent in two, as if it was made of paper. An commotion starts amongst the onlookers. Undeterred, Guiche summons six more warriors (his rose petals never seem to run out, do they?) Saito easily defeats all six with three attacks, then charges up to Guiche, brining the sword close to his face. Shocked at his demise, Guiche says he gives up and collapses onto the ground (and the crowd goes wild!)
     
    At first, Saito seems fine, but then his rune ceases to glow and he falls down, bringing Louise down with him. Apparently, he has fallen asleep. When he wakes up again, he finds himself in Louise's bed, his head and chest bandaged. Siesta arrives with food and tells him he has been asleep for three days. He asks her why she's here and she says that it was an order from Louise to bring him food. Saito notices that Louise is asleep on a chair, her head resting on the table. Siesta tells him that Louise had been taking care of him the whole time. He mutters to himself that she's pretty cute when she's asleep.
     
    Preview:
     
    0:56 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Zero no Tsukaima

    Muteki Kanban Musume: Episode 2

            
     
    Impressions:
    Another hilarious episode! I simply love the facial expressions and distortions the show uses. A comedy can never overuse exaggerative expressions (in my point of view), so I say the more the better! I also love how Miki counter's Kankuro's 'train' attack with a 'bullet train', then getting smashed by a 'meteor'. LOL! I just hope this show can keep its quality, which shouldn't be too hard as it only has 12 episodes. This reminds me of School Rumble, which did a good job of being funny until the end, but School Rumble 2nd Term has just lost all its humour (replaced by more plot). But hey, what's that got to do with Muteki Kanban Musume? 
     
     
    Summary:
    Miki comes out of the restaurant with her delivery, but notices a presence near her, watching her. She sees Akihiko Outa, who asks her what the matter is. She explains about the strange feelings she's been getting the past few days. Outa jokes that it must be a stalker who had fallen in love with her. Miki says he's wrong, as the feeling she's getting is quite similar to – at that moment Megumi appears and tries to hit her with several darts. Miki points her out and says she's similar to the other presence she's sensing. Megumi says admits that Miki is pretty good and returns to her bakery. Miki's mum appears and yells at her for not getting a move on.
     
    When Miki approaches the baseball field, she realises she doesn't know where she's meant to deliver the noodles to. She decides to ask the kids playing baseball but ends up playing for one of the teams instead. She displays her talent for baseball by making two, almost instantaneous pitches. On the third pitch, a young man comes and takes over as batter. He is able to hit the baseball, but with his arm instead, which causes it to break and bend the wrong way. The guy says he won, but as he broke his arm, it's a draw. He wants to fight Miki properly, but Outa comes and reminds her she has a delivery to make.
     
    As Miki leaves, Outa recognises an old friend – the guy who broke his arm. His name is Nishiyama Kankuro, the one who's been spying on Miki. He explains that he's come back after four years to exact revenge on Miki. He tells Outa that Miki had beaten him up many times during their childhood. (Just to list some of the things Miki did to Kankuro apart from smashing him: she tied him up and made him eat raw lobsters; she hid a beehive in the back of his shirt and; she wrapped him in a carpet and threw him into the river.)
     
    The baseball match is almost over, but Miki returns just in time to save the day (or ruin it). Unexpectedly, she holds up her delivery box, indicating she will use it to bat. Kankuro returns to pitch (the broken arm is his left arm). Miki lets the first two go, and readies herself on the third. Kankuro puts all his strength and skill on the third pitch, but Miki easily hits it, sending it soaring. Kankuro yells for someone to get it, but the fielders say it's already too late. He runs after it himself, with Miki close behind. He leaps into the air and manages to secure the ball, but Miki jumps up, catches him in mid air and slams him back to the ground, causing him to drop the ball. Kankuro stands up, saying that that was what he expected from Miki. He raises his arm to point at her, but realises his right arm is now bending in the wrong direction as well. Later on, Miki runs into Kankuro, but says she doesn't know who he is.
     
    The second half of the episode starts with a repeat of the first few scenes – Miki coming outside and noticing a strange presence. However, there are slight differences. After she leaves, Outa turns to a rubbish bin which has an eye hole on it. Kankuro gets out of it, informing Outa that he's observing Miki. He will continue to spy on her until she finds a weakness. He decides to go after Miki, but Outa tells him it's been 10 minutes since she left. Kankuro says that his research tells him she's still in a 100 metre radius (which is true, as Miki is just around the corner, petting a dog). As Kankuro is moving around in the bin, he gets hit by a truck, forcing him to continue undisguised.
     
    As Miki is making her delivery, she runs into many obstacles, but easily overcomes them all. First she bashes up a gang of four men, then a baseball, a pot plant, a terrorist emerging from a drain, a cow, and finally a crashed space ship with real aliens inside!  After delivering the noodles, she hears a woman scream. Looking toward the source of the sound, she sees a woman leaning across the rail barriers, screaming for someone to save her son, who is on the tracks. Despite the oncoming train, Miki dives across the tracks and saves the boy.
     
    Seeing this, Kankuro believes he has determined Miki's weakness – trains! He reasons that if he gets the same attack power as a train, he will be able to defeat Miki. He trains by imitating a train until he believes he has achieved the desired strength. He gives Miki a letter of challenge, which she accepts right away. He imitates a train driver by repeating necessary safety information, such as standing behind the yellow line, then charges at her. Bemused, Miki starts acting like a train driver too, saying that the 'shinkansen', or bullet train, will be arriving shortly. She speeds up, ready for a head on collision. Suddenly, a meteor appears from space and crashes right on top of the bullet train (Miki). The meteor turns out to be Miki's mum's giant fist, embedding Miki's head into the ground. After she drags her back into the restaurant, Kankuro starts to think about what he should become next. Outa suggests imitating a meteor (Miki's mum), but they both know it's impossible.
     
    Preview:
     
    0:46 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 查看引用通告 (1) | 写入日志 | Muteki Kanban Musume

    Tonagura: Episode 1

           
     
    となグラ!
     
    Release: 07/2006
    Episodes: 13
    Genre: Comedy, Love-Romance
    OP: "Dramatic Girly" by Akemi Kanda, Sayaka Ohara, Erino Hazuki, Misaki Sekiyama & Ayumi Tsuji
    ED: "Aitai Kimochi Kara~Placid Time~" by Akemi Kanda and Sayaka Ohara
     
     
    Impressions:
    Just as I expected it to be: funny, cute, with lot's of fanservice. Yuuji's a bit extreme on the perverted side though, and Hatsune is just… I don't know how to explain it. Marie is a fun character – the teddy bear gun-toting little sister. Kazuki is far to forgiving for a normal girl, but of course, none of the characters in this show are normal, so never mind that. The character designs are pretty good, except for the cheeks which I think are drawn to large, and the faces should be more triangular (there I go again, raving on about tiny things that many people would find perfectly fine). The storyline is… well, pretty generic I assume. Overall, I'd give this series a rating of above average. I'm still not quite sure about whether I should follow this series or not. Maybe a few more episodes before I make up my mind.
     
    Summary:
    Arisaka Kazuki has not seen her childhood friend for 10 years, and now he's moving back, which happens to be the house next to her. Kazuki heads to school in high spirits and is ecstatic throughout the day. She impresses the class by solving a difficult problem, gets the last yakisoba and curry bread, gets a good time in swimming. She is unaware that her friend Suzuhara Chihaya had been spying on her the whole day. Sometime in the afternoon, Chihaya surprises Kazuki by suddenly dragging her to the roof. She has noticed her friend's excessive energy and asks her about it. Kazuki explains about her childhood friend moving back. Chihaya steals Kazuki's wallet and finds a picture of her childhood friend when he was young.
     
    On her way home, Kazuki notices that the furniture movers have arrived at Yuuji's house. She runs home and starts preparing his welcome party. She converses with her teasing sister before heading upstairs to change. As she is half naked, she starts having fantasies about Yuuji being a handsome, charismatic prince. As she finally gets round to putting some clothes on, Yuuji appears outside on the balcony. Seeing Kazuki in her underwear, he runs up to her to feel her. After a struggle between the two, Yuuji gets attacked by Marie, who's teddybear is actually a gun. Kazuki's sister finds nothing wrong with the situation (Yuugi trying to molest Kazuki who is half naked) and throws the perverted boy onto Kazuki. After getting hit in the face by Kazuki, Yuuji becomes silent.
     
    Later on when things have settled down, everyone is sitting peacefully in the lounge room. However, the peace does not last long and another argument breaks out. Marie gets out her gun once again as Yuuji has buried his face in Hatsune's chest. She proclaims that she will fix her brother's behavious using force. Yuuji lunges for Kazuki after being barraged by rubber bullets, only to be punched in the face. He then says some touching words, which softens Kazuki up. He reaches out, offering to be friends again. Kazuki is about to take his hand when he takes the chance to grab her again (how desperate and sad can a guy get?) Kazuki retreats into her room, refusing to come out.
     
    During the evening, Kazuki is considering eating the cake she made for Yuuji all by herself. As she is thinking back to the time when she first met Yuuji on the balcony, Yuuji appears inside her room. He had gotten in by the same balcony. Yuuji leans across the table to cut the cake, but Kazuki plants her foot on his head. Yuuji's desires return at the sight of her panties and grabs her again as she is putting the cake away. Infuriated, Kazuki kicks him out of her room.
     
    After the sun sets, Kazuki is still upset. She hears him call out to her and starts talking about the first time they met. Kazuki is surprised he actually remembers. She asks him what he had thought about her when he saw her for the first time. Yuuji replies saying that he thought she was pretty cute. At this remark, she forgives him somewhat of his earlier crimes and takes the cake outside, prepared to share it with him. However, Hatsune and Marie have gathered outside with Yuuji without her knowledge. The three had been waiting for her with dinner. After dinner, the four make a toast of reunion and split the cake in four. Everyone takes a bite, but to their horror, the cake tastes revolting. Apparently, Kazuki is a very bad cook.
     
    Preview:
     
    0:33 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 查看引用通告 (1) | 写入日志 | Tonagura
    2006/7/15

    Binbou Shimai Monogatari: First Impressions

      
     
    貧乏姉妹物語
     
    Release: 7/2006
    Episodes: 10
    Genre: Drama, Slice of life
    OP: "Shinkokyuu" by Splash Candy
    ED: "Soyokaze Life" by Kanako Sakai
     
    Impressions:
    The first episode turned out to be far better than I expected. I thought the character designs were bad from small, unclear images of the show, but they are in fact pretty good. Even though I don't like this sort of Anime, (the drama and slice of life genres, which I don't like either of them) I was moved by the loving relationship between the two sisters. However, although I can say that I liked the episode more than I disliked it, I won't be following the show.
     
     
    Summary:
    Yamada Kyo and Yamada Asu are sisters, living alone after their mother died when they were young and their dad ran away after accumulating a gambling debt he couldn’t pay back. Kyo, as the older sister, supports them both, working part-time as a paper deliverer or a tutor, even though she is still in junior high. To help her sister, Asu does all the housework. Each day, Kyo will get up early and sneak out of the house to start her jobs. Asu always wakes up at the same time, but pretends to be asleep. When her sister leaves, s he gets up too to start the housework. The two sisters are very close, and this series is about the two's relationship with each other and the fun/hardships they go through (though 'hardship' is probably too strong a word).
     
    The episode starts off by establishing the characters and their routine life. Kyo is woken by the alarm beside her bed. At first she is still dazed, but a small movement by her sister (who is sleeping next to her) gets her attention. Asu is in fact awake, but pretends to be asleep so Kyo doesn't need to worry. Kyo gets dressed and heads out to do her daily paper rounds. As soon as she leaves, Asu gets up and prepares breakfast. As she is cooking, she remembers the coins she has in her pocket and drop them into her piggy bank, which she is saving to use at the upcoming festival. Kyo returns and the two sisters have breakfast together.
     
    Later, Asu visits the festival grounds to plan out the night. She intends to use up the money from the piggy bank for food and toys, and even writes down a plan with diagrams. As she is doing this, Kyo takes the saved money to buy two yukatas (clothes that are worn during times of festivities…I think). Asu comes home to find the her sister absent. On the middle of a table, bathing in a thin strip of sunlight, is the empty piggy bank. Asu cannot believe it when she shakes it and hears no jiggles. She sits by the table in denial until her sister comes home and wearing a yukata. She presents Asu with a matching one to wear to the festival, but she doesn't want it and calls her sister an idiot. She grabs the yukata and runs out of the house with the intention of returning it. When she runs off, she drops her plan. Kyo picks it up but doesn't know what it is at first.
     
    With concern for her sister in the rain, Kyo remembers the time when she had brought an umbrella to Asu at school when it was pouring, despite her fear of the lightning which was piercing the skies at the time. Just as she arrives at the school, the rain stops.
     
    Asu arrives at the yukata store, wanting to return it. The store owner, who knows the sisters quite well, informs Asu that Kyo had bought matching yutakas so they could be the same. Asu remembers the time when Kyo had brought the umbrella for her, and how she insisted on using it even when it had stopped raining. Thinking about this, she regrets everything she's done and said, and decides to wear the yukata to show her sister. She runs home but Kyo is already at the festival looking for her. Kyo speaks to the candy apple guy who informs her that Asu had been here earlier. This makes her realise what the piece of paper Asu had dropped really is. With this realisation, she begins to feel really bad and starts to cry. Kyo eventually finds Asu by standing on a higher place. The two then watch the fireworks together.
     
    The next day, the same morning routine occurs, but this time, Kyo runs into Asu as she is delivering newspapers. Asu had gone to the trouble of making a warm drink, saying she wants to work as well. Kyo assures her that money won't be a problem, but Asu is actually afraid that Kyo will leave her like their dad did. Kyo promises that she won't go anywhere and hugs her. The spirit of their dead mother appears and hugs them both, saying that she's keeping a promise of protecting them.
     
    22:36 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 查看引用通告 (1) | 写入日志 | Other Summaries

    Bleach: Episode 88

          
     
    Bleach 88: 'Annihilation of the Vice-Captains!? Trap in the Underground Cave'
     
    Impressions:
    How boring. The quality of the animation is deteriorating and it's getting repetitive. I don't like seeing Ichigo and the other's sitting around in Urahara's shop when they are discussing. Of course, sitting down like would be the normal thing to do, but a variety of settings would be nice. The budget for the fillers is quite low I assume, so I guess that can't be helped. The Bounto don't make very interesting enemies. Sure, their dolls are unique and each one presents a different battle, but Bleach is meant to be about the awesome swordfights. Also, watching Ichigo get owned is not my idea of a good episode (referring to a few eps back), and watching the vice-captains – who are only at a fraction of their full strength – defeat the Bountos that Ichigo could not is even worse. However, the show does continue to present new ideas that keep the show interesting – such as the traitor among the Shinigami and Ichigo learning to control his Hollow side. The constant action also helps keep the show alive, even though it's incomparable to the good ol' Soul Society arc. (I wish Ichigo would use Bankai again soon!!)
     
     
    Summary:
    When it is still dark, Ririn charges into the Urahara shop on Kon's back, screaming for someone to help Ichigo, who she thinks is still fighting. She starts crying before being interjected by Ichigo's voice. He is undoubtedly safe and in good health. At the sight of him, Ririn rushes up to him and embraces him, angry and relieved at the same time. Chad, Inoue, Rukia, Nova and Cloud return from battle. Rukia is on Chad's back, prompting a confused reaction from Ichigo when he sees them. Cloud apologises for letting it happen and Inoue plans to heal Rukia, but she says Inoue should take care of her own injuries instead. Getting impatient, Urahara urges them inside.
     
    Just for those who have a tough time remembering names, Hisagi is the blue-haired vice-captain of the 9th Squad, who has three scars own the right side of his face and a blue streak across the bridge of his nose. He is the one who saved Inoue, Rukia and Cloud. Matsumoto is the orange-haired female vice-captain of the 10th Squad, usually remembered as the one with a large chest. She is the one who saved Nova and Chad. Kira is the blonde vice-captain of the 3rd Squad. He is the one who saved Ichigo. Ayasegawa Yumichika is ranked five in the 11th Squad; the one with dark purple hair with the strange eyelash-like things on his right eye. He has yet to be involved in combat since he came to the real world.
     
    The next day, Hisagi and Matsumoto are leaping across the roof tops, ready for a counterattack against the Bounto. They meet Kira at the top of a hill. Kira informs them that Ayasegawa has discovered the Bounto's hideout. The three proceed to where the Bounto are. Meanwhile, Koga Gowa (the Bounto who attacked Ichigo with Daruku) is apologising to Kariya for failing to kill Ichigo. Kariya says he doesn't care, and that one loss means nothing. He says it was just a demonstrative exercise to see the amount of power the Bounto received from such a small amount of living souls. Mabishi (the orange-haired young Bounto who captures and controls Rukia) complains of not getting enough souls, which gets him a scolding by Koga. Kariya says it's alright that he lost. Mabashi denies this, saying if he wasn't interrupted, he would've won. Ichinose cuts in and says that if he had continued fighting, he would have been shredded to dust. Kariya informs the group that the Shinigami have arrived. He tells them not to worry as all they have to do is absorb more souls. He then calls for Ugaki (the Bounto who looks like – and probably is – a scientist). He emerges from the shadows and is asked about Ishida's condition. Ugaki apparently has the ability to see Ishida from his glasses. Ugaki says he hasn't regained his Quincy abilities yet. Kariya signals for him to go and take care of the Shinigami intruders. Ugaki retreats back from whence he came, saying that 'it' will be a spectacular show. Kariya summons Ichinose and asks him about the issue they discussed earlier. Ichinose believes 'they' are about to move. Kariya smiles.
     
    Both Keigo and Renji are in good condition; Renji already capable of moving around. The boy that he saved, however, is in a bad situation. Hanatarou has done all he can to heal him, but can't help the boy any further. Chad offers to use his soul to save him, but Hanatarou it is already too late for that, and the only thing they can do is hope is will to live is strong enough to pull him through. Renji blames himself for not protecting him well enough, and like anyone would say, Rukai tells him it's not his fault. Renji is instantly ready for a shouting match, but Rukia has other things on her mind and informs him the other vice-captains are on their way to the Bounto's hideout. Renji lowers his head in depression. Ichigo tries to comfort him, which results in Renji making a remark about how sad it is to be lectured by Ichigo. This obviously gets him mad, but Renji avoids further conflict.
     
    As everyone is leaving the room, Urahara recalls Ichigo for a private talk.  The former Squad captain says the Bounto are stronger than he had thought. Ichigo agrees. Urahara asks him whether or not he can defeat them without being able to use Bankai yet. Ichigo says he definitely cannot use Bankai yet, but as he says this, he thinks back to when he had been overcome by his Hollow side, and believes he may be able to do something. Perhaps a planned summoning of his Hollow half which allows him to get a boost in power as well as the ability to control it? Urahara ends the conversation by letting Ichigo know he'll leave it to him.
     
    Ayasegawa is standing outside the Bounto hideout, looking at himself in the mirror (and at a time like this!) He sees the three ice-captains arrive behind him and they all proceed into the cave.
     
    In Soul Society, 1st Squad Captain, Yamamoto Shigekuni, has summoned 6th Squad Captain, Kuchiki Byakuya, for a brief talk. Yamamoto has discovered a secret about the mad-scientist Kurotsuchi Mayuri, captain of the 12th Squad. He believes that after considering last night's intrusion, they should consider the possibility that 'they' are setting up some sort of sabotage. Among the Shinigami lurks a traitor. Byakuya suggests that Aizen might be behind all of it. Yamamoto does not rule out this possibility, but says he does not think he would help the Bounto. The 1st Squad Captain asks Byakuya to try and find any historical record of the Bounto, as the Kuchiki family organises all historical records.
     
    Outside Urahara's shop, the usual taskforce consisting of Ichigo, Rukia, Inoue, Chad and the three modified souls prepare to go to the Bounto's base. Kon decides to go along as well to protect Rukia, which prompts her to say he will be good for stopping a few bullets. Kon is crushed. Before they leave, Jinta (the red-haired boy who works for Urahara) gives Renji a rice ball to eat before fighting. Ururu (the girl who works for Urahara) says Jinta made it personally as he felt bad for never giving Renji seconds (as in, during meals). Renji thanks him and reminds Hanatarou to take care of the kid. After the preparations, the group set off.
     
    In an isolated room within the depths of the Bounto hideout, Ugaki lays out a deck of peculiar cards in a circular fashion. He calls upon his doll, Geselle, and places a card in the mile of his setup. In an unknown location, several small creatures come alive. The three vice-captains and lone 5th seater stop inside the Bounto's cave, sensing that something isn't right. They continue onwards and come across pillars erected in front of them. One large pillar has what look like masks protruding from the top, which captures Kira's attention. (Ugaki places another card in the middle.) As the Shinigami are assessing the pillars, they suddenly find themselves surrounded by what look like torches. Blades begin discharging from the ground. The Shinigami decide to split up, which is exactly what Ugaki was expecting. (He puts down another card). Matsumoto releases her Zanpakutou to clear the way in front of her, but finds nothing there. She foolishly sheathes her sword and ends up in a grave situation. Although the scene is not shown, we see Ugaki say that it's one down. All the while, the strange little torches had been shining on Matsumoto, as if they're a requirement for Ugaki's doll to attack…  Kira and Hisagi find themselves trapped by the torches. As Hisagi is swinging his sword at them, a dark shadow creature arises from the ground and slams Kira in the stomach. Torches shine on Hisagi as he is distracted, which results in tentacles binding him from behind. He uses his kidou to destroy one of the torches, causing the tentacles to disappear. Ugaki places another card down, resulting in the materialisation of a giant hand, which smashes the ceiling, causing it to crumble and crush the two remaining vice-captains. Ayasegawa comments on how ugly the torches are, before releasing his Zanpakutou, looking serious. Ugaki allows Geselle to show a bit more of its true form. Four torches bathe the lone Shinigami in their white light, allowing a giant hand to arise from the earth. It grabs Ayasegawa and slams him against the rocky wall. Ugaki laughs evilly.
     
    Outside, Ichigo's team has gathered and prepare to enter the hideout.
     
    Elsewhere, Ishida is still trying to regain his Quincy powers, but to no avail. He gets a pleasant surprise when he receives a visit from Nemu, 12th Squad's vice-captain.
     
    1:51 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Bleach
    2006/7/13

    NHK ni Youkoso: Episode 1

         
     
    NHK にようこそ
     
    Release: 07/2006
    Episodes:
    Genre:
    OP: "Puzzle" by ROUND TABLE featuring Nino
    ED: "Odoru Akachan Ningen" by Kenji Otsuki and Fumihiko Kitsutaka
     
    Impressions:
    Quite a strange yet enjoyable first episode. I would say it's definitely a worthwhile show to watch. The quality is quite high and I like the character design, although Misaki isn't as cute as some make her out to be. That doesn't really matter though. The colours are nice and natural, giving the show a realistic feel, although Satou's constant hallucinations do put me off a bit. A show shouldn't combine to two opposite styles – the very real hikikomori problem and the very fake dancing stuffed animals, even if it is all in his head. The music is below average for me: the OP is dull and does not depict the theme of the show at all, and the ED just sounds messed up. However, the music doesn't deter me that much, so overall I still like the series a lot.
     
     
    Summary:
    Tetsuhiro Satou is a 'hikkimori' sufferer. Hikikomori means social withdrawal, and can also refer to the people who suffer from it. 'NHK' stands for 'Nippon Hosou Kyoukai', which means 'Japan Broadcasting Corporation'. It is a real television station in Japan. 'NHK' can also refer to 'Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai', or 'Japan Social Withdrawal Association'. 'NHK ni Youkoso' means 'Welcome to the NHK'.
     
    Tetsuhiro Satou finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy where he is being shot at by men, tanks and even bombers, as a soft melody is playing in the background. Satou takes a hit but miraculously survives. He somehow ends up on a snowy terrain, where he is surrounded by a vast expanse of sea and ice. Behind him stands a girl holding an umbrella which shields her eyes. Satou doesn't notice her as he is transfixed on a giant shadow monster. He charges at the towering beast with a grenade in the form of a stuffed animal. With the girl watching, Satou plunges himself into the ocean as the grenade explodes, creating hundreds of stuffed animals. The scenes are very strange and don't make much sense, but that's how they're supposed to be as they all originate from the mind of one messed up man.
     
    Satou wakes up in a small, crammed apartment, with magazines, clothes and junk all over the place. Next door, some bishoujo anime theme music is playing – loud enough for Satou to hear. From hearing the phrase 'purupuru' repeatedly from the song, he begins to imagine strange things. He wonders what kind of a name ' purupuru ' is, which makes him imagine a girl who is 'purupuru', made of purple jelly, which leads to the thought of a girl made of pudding. The imaginary pudding girls multiply, ignoring Satou's commands for them to shut up. Overcoming this hallucination, Satou resolves to go next door and tell his neighbours to keep the noise down. However, the thought of going outside and interacting with other people makes him reluctant. He decides to do it after some thought, but hears someone supposedly talking about him. This causes Satou to have a flashback. In his college days, he had been detested by everyone, which is what made him quit college.
     
    Satou is lying on his bed, enduring the continuous music from next door. He suddenly starts to hallucinate again, thinking he is in some conspiracy. He thinks back to when he was still in high school. His senpai had told him about a conspiracy, but as 99% of all conspiracies are false, he doesn't believe her. Later when he tries to impress her by saving a person getting bashed, he ends up bleeding on the ground. Satou thinks about his current life and whether it's all a conspiracy or not. His imaginary, talking, electric appliances tell him that it had been a plot by the NHK to shut people in their rooms by showing Anime. He concludes that karate masters who isolate themselves for years are able to shatter rocks with their bare hands, which means he should be able to break a beer bottle at least. Satou ends up cutting his hand and strewing glass everywhere. The doorbell rings and, thinking the electricity company has sent someone to collect the bill, opens the front door. Standing outside is the same umbrella-carrying girl from his dream. A middle-aged woman appears from behind the door and offers Satou a magazine about 'NEET's, or 'Not currently engaged in Employment, Education or Training'. This leads him to believe that everyone knows he is a NEET. He slams the door shut, retreating back into his isolation. He then hears the woman call the girl 'Misaki'. He peeks back outside and sees her staring at him. She smiles at the sight of him then leaves.
     
    The encounter with the woman prompts him to get a job. Satou cleans himself up and makes his way to a manga store. He is about to ask for a job, but sees Misaki there behind the counter. Instead of asking about a job, he begins to talk about motorcycles, before leaving. He accidentally drops his job application but doesn't notice. Misaki finds it later.
     
    Back at home, Satou is pissed at himself for doing such a stupid thing. He reasons out strangling himself to death as he would pass out before dying. The thought of suicide fades and he begins fantasising about Misaki as a nun. After he wakes up, the doorbell rings. He concludes that the electricity company can't possible come at that hour, so opening the door wouldn't change his life. The person outside begins knocking outside. Satou looks through the view hole and sees Misaki staring back at him, before running off. He checks the mail slot and finds his job application with a positive reply, saying he has been selected for her 'project', and to go the park at 9pm.
     
    Satou believes it's a ploy to get him to join a religious meeting. As he keeps thinking about it, he convinces himself that he was going to go the park anyway. He goes but has to wait a while, and thinks it's a prank. Misaki shows up just as he is about to leave and asks why Satou had run away earlier. She knows he's a hikikomori sufferer and says she knows how to cure him. She claims she has come to save him.
     
    21:34 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | NHK ni Youkoso
    2006/7/11

    Coyote Ragtime Show: Episode 1

         
     
    コヨーテ ラグタイムショー
     
    Release: 07/2006
    Episodes: --
    Genre: Adventure, Sci-fi, Shounen
    OP: "COYOTE" by Naoki with Power Sound
    ED: "COYOTE" by Naoki with Power Sound (yes, it's meant to be the same)
     
    Impressions:
    Wow. Nice. The first episode was great. The first half may have been a bit slow, but the high-quality action-packed second half was extremely enjoying. The shootouts, explosions and blood-gushing did not disappoint; I was glued to the screen the moment the '12 Sisters' arrived. However, like any other Anime, there must be something that I personally do not like, and this time it's the character design. The investigator is okay, but the female police associate – is just completely wrong. I didn't even realise she was a girl until sometime into the episode; I had thought she was some relative, but it turns out she's actually a police officer (I wasn't paying attention when she was proving her identity). What hooked me this episode were Marciano's androids. They are so cool! They certainly need to make reappearance and show off their capabilities more. I'm also quite confused about the protagonist in the series. I would say it would be Mister, if he is the main characters. But if he isn't and Angelica is, then I don't know. Hopefully more information will be revealed in the next episode – I can't wait!
     
     
    Summary:
    Angelica Barns is an investigator from the Federation Bureau, who has been searching for a criminal for four years. The criminal had evaded capture for the long period of time by constantly stealing and changing identities. However, to make things easier I suppose, he is known as 'Mister'. For the last year, Mister had suddenly disappeared. After tracking down the man to a prison on the planet 'Sandvil', she travels there via a space shuttle and is greeted by Chelsea, the female police officer. They are driven to the prison by a man who blows bubbles, and does not seem significant at all at first. On the way, Angelica sees for the first time a giant centipede-type insect. Chelsea explains that these bugs have poor sight and rely solely on their hearing to detect prey. As a counter-measure, tall poles with sound emitters are erected, sending out sound that is irritable to the bugs.
     
    At the entrance to the prison, they are stopped by security for a search. She is met by Frank Duston, warden of the prison. As they are talking, the metal detector goes off above Angelica's briefcase, so she opens it, revealing a large amount of weaponry. However, she has permission to use them from the Federation Government and the President himself (or herself). As Angelica is printing off information on all the inmates, Frank asks Chelsea who the investigator is (referring to her importance and status). She says she doesn't know much as she was simply dispatched to the spaceport to greet the investigator and take her here.
     
    When the printing is done, Angelica brings the documents to the warden and asks him for assistance. He asks her about why she is here and she explains about 'Mister' and how she believes he is currently locked up in the prison. She also says that she had gotten a phone call last night saying Mister will appear at the Sandvil prison that day. Frank thinks the call was a prank, and suddenly receives a phone call himself from a man claiming he is from the Red Desert Liberation Movement. He is informed that 10 bombs have been placed in his prison. Frustrated, the warden hangs up and uses this as an example to back up his prank call theory. However, before he can finish speaking, several explosions occur outside the window, destroying a good portion of the fortress walls. The security begins to panic and the inmates start an uproar. Angelica tells Chelsea to request the bomb disposal team. The warden is still in shock and murmurs about why it had to happen. Angelica says that this is only the beginning.
     
    Soon after all the inmates are evacuated onto the inner field, the bomb disposal team arrives. The warden informs the leader of the situation as they are walking. Near the entrance to the building, the leader tells Angelica who is about to follow to leave everything to the experts. After he disappears through the door, Angelica begins to suspect something and asks Chelsea about where the car they came in was parked. Inside, the leader disperses his team and makes a call – to the bubble-blowing guy from the beginning! Back outside, Angelica checks under the rear seat. Nothing is there. She concludes that the thing that triggered the metal detector were bombs hidden under the seat, and were smuggled by making use of Angelica's permit. The culprit is the driver from before, who must have an alliance with one of the members of the bomb disposal team – the leader! The investigator says she knows all this because Mister had used the same technique on planet 'Carnival', which means everything must be a ploy to break Mister out of prison. She immediately places a lockdown on the prison, meaning no one and nothing can leave. Time passes and Angelica asks Frank to look through the inmate's profiles and find anyone who was held in block four for the past year.
     
    In some other unknown place, a woman in what seems to be a mansion of some sort receives a phone call regarding the Mister's planned jailbreak. She authorises the '12 Sisters' to go the prison by helicopter and raid the area.
     
    Back in the prison, it has already gotten dark and there's still no sign of Mister or his accomplices. Chelsea notices something in the night sky. Angelica recognises them as Madam Marciano's. Soon, the 12 Sisters become visible, who are parachuting into the prison grounds. They load their weapons and easily gun down the security, killing everyone mercilessly. By the way, the 12 Sisters are actually androids immune to normal gunfire. This event it definitely the highlight of the episode, and I hope their's more of it in the next one.
     
    When all the security have been slaughtered, Angelica tries to make a stand but her petty pistol shots do not even make a dent in the androids' body. The android, May, lunges at her, but before she can kill Angelica, someone standing on the roof of the prison fires a homing rocket at the android. It makes a direct hit and completely vaporises the android's body, leaving only the head. Everyone ceases what they are doing and looks up. Mister, the bomb disposal team leader and the driver are standing on top of the prison. Mister tells Angelica that he had been waiting for 'them' not her, and also yells out 'Diamond Head'. Realising what he meant, Angelica retreats into the prison with Chelsea and the warden. The leader of the 12 Sisters gives the order to capture Mister at all costs. Inside, Angelica explains the 'Diamond Head' incident.  The National Bank on planet Diamond had been broken into by Mister, using the tsunami to get rid of any defences. He is planning to do the same here. Soon, the ground begins to shake, and it takes some time for the androids to realise their fate. The insect repellents (the sound-emitting devices) have been deactivated, meaning the arrival of sandworms is imminent. Sure enough, before long the prison is engulfed in a 'tsunami' of the giant bugs.
     
    The next day, the police and health services have arrived. The 'guild' also arrives and takes away the android remains. Chelsea argues that it is vital evidence for the Sandvil police but Angelica tells them that the guild has control over the police, so there's no point arguing with them. She decides to quit the force. Angelica offers her a job that isn't properly explained in the episode, but I assume the job is to be her assistance.
     
    In a space shuttle in space, Mister and his two accomplices are enjoying a scrumptious meal. As he is eating, he is given a picture of himself with a small girl called Franca. Mister smiles.
     
    23:54 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Coyote Ragtime Show
    2006/7/10

    Zero no Tsukaima: Episode 1

      
     
    ゼロの使い魔
     
    Release: 07/2006
    Episodes: 13
    Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
    OP: First kiss" by ICHIKO
    ED: "The real feeling" by Rie Kugimiya
     
           
    Zero no Tsukaima, which means Zero's Familiar, features a young girl called Louise de la Valiel, who is a second year student attending the Tristein School of Magic. She can't control her powers very well and her attempts at spell-casting usually result in destructive explosions. By the second year, she has earned herself the nickname of 'Zero', referring to her capabilities in magic: zero.
     
     
    During her first alchemy class of the year, the new teacher, Mrs Chevreuse, talks about the four elements – water, fire, earth and wind, and informs the class they will be focusing on earth magic this year. She demonstrates a basic alchemical spell – changing rock into brass (although some mistake it for gold). Mrs Chevreuse then randomly chooses a volunteer to attempt the spell, which happens to be Louise. Her classmates attempt to inform the teacher about her incabalities as a magician, saying that it will be dangerous if she is allowed to try. Mrs Chevreuse, who has just been appointed a teacher, does not know of Louise's past, and think her students are claiming alchemy itself is dangerous, which it isn't. She allows Louise to try to turn the rock into brass, but this results in a large explosion which destroys the room and knocks the teacher unconscious. She leaves unpunished as the blame went to the teacher who had allowed her to carry out the spell.
     
     
    The next day, it is time for Summoning Ceremony, where the students must summon a familiar; their servant for the rest of their lives. The Ceremony progresses and almost everyone manages to summon a familiar. Guiche D. Gramon, a blonde student in the Louise's class who acts like a prince (and probably is, as they are all nobles), summons a mole-like creature, which wasn't what he had in mind. The red-headed Kirche summons a fire-breathing salamander, indicating her elemental property is most likely fire. In the end, Louise is the only one who hasn't attempted to summon a familiar yet, so everyone crowds around her, eagerly waiting her failure. Gathering all her courage and willpower, she comes up with a strange incantation and performs the summoning – which again results in a massive detonation. However, as the smoke clears, everyone notices a boy lying on the ground in front of Louise – she had summoned a human as her servant! The boy, who doesn’t understand what everyone is saying as he speaks Japanese (which means everyone else is speaking another language), tries to escape from such a strange place. Not allowed to try again, Louise is forced to accept the results and grabs the struggling boy, kissing him to seal their contract. Soon after, the 'familiar rune' is seared onto the boy's hand, causing him to faint.
     
     
    During the evening, the boy wakes up to find himself lying on a pile of (hay?) in Louise's room. As if waiting specifically for him to wake up, Louise gets undressed in front of him and orders him to wash her clothes. The boy is obviously shocked and starts to rant about why he's there, (which comes out as gibberish to Louise as she doesn't understand). Remembering a silencing spell she had learnt last year, Louise tries to mute her familiar, but once again causes an explosion instead. Although the spell failed, Louise realises she had achieved something better, and that is piercing the language barrier. She and her familiar can now understand each other! (How convenient…) Louise asks the boy for his name, which turns out to be Hiraga Saito. She begins to explain to Saito about his duties as a familiar, only to have him run away. Quickly putting her clothes back on, Louise chases after him, asking Guiche for help. Guiche uses his levitating skills to bring Saito back, which is when he notices the two moons in the night sky, making him finally believe he is in a world of magic.
     
     
    The first thing I noticed is that Louise, the main character, is voiced by Rie Kugimiya, the same person who did Shana in Shakugan no Shana. Louise resembles Shana and her 'Urasai' sounds exactly like Shana, but she only says it once. ~Sigh~ brings back memories…
     
     
    The first episode has hooked me. I will definitely follow this, even if no one subs it. The character designs aren't too exceptional, but pretty good. The OP is nice, but I didn't like the ED as it was sung too cutely (by Rie Kugimiya – Louise). I hope things will get more interesting soon!
     
     
    20:58 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Zero no Tsukaima
    2006/7/9

    New Anime Bittorrent List

    Here are all the torrents I could find of the summer series. They are all the first episodes.
     
    Subbed:
    Zero no Tsukaima - http://www.mininova.org/tor/361724  - [Kuroneko]
    Tsuyokiss - http://www.mininova.org/tor/361726  - [AnimeU&SerinFansubs]
    Muteki Kanban - http://www.mininova.org/tor/361192  - [Doremi]
    Coyote Ragtime Show - http://www.mininova.org/tor/361462  - [gg]
    Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls - http://www.mininova.org/tor/358405  [FM&Doremi]
     
    Raws:
    Project BLUE Chikyuu SOS - http://datorrents.com/torrents-details.asp?id=11525  [AEtherWind]
    Binbou Shimai Monogatari - http://datorrents.com/torrents-details.asp?id=11454  [k-raws]
    Otogi Jushi Akazukin - http://datorrents.com/torrents-details.asp?id=11422  [k-raws]
    Le Chevalier d’Eon - http://datorrents.com/torrents-details.asp?id=11509  [AEtherWind]
    Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique - http://bt.saiyaman.info/  [S^M]
    22:56 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志

    Muteki Kanban Musume: Episode 1

                
     
    無敵看板娘
     
    Release: 07/2006
    Episodes: 12
    Genre: Comedy
    OP: "Wild Spice" by Masami Okui
    ED: "Muteki na smile" by Naozumi Takahashi
      
     
    Onimaru Miki is a poster girl who has just started working at her family's ramen restaurant. Although her job is to attract customer, she usually creates a bad image of the restaurant, which causes her mother to turn vicious and gives her a beating. Miki's first folly of the episode is tripping over herself, sending the bowl of noodles she had been carrying straight into a customer's face. I'm surprised at the customer's lack of reaction, as you'd assume the noodles would be pretty hot. After the incident, two boys begin fighting outside for no apparent reason. Miki's mother, Makiko, tells her to get rid of the boys as they'll be an obstruction for customers. Instead of getting rid of them, Miki invites the boys in to have an eating competition. Later as she is meant to be delivering ramen, she sees a dog on the streets and lets it eat the noodles. On her second try, she uses the bowl as a baseball glove, failing to do her job once again.
     
     
    The sub I watched translates 'Muteki Kanban Musume' to 'Invincible Poster Girl', and Miki is indeed an brilliant fighter. However, her mother is better and does not hesitate to give Miki a pounding as punishment when she screws up.
     
     
     Although excellent and bashing people up, Miki also has a cute habit of brining anything she finds home. She's known to have brought home stray kittens, a sickly old man and young kids who had been bullied. This time though, she brings home a criminal who she captured by herself.
     
     
    Miki also has an arch nemesis, another poster girl who works at the bakery across the road, Megumi Kanazumi. As Miki is advertising the restaurant outside using a megaphone, she comments on how crap the bread is at the bakery, and that you'll die if you eat there. Furious at this belittling, Megumi demonstrates her excellent dart skills by flicking three darts at once, which barely miss Miki's head. Attempting to retaliate, Miki throws a dart but instead of going forwards, it flies sideways and embeds itself into Akihiko Outa's bed, a man who owns a grocery store next door.
     
     
    Miki later challenges Megumi to a duel and even sets up a boxing ring on the street. However, it turns out that the duel will not be a fighting match, but a competition to see who can attract the most customers to their store. (Which means setting up the ring was a useless and random thing to do). Accepting the challenge, Megumi dresses up and tries to bring people in with charisma. Miki, on the other hand, dresses up as a clown, which makes people stare. On the brink of surrendering, a class of young kids see Miki dressed as a clown and are quickly impressed. Seeing how the tides have turned, Megumi tries harder to appeal, but her erotic movements achieve nothing but disturbing onlookers. Miki then decides to teach the young kids how to make ramen. The teacher asks them what Miki does in a ramen shop, and one answers that she dress up in weird clothes and dance around – not the ideal answer Miki was looking for. Makiko begins whacking Miki again and the teacher quickly ushers her students away. Megumi issues a rematch, not accepting her loss. Miki agrees but is dragged inside by her mother for further punishment.
     
     
    The first episode is definitely a hit, and judging by the number of peers the torrent had (around 2000), I'd say it must be very popular. The show has the most extreme facial distortions I've ever seen, exaggerating the character's emotions in almost every minute of the show, which is the basis for the fantastic comedy. The characters are pretty well done, with a range of slightly messed up personalities. Miki is the stubborn, reckless protagonist; Makiko is the motherly figure who's all gentle and caring one moment, and dominating the next; Akihiko seems to be the average store owner; and Megumi is the princess type who you'd think would be the dominating person, but isn't. Muteki Kanban Musume seems like one of those shows about nothing, so if want to watch something meaningful, this won't be the show for you. Alternatively, if you just want to sit back and have a laugh (like me), I highly recommend this great new series. This is one of those show's I'll follow no matter what.
     
    19:44 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 查看引用通告 (1) | 写入日志 | Muteki Kanban Musume
    2006/7/8

    Bokura ga Ita: First Impressions

    僕等がいた
     
    Release: 07/2006
    Episodes: --
    Genre: Romance, Shoujo, Slice-of-life
     
    Bokura ga Ita is a love story about a girl entering high school and falling in love.
    Takahashi Nanami enters high school with a goal of making as many friends as possible. She tries to talk with a girl sitting next to her, but she replies in short, toneless answers – not a very cheerful person. The other girls seem more approachable and Takahashi makes friends with them quite easily. They tell her about Yano Motoharu, a boy in their class who seems to be very popular amongst the girls. One girl wants to be a part of the class committee with Yano, and so Takahashi offers to nominate her. However, she forgets her name later on and asks a boy what it is. The boy turns out to be Yano, who tricks Takahashi by telling her a random name. When it is time to nominate, Takahashi makes a fool of herself by saying the wrong name. She is obviously embarrassed and annoyed at Yano, but after a few more encounters, she begins to change her views. Eventually, she falls in love with him.
     
     
     
    Personally, the visual elements of any type of show is the largest factor which determines how much I enjoyment it. And Bokura ga Ita has one of the worst design I've ever seen. The simple, washy backgrounds were too plain and made the show looked like it was occurring in someone's dream. The character designs aren't good at all and in some scenes the characters only had one eye! There are just too many shortcuts in the production and I can't live with that. The chance of me following this show is zero.
    23:21 | 添加评论 | 阅读评论 (1) | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Other Summaries
    2006/7/7

    Otogi-Jushi Akazukin: First Impressions

    おとぎ銃士 赤ずきん
     
    Release: 07/2006
    Episodes: --
    Genre: Fantasy
     
    Suzukaze Souta may seem like an ordinary boy, but concealed within him is the 'Key of the Seal', which grants him an enormous amount of power and is able to reunite the split worlds of science and magic. Because of this, Souta has been targeted by the witch, Cendrillon, who wishes to possess the Key. Unable to control his power, Souta has attracted a girl named Akazukin and her talking dog, Val, who come from another world to protect him.  
     
     
    Well, what can I say? I thought it was horrible (but if you're really young you'd probably love this). It was thirty-five minutes of complete boredom – I'm surprised I watched the whole episode. So many things were done wrong. The characters are meant to be in junior high yet they look under 10. The way the characters behave is completely wrong. Souta and Ringo show virtually no emotional response to any of the events that occur. There is no surprise when the dog talks; no screams or yells when the monsters attack; no awe or astonishment when young kids take on beasts several times their size and win appear from nowhere; no shock when people disappear and appear from nowhere; and most of all, Souta's immediate acceptance of  Akazukin into his life. The chance of me following this series is practically none. However, the only thing I liked about the first episode was the action scenes: they were done quite well, far better than some other shows that use cheap still frames.
    20:25 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Other Summaries
    2006/7/5

    Bleach: Episode 87

    After the failed attempt to seal away Baura and the Bountou, Rangiku and Chad, with Nova on his back, try to make a run for it. This is useless because of Baura's teleporting ability. Rangiku considers using shunpo to escape, but she knows that attempting to take Chad and Nova with her would greatly slow her down, meaning she wouldn't be able to get away. Chad realises what she is thinking and tells her to save herself. Rangiku dismisses the idea immediately. Seeing no other way out, Rangiku uses her shunpo to put some distance between them and the Bountou, but Baura appears in front of them and lunges. Just as it seems that the three are about to be swallowed, Nova finds the strength to teleport them to a reasonably safe location, even in his crippled state…
     
     
     
    Read the rest here
    Visit Space here
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    2006/7/4

    Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu: Episode 14 (Ep6 - END)

    The last episode of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi), but is actually the 6th episode in chronological order. The real last episode is episode 9.
     
    Still tired, probably from his experience in closed-space, Kyon finds himself unable to get out of bed by himself and lets his little sister drag him out. As he is cycling through his morning routine, he thinks about the three other SOS Brigade members apart from Haruhi and himself. Nagato Yuki, the artificial human made by aliens; Asahina Mikuru, the time traveller; and finally, Koizumi Itsuki, the ESP user. (For those of you who don’t know what ESP is, it stands for Effective Sensory Projection, or Extra-Sensory Perception. ESP can stand for many other things, but in this case, it refers to the ability to obtain information by means other than the known senses.) Kyon is still clueless about why he was dragged into this mess. The alien, time traveller and esper have gathered together because Haruhi had wished for it, but why was Kyon?...
     
     
    Read the rest here
    View previous entries here
    23:38 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Suzumiya Haruhi
    2006/7/3

    Tsuyokiss: Episode 1

           
     
    つよきす
     
    Release: 07/2006
    Episodes: 13
    Genre: Comedy, Romance, Slice of life
    OP: "Sunao ni Narenai" by Little Non
    ED: "Open" by Kaori Utatsuki
     
    Impressions:
    The first episode turned out to be the opposite of what I had predicted it to be. The main thing that I didn't like about this series before actually watching the episode was the harem genre. The main thing that I did like was the character design, and I also expected the show to be of a fairly good quality. So far, it does not seem like a harem, and the character design isn't that good – the reverse of my expectations. I had also thought the main character would be the guy called Tsushima Leo, but it seems the main character is Konoe Sunao. Oh well… Overall, it was pretty good, even though many people say it sucked. I will most likely follow this series. The first episode laid a nice foundation and hopefully the next episode will do a good job of building off it. The OP wasn't very engaging and I liked the ED better. However, I don't especially like either of the two theme songs.
     
     
    Summary:
    Konoe Sunao is starting her first day of her new high school, but wakes up late after having a dream about performing in a play with no audience. She checks the time, realises that she'll be late and rushes her morning routine. She arrives at school on time, happy she wasn't late for the first day. She sees Otome Kurogane pointing her sword at some guy, and two girls bickering (Yashi Nagomi and Kanisawa Kinu). She is also there to witness the arrival of the student council president, Kiriya Erika, which causes a pandemonium among the male school's male population.
     
    Later in class, Sunao introduces herself to the class, saying that she loves theatrical plays. An awkward silence follows; not the response Sunao was expecting. Eager to join the theatre club, she asks the person sitting next to her about the clubs location during lunch. The girl, Asada Shizuka, says that there is no such club. After the initial shock, Sunao decides to make her own club. Shizuka tells her she must get it approved by the student council.
     
    The student council building is in the form of a traditional Japanese temple. Kiriya Erika is inside enjoying the tea that her assistant (Satou Yoshimi) had brewed for her. Erika somehow ends up on top of her assistant just as Sunao barges in. A short while later, when Yoshimi is safely out of the president's reach, Sunao begins her appeal to form the theatre club. Erika gives a quick, negative response, as she doesn't think Sunao is that serious about it. After some further discussion, Erika decides to give Sunao a chance: she is to perform a play and if she can make it interesting, Erika will give the ok.
     
    On the way out, she passes a boy on the bridge who she doesn't notice. The boy glances at her and gets a feeling that they've met before. After practising Romeo and Juliet for a bit, Sunao proceeds to the hall. On the stage, a fake castle had been erected for the sole purpose of Sunao's trial performance. Her nerves prevent her from moving at first, but she remembers the time when she had gotten stage fright and was helped through by a boy named Tsushima Leo. The boy had also called her 'daikon' because of her ponytails. ('Daikon' means something like 'large root'). Recalling this helps Sunao relax, and as she starts off the play, Erika muses to herself that Romeo and Juliet can't be played by two people, so Sunao must surely fail. However, Sunao plays both roles quite well, impressing the president.
     
    The boy from before shows up to give Erika some documents. Sunao catches sight of him and remembers him from somewhere. She mentally matches the boy's face with Leo's younger self and utters his name aloud. Leo looks up at Sunao but still doesn't recognise her. Suddenly, the part of the set that Sunao is standing on breaks off. This causes the whole the castle to crumble, but Sunao manages to land on Leo's back. She quickly gets off apologising, then she asks if Leo remembers her. He has to think for a while, but eventually recognises Sunao's ponytails. He finally remembers but makes the mistake of calling her 'daikon' resulting in a slap and Sunao on the verge of crying.
     
    Later as Sunao is cleaning up the mess she causes, Shizuka approaches her and announces that she is Sunao's newest fan. Shizuka had been greatly impressed by her performance as she had been watching. Sunao starts to cry. Shizuka lets her calm herself before asking what 'daikon' means. This gets Sunao angry again.
     
    During the late evening, Leo is sitting depressed in the student council building, still trying to determine the reason for getting slapped. Kanisawa Kinu comes in looking for Leo so they can walk home together, but encounters Yashi Nagomi and they start arguing again.
     
    The preview of the next episode is a bit odd and doesn't reveal much (which is how it should be!) Otome is practising her martial arts and does some fancy training with candles.
     
    19:39 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Tsuyokiss
    2006/6/29

    Summer Anime 2006: Part A

    June and July mark the beginning of a new season of Anime. Of course, summer Anime refers to summer in Japan. I will try the first few episodes of all the new series if they are subbed and see if I like any of them, but I’m already following quite a few series. Here is a list of the new Anime with a short description of each. Please note that it’s possible that not all the information here is correct.
     
    Anime listed in part A:
    ·          Flag
    ·          Night Head Genesis
    ·          Binbou Shimai Monogatari
    ·          Hichimitsu to Clover II
    ·          Tsuyokisu Cool × Sweet
    ·          Otogi Jushi Akazukin
    ·          Mamotte! Lollipop
    ·          Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z
    ·          Le Chevalier d’Eon
    ·          Zero no Tsukaima
     
    Anime listed in part B:
    ·          Project BLUE Chikyuu SOS
    ·          Kemono Zume
    ·          Bokura ga ita
    ·          Coyote Ragtime Show
    ·          Muteki Kanban Musume
    ·          Chokotto Sister
    ·          Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique ~ Kokoro no Mezameru Toki
    ·          Tonagura!
    ·          NHK ni Youkoso
    ·          Innocent Venus
     
     
    Flag
    Japanese Title: Flag
    Official Site: http://www.flag20xx.net/
    Genre: Mecha
    Creator: Obata Yuuki
    Studio: Answer Studio, Sunrise
    Starting Date: 16/06/06
    Summary: In the 21st Century, a civil war is going on in a small country within Asia. A photographer, Shirasu Saeko, takes a picture of a flag in the middle of a battlefield. The picture and flag are used as a basis for signing a peace treaty, but before the agreement can be completed, the flag is stolen by terrorists! O.o As a result, Shirasu Saeko must go and record the activities of the thieves, which seems like an easy mission, but…
    Impression: Well, just from looking at the picture I can say I don’t like the character design. But, the mecha part does intrigue me…
     
     
    Night Head Genesis
    Japanese Title: Night Head Genesis
    Genre: Supernatural (and horror maybe?)
    Creator: --
    Studio: --
    Starting Date: Premieres 17/06/06, regular airing starts 29/06/06
    Summary: I really don’t know much about this series. Something about some guy who has psychic powers and has to fit into society…
    Impression: Looks really cool! Hope it doesn’t disappoint.
     
     
    Binbou Shimai Monogatari (The Poor Sisters Story)
    Japanese Title: 貧乏姉妹物語
    Genre: Drama, School Life
    Creator: Kazuto Izumi
    Studio: Toei Animation
    Starting Date: 29/06/06
    Summary: Yamada Kyo and Yamada Asu are sisters, living alone after their mother died when they were young and their dad ran away after accumulating a gambling debt he couldn’t pay back. Kyo, as the older sister, supports them both, working part-time as a paper deliverer or a tutor, even though she is still in junior high. To help her sister, Asu does all the housework.
    Impression: Well, I generally don’t like slice-of-life type Animes, so unless the quality is high, the characters done well and the mood not too bleak, I won’t follow the series.
     
     
    Hichimitsu to Clover II (Honey and Clover 2)
    Japanese Title: ハチミツとクローバーII
    Genre: Drama, Love-Romance
    Creator: Umino Chika
    Studio: G.C. Staff
    Starting Date: 29/06/06
    Summary: The first Honey and Clover is about 5 college students and the lives they lead. Hachimitsu to Clover II (or Honey and Clover II), will continue from where the first season left off.
    Impression: If you liked Honey and Clover I, then be sure to watch this 2nd series. I haven’t seen the first season before, but many people say it’s really good, so maybe I’ll try it, and if I like it enough, I’ll rush through the first season to catch up.
     
     
    Tsuyokisu Cool × Sweet
    Japanese Title:     つよきす
    Official Site: http://www.tsuyokiss.jp/
    Genre: School Life, Harem
    Creator: --
    Studio: Candy Soft, Studio Hibari, Trinet Entertainment
    Starting Date: 01/07/06
    Summary: I believe that this would be a typical harem Anime. The story is based on a dating game, about a high school guy who meets tsundere (usually has bad attitude, but changes when they encounter the one they love) girls and must choose between them all.
    Impression: I don’t like harem Anime for the sole reason of the ending: the male lead remains indecisive until the end, and does not end up with anyone. Of course, there are probably many harem shows that do not end like this, but watching 25 episodes just to see whether any of the relationships make any progress is a bit of a waste. If the first episode doesn’t greatly appeal to me, I won’t watch it. (Although the character design is pretty good…)
     
     
    Otogi Jushi Akazukin
    Japanese Title: おとぎ銃士 赤ずきん
    Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
    Creator: --
    Studio: Madhouse Production
    Starting Date: 01/07/06
    Summary: This series is about a boy who has the potential to combine the two halves of a split world, where science makes up one half and magic makes up the other half. The show had an OVA in February, but only the first episode was subbed. No one liked it?
    Impression: Very nice character design with appealing colours…
     
     
    Mamotte! Lollipop
    Japanese Title: まもって！ロリポップ
    Official Site: --
    Genre: Comedy, Love-Romance, Magic
    Creator: --
    Studio: --
    Starting Date: 01/07/06
    Summary: A girl swallows a magical ball that she thought was candy, and now she’s become the focus of several magicians who needed the ball for their magic exams.
    Impression: Apparently, the manga is quite good, so now let’s see how good the adaptation is.
     
     
    Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z
    Japanese Title: でました！パワーパフガールズZ
    Genre: Comedy, Mahou-Shoujo, Sentai
    Creator: --
    Studio: Toei Animation
    Starting Date: 01/07/06
    Summary:  Has most of the same characters, except a few changes. For one the girls are in primary school, not kindergarten, and the professor Utonium guy gives the girls superpowers, instead of creating them out of the three ingredients which I can’t remember. Also, the prof has a son now, who is also a super-genius.
    Impression: Powerpuff Girls an Anime? Holy crap! Not even gonna watch the first ep…
     
     
    Le Chevalier d’Eon
    Japanese Title: シュヴァリエ
    Official Site: http://www.chevalier.tv/
    Genre: Historical Setting, Mystery
    Creator: Ubukata To, Yumeji Kiriko
    Studio: --
    Starting Date: 02/07/06
    Summary: Set in France in the 18th century before the French Revolution, D'Eon's elder sister Lia, a retainer of Louis XV, is mysteriously murdered. D'Eon searches for the truth of his sister's death, but discovers that it was not a normal murder, and the trail leads him deeper into an increasingly serious incident which involves the whole of Europe.
    Impression: Historical setting in France? Not that I have anything wrong with French things, I just think that Japanese animation should stick with Japanese things…
     
     
    Zero no Tsukaima
    Japanese Title: ゼロの使い魔
    Genre: Love-Romance, Fantasy, Comedy
    Creator: Yamaguchi Noboru
    Studio: J.C. Staff
    Starting Date: 02/07/06
    Summary: A witch who attends an magic school can’t use magic really well, but somehow manages to summon a boy, and made him her servant, creating a contract by kissing.
    Impression: The animation looks good, but the story does sound kinda generic, especially the kissing contract thing.
    21:49 | 添加评论 | 阅读评论 (4) | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Other Summaries

    Summer Anime 2006: Part B

    Anime listed in part A:
    ·          Flag
    ·          Night Head Genesis
    ·          Binbou Shimai Monogatari
    ·          Hichimitsu to Clover II
    ·          Tsuyokisu Cool × Sweet
    ·          Otogi Jushi Akazukin
    ·          Mamotte! Lollipop
    ·          Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z
    ·          Le Chevalier d’Eon
    ·          Zero no Tsukaima
     
    Anime listed in part B:
    ·          Project BLUE Chikyuu SOS
    ·          Kemono Zume
    ·          Bokura ga ita
    ·          Coyote Ragtime Show
    ·          Muteki Kanban Musume
    ·          Chokotto Sister
    ·          Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique ~ Kokoro no Mezameru Toki
    ·          Tonagura!
    ·          NHK ni Youkoso
    ·          Innocent Venus
     
     
    Project BLUE Chikyuu SOS
    Japanese Title: Project BLUE 地球 SOS
    Genre: Science-Fiction
    Creator: Yamaguchi Noboru
    Studio: J.C. Staff
    Starting Date: 02/07/06
    Summary: In the year 2000, humans developed a bullet train that can reach speeds of up to 500kph. During the unveiling of this new invention, Billy Kimura, Rotta Brest and Penny Carter see the train vanish after being swallowed by a mass of swirling colour. After doing some research, they discover that this incident has happened before throughout the world. The U.S. establishes a secret Earth defence organisation known as Labyrinth, to investigate these incidents, which eventually lead up to an alien invasion!
    Impression: I’d really like a good sci-fi this time, haven’t seen many good examples of them. I’m not sure but this show may be an OVA series.
     
     
    Kemono Zume
    Japanese Title: ケモノヅメ
    Genre: Love-Romance, Fantasy, Action
    Creator: --
    Studio: Madhouse Production
    Starting Date: 02/07/06
    Summary: The woman he loves is a terrifying monster, and the man that she loves is a monster hunter. How will things work out?
    Impression: I have absolutely no idea as to what to expect.
     
     
    Bokura ga ita
    Japanese Title: 僕等がいた
    Official Site: www.bokuragaita.com
    Genre: Love-Romance, School Life
    Creator: Obata Yuuki
    Studio: Artland
    Starting Date: 03/07/06
    Summary: Takahashi Nanami, a 15-year-old girl, decides to make as many friends as possible at her new high school. And for her, as many friends as possible is not that many. Nanami finds out about a boy quite popular with the girls, called Yano Motoharu. However, when she meets him, she finds him not to be the kind of person she though he’d be, and dislikes him at first. But of course, what kind of romance story would this be if she keeps her first impressions? Before long, Nanami becomes interested…
    Impression: I would be looking forward to this one, but the character design…  Hopefully I’m wrong though!
     
     
    Coyote Ragtime Show
    Japanese Title: コヨーテ ラグタイムショー
    Genre: Action, Science-Fiction
    Creator: --
    Studio: Ufotable
    Starting Date: 03/07/06
    Summary: A pirate called ‘The Blues’ left a large inheritance on the planet Graceland. As a war has broken out on the planet, the governments of other planets decide to destroy Graceland to prevent the war from reaching their own planets. A group of mercenaries are hired by a girl called Franca to retrieve the inheritance before the planet is destroyed.
    Impression: Sounds interesting! Character design pretty good as well. Seems like the show will be pretty good quality.
     
     
    Muteki Kanban Musume
    Japanese Title: 無敵看板娘
    Genre: Comedy
    Creator: Sadogawa Jun
    Studio: Telecom Animation Film
    Starting Date: 04/07/06
    Summary: Onimaru Miki is the daughter of the head of a Chinese restaurant and is meant to be a poster-girl. However, she constantly gets into fights with customers, which doesn’t help her family’s business.
    Impression: I wonder if this series has any focus on cooking, or just the poster-girl business.
     
     
    Chokotto Sister
    Japanese Title: ちょこッと Sister
    Genre: Love-Romance
    Creator: Takeuchi Sakura, Zappa Go
    Studio: Nomad
    Starting Date: 05/07/06
    Summary: Haruma, a college student, is given a little sister from a female Santa, something that he had always wanted.
    Impression: Dunno. Not too keen on the character design.
     
     
    Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique ~ Kokoro no Mezameru Toki
    Japanese Title: 恋する天使アンジェリーク ~ 心のめざめる時
    Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
    Creator: --
    Studio: Satellite
    Starting Date: 08/07/06
    Summary: A girl is chosen to become the Etoile who can save the universe. To help her, she is surrounded by 9 bishounen (pretty men >.<)
    Impression: I can’t see myself enjoying a series like this. It’s just not the type of Anime I like.
     
     
    Tonagura!
    Japanese Title: となグラ！
    Genre: Comedy, Love-Romance, School Life
    Creator: --
    Studio: Domu
    Starting Date: 08/07/06
    Summary: Two childhood friends, Yugi and Kazuki, are reunited after having not seen each other for 10 years. Kazuki hopes that Yugi has grown up to be a handsome guy, but it turns out he has become a dirty pervert.
    Impression: I like the character design and I’m also looking for a nice comedy this season. Hopefully this series will meet my expectations.
     
     
    NHK ni Youkoso (Welcome to the NHK)
    Japanese Title: NHK にようこそ！
    Genre: Comedy
    Creator: Takimoto Tatsuhiko
    Studio: Gonzo
    Starting Date: 09/07/06
    Summary: Satou Tatsushirou is suffereing from social withdrawal and blames this on a TV station in Japan called the NHK (note: the NHK is a real TV station in Japan). He believes that the NHK is purposely trying to give people Hikkikomori (the social withdrawal thing) by exposing them to large amounts of Anime. There’s also a girl who tries to help him, and the rest of the story I’m not too clear on. By the way, NHK also refers to the Nihon Hikkikomori Kyoukai, or Japan Hikkikomori Society.
    Impression: Sounds fun! I’m really looking forward to this one, and the manga’s meant to be really good too.
     
     
    Innocent Venus
    Japanese Title: おとぎ銃士 赤ずきん
    Genre: Mecha, Science-Fiction
    Creator: --
    Studio: Brains Base
    Starting Date: 26/07/06
     
    Summary: In the year 2010, several hyper-hurricanes materialized simultaneously and caused serious damage to every country in the world. More than 50% of the population was lost, and the world’s economic balance crumbled. North America, Russia and Northern Europe become covered in ice. Japan’s government decides to create specific economic zones in various locations, believing that a 'power door' technology known as 'Cyst' will help the revival of the world. However, as poverty spreads, the government makes a harsh decision of excluding the poor.
    In the current year, 2035, Katsuragi and his friend Tsuruzawa Jin escape from a special military force called the 'Phantom' and decide to help a girl called Nobuto Shana.
    Impression: I’d really like to see a good mecha Anime this season, as the ones in the Spring Season really disappointed me. Hope the CG’s good.
     
    21:46 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 查看引用通告 (1) | 写入日志 | Other Summaries
    2006/6/28

    Anime Genres

    Action:
    Fast, thrilling, action-packed shows featuring fighting, blood, death and chase scenes. The fighting aspect of this genre can range from swordfights, fistfights, shootouts to tank battles, outer-space robot wars and more.
     
    Adventure:
    Follows someone’s journey or travels. This genre is usually associated with action, as part of the journey might be fighting to save another, fighting to save him/herself, fighting to find a certain object, fighting to complete a mission etc.
     
    Fantasy:
    A genre that uses imaginary, mythological or mythical forms. There doesn’t necessarily have to be monsters or ghosts in a show for it to be classified as fantasy. Humans with supernatural powers, or people that live in an imaginary world can be elements of fantasy. Even if the main characters are not humans, they will usually still look like humans.
     
    Magic/Supernatural:
    Quite similar to fantasy, but more realistic than fantasy and usualy an element in horror. Magic and Supernatural can be separated into two different genres.
     
    Mecha:
    Usually deals with large robots used more like extensions of the pilot rather than weapons like tanks. It is usually associated with science fiction, but can also be related to fantasy, where the large robots are not actually robots and mythical beings, summoned by certain gifted people, for example.
     
    Science Fiction:
    Deals with advanced technology set in the future. Sci-fi is usually about technology turning against mankind, or some sort of alien technology that is threatening to end the world.
     
    Drama:
    In-depth character development and relationships. It is usually very emotional and some aspects are similar to love/romance, though drama is more sad and the relationships don’t always work out.
     
    Love/Romance:
    All about love relationships and the ups and downs the couple (or couple-to-be) have. Shows of this genre usually have a happy ending.
     
    Comedy:
    The show must be funny. The comedic scenes are usually visual exaggeration: heavy use of exaggeration in facial features, body proportions and emotions. Can be associated with almost any other genre, though not drama.
     
    School Life:
    Revolves around one’s educational life, the relationships that develop, the school-oriented events that occur etc, and can be associated with almost any other genre.
     
    Sport:
    Focuses on sport; the main character playing a particular sport and rising in status.
     
    Historical Setting:
    Set in the past and is usually associated with action or martial arts. Historical setting would seem to be the opposite of fantasy (history being fact and fantasy being imagination), but not all historical animes are entirely accurate, and can also have mythical beats roaming around as well.
     
    Slice of life:
    About everyday life and ordinary people.
     
    Music:
    Similar to sport, focuses on music and the people playing it.
     
    Cooking:
    Like sport and music, revolves around cooking.
     
    Harem:
    Three or more girls vying for the attention of a single, indecisive male. Anime of this genre often end with the guy not choosing any of the girls.
     
    Martial Arts:
    This genre focuses on, well… martial arts! It is usually about hand-to-hand combat, lots of kicking, special moves and swordfighting.
     
    Mystery:
    Detective stories, which focus on the unravelling of secrets and the uncovering of truth.
     
    Horror:
    Features scary, deformed characters and monsters (usually of a supernatural origin), as well as lots of blood, murder and gory scenes. Horror anime are made as realistic as possible, which means no cute girls with large eyes and abnormal hair styles (usually).
     
    Ecchi:
    More of a visual style than plot, as it includes a lot of sexual humour and fan service (for males), such as bare breasts, panty shots and girls in erotic positions. Note: there is no actual porn.
     
    Shounen-Ai:
    Directly translated as ‘boy love’, deals with relationships between males. Shounen-ai is of a romance type, not gay porn (which means it’s different from Yaoi).
     
    Yaoi:
    Pornographic anime featuring men with men, otherwise known as gay porn, which focuses on the sex and has no real plot.
     
    Shoujo-Ai:
    Literally means ‘girl love’, deals with relationships between females, the opposite of Shounen-Ai but more common.
     
    Yuri:
    Although many sources will say that Shoujo-ai and Yuri are the same thing, they are not. Yuri is pornographic anime featuring women with women, and like Yaoi, has little necessity for story and focuses more on the visual details.
     
    Mature:
    Aimed at the adult audience, includes a lot of nudity and sex scenes.
     
    Shoujo:
    Japanese for ‘girl,' it is aimed at young girls, which have more focus on plot and character development with idealised love stories. The age range for the targeted audience is quite broad, from very young to young teens.
     
    Mahou Shoujo:
    Japanese for ‘magical girl,’ it’s subgenre of Shoujo, but popular enough for special mention. Literally means ‘magical girl’, where the heroines get magical powers to fight against evil. Flashy costumes, wands and spells are a common element in Mahou Shoujo (and a bit more action).
     
    Shounen:
    Japanese for ‘boy’, it’s aimed at young boys, usually ‘fighting’ anime like action and mecha/transformer type shows. The age range for the targeted audience is quite broad, from very young children to young teens.
     
    Mahou Shounen:
    Japanese for ‘magical boy,’ it’s the opposite to Mahou Shoujo and less common, where the main male characters get magical powers.
     
    Seinen:
    Japanese for ‘man’, it is aimed at teenage boys and young men. It is generally more complicated and sophisticated than Shounen anime, with more psychological and sexual elements, and puts more focus on plot rather than action (if the show is also under the Action genre, which it usually is). In its character development and relationship side, it is similar to Shoujo, but is usually darker (more like the Drama genre).
     
    Josei:
    Japanese for ‘woman’, it is probably the rarest form of anime, aimed at young women. A lot of Josei shows also fall under the category if Yaoi (gay porn), but Josei anime can also be about families and mothers.
     
    Kodomo:
    Japanese for ‘child’, it is Anime aimed at young children (younger than the audience you’d expect to get from Shounen and Shoujo anime).
     
    Sentai:
    Japanese for ‘fighting team,’ it deals with superheroes and superhero teams, closely associated with the Shounen and Kodomo genres.
     
    Bishoujo:
    Japanese for ‘beautiful girl’, it is a very broad genre and can be used to describe any anime featuring pretty female characters and heroines.
     
    Bishounen:
    Japanese for ‘beautiful boy’, it is the opposite of Bishoujo, where the main male characters are drawn to be ‘pretty’ and ‘elegant’, which is a style that some Shoujo animes use.
     
    Hentai:
    Pornographic anime or erotica. Hentai itself is translated to ‘perverted’. Anything classified as Hentai would also be Mature.
    0:53 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Other Summaries
    2006/6/25

    Jap Lesson 3a: Numbers Pt1

    PART A:

     

    NUMBERS:

    いち (ichi)                                  1

    に (ni)                                      2

    さん (san)                                 3

    し / よん (shi/yon)                      4

    ご (go)                                     5

    ろく (roku)                                6

    しち / なな (shichi/nana)            7

    はち (hachi)                               8

    きゆう / く (kyuu/ku)                   9

    じゆう (jyuu)                               10

     

    Numbers after 10 follow a structure like this:

     

    [number of 10s] + [unit]

    e.g. [five 10s] + [7] = 57, so

    [ごじゆう][なな] = 57

     

    For numbers 11-19, you don’t say [one 10] + [unit] (the one’ is omitted)

     

     

    じゆういち (jyuu ichi)                  11

    じゆうに (jyuu ni)                         12

    じゆうさん (jyuu san)                  13
    …

    にじゆう (ni jyuu)                                    20

    にじゆういち (ni jyuu ichi)                       21

    にじゆうはち (ni jyuu hachi)                     28

    きゆうじゆうきゆう (kyuu jyuu kyuu)          99

    ひやく (hyaku)                                        100

     

     

    PART B:

     

    AGES:

    For ages, just add ‘さい’ (sai) after the number. Some numbers must be changed after you add this. 1 is changed (not いちさい [ichi sai], but いつさい [issai]). So is 8, 18, 28 and so on… as well as 10, 20, 30 etc and 11, 21, 31 etc.

     

    いつさい (issai)                           1 year old

    にさい (ni sai)                            2 years old

    さんさい (san sai)                                  3 years old

    …

    はつさい (hassai)                                    8 years old

    じゆつさい (jyussai)                                 10 years old

    じゆういつさい (jyuu issai)                       11 years old

    じゆうはつさい (jyuu hassai)        18 years old

    にじゆつさい (ni jyussai)              20 years old

     

    The numbers that change follow the same pattern: replace the last hiragana of the number with a subscripted つ (tsu) to double the following consonant.

     

    Phrases to learn:

    (あなたは) なん さい ですか (nan sai desuka)                  How old (are you)?

    しんじくんは なん さい ですか. (shinji-kun wa nan sai desuka)     How old is Shinji [kun]?

    じゆうよん さいです. (jyuuyon sai desu)              He is 14 years old.

    1:19 | 添加评论 | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | Japanese