saki

SAKI
studio : Gonzo, Picture Magic
director : Manabu Ono
serial run : April 6, 2009 - Septermber 28, 2009
total episodes : 25
score : ****

DRAMATITS DRAMATIC MAHJONG + LIGHT YURI IS CERTAINLY LOVE

truth is, i had very little interest in mahjong [ though i admit that i once had interest in strip mahjong game, but not being able to grasp and understand its rules +gameplay whatsoever somehow frustrated me, resulting in my current lack of interest over the game :3 ] but ever since i had my watch on this i am [ partially ] moved to try and pick the game up. maybe i should go hang out with my elderly chinese neighbors more often [ the house next door often had mahjong games on late afternoon, you can pretty much hear the tiles-scrambling-sound-whatever from this side of my room ]. 'nuff talk about me, let's move on to nodot- i mean, the anime.

saki is a sport-themed [ wait, mahjong = sport ? ] series that centers upon saki miyanaga, a first year student in kiyosumi high school who once resented mahjong but later came to love and treasure it even more so thanks to the emotional support / help she had from her harem friends in the kiyosumi high mahjong club which consisted of the legendary nodotits nodocchi, a feared online mahjong goddess with twice the pride and moe blushes; yuuki, the club's hyperactive loli / tacos-maniac who excels at west hands yet a very-epic-fail-one when it comes to maths; hisa takei, the club's current president known for her awesome manipulative / intimidation skills and awesome hell waits; and mako someya, the club's second-in-charge who is a good friend of hisa and wasn't much of an interesting character unless you're in for the meganekko-get. oh wait, i seem to have missed another member of the club, kyotaro suga aka sebastian, the only male member of the club who's technically hisa takei's henchman; although he awesomely wins at life [ who doesn't wish to be in a winning harem like the one he's in ] still he failed almost greatly as the girls [ his greatest crush nodoka, most notably ] were much more prone in living on the mild-yuri route [ save for tacos who often throw some hilarious sexual advances at him, yet too bad for her however that he is not a pedobear lolicon like most of us were :E ]. surely i had my greatest sorry for him :3

anyway, if you had seen bamboo blade before then you might as well notice the slight parallelity between the two series; well surely there isn't much difference between the two series both concept and plotwise but what makes saki stands out a bit more is the dramatic mahjong play[s] that is often exaggerated with dramatic imageries which sometimes had me pondering whether if this really is a show about some cute girls playing some mahjong together or was it actually a needless-style action comedy in disguise :3. that aside, though i haven't read the original manga from which the series was based from yet still i find that gonzo didn't quite score a proper use of the entire 25 episodes count as the story had spent way too much of its time and plot over the preliminary arc alone while its spiritual counterpart bamboo blade satisfyingly fleshed out its kendo club progression over few different matches with almost-exact episode count as per this series. that being said however i still consider saki to be one of the most entertaining titles i've had my eyes on for the year 2009.

there are so many visual-related aspect of the series that i am to praise upon. first there is the moelicious art for the characters [ character design ], among the most crucial selling point for the series and the primary reason why i came to give this one a try [ though i have sworn myself many times before not to fall into the sweet trap known as gonzo ]. second, being a gonzo-produced series the show had its share in almost top-notch [ but not that perfect ] animation production [ +cgi ], although you can still see cost-saving still frames being thrown here and there. there's also some nice / lovely outdoor backgrounds featured in some of its episodes, particularly the one featured in one of stealth momo's flashbacks while the indoor ones are pretty much decent save for when the main party is in their clubroom. the mahjong battles otherwise are very much engaging for its thrill and action, and might drive you for few recap marathons after each successive completion of the series. on a completely different note, fans of yuri might come to love the show even more for the mild-yuri undertones seen and felt throughout the entire series, just as much as my love were for ga-rei -zero-, and aside from that the series had also made very nice use[s] of some thoughtful, heartwarming moments [ which some had thought to be utterly boring, and or wasting for the entire plot progression ] so to balance the plot / things up.

all in all, saki is a highly entertaining watch despite the open ending which stops me from adding another 1/2 point to the score; well gonzo should at least work on a proper sequel / second season for the series rather than having it wrapped this unimpressive way. for those who're greatly into moe and its likes well hime greatly approves this show for you, and as for those who don't might as well force yourselves to watch a few episodes of saki before throwing it off your list. also, to any naruto-fans out there who thinks that naruto [ the animation, and yes this is a troll ahoy- ] is awesome enough for its juutsu moves whatsoever then think again, for saki puts everything you came to praise of within naruto to uber-great shame; watching saki goes for a series of tsumo after a kan mad rampage alone is hundred-times more entertaining than having to sit back through the uberly repetitive naruto-combo-whatever over and over again.



bonus paragraph : some other girls of the series that i came to fancy upon aside from those kiyosumi girls; hajime, touka's self-proclaimed personal maid with a very-nice character design [ i like the idea of having her wearing a star tattoo on her left cheek ], mihoko fukuji, captain of the kazekoshi girls' team with a super caring motherly-sisterly attitude and a beautiful pair of heterochromia eyes [ yes i love girls with heterochromia eyes as evident from my years-long crush over yuna from final fantasy x ], satomi kanbara aka wahaha, i dunno why but i somehow love her character design / facial expressions, her somewhat laid back attitude and her distinct-wahaha laugh. +she often gave me dejavus of minorin [ toradora ] as well, particularly in her looks. +last but not least, and like it or not, i do love stealth momo... mainly for her blatant yuriness over her senpai.

macross zero

MACROSS ZERO
studio : Satelight
director : Shoji Kawamori
serial run : December 21, 2002 - October 2004
total episodes : 5
score : *****

BEFORE LYNN MINMAY AND RANKA LEE THERE WAS SARA NOME.

does the name 'sara nome' reads familiar to you ? well of course, it is from her family that the galactic diva sheryl nome [ macross frontier ] were descended, and who would've thought that the poshly elegant and sexy sheryl had her roots in the forgotten indigenous natives of the mayan island. also, for those who have watched macross frontier beforehand should've already came across the in-story movie titled 'bird human' in which ranka lee had her debut theatrical role as mao nome; well you'll get to learn a bit more about her character in the said movie within this delicious ova :3

anyway, macross zero is the ultimate prelude to the macross saga set in the prime of the unification war a year prior to the conflict between humanity and the zentradis. the entirety of the story took place somewhere in the pacific ocean where a naval fleet commissioned by the newfound u.n. were on a mission to retrieve an artifact of ancient extraterrestrial origin [ the mysterious bio-mechanical entity dubbed 'bird human' ], speculated to be entombed somewhere at deep sea depths not far from the remote mayan island.

shin kudo and his f-14 team were on [ patrol ? ] flight when they were suddenly assaulted by anti-un's mig-29 [ ? ] fighters, ensuing into one helluva dogfight ever to be seen in action-anime. despite their effort in shaking off the attack the squad were soon annihilated by a single enemy vf [ variable fighter ] unit piloted by the ruthless female pilot nora polyansky. shin's fighter were shot down though he survived by ejecting, before soon being drifted to the shores of the mayan island where he is later rescued and nursed back to health by its natives.

having lost his means to contact the fleet, as well as believing that his friend-cum-radar officer edgar were already gone for good from the heated dogfight before, shin soon learns to adapt himself to his new surrounding, befriending the outgoing young mayan girl mao nome as well trying this best to fit in with the tsundere mayan priestess sara [ mao's strictly conservative older sister, of whom he unknowingly threatens with a proposal / love stick :3 ]. and as he comfortably begin to blend in with the mayans he soon discovers the mystery behind the priestess and the island, and the apocalyptic disaster that is about to befall humanity once the sleeping protoculture artifact were to be awaken from its millenia long slumber.

roy fokker and shin kudo were both my fave male leads of the series, mainly due to their prowess in battle and their seemingly cool personalities [ in case of shin, please drop 1 to 2 points for the first 2 episodes ] with very minimal emo-ness during certain points of the story. the un lead protoculture researcher aries, who at times irritates me with her [ understandably ] over-affection-ess in protoculture [ enough to warrant her conflicts / troubles especially with the anti-un ] instantly won my [ almost ] brief tears with her tragic end by the end of the series. also, if you think sheryl nome and ranka lee were both lovely enough wait until you get to know sara and mao nome better, though i do admit that ranka lee's moeness is unrivaled by most within the macross universe [ save for clan clang :3 ]. aside from the superb aerial shootouts and story, sara herself were among the knots that had me tied firmly to the series; her character were so beautifully developed that it had so much life and emotional weight in itself enough to rip my heart out as her role wraps up by the end of the series.

the main charm of the series, that is the aerial dogfights between classic pre-macross fighters [ f-14 tomcats vs mig-29s ] and the prototypical variable fighters [ both un and anti-un forces ] were excellently choreographed, further spiced up with sleek, cutting-edge cg works [ for anime in its time ] which blends perfectly with the otherwise 2D / hand drawn environment, and character design wise the series looks refreshingly contemporary compared to the rest of the macross franchise [ with sole exception being the recently aired macross frontier ]. most of the time i get somewhat reminded of the same visual style seen in full metal panic, though this may not seem entirely relevant for some fans :3

praised by many to be the gem of the franchise, macross zero indeed is a magnificent work of art. a five episode ova with the execution and overall treatment befitting those of high-profile theatrical movie that will greatly entertain you until the very last of its scenes, despite the notable lack of catchy j-pop numbers that has always been the blood and soul of the macross universe. its story were hands down superb, and though the ova ran short with a total of 5 episodes still everything were told handsomely neat without leaving the audience with the feeling of watching through something that is [ noticably ] rushed. the protoculture aspect of the story got my thumbs up though i would love to learn more of the meta-myth; the bird human legend [ and deployment in actual combat ] alone is not enough to pacify my hunger for advanced-ancient-civilization-fetish lol. the good guys wins at the end, yes. but don't you ever expect to see a completely happy ending. i won't spoil the fun much here as i would like you peeps to experience the series for yourself^^. and for those whose emotions are easily provoked be sure to prepare yourselves with handful of tissues in case you might be needing em later :3

p/s : the drone [ ? ] attached to shin's vf during the climactic battle looks no more different than a miniaturized sr-21 blackbird, or was it just me who saw it that way ? nyoro-rin :3

[ cosplay ] midori kanda ft. sue : ga-rei -zero-

layer : Midori Kanda and Sue / Suu
character : Yomi Isayama and Kagura Tsuchimiya
series : Ga-Rei -Zero-
score : *****

SORRY, NO POCK-ISS :3

another midori x sue image set up for feature, this time around we're in for a winning ga-rei -zero- cosplay-get. needless to say, these two scored perhaps what i assume to be the most epic yomi x kagura cosplay i have came to witness so far, and the pair even get to nail the almost perfect look[s] for their respective chara, from character likenesses down to the wigs and costumes, most particularly midori-san. yeah surely you may lurk the net for others' but i greatly bet that you won't find any that is as epic refined as this :3

[ cosplay ] midori kanda ft. sue : saki

layer : Midori Kanda and Sue / Suu
character : Nodoka Haramura and Yuuki Kataoka
series : Saki
score : ****1/2

NODOCCHI AND TACOS 3D GET

we had way too much of anime-related entries recently [ another one is currently at work as hinted from our latest 'seiken no blacksmith' post ] so now it's time to take a short break and have some nice cosplay get for a change :3

yes i understand that some nodocchi fans might rage on the obvious lack of oppai, but all in all midori-chan had successfully scored an obviously good cosplay of nodoka although she could be a bit more less 'badass-y' [ quoting a close irl fren of mine, also a cosplay-mania ] with her facial expression [ no offense meant to the layer v.v ]. as for the ever lolicious suu, i must greatly praise her on the awesome tacos-chan-get, albeit she didn't throw in yuuki's trademark super-'happy-go-lucky' [ whatever ] pose / look on her face for this one.

[ all images are property of kimokamehiro ]

seiken no blacksmith : [ not so ] first impression

SEIKEN NO BLACKSMITH / THE SACRED BLACKSMITH
studio : manglobe
director : Masashi Suzuki
serial run : October 3, 2009 - ongoing
total episodes : ?

O HAI CAN I TOUCH THOSE ?

my ninth [ and hopefully last, as i would like to work on something else ] entry for the fall 2009 first impression series; supposedly this one were to be submitted prior to the macross zero review but i seemed to have [ embarassingly >///> ] overlooked the super obvious orangey 'draft' tag, as well as my enthusiasm over macross zero [ and later, shakugan no shana s ] at the time went like over 9000... thus late overview is so the very late [ pardon the bad grammar ]

[ note : i'm saving some details for the complete review later, so do expect a much more lacking overview for this one v.v ]

anyway, seiken no blacksmith basically is a fantasy series with quite a similar atmosphere to those of murder princess [ if you liek swords and monster kills ] and spice and wolf [ minus the delicious wolf but plus a nice-elven-loli ]; interesting enough, the series kicks-off with a brief trade-related argument before proceeding into the introduction of the lovely young knight cecily [ cambell ? there should be a P there or else it'll sound awkwardly funny ], of whom seems to resemble a bit of everybody's fave railgun-tsundere, biribiri [ plus a sword and a VERY DELICIOUS NICE armor ]. as for those who paid enough attention to the bgm might as well notice a lovely irish-folk-ish tune playing in the background [ you may also refer to haibane renmei and spice and wolf's OSTs for similar music-get ], and yes peeps, that is among the few charm of the series which had gotten me straightly hooked from the get go other than the magnificent display of swordfighting skill by the main protagonist luke, and my bottomless interest in the 'knights and clashing swords' fantasy genre.

the character design were drop dead lovely, and i just love the designer's gorgeous touch over them characters' facial features which at times had me reminiscing over those seen in kannagi [ the animation ]; cecily, above all were bestowed with one of the best design for a female character for this year around [ say, why don't she wear a bra beneath those metal chest plate ? ], and i can certainly keep on writing this over and over again until ye peeps get to puke blood all over the monitor. animation wise, you can expect the best from manglobe, and if you've seen their previous efforts before [ samurai champloo and ergo proxy for example ] then i assume that you are to greatly agree with me on this. well, it is still waaaay too early for me / us to praise over the matter so let's just sit back, wait and see if the quality were going to last until the very last cup of tea :3

[ character ] relationship wise, it is best for me to view both luke and cecily as a solid alternative to touma x mikoto from to aru majutsu no index; seriously, from my personal perspective the two nevertheless mirrors an almost exact parallel to the aforementioned pairing, only that cecily's tsuntsun-ness aren't that overwhelming yet as those of biribiri's. well there's still plenty of episodes to go and i would [ greatly ] love to see something similar to those of touma x mikoto brewing between the two.

all in all it certainly is a nice watch for this season around. it may be a bit cliched in term of storytelling but don't let that very aspect alone hinders you from indulging on this one; well at least i greatly find it to be very much more amusing than kampfer [ no offense to the fans ], that is.

next entry preview : 'dramatic mahjong'.

shakugan no shana s : first impression

SHAKUGAN NO SHANA S
studio : J.C. Staff
director : Takashi Watanabe
serial run : October 23, 2009 - ongoing
total episodes : 4

YOU SHOULDN'T MESS WITH A SERIOUS WILHELMINA -DE ARIMASU v.v

first thing first, this is merely a first impression post based on the first episode of the ova of which were released just recently; as for the remaining three episodes i shall have them wrapped up as a whole [ series ] by the release of the final [ 4th ] episode later. and yes, it's spoiler ahoy- as usual :3

moving on to the ova- although the second season didn't get to score much with its somewhat rushed and shaky plot [ the first season were much more superior, i agree ], it didn't take long for me, however, to be enjoying this one though. continuing forth from where the battle against hunter [ the doll-loving / hentai crimson denizen, the first arc yo- ] had left, shana and yuuji were on a treasure hunt for any usable hougou left at hunter's former base of operation, and while digging through the huge piles of garbage yuuji somehow came to discover a telescope-ish hougou with which he carelessly points between himself and shana, resulting in a body swap between the two. as both came to their senses, yuuji were uberly shocked to learn that his consciousness is now within shana's lolicious little body while having to endure the usual abusing from shana, definitely for the mess he had caused now. alastor later suggested the two to keep the secret to themselves, and ultimately warns them both not to let wilhelmina especially to came into knowledge over the mishap [ which he fully elaborated on upon shana's insistence at the end of the first episode ].

as per your usual comedic side story get, the two later ran into several unwanted encounters [ while yuuji were getting himself used to shana's body ] that ultimately ends in a meetup with the dead serious wilhelmina herself [ who were then having a lunch at the mc'd's ]. like always, wilhelmina is pretty sharp on this kind of things and insisted the two to explain everything to her but not without throwing a few ribbons at 'yuuji' beforehand, from which she came to suspect the oddness out of 'yuuji's reflexes. due to 'shana's timely surprise 'attack' afterward, wilhelmina went into freeze mode with a blush on her face while the two make their run for it.

as for the rest of the story, it is best to watch em by yerself folks *runs* XD

assuming that the first episode took its place somewhen before the second season timeline, the ova [ unsurprisingly ] further confirms shana's deep rooted feelings for yuuji as elaborated later on by alastor based on the successful utilization of the mysterious reshuffle hougou; a pity that yuuji didn't get to hear on this or he'll be dead happy heh-. another nice twist seen in the ova is the moment of distress shown by shana [ in yuuji's body ] which prompted both yuuji and myself to assume that shana's spirit [ whatever ] were being rejected by the reiji maigo within yuuji's body, though it is later revealed that she were having a great stomach upset thanks to the twenty-something ice creams she had prior. lol. gotta blame on alastor's serious 'could it be ?' line as well.

the opening theme [ also by mami kawada ] is pleasantly nice as with her other shana-esque singles but the impact this time around weren't as strong as joint nor hishoku no sora. in spite of that however we get to see a nice twin-tailed loli shana and brief scenes featuring her former home tendou-kyu [ oh teh memories ] within the opening animation. as for the plot / story, well it may not be as dark nor thrilling as the main series yet if you're in for some good roflmaos, or maybe just for some mildly-intimate shana x yuuji moments then i highly approve all ye shana fans to go and have a watch on this one.

p/s : be grateful that you get to have summore URUSAI URUSAI URUSAI goodness :3

kimi ni todoke : first impression

KIMI NI TODOKE
studio : Production I.G.
director : Hiro Kaburaki
serial run : October 6, 2009 - ongoing
total episodes : ?

SADAKO GOES DEREDERE

my eighth and [ probably ] final entry for the fall 2009's first impression series. there's a whole lot more titles i been following to for this season yet the rest would probably be covered in their respective complete review later. and since i am currently in the middle of my creativity block you may as well expect an uberly lacking / brief entry for this one, thus i humbly beg ye all to pardon me for that v.v

on to the series; kazehaya is one helluva awesome male lead compared to most i have seen so far for this year, +his very character itself scores greatly in so many points according to my personal judgment that is... though he himself admitted that he is not born without flaw[s]. the main female lead sawako, of whom rather than being [ typically ] pitiful due to the treatment she received from those around her instead came to be somewhat highly adorable for who she is and her seemingly optimistic / positive view upon her own self; seeing how sawako trying her best to stick up with others fervently warms my heart up despite the ongoing misunderstanding [ hilarity ensues ] which plagues those around her.

production wise kimi ni todoke benefited from the awesome treatment it had for both art and storytelling, and i would expect nothing less from production i.g. [ which had been positively known for its winning high profiled series such as blood+ and ghost in the shell, just to name a few ]. as for those who have watched honey and clover and kimikiss before might as well find this series to be strikingly familiar within the visual presentation context since all three series made extensive use of delicious water color-based art for their background[s] :9

anyway, kimi ni todoke currently sits at the top of my fall 2009 list, firmly securing the seat from nyan koi ! followed by darker than black : ryuusei no gemini and kobato, and [ currently ] is the only fall 2009 [ or maybe the entire 2009 catalogue in general ] series that is able to [ deeply ] move me to tears, especially on behalf of the 'two-thumbs-up' second episode. well, words alone couldn't describe how awesome i find this series is; seriously, +i wasn't even thinking of slacking off on the review lol lame excuse is lame v.v

darker than black 2 : first impression 2.0

DARKER THAN BLACK : RYUUSEI NO GEMINI
studio : BONES
director : Tensai Okamura
serial run : October 8, 2009
total episodes : 16

BADASS HEI IS BADASS

my words on the first episode ? drop dead impressive, and there's no way for me to think otherwise. in fact, i was left in much awe that i couldn't key down a proper overview post even hours after my watch over the series; took another peek at the episode and finally i am ready to jot down my thoughts on it [ lame excuse is lame ] :3

anyway, the story premise had now relocated itself to russia following the near-apocalyptic event seen in the final episode of the first series, with a whole new conflict in set. the first episode opens 2 years in the past, during which the pavlichenko family were having a small chat in the open snow [ possibly in the same timeframe when the saturn ring event occurs ] when a meteor fragment [ ? ] suddenly hit the ground and the male half of the twins were caught in the ensuing explosion, ultimately converting him to a contractor as revealed later in the episode. we're now back at the present time, and the first half of the episode progresses in a much lighter atmosphere with the reintroduction of suou [ the female half of the twins ], the sweet confession scene concerning her friend tanya and her seemingly normal school life [ +a brief cameo of a black cat which closely resembles mao, perhaps a direct homage to the latter ]; up to this point the story were narrated from her perspective, that is.

as we were further enlightened on the current state of her twin brother and the little drama her family was caught in, the story later ventures into its actual mood with the most heart throbbing twist being her formerly sweet friend tanya had now been mysteriously turned into a contractor [ didn't really saw that one coming, damn ! ], of whom submitted herself to the russian military. a few scenes later [ i skipped many details in between yea lol ], an impressive duel ensues between april and the russian speed-user contractor [ i simply lol'd when he rushed himself onto a tree ] who would later be executed through his own skill and april's quick wit :D [ never dash in supersonic speed when there's rain lol ], and after which the 'legendary black shinigami' himself waltzes into the scene with his classic grim stance and a whole new badass look on his face.

my only disappointment is that the writer[s] decided to kill off april by the end of the first episode; she may not be my favourite but i've since grown attached to her existence within the story. that aside, by overall look at the first episode this surely is one helluva start for an awesome season to come; the visual presentation and overall execution level remains consistent with the same sleek animation as per the initial series though yoko kanno didn't make her return this time around v.v. the recently introduced new feature character suou is greatly lovable right from the get go while my dearly yin has yet to make her appearance, and i'll surely be looking forward to how far her character have grown these past two years following her and hei's escape from the syndicate.

[ further edited to include a brief patch concerning the second episode nyoro :3 ]

looks like something grave happened to yin, leading to the now broken hei seen as of present; surely that's quite a mystery i would like to know of. and what's more intriguing [ to me ] is that yin seems to be almost human then [ though we did get to witness her being so a few times in the first series ] as seen from the tears she had in hei's flashback... maybe this too had something to do with her 'separation' from hei.

also, it turns out that hei's being leashed by the CIA now, and the agency is still in pursuit of the meteor fragment while a third party, seemingly japanese, is on the hunt for him... i assume these guys work for 'the syndicate', in which hei was once a member of. the MI6's 'magician' on the other hand was an easy kill and that greatly disappoints me as i was hoping for someone as tough as november 11 to be taking his place in the new MI6 roster.

as of the second episode my interest on suou pavlichenko ultimately soars to its highest. man, what a strong character she is [ for a seemingly sweet girl thrown into a conceptually dark action-laden sci-fi series ]. suou might also make a fitting match for hei's next pair with promising relationship dynamicity that might even rival those of yin x hei [ she could as well light up his character a bit, +i would surely be looking forward to her rifle-tan get ]. on a slightly different note, episode 2 uncannily reminds me of the hellsing series, while the yomi-esque samurai chick on the other hand kick arse; definitely is a nice addition to my DTB harem aside from yin, amber and suou X3

once again we get to see another homage to mao. DTB without mao surely lost 1/3 of its charm v.v AND DO WANT TO SEE SHION'S POWER NEXT. the way the story is written so far makes me feel as if he had some sort of godly power / role in the series.

nogizaka haruka no himitsu purezza : first impression

NOGIZAKA HARUKA NO HIMITSU : PUREZZA
studio : Studio Barcelona
director : Munenori Nawa
serial run : October 6, 2009 - ongoing
total episodes : 12

HARUKA = OVERKILL

is it just me, or haruka has grown a bit bolder now ? also, initially i first thought that i may have downloaded the wrong series [ i admit that i felt slightly troll'd then lol ], yet as the first episode progresses however it turns out that the opening montage was that of a meta-series 'nocturne girl's school lacrosse club' lol. well, they got me big time there XP

anyway, cheers to the second season of the moelicious haruka goodness; been looking forward to it ever since its announcement and thank god my months long expectation have not been betrayed, yet; the series is just as nice as it were back then, or at least from the first episode so far. otherwise, mamiko noto and haruka nogizaka alone is more than enough reason for me to stay loyal to the series.

there aren't much differences between the first and second season; the characters are back to their usual school life and yuuto has yet to confirm his relationship status with haruka. the titular female lead haruka is still with her hobbies, though she is now free to pursue them at home. the mischievous trio is still around to help yuuto in his endeavor [ wasabi scene ft-lol ], but now is strengthen in number with the inclusion of the dangerous loli alice; believe me, instead of being van'd away you would probably be sent straight down to hell if you were ever to lay your dirty hands on her [ alice ] xD . on a completely different note, i didn't realize that shina had a fang, perhaps i should do a quick check with the first season so to reconfirm this. and speaking of shina, it seems that her feelings for yuuto remained intact despite yuuto's [ twice more ] intimate closeness with haruka now.

the new montage for the OP is very pleasantly well done both in music and design, with the exact same visual concept being applied to it +added with additional magazine-like touch so to emphasize the general theme of the story; personally, i am greatly in love with this one over the former. anyway, all in all the second installment might be as generic [ of a romantic comedy ] as the first season be, but still i am more than interested [ as i've mentioned in the earlier para before, much thanks to the presence of mamiko noto-san as haruka :3 ] enough to be giving this one here a watch altogether with some other series i'm in for this season.

kobato. : first impression

KOBATO.
studio : Madhouse
director : Mitsuyuki Masuhara
serial run : October 6, 2009 - ongoing
total episodes : ?

*COUGH*NANATSUIRO DROPS*COUGH*

simply my second most fave'd series for fall 2009, right behind nyan koi !. and ever since i came to love anime, i've had very high respect and expectation over clamp's works, beginning with chobits right through xxxholic; the group is very well loved by the fan in me for the way they craft their art and stories out, which is why i came to shove my disregard upon madhouse aside and decided to pick this one up for my fall 2009 watch. indeed, it is a choice i am very well grateful for.

the principal character kobato is innocently sweet and naive, having just arrived on the realm of humans on a mission which in turn will fulfill her dream of having her special wish granted. despite being a mysterious dojikko she is, kobato is kind-hearted, and will never back from helping the others out. alone she is not, for she is paired with ioryogi, a sadistic, foul-mouthed stuffed dog that she carries around in her bag, serving as both her proctor and mentor in the first episode. an unlikely pairing it is yet both makes a perfect combination from my point of view that is.

the series starts out pretty strong which i greatly hope for it to retain the same quality and pace until the very end, unless madhouse intends to crap this one out as well [ kaibutsu oujo / claymore, anyone ? ]. the animation quality is pretty much up to my taste for it were done very nicely in the same style as chobits, albeit a significantly different color palette. the same can be written on the character design which is highly agreeable as they represent very little deviation from clamp's style; to me it is kinda mandatory for the designer not to change the details much when it comes to clamp :) the opening music is sweet and i definitely can't wait for the single to come out, i'll be sure to leech it on the double by the time it does :3

absolutely is a must watch series for this season block. hime greatly approves^^

next stop : nogizaka haruka no himitsu -purezza-, after which we'll be taking a short break :3

nyan koi ! : first impression

NYAN KOI !
studio : AIC
director : Keiichiro Kawaguchi
serial run : October 1, 2009 - ongoing
total episodes : ?

MOE MOE NYAN

my first and only thought on the series was : AWESOME. yes, it's all in capslock. from the promotional art it may not look THAT tempting but, never judge a book before you came to read its insides^^

anyway, nyan koi ! is a bloody-moe romantic comedy series with, well, lots of talking cats. from the casual street chatter [ 'ima gonna be pestering that butcher-' ] to comedic 'death-threats', the cats will never fail to amuse you with their quirks; and this might doubles up in the case of extreme cat lovers, girls most likely :3 the overall concept and story is pretty interesting up to this point [ episode 2 ] and the comedies are very well written; so far there's none of which i find to be improperly placed / inserted.

the characters are downright interesting and lovable, though i did find the delinquent male lead archetype to be a bit cliched now. the uberly sweet primary female lead kaede mizuno indirectly reminds me of sun seto from the seto no hanayome fame, in particularly for her love over manly guys and yakuza series. kanako sumiyoshi otherwise helps balancing the chara-pool with her tomboyish / aggressive persona, but not without throwing hints of her cute sides at times [ she's not quite a tsundere, mind you ]; her shift from a mamba / ganguro to the normal school chick she is now simply won my greatest approval. and being a childhood friend-type chara, her character also somewhat reminds me of chika from kyo no go no ni since both girls seems to be sharing almost identical traits within their shared personality.

the greatest point of the series however goes to nyamsus, junpei's pet cat with a smooth cool attitude, and her companion tama, both of which serve as the advocates for them neighborhood cats. the series also came with additional bonus similar to moyashimon, lucky star and yozakura quartet; by the end of each episode a brief section dubbed 'nyankoma' were included, providing additional light comedy jab and a quick lesson on how to get along nicely with them cats lol.

next stop : kampfer, kobato, nogizaka haruka no himitsu -purezza- etc.

to aru kagaku no railgun : first impression

TO ARU KAGAKU NO RAILGUN
studio : J.C. Staff
director : ?
serial run : October 3, 2009 - ongoing
total episodes : 12

BIRI-BIRI TSUNDERE RAILGUN GET-

what a delicious spin-off, i first thought that this is going to be no more different than its parent series [ to aru majutsu no index ], turns out however that it had a much lighter atmosphere than the former... judging from the first episode i have seen so far, that is. +i know a lot of index-fan might've been crossing their fingers for more of the awesome biri-biri-ness, and yea peeps now you get to have what you've been greatly wishing for; mikoto misaka stars in her very own series, and be sure to savor every inch and corner of the show lol.

the boxer-wearing tsundere [ her most defining moe-point lol ] returns with her fragile tsuntsun mode on by default, triggered even by the smallest catalyst / slightest embarassing event possible [ froggie keychain scene ftw- ] while being as awesome as she always were with her built in railgun ability :D. kuroko, otherwise [ the other half of the dynamic duo ] can be a bit annoying at times [ the way she talks, most especially ], still it is that very personality of hers which provided much of the spice / amusement throughout the story; her seemingly over-the-board yuri mindset is to be thumbs up-ed for, definitely^^. there's two other new characters listed into the series, with ruiko saten being my primary target of interest atm, probably because she had the almost same look as wif my beloved yomi ufufun-

visual wise, to aru kagaku no railgun seems to be executed by the other team of j.c. staff; the one which have been producing dramatic romantic comedy / slice-of-life titles such as toradora ! and shigofumi [ just to name a few ] as observed through the slight change of art / visual direction and a much lighter color palette used in the first episode. the camerawork is pretty neat this time around, befitting of the new visual direction and is very much action friendly; perhaps j.c. staff would consider on keeping it this way for the coming second season of to aru majutsu no index :3

a yuri series in the making ? hime greatly approves !

next stop : nogizaka haruka no himitsu -purezza-, kobato, kampfer, nyan koi etc.

seitokai no ichizon : first impression

SEITOKAI NO ICHIZON
studio : Studio DEEN
director : Takuya Sato
serial run : October 2, 2009 - December 25, 2009
total episodes : 13

FANSERVICE ANIME FOR OTAKU, NOT ?

if you're looking for a decent light comedy / harem series with a nice male lead perhaps it is best for you to pin this one up onto yer watchlist. the only male protagonist of the show, sugizaki is a sure-love from the get go, mainly for his epic mindset which nevertheless reminds me of keiichi maebara from the higurashi fame; ironically both series were produced by the same animation studio. aside from sugizaki we also get to have a staple bishoujo harem circle comprising of an explosive tsundere, a hard-to-hit cool type ojou-sama [ my fave out of the 4 ladies so far :3 ], a flat-chested hyper girl and a sweet but not quite airhead imouto-type.

anyway, the show made use several explicitly familiar pop culture parodies [ the greatest charm of the series, definitely ] mostly centering on high-profiled series such as lucky star, suzumiya haruhi no yuutsu, k-on ! [ surprisingly we get a kyoani hat-trick here ], internally produced higurashi and umineko no naku koro ni [ gotta love the uso-da ! expression ] and dragonball [ +a quick jab at the awfully-hollywood-produced 'evolution' ] among many, as well as intimate poke at the general otaku community in general. there's plenty other for me to list here but it is best for me to leave the detail hunting part upon yer peeps. design wise the character design seems to closely mirror those of the generic harem / eroge-styled template, most particularly akane-iro ni somaru saka. not something that i would hate though as long as the designs were done correctly.

plot wise you shouldn't be expecting anything solid / concrete from the series; the first few minutes into the show itself is a disclaimer so to say. as with lucky star, the series are mostly made of random dialogues and [ deliciously ] engaging interaction between its main cast, and like the aforementioned lucky star, the show as well can be pretty entertaining provided that you have adequate understanding / exposure into the otakudom.

next stop : nogizaka haruko no himitsu -purezza-, to aru kagaku no railgun, kobato etc.

let's talk on hime's top five anime series

the following list were directly inspired from the one i had on my MAL profile, expanded [ very briefly ] with elaborate thoughts and / or comments for each respective series :3 and for the one who requested me to write this, i greatly hope that you would consider upon trying those which i have listed below^^ bon appetit~

01. GA-REI ZERO
simply put, ga-rei zero is the kind of series which i have always been looking forward to, both story and execution wise. prior to this series i've had high hopes on titles such as shikabane hime and yozakura quartet yet both series doesn't seem to live [ enough ] to my initial expectation, though i did find both series to be very well entertaining. also, ga-rei zero is the kind of show that will constantly poke / intrigue your very attention for its action and drama, and throughout its run the show has never fail to deliver what it were supposed to do so - the mind-blowing action sequences were magnificently choreographed it'll left you gaping in awe while the drama-portion of the story were so beautifully crafted that emotionally fragile audiences would certainly crumble down and break themselves into tears by the tragic end.

02. HAIBANE RENMEI
the best series ever to be based upon the subject of 'what might lies ahead in the afterlife', with a remarkably interesting conception over the realm of purgatory itself. nothing morbid to be expected from this series, instead it is a purely heartwarming day-to-day slice of life story of the once lived haibanes, former young humans who were confined within the walls of glie for reason unknown [ yet to me ]. the entire series had an exquisitely tailored folkish feel and atmosphere to it [ as with spice and wolf ], augmented with the winning use of irish folk / celtic inspired music to provide the mood essentially needed for the stories and emotions to grow upon.

03. ARIA [ ALL THREE SERIES +THE OVA ]
a series / franchise that is rich on delightful character development [ most notably the three junior undines ] as well as pleasantly captivating visuals, finely representing on how the lovely city of venice would look and feel like if it were ever to be reconstructed on the artificially-terraformed red planet mars. and despite the fact that whole series were built upon a mild sci-fi foundation, one may barely be aware of this very aspect as the heartwarming slice-of-life portion of aria will eventually steer your attention away from the mild-science fiction stuff throughout the entire course of the series. it may be slow paced to some but once you went deeper into aria, you'll came to love the show for what it is worth for :3

04. NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
a psychologically complex / intense sci-fi drama with heavy doses of delicious metaphors / symbolism thrown in concept, theme and visual; and were considered to be instrumental in paving the way for the many psychologically disturbing series to come [ serial experiments lain / revolutionary girl utena for brief example ]. the series were also notable for its embracement over a multitude of thought-provoking subjects [ a mild deviation during its time ], namely psychology, spiritual and humanity's perception over the divination of science and technology among others. technically, it is a series that should be savored / viewed ONLY with a widely open mind. and before i forget anything, the series has the most badass mecha ever conceived in the fiction realm - the EVA 01.

05. K-ON !
it has been highly overrated during its prime, yeap. but nevertheless i loved the series even more so than suzumiya haruhi no yuutsu which had once occupied this very spot here. and though i am also a great fan of lucky star, yet still i find k-on ! to be much more easier for me to adapt / relate myself to as it tackles on the primary subject of interest of mine which is music - another noteworthy point of attention of the series is the delicious character development for the most of its cast, especially the girls from the music club itself namely yui, mugi and azu-nyan among the rest. like many other kyoani releases, the art and visual execution were superbly top notch as prevalent through the series' entire run despite my mild disappointment over the lack of the much anticipated jam / band scenes v.v

[ further read : complete review on ga-rei zero | complete review on aria the origination | complete review on k-on ! ]