Kurogane's Anime Blog

I went to Kinokuniya for the second (SECOND!!) time this week with some friends and fell in to temptation again, buying myself the 20th Anniversary artbook of Ah! My Goddess, with a 20% discount (saving me RM 32,which is quite a substantial amount).

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Ami finally explodes on Minorin. I certainly didn’t expect her to lose her calm, but the buildup of the tension was nicely done, I’ll have to say.

On the other hand, Taiga (inadvertently) confesses her feelings to Ryuji. How will Ryuji respond to that?

And I have gotta say, the winter-wear in this episode looks really fugly.

Not content with battling space colonies and shit, Sunrise is going the extra mile by putting headless walking suits of armor as well as leviathans in the show. Dear god, how much more random can Sorakake get?! And why is so compelling to watch?!

Finally it’s out. Watched this movie and I have to say it wasn’t what I expected, LOL.

First of all, for those looking forward to the movie because “it has awsum dogfights”, be prepared to be disappointed. Action definitely wasn’t a big part of this movie. Granted it has some pimpin’ dogfights, but it doesn’t tie in really well to the story for me.

On the other hand, the focus of the movie seems more on the suffering that the “Kildren” in the story go through, personified by Kusanagi Suito, who turns out to be a much more likable than I initially expected from the trailers. Her character portrays the mental anguish and confusion that the Kildren go through, being “immortal” people who are permanently “stuck” in time. I still don’t really like the style of Mamoru Oishii’s eyes for her though.

That said, I’ve gotta rewatch the movie with proper subs though. I have to admit it’s hard to get some of the more technical stuff in the movie. Overall, I can say I liked it enough to give it another round of watching. At least I didn’t fall asleep every 15 mins as when I was watching GitS:Innocence, LOL.

Bah, Kinokuniya really has a spell on me. Went there and ordered Negima OAD 3 and bought The Record of a Fallen Vampire Vol.4 and The Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross (my guilty shoujo pleasure). Did I mention I also blew RM 100 on lunch earlier at Traders Hotel nearby? Well, the Hokkaido scallops were worth it…. :D

I have got to say though, Record of a Fallen Vampire is shaping up to be one of the best vampire manga I’ve read. Starting from vampire vs human vs dhampir, it sprung a huge twist involving foreign invaders, making it one of the best pageturners I’ve had in a while. I already can’t wait for the next volume even as soon as I’ve finished the one I just bought.

I’m also quite liking the complicated and mysterious backstory revolving around RotFV’s “hero”, Akabara Strauss and his relationships with his Queen, Adelheid, and Bridget, who used to look up to him as a father-figure. The story just keeps throwing surprising revelations around it making another important plot line to follow alongside the main one in the present. The presentation of both plotlines also intertwine very well, with neither affecting each other too much.

The next volume seems to finally focus on that backstory as well, as the main plot in the present takes a bit of a break from the action that was continuously going on since the beginning. I do really want to know what happened that lead to Akabara to betray his people and go on a 1000-year quest for revenge.

Right, I’ll end the promotional blurb for RotFV here (which was actually the point of this post anyways). I can hear my wallet lamenting now on how I am gonna explain this dire financial situation I’m facing right now…

The official photo gallery for Comic Fiesta 2008 is finally up at http://gallery.comicfiesta.org. These are all photos taken by the volunteer photographs and there’s lots of it. Feel free to visit the gallery to relieve the memories :D.

Tomoya’s reunion and reconciliation with his father had me, I unashamedly admit, shedding tears for it. It really makes you realize that the sacrifices that parents make for their children sometimes are so heavy that one cannot fully appreciate it. People have always said that CLANNAD’s main theme is “family” and this episode truly reflects it.

Also, Fuko makes an appearance! We’ve all almost forgot her! This time she’s finally woke up from her coma and up and about, just like a little kid (despite being the same age at Tomoya!). LOL at her glomping of Ushio.

Anno’s Evangelion 2.0 Film Slated for June 27 in Japan

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance, the second film in Hideaki Anno and Khara’s theatrical remake of Gainax’s Neon Genesis Evangelion television anime series, will open on June 27 in Japan. Khara had already revealed the title and early summer release window for the second film last October.

In related news, the official Evangelion website has announced on Thursday that the first movie in the remake project, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, will get a “1.11″ release on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on May 27. The 1.11 release will include new cuts and digital mastering. More details on King Record’s news release will be made public on March 16. There was an earlier “1.01″ version that was first released on DVD last April and given a second theatrical run that same month.

Firstly I’m happy to finally get a real release date for 2.0, which also means I’ll have to prepare to buy the second DVD when it’s out. I damn well hope Asuka will be still the same Asuka we all know and love in this release.

Secondly, the 1.11 release just… just… just… makes me want to curse at some one. I bloody forked out money to buy the LE 1.01 and now they come and tell us that there’s gonna be ANOTHER remastered version. I bloody well hope they not also providing LE goodies in 1.11 too. If they’d release this AFTER the whole series was complete…. I’d probably be not as angry. But man… just less than 2 years after releasing the first one? It’s a bit of a ripoff isn’t it? Evangelion 1.11 : You are [not] alone [again] wwwwwwwwwwwww.

Nearly half a year ago, I would have never expected this level of empathy from this show. Just goes to show that the old adage, “books should not be judged by their cover” really does work for anime too.

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Whoaaaaaa~ Negi. He actually absorbed the Thousand Bolts spell for Magia Erebea. Whoaaaaaaaa~

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