Yikes, has it really been eleven days since I posted last? Shocking. I’ve been doing alot of overtime at work, so there’s not been alot spare to even think about blogging. Apologies!
Anyways, we’re roughly halfway through the summer 2009 Anime season now (its around episode 6-7 territory), so I thought it was time for the usual ‘what I’m watching and what’s been good and other rants etc.’ type post.
A warning in Advance: SPOILERS AHOY!
CANAAN
Well, considering how excited I was at the start of the season for CANAAN, I have to say its been in a gradual decline, generally speaking, since its opening act. Maria has said ‘Sugoi!’ far too many times to be a regular person, and Canaan herself stopping a Smart bomb from hitting the right spot was a little silly. Not to mention the fact that they allowed the villians security company to mediate the proceedings of a Peace Talk EVEN when THEY KNEW it was a cover operation for their terrorist activities. Thats just immense stupidity, surely. However…now that theres less sister yuri going on and perhaps an actual bit of development of the plot, things may begin to look up again for the series.
Clearly, a reliable source. Apparently this is enough to convince the vice president to launch an airstrike though. Seriously, WHAT!?
You don’t say… You have to admire his strength though, completely resisting a bunch of swat team members.
Good lord Maria, I think your job description is to secretly provide excess fanservice, isn’t it?
Princess Lover
I’m quite happy to declare that, assuming one ignores the hiccup of stupidity that is Episode 6, Princess Lover is perhaps one of the best Harem shows I have seen in all time. Teppai is a very strong, confident male lead. I can actually manage to bring myself to respect his character. Considering nearly all protagonists of these kind of shows turn out to be gutless idiots, this is a fabulous improvement. Charlotte is…okay. She is the irritating airhead archetype, but her natural bravado saves her a little. Sylvie is still quite literally Saber with chest implants. Seika is a typical tsundere. So his harem is fairly generic, but above average as well.
He resolved the Seika situation (that is to say, her innate hate of his family) rather well. Looks like a bribe in this pic though, LOL.
Charlotte does the puppy dog eyes on Sylvie.
Hideki! Hideki! Hideki! Hideki! (poorly disguised Chobits reference…)
Bakemonogatari
Now this has gone from strength to strength, making it quite possibly my favourite show at the moment this season. Again, the fact that Araragi is a great male lead really helps the show, but in this case, unlike Princess Lover, the girls are very unique as well. You’d think that with Senjogahara setting such a high bar with her pocket dimension of stationary, that others couldn’t measure, but that hardly seems the case. More interestingly, the fact that Araragi has already chosen (or maybe, chosen by) Senjogahara is rather refreshing. No angsting over relationships here, no sir-ree. The main couple are already going out. Progress in relationships!? In an anime!? SHOCKING!
Good on you, sir! But think about cutting that fringe of hair, yes?
Considering that Araragi is your first boyfriend, this statement is rather unnecessary. Though it just highlights her violent possessive character, I guess.
Assuming it isn’t obvious, from scenes like this. You cheat on this girl, she stabs you in the eye with a fineliner. Its probably a good thing that he still has his vampire regeneration, eh?
Especially when this happens. Ouch.
Spice and Wolf Second Season
Good to get into this again, though in actual fact, I blitzed the episodes 3-6 in a short marathon, because I knew this would cover the part of the novels which I had already read on the Baka-Tsuki Fan Translations site. Nevertheless, they covered that section very well and I thought it was very nice to see it animated. Whats more, its a great relationship development exercise for Lawrence and Horo as well as the usual test of his and her merchantile partnership and capabilities. The result of this development is shown quite evidently in episode 7. Again, relationship development in my anime!? I thank the person who took away the reset switch.
KAWAII!!! … is literally the only caption fit for this shot.
Lawrence actually starting to blush at Horo’s antics is amusing too.
I suspect that Horo’s tail sticking out when she gets excited will eventually prove a problem.
Yoko Wakeru Gendai Mahou
Well, this is still pretty lighthearted with the undertones of a plot that may develop. In fact, it went back in time for the second and third episodes to reintroduce how the characters basically came into contact properly. But the roles are still solidly defined. You know, with the whole Yumiko as the ineffectual but powerful fall-girl, Kaho as the deadpan humour girl, etc.
Still, despite the lack of any actual development of any importance, the antics that this lot get up to are still rather bemusing and worth the time.
Yumiko seems to have a penchant for accidently losing her underwear. Poor girl.
Yep, its just pink fanservice goo. Nothing to worry about at all.
At least she has enthusiasm. And of course, the ability to make lots of washpans.
The New Haruhi Season
Oh dear…thank lord the Endless Eight Saga is over. It was FAR TOO LONG, Kyoani! The last four repititions, I just lept through the episodes. Two would have been fair enough. Three…perhaps. But…it…just…kept…on…going… Repeating the same episode over six times, even if it is totally re-animated with subtle differences, was just ridiculous. I know you’re trying to express Yuki’s boredom at the thousands of summer holiday repititions that she had to sit through, but as I say, that could have been adequetely communicated in three episodes. If it had of been three-four eps, I would have been cheering for the resolution. As it stands, however, I was just thinking ‘jeez, its over at last…’.
Now, finally, we’re getting an insight into the Adventures of Asahina Mikuru, the daft ‘movie’ that was shown way back as the first ever Haruhi episode for no reason and then given absolutely no explaination at all in the first season. Back to the fun part of Haruhi. About bloody time.
There was a script, really? Although it is amusing, because Yuki is in fact a magical space alien.
Poor Mikuru suffers alot, as usual, in this episode.
I imagine the blue contact lens was forced into her eye by Haruhi, after all. She looks like she just took a punch.
PandoraHearts
This went on to surprise me from last season, with its obvious Lewis Carroll and Arthur Conan Doyle influences, eventually nabbing the space and its still going in my repotoire as a fun show. To me, it doesn’t look like that they can conclude it in 26 episodes either, but we shall see. The little run in with the Baskervilles, and the fact that Oz has Jack possessing him, not to mention the actual secrets behind the tragedy of Sabrire (why did Glen suddenly go beserk? Does it have to do with the pocketwatch?) and whole Bezurius vs. Nightray rift is still all to be explained, after all.
Also, the last episode I watched was basically a fanservice episode, with Oscar getting everyone drunk, which was hilarious, but had a distinct lack of actual plot development (except Gilbert pouring his worries out, I suppose). Still, its very enjoyable.
Sharon might be cute, but she can’t hold alcohol.
Suddenly, she switches into Ojou-sama dominatrix mode (complete with Rose Borders!) when drunk. I laughed.
Alice, on the other hand, just decides she’s too hot when drunk and strips.
—–
Anyway, I think that about sorts it for now. Hopefully, the long post makes up for the fairly long absensce, yes? See ya again soon!
Detarame 
Spot the Difference: The Second Sortie
Posted in Anime, Games, Manga, Random, Visual Novel, tagged AkaneIro, Anime, Bakemonogatari, Commentary, Fate/Stay Night, Games, Hilarity, IGN guys, K-ON, Manga, Maria + Holic, Mindfuck, Proper Modern Magic, Random, Spot the difference, Thoughts, Touhou, Truth and Conflict, Visual Novel, Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na on October 2, 2009| 2 Comments »
Yeah, I know, its a day late. Busy, busy, etc.
Well, I haven’t got a specific anime this time like I had with the K-ON spot the difference. So this is really a miscellaneous bunch of spot the difference exercises, mainly showcasing ridiculous things that have been found in the anime and games world recently. Its also hopefully funny and perhaps even marginally educational. (LIES!)
Exercise 1: A Loli wearing nothing but a copy of Zelda: Twilight Princess?
Yup, The IGN guys even somehow managed to find their way into Bakemonogatari!
I had to rewind to see this again because I burst out laughing too hard.
The exercise here is to guess which part is causing the reaction. The Loli or the game?
I guess this meme has taken a life of its own. I believe they are known as bakagaijin on 2channel. Which is amusing.
Exercise 2: And behind magic curtain number 2, is… <drumroll>:
Its like that daft game of chance in Mario Party, where you just choose doors until you die. Except with curtains. And, uh, more lingeries.
Despite a ridiculously rushed and rather contrived ending, Gendai Yokou Mahou had its moments like this. It amazed me to see the curtains opening simultaneously apparently by Kaho’s telekinesis. She’s so hardcore, she doesn’t even have to look to know its going to be an unfair deity moment.
Speaking of mystery curtains, why aren’t there any cheesy gameshows on television anymore? Everybody loves the Price is Right and Strike It Lucky. Or am I just showing my age? (or perhaps my disgust at so called ‘reality television’, which is drivel in my opinion).
And I just see Yumiko being that obligatory girl modelling on the top prize sports car. LOL.
Exercise 3: Testing your Trap Detection capabilities
Yessiree, you have 5 seconds to decide which of the above is male, and which is female.
…
Times up! Answers on a postcard to the comment box.
Gotta Love Maria+Holic. Easily one of my favourite shows of the season it was in. Mainly because it was just innately WRONG, I suppose. And no, the above is not a trick question at all, which you will understand if you have actually watched the anime. One of the above is Maria, and one of the above is Shizu. One is a trap, the other is a reverse trap.
See, reading blogs is not a waste of time. This is actually developing survival skills! (well, survival skills for watching anime, anyway)
Exercise 4: Learning to play the pure/vile maiden guitar?
With you powers combined, I…AM…Captain Gibson!
Which do you think makes a better riff, Mio’s Panties or Matsurika’s Bloomers? Both are instruments of the finest caliber? Its hard to say, isn’t it? I guess some of these exercises are a bit mean. Sorry.
LOL, this combines the old and the new. That is to say, I managed to stuff some K-ON in here again, and double the Maria+Holic for double the fun.
Exercise 5: King of Heroes and Queen of Gaps: A match made in hell?
Yukari vs. Gilgamesh. Gap of Gensyoko vs. Gate of Babylon.
Holy cow, I’d pay good money to see that fight. But I don’t have to, as it is happening right above as I speak.
In before causing a storm of excrement, who wins? I imagine its a standstill. Depends on how many Flandres can be pulled out and their effectiveness against the blast of Ea. Are the roadsigns epic artefacts in same realm as noble phantasms? I’m sure Yukari thinks so.
Exercise 6: And we’ll be right back after this…
Lets go full circle to finish and close up with another comment from our new friends, the IGN bakagaijin guys!
Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na’s anime adaption was one of those that makes you lose your faith in humanity. I mean, everyone can tolerate some animation cuts, but the animation in this was…sheer eye cancer. The above shot of the Anime Feena is actually a pretty good shot as far as some of them go. The anime is legendary for the slanting eyes of doom and the never ending lettuce of death. So much so, it became known as Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na: Cabbage Love among more cynical 2channel viewers.
And of course, considering how amazing the ingame art is, many fans of everyones favourite lunar princess died a little inside that day.
Its also one of the reasons that I am VERY wary of most dating game adaptations these days. They can be done right, like with Akane Iro Somaru Saka. But more often than not, they can be done wrong. Very wrong, like the above. And VERY, very wrong, like the soul crushing travesty that is Da Capo Second Season.
Anyway, thats all for now. I’ve exhausted all the spot exercises I could think of! Enjoy!
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