Kurogane's Anime Blog

Ah yes…. I have been skipping out on my blogging lately….. IRL, I’ve just finished my foundation program in Melaka, so now I have a 2 week break before I start with my degree program back in Cyberjaya…. assuming I (by some incredible miracle) *somehow* do not flunk any of the tests I took…. In fact…. I barely recall my exam time, mostly because I was too preoccupied by GTA.

Well, so what have I been up to? Basically, just watching anime. Not only did I finish off (again!) all the Full Metal Panic anime, a recent post of mine reminded me of the fact that I haven’t watched one of the more classic anime titles of recent times, Card Captor Sakura.

Now, in midst of a marathon of the series…. I now know why Sakura-chan elicits such worship and praise, from fangirls and lolikons alike. She is definitely extremely sweet, yet still has her quirks as well… only 20 episodes in, and I’m pretty much enraptured by her already.

So far, she’s delaying my plan to write an extensive opinion on moe, which I popped into my mind during the english test, of all places. I _assure_ my readers that I did not write anything about moe for the essay part….. or maybe I did…..=.=….hopefully not. Stupid GTA:SA. So anyways… till I finish marathoning another 50 episodes and 2 movies, hoe ;).

Wasn’t that long of a wait was it now?

A freakingly good episode, following in the tail of Mysterique Sign (Random Thought: Anyone noticed that both the Haruhi shows featured a form of parody last week, with Itsuki shouting the KyoAni FMP series names while Renge-chan cosplayed as Kisaragi Quon?).

After discovering the body, Mikuru faints (and unfortunately turns almost non-existant the rest of the episode). The SOS-dan retire to their room and later, Haruhi drags Kyon to investigate, citing out the suspicious things she’s seen and heard before that. Having no luck finding clues, they go outside in the storm, where Haruhi spots a shadow and chases after it, only to fall down the cliff with Kyon.

Spotting a cave nearby, they take shelter, while Haruhi tells Kyon about her assumptions, when she suddenly stops. Gotta love KyoAni for splicing in the real life and the *rakugaki* sequences, they’re paying quite the tribute to EVA here. Koizumi come saves them right on time.

After drying up and catching his *imouto* trying to steal food, Kyon heads to the girl’s room, where Haruhi is having trouble getting in as Yuki is following Haruhi’s exact instructions earlier on to not let anyone in, and only Kyon manages to save the day.Really, Yuki’s idea of a joke is very weird. Haruhi proclaims suddenly that she doesn’t want to play the detective anymore.

Back in their room, Koizumi reveals a shocker to Kyon, stating that Haruhi already knows the murderer and tells Kyon that is it him, Kyon and the butler who caused the death by breaking open the door. Shocked… Kyon’s eyes suddenly turn evil and his shadow slowly creeps over to Koizumi, in a stance to strangle him…… I went “OH SHIT!” at this part.

After that, Imouto-san lures the butler away from the body while 2 dark figures, very obviously Kyon and Haruhi, go in the room where Kyon states it’s better to ruin the evidence by stabbing the body a few more times and suddenly the body wakes up and stops them. It turns out that the whole thing was an act from the start by Koizumi and the others as a surprise to them. After a customary analysis and “You’re the criminal” act by Haruhi, the SOS-dan leave the island, with Haruhi fully satisfied while Kyon and Koizumi discuss about it. Anyone thought that it was quite gay that Koizumi was looking at the mole at Kyon’s neck, partially covered by his hair?

Finally a good episode of F/SN for a change. I’ve realised now what the main problem of F/SN was. It was the lack of character development past the first few episodes. After setting up pretty much the roles of Shirou as clueless justice guy and Saber as the quiet aloof girl, the whole show has been concentrating too much on the action, rather than the character development, making it especially boring (except for Archer) as there was a lack of empathy I felt towards the characters. It does make a bloody difference IF Saber was fighting for her lion doll rather than some powerful, ambigious artifact, ya know.

So well, the gist of the story this time round, is Shirou inviting Saber on a date, presumably because he’s fallen in love with her. I especially loved Rin’s reaction when she LMAO’ed on Shitrou when he told her that. After Rin decides to help out by planning their date (loved how clueless Saber was when Shitrou invited her to the date) and also taking out Ilya(main obstruction), Saber and Shitrou go out and have a fun, normal date. At the end of the date, Shirou has a heart-to-heart talk to Saber about asking her to live with him forever and they start to argue. Admitedly speaking, both of them argued each other quite well, with both hitting on each other’s weak spots. Shirou storms off after telling Saber to do what she wants.

Later that night, Rin wakes Shirou from his nap, asking where did Saber went, and a worried Shirou finds Saber back at the spot they argued. I felt pretty sad for Saber when she answered that she was thinking about what to do, but she had no idea, making me really appreciate Ayako’s voicing of Saber. Shirou drags her home, but midway, they get interrupted by Gilgamesh. BTW, doesn’t he look very very similar to Archer?

Quite a pretty good intro episode to a potentionally interesting new series. Seriously, this season is really anime overload, there’s just so much good in it, I do hope that the anime gods have left enough good for the rest of the year, though with Gainax-Shaft Negima in Fall, I’m quite assured.

So, we have another light novel anime series, which is the latest fad this days, with shows like Shana, Suzumiya Haruhi and etc. From what I’ve seen though, I’m glad of that, as since there seems to be a dearth of really nice manga available for anime conversion, while the light novels scene seems to be blooming. Not really surprising as it’s really easier to break in and involves lesser work than drawing.

Now, Kamisama Kazoku is about Kamiyama Samatarou, future god-in-training, who’s living on Earth to learn up about humanity “under the guidance of the sacred scriptures”. However, his family doesn’t seem to be… err… conducive to those studies as his father, the God, keeps making Samatarou’s wishes granted through miracles as Samatarou himself doesn’t have any powers. More so that his mom and 2 sisters (the bastard) seem to not treat him as a boy, resulting in quite a lot of “sexual tension”. Well, basically, your average dysfunctional family.

One saving grace that he has is Tenko, his guardian angel, supposedly, who was born on the same day, time and place as Samatarou was (again, thanks to his father). They pretty much grew up together and have quite a semi sisterly-brotherly childhood friends relationship going on here. She’s pretty cute and has some tsundere-ness to her, giving me quite a moe high :P.

Animation’s pretty good, and for some unknown reason, the art style reminded me of Eureka 7, and I had to double check to make sure BONES isn’t on to this. The OP is pretty catchy while the ED is OK.Overall, an interesting series and fills up the rom-com niche this season for me.

Sakura Kinomoto in a washing machine.

Just watch. Fcuking cool clip.

The maker wins the internet. I need MOAR!!!

From ANN:

More Negima (2006-05-11 04:41:03)
Gainax and Shaft will co-produce a new Negima TV series to debut this fall in Japan. Star Child Records is also reportedly involved.

and from ANS:

5-10-06 (7:30AM EDT)—- GAINAX And SHAFT On Negima 2nd Stage
It’s been revealed animation studios GAINAX and Shaft will be teaming on the production of a second Mahou Sensei Negima! TV series to be directed by Akiyuki Shinbo (Nanoha / Paniponi Dash). Star Child Records will also be involved and this will mark the first time in many years since they last partnered with GAINAX. No other details are available but expect a Fall 2006 broadcast debut in Japan on TV Tokyo.

Considering the ultimate phail that was the Negima TV anime, with a lot of thanks to a certain party \*coughxebeccough\*, this news was the best one that I’ve heard in the whole week. I was literally crying in joy when I first read this. Akamatsu-sensei should have hired them first to do the anime, instead of the other trainwreck he used.

Of course, considering the track record that Gainax(Eva, Top wo Nerae) and Shaft(Tsukuyomi, Pani Poni) has, they are the best studios, IMHO, to animate the fanservice heaven greatness that is Negima. I’ll be waiting Fall ’06 with great anticipation.. ahhh… *waku waku suru ne….*. September seems so long away….

Oh, and for a random note, I’ve been getting obssesed with GTA:SA lately, having completed 9%, 61 gang tags, max cycling, stamina and muscle, plus getting a 2.2kft wheelie in the time I’ve been playing (a day or so). Not a very good time for that, since I have my finals in less than 3 days :)…. but the BMX is just too damned addictive….

P.S. : Omni really has super powers. I wish him a speedy recovery :).

Now… this is a much more worthwhile topic to spend time on rather than bitching about blogsuki’s rape…..

So jason has started a ball rolling by proposing the creation of you own ideal harem, with the rules of 6 entries (either single or twins) maximum, not including a meido (which makes the total of 7 lovely ladies) and no more than one character per series. So without further ado, I present my harem set ;).

**Harem Entry 1 : Suzumiya Haruhi (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu)**

First up, would be Haruhi, filling up the *tsunderekko*/God role. Haruhi would no doubt be the sparker of fun for me and my harem, given her propensity to be interested in such stuff and also that the fact she has the power to make them happen. Hell… if that’s not enough, she’s already created a cult/religion based on her. Without any doubt, Haruhi would be the no.1 entry in my (dream)harem.

**Harem Entry 2 : Kaede Fuyou (SHUFFLE!)**

Ah.. yes.. my love for Kaede still hasn’t diminshed yet, even when faced with the flak Kaede herself has received, no thanks to her infamous boxcutters. Still… I would love her to be in my harem, filling up the “dedicated ‘wife’ ” role in my harem. Worry not, Kaede! I will love everyone equally.

**Harem Entry 3 : Hayate Yagami (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha)**

Coming up on no.3 would be Hayate Yagami, the newcomer mage in the Nanoha-verse. While everyone is fawning over Nanoha x Fayt, I found myself inexorably driven towards the sweet yet strong Hayate-chan. She would fill up the loli portion of my harem nicely and I’d be getting Reinforce-chan as an extra as well (jason, i hope this isn’t over the regulations :P). Plus, being a closet cosplay freak, she could team up pretty well with Haruhi ;).

**Harem Entry 4 : Reverie “Ren” Metherlence (Erementar Gerad)**

Next up, on no.4, coming from a lesser known series, would be Ren-chan from Erementar Gerad. It would not be exaggerating to say that she was the saving grace of the whole series, apart from Nana-chan’s voicing of Cisqua. I was attracted to her “blur”-ness, or more easily said as her naivete. Still, she is a powerful weapon and her cuteness is undeniable ;).

**Harem Entry 5 : Setsuna Sakurazaki (Mahou Sensei Negima)**

My no.5 would be Secchan from Negima, the extremely powerful and *kakkoii* Shinmeiryuu swordsgirl. First off, her weapons of choice, the long nodachi swords are already +15 moé, and the semi-*tsunderekko*-ness is very enjoyable to watch ;).

**Harem Entry 6 : Skuld (Adult) (Aa! Megami-sama)**

Coming in at no. 6 would be adult Skuld. A perfect blend of adult appeals and naivete, Skuld(adult) exudes an mature aura yet laced with childish innoncence that makes her appeal almost irresistible. Plus, her tsunderekko act scores high points with me.

**Harem Meido: Tachibana (Mahoraba ~Heartful Days)**

Last but certainly not the least, my *meido* of choice to complete my harem set would be Tachibana, the uber 1337 *meido* from Mahoraba. Having high level physical *jutsu* and a cool exterior that hides a much more feminine side, Tachibana is the perfect *meido* foil for my harem. I can already imagine her and Secchan providing the front-line while Hayate and Skuld giving the heavy artillery support, in times of danger ;).

Well… so this concludes my, current, ideal harem set. Of course there were more choices and I could’ve maximised my harem quotient with twin(cests) but I digress. My tastes are quite fickle, heh.

“Remote Island Syndrome”….. being a fan of detective manganime series’ (Conan, Kindaichi, etc..), I instantly recognised the reference to it, as being trapped on an island/forest/secluded ares (thanks to disasters of some kind, natural mostly) with a serial murder case happening in front of you, are quite the big clichéd structures of most of their stories.

And so, basically, the SOS-dan are haruhied into going for an island trip, with some help from Itsuki, who warns Kyon about it too. Everything seems pretty normal on the island and the SOS-dan have their share of normal, wholesome fun…. until a typhoon strikes and the island’s owner is found stabbed with a knife and one of the other guests missing…. ahh…. how predictable….

But still… KyoAni manages to drop a shocker, by actually jumping backwards over the 2nd half of this story and on to the arc before it, “Mysterious Sign”. I was actually going “WTF?!!” on this… and then I realised the pure winnage of the production team, LOLZ.

Hmm…. random notations I’d like to make is the relationship between Kyon and his *kawaii imouto*. From his interactions with her that we see in this episode…. Kyon’s cynicsm is very much realistic, and I’ve quite never seen such types of brother-imouto relationships like this on anime. Kyon gives off a somewhat uncaring yet protective feel over his *imouto*, heck… if I’d had a little sister of that age like Kyon did, I’d probably be acting like him in the same way. Well… it’s actually not something really important… just something I’d liked to point out, though I’d really like to have Kyon’s *imouto* as mine :P.

Also, is it me… or was the *mizugi* scenes too short? That scene barely lasted 5 minutes, dammit… I need more footage of Haruhi and Mikuru in *mizugi*!!! Oh well.. at least there was quite a lot of other “having fun” type of scenes of the SOS-dan. Kyon’s cynicsm was is full swing this episode as well, making it quite fun to listen to his comments. I would so be making the same comments too if I’d were in his place…. ahh…..

Anyways, it seems that I’m writing into a more and more unintelligible way….. so I’ll just leave it off here.

P.S. LOL@Random Haruhi Dance spoof
P.P.S LOL again @ Haruhi ED AMV.

Yeah… not only Haruhi-sama, but whole SOS-dan as well… surrounding you… ahhh… the Haruhiist’s ultimate dream….

So well.. in response to the rising server costs of the SOS-dan site, Tsuruya-san is auctioning off his Haruhi bathtowel next Tuesday.

Unfortunately, as much as I’d like to have that bathtowel myself… I won’t be able to afford so, unless I can pay in Monopoly cash… yeap… that’s how poor I am right now… in fact, I haven’t had a single decent meal in 3 days… err… well, enough of my lamentations here.

So, to all the well-endowed(financially. The physically ones send pics to me, k ;) Haruhi fans, please help out this noble cause in promoting our holy religion of Haruhiism. Haruhiism forever!!!

Yeah… Jason is a right bastard for leaving Medea just like that….. how the hell can anyone resist that face of hers? Well, at least Kuzuki is quite comparable to Jason :).

Anyways, the highlight of the show was definitely Dark Sakura. Damn… I have admire Caster’s (I assume that she dressed her up… unless Kuzuki is a closet cosplay freak) dress sense. Those tights… ahhh… damn it… those tights….

Still… Fate/Stay Night is really Fate/Snore Night. No thanks to Shirou, who still remains uncool, even with the fact that he can summon swords, blablabla and etc… Heck… even Rin has lost her charisma _|-|0”’… might be because of Haruhiism though.

Archer.. your loss will greatly be remembered….