10 posts tagged “anime”

Watching the end of Ouran Gakuen Host Club last night, I realized one important thing that I should have known all along: Fujioka Haruhi is better than Suzumiya Haruhi. This post will be rather incoherant as my fanboy levels are high and my time is low (school being what it is.)

I was fully expecting Zero no Tsukaima to be the best show of the year though I surely loved Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, Honey and Clover II, and Host Club. While the final verdict is still not in, as the ZnT finale has yet to air, Host Club has usurped its spot as number one.

I also recently watched the H&C II finale. Hagu is awesome and Takemoto is the man. That is all. Yet, I cannot allow a sequel to be number one.

I'll end this before it gets too painful. I just want to say that I'm also expecting good things from the .hack//Roots ending. I think Haseo will get even crazier, and really, that is good enough of an ending for me.

Tis the season for mecha musume. Gonzo and J.C. Staff each have OVAs capitalizing on the popularity of moe girls and mecha. Millions of otaku cry out in helpless subservience as they bow down to their twelve year old masters. Enter Strike Witches and Sky Girls.

As you can see from the pictures on the left, the two are really similar. Lolicon + Mecha = Win is the logic. But which is better? I shall tell you.

Strike Witches
Gonzo makes a strong entry here. Their girls are more moe by far, and there are more of them. Gonzo has a whopping eleven lolis here. Something for everyone. However, they lose points for the creepy mecha legs, but the girls have a regular mode, so I can allow it.

Strike Witches Official Site
Strike Witches Character Page: count the eleven lolis yourself.
Strike Witches Trailer on Youtube

Sky Girls
J.C. Staff's OVA is compelling as well. They have a great trailer but only four lolis. That is less than half of Gonzo's loli count! However, the lolis have real legs so I will count them as eight. I can't rate the sound track for Strike Witches, but Sky Girls has great music so far.
Sky Girls Official Site
Sky Girls Character Page: Four lolis with twice the number of body parts equals eight lolis!
Sky Girls Trailer on Youtube

So which is the winner? It was close, but I think Strike Witches will be the reigning champion. Gonzo will surely pull lots of beautiful animation out for this, and since it's an OVA maybe heavy fanservice as well. But the real deciding factor was a little thing called Francesca Lucchini.

I used a form of the word loli eight nine times in this article.

I've been listening to the Honey and Clover II OP single by Yuki, and it's great even if she is at the top of PETA's shitlist for beating the Cheshire cat mercilessly in the Fugainaiya PV. If you haven't seen it, watch it now.

The album consists of three songs: Fugainaiya, Hadako no Taiyou (The Naked Sun), and Natsu no Hero (Summer's Hero.) Fugainaiya is of course the actual intro to Hachikuro II and is appropriately awesome. If you haven't heard it, feel ashamed. Hadako no Taiyou is so-so; I wish it had a catchier beat. Yuki gets points for not butchering the English for "naked sun" though. Natsu no Hero is a really slow song, and it's not bad at all, though I do prefer Yuki's faster paced songs.

Moving on to the main point (or is it the secondary?), Yuki is completely insane. I'll post these two screencaps from the Fugainaiya PV as evidence.

When Yuki makes her appearance dressed as a chair halfway through the video, all she does is spin drunkenly and beat a cat, and I have to say, I really respect her for that. It takes a special woman to be both popular enough and have that twinge of mental instability to make a music video around an abusive Alice in Wonderland. Besides that, the video is really well done with excellent costumes and even a small maze. Yuki may be my favorite eccentric J-Pop singer.

You might also be interested in more Yuki craziness...
Dramatic PV (Honey and Clover Season I OP)
Joy
Melancholinista
Nagai Yume
Stand Up Sister
Home Sweet Home
Sony Walkman Commercial
Pocari Sweat Commercial (Yuki sings annoyingly for many commercials it seems)
There should be many more to list, but I'm lazy (and youtube won't let me go to the Yuki banned masturbation PV no matter how many times I click accept!)

I was speaking to an uninitiated friend today about anime figures (which will spawn another post sometime I'm sure), and the Haruhi bunny girl concert figure came up. I knew about the figures existence and its rarity, but was unsure of the price and availability. This ebay auction lets us know.

Here's a paraphrased conversation with another friend:

A-Kun: That Haruhi's going for $200 [sure to be more]? Damn.
Me: It's a resin kit too; it's not even constructed or painted. Only making 200 is too cruel.
A-Kun: That's enough to cause a war.
Me: Seriously. Otaku war.

I know this figure is so yesterday's news, but I had divine inspiration. We must fight and die for Haruhi Bunny Girl. That is all.

(I am the worst kind of fanboy.)

There are a few universal truths of School Rumble: Tenma, Harima, and Hanai are idiots, Karasuma is an alien, and Lala Gonzales is the best character. Many don't share in this belief of mine, and the recent character popularity poll doesn't reflect it either; however, this doesn't make it any less true. Lala's coarse nature ensures that she is one of the most hillarious characters, but she also has a touching backstory. Furthermore, Lala is undeniably cute and sexy, a hard combination to come by. I would say she's a tsunderekko, but that is so cliche. Ichi-Jou~!

This is all well and good and true; however, Lala ranked a mere #21 in the recent popularity poll. Here's the list:

1. Yakumo
2. Eri
3. Harima
4. Tenma
5. Mikoto
6. Ichijou
7. Sara
8. Itoko
   
9. Akira
10. Asou
    
11. The Nurse
12. Sagano Megumi
13. Iori
14. Napoleon
15. Hanai
16. Karasuma
17. Imadori
18. Saeko
    
19. Harry Makenzie
20. Nakamura
21. Lala Gonzales

Some other notable mentions are 27. Satsuki, 37. Madoka, and 39. Harima Shouji & Pyotr.

I am happy that Yakumo placed high, although Tenma's placement near the top brings me back down. Clearly this list is absurd; Lala's placement is unforgivable! Here is the correct version.

1. Lala
2. Yakumo
3. Satsuki
4. Eri
5. Akira
6. Ichijou
7. Harima
8. Imadori
9. Pyotr
10. Iori & Napoleon
    

    Why?!

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so this isn't much of a post. If it was on Wikipedia, it'd be a stub. Perhaps I'll have something better tomorrow.

Of the things to know about 4chan, the most important to keep in mind is that it is anonymous. This anonymity breeds trolling, flamewar, and cruelty. Coincidentally it's also a lot of fun. I took note of a thread a few days ago; the request was simple enough: What's the title of this anime?

The Results

• Immoral Sisters
• It's either Azumanga Daioh or Bible Black. I'm pretty sure it's Bible Black, though.
• Immoral Sisters, if you were looking for a serious answer
• Amazing Danish

I'm sure there were lots of other good ones, but Iaziness prevents me from finding the thread again. Anyways, considering the most popular boards on 4chan are hentai related, I shouldn't be surprised at the high amount of hentai titles posted. Oh, and someone did give a real answer, but he's lame.

Another comparison between anime and film: I'm a one trick pony. Let's begin with Ayu.

The radical difference is too heartbreaking to even comment on, so let's move on to the other love interest, Hagu.

There are no complaints to be had about Hagu's actor. She's just as asexual as the character she plays.
Rika's actor looks too healthy. Maybe they'll put some white makeup on her face. Furthermore, what is Rika doing outside?
No complaints here either. The actor is adequately cool.

I don't think I can judge Morita's actor until I actually see the movie. If he's silly enough, he'll pass.

What happened here? This guy is not allowed to be cool, and he's easily the coolest cast member in the movie. Anyways, now for the most upsetting of the cast decisions...

I was wondering where the fanservice show this season was, and since I didn't really like Amaenaideyo, I had high hopes when I started this. This won't be a long summary, for that has already been written. Basically our cute protagonist Kazuki has been waiting for ten years to meet her childhood love Yuuji, but he has become a pervert, souring their reunion. Tonagura! has about everyone one could ask for in an ecchi anime; in the first couple of minutes alone we see an apron (with a giant bow!), school swimsuits, and the yuri scene depicted above. The character designs are great, and panty shots are not pictured, but they are plentiful.

I like Kazuki's onee-san; She's an "Ara" character and brings the truth behind Kazuki's constant denial of feelings to the surface, causing her to blush a lot which is just too cute.

While stoic lolis (or lolis period) are in vogue right now, this makes two series where gothlolis have guns. It's almost too much for one man to ask. Marie hides hers inside a teddy bear; think of her as Nagato Yuki with a cute hat and an automatic rifle.

Besides being ecchi in a most excellent way, Tonagura is also very funny. I'll definitely continue watching it. I'm going to end with this picture showcasing Yuuji's perversion. I'm also including it because NnK's translator is hillarious. Quote from onee-san: "Sometimes you just have to give perverts a reason to live."

This post is long and sad but ultimately entertaining. And yes, these are ranked from best to worst.

• Honey and Clover II
  How could this not be at the top of my list? The second season is looking to be every bit as good as the first was. Even Yamazaki gives it a thumbs up.
  

  Nekozawa and Behlzeneev from Ouran
• Ouran High School Host Club
  Number two, and showcasing my love for shoujo style shows is Ouran. This one has everything: bishounen, cross-dressing, wonderful humor, and Nekozawa.
• Mushishi
  Slow paced and emotional, this is simply beautiful. Plus, Ginko is the best character ever.
• School Rumble 2nd Semester
  Another sequel to an insanely popular show, and I eat it up.
• Coyote Ragtime Show
  The main enemies are fighting gothlolis. I don't know if there is anything more I can say about this one.
• Zero no Tsukaima
  The concept of a human being summoned as a mage's familiar is an interesting one for a love comedy. Also, the fanservice isn't bad, and one guy has a diglet named Belldandy for his familiar. Okay, so maybe it's a mole cricket, but I can dream can't I?
• .hack//Roots
  Well, It's not better than Sign, but it's a helluva lot better than Dusk. The episodes seem to range from great to pointless.
• Sugar Sugar Rune
  As this one is meant for little girls, it's one of my guilty pleasures.
• Muteki Kanban Musume
  Perhaps a bit too much slapstick, but I'll watch it anyways for now.
• Le Chevalier D'Eon
  I'm not so sure on this yet, but I have plenty of time to think on it since the next episode doesn't air for a month.

Well, that's the end of a very long list. I might have to trim it down when school starts back. There are a couple of new shows I have yet to watch: Welcome to the NHK, Kirarin Revolution, Binbou Shimai Monogatari, Bokura Ga Ita, and the new Powerpuff Girls anime. I'm witholding judgement on those for the time being. Shows I most definitely will not watch include Tsuyokiss, and pretty much just Tsuyokiss.

I've been watching the Byousoku 5 Centimeter (5 Centimeters per Second) trailer over and over and over. Being directed by Makoto Shinkai, the same gentleman who did The Place Promised in Our Early Days and Hoshi no Koe, 2007 can't come soon enough.

Makoto Shinkai became well known when he created Hoshi no Koe, a short science fiction anime film about a couple separated by a war who send messages with increasingly long delays across the void of space. What was unusual about this was that he did it all by himself using his home computer, yet the visuals and storytelling were still amazing. The original voices were even done by him and his wife. This is all from memory, so I might be a little wrong.

Regardless, I've spent a lot of time crawling the official webpage. One thing I cannot recommend enough is to download the movie in high resolution (1280x720 24.3MB). The site also offers wallpapers and screenshots.