28/05/11 Weekly Wrap-Up

Fear not. I haven't forgotten my blog. Just a really quick update this week. I really haven't had time for much anime lately. I haven't even watched the top 3 of the season this week yet. That's mainly because I have to watch them in a specific order and UTW subs are delayed. I'm probably going to drop A-Channel and Steins;Gate. They both bore me to tears.

I don't have much time due to a lot of assessments in the coming month, so don't expect any reviews anytime soon. They're coming. I promise. Trying to balance school, anime, manga, music and exercise (in the form of learning dances for fun), and various other things is really difficult, but I'm trying. I don't want to become the kind of person who does nothing but study all the time. Of course I want to excel in my studies, but what kind of self-development is there in hitting the books 24/7? You just become a somewhat mindless and boring person, who frankly doesn't know much at all.

This week, I did manage to get a few episodes of anime in towards the beginning of the week. I watched Astarotte no Omocha, Ao no Exorcist, Hanasaku Iroha, Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi and Gosick. Gosick was absolutely amazing. Hopefully these last few episodes don't disappoint, but hey, no expectations means no disappointment. I think I finally don't feel the need to watch a million episodes per day any more.

Truthfully though, I haven't really been doing much work despite not watching anime. I've been watching BEAST related videos like their MTV documentary. I think I've been in a constant high ever since I realised that k-pop isn't all boring like DBSK and BIGBANG or just bad... like all the girl groups. Yes, the revelation was a little overwhelming. Well, at the moment the only group I really love is BEAST. They're so good that their live performances sound recorded. I also like U-KISS and ZE:A but not enough to bother learning any of their names. I have a hard time remembering Korean names for some reason. My musical horizons are expanding but I'll save that story for another day.

For now, I'm out. Real commentary to come as soon as I get around to watching the episodes. Perhaps in the monthly wrap-up, although I have an important exam two days after that. We'll see.

Hooray. Hidan no Aria just got released. Time to watch. Laters.

21/05/11 Weekly Wrap-Up

Yes, it's worth that much. No, I didn't pay that much. I'll show you what I have someday...

This week went by so fast I felt like I had no time to do anything. I get a little scared every time someone reminds me of how little time I have left to prepare for the biggest exam of my life. I spoiled myself with another massive order from Book Depository. I do have a round of assessments coming in 2 weeks so blogging will be a little sparse... not that it isn't already. I promise I'm trying. This post is a day late too because I went to a birthday party yesterday. Nothing happened but it was fun anyway. I hadn't been to one in ages.

Pending Reviews: TOO MANY ..........

• Clannad: After Story
• Moshidora
• Highschool of the Dead
• Chrno Crusade
• The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross

I tried to do the Fortune Arterial one but I didn't remember much so that one won't be out any time soon.

Didn't start any anime this week.

Manga started this week: Kimi ni Todoke, Full Moon o Shigashite, Pandora Hearts, Hidan no Aria (Light novel), Dengeki Daisy (Delinquent school custodian...mmm)

Manga completed: I-O-N
It was really nice story and the art was pretty good for Arina Tanemura's first ever complete volume, even though she did short stories before that. In short, I really liked it.

Song of the week:
Well, I downloaded all of UVERworld's music and B2ST/Beast's new album. People seem to have this misconception that I've been 'converted' to kpop. Seriously, stuff you. I never was against it in the first place. I just don't like all the stuff you do. (Sigh) I never really found anything in Korean music that I liked before this album. I should listen to some music in English but I'm so lazy and it hasn't been that good as of late.



5. UVERworld - Rush
4. Kurosaki Maon - The Place of Hope (HotD ED)
3. B2ST - On Rainy Days/The Day the Rain Came : I'm trying to figure out the guitar for this.
2. Misato Aki - Spread Wings (Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai OP)
1. B2ST - Back to You (My favourite song on the album.)

The intro song was the beginning of B2ST - The Fact.

I've been learning May'n - Scarlet Ballet on piano. It's so fast. I finally finished learning Secondhand Serenade - Your Call on guitar. I just can't sing and play at the same time properly but singing is the only way I know when to play what.

SPRING ANIME RANKINGS v4
Some really good ones and some really bad ones this week. I may drop a few but I don't really like leaving things midway.

1. AnoHana +1 : Heartbreaking.
2. Hidan no Aria -1 : It lacked something this week. Just a little something that was there in all the other episodes.
3. Gosick = : So beautifully cryptic. Best episode yet.
4. Hanasaku Iroha = : Hilarious episode.
5. Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko = : I absolutely love the art. There were so many close ups of faces I nearly died.
6. Ao no Exorcist = : Best episode so far. I loved the back story. Dislike the love interest.
7. Deadman Wonderland +3 : Quite exciting.
8. Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai -1 : I don't know what to think. Only 5 episodes left. Will it make sense in the end?
9. SKET Dance = : Cute episode.
10. Astarotte no Omocha! -2 : Utter disappointment. It was really bad this week.
11. Dog Days = : A decent follow-up. Not too bad.
12. Steins;Gate = : I fell asleep.
13. C +1 : I'm a little lost. I don't understand it's popularity. It's like Yu-Gi-Oh! with credit cards, just not as good. I fell asleep.
14. Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL +1 : Well, I also fell asleep.
15. A-Channel -2 : And for the third time, I fell asleep.
16. Sekaiichi Hatsukoi +1 : This show is lame.
17. Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi -1 : This show.. remind me why I'm watching this?

Best of the week:
AnoHana again. The story is amazing. It really tugs are your heartstrings. I can't imagine what would happen if I decided to watch all the episodes in a row. Waterfall incoming?

Worst of the week:
Everything I fell asleep in along with Hoshizora and Sekaiichi. Really. No joke. It was a bad week.

Most memorable moment:
When the guy in Deadman Wonderland got his eye gouged out. (I don't want to post a picture so have a little of Kurosaki over there instead.) I'm not usually phased by any sort of gore but it was censored which made me imagine all this stuff about what it would be like. It was really graphic. Not to mention I was eating at the time. I didn't finish my food. I nearly spit it everywhere.

14/05/11 Weekly Wrap-Up

So this week wasn't a particularly eventful one. I went by the whole thing in an absolute daze. I was so sleep deprived due to the insane amount of English homework. I hardly remember what happened. I do, however, remember that my youtube account was terminated. I never liked youtube, but apparently, you only get your videos removed if someone reports you. Shame on that person for not allowing me to share the music I like! Also, I did receive 6 books in the mail, with 10 still on the way. That brightened up my week a lot. The amount of Shojo Beat manga I buy is crazy.

Pending Reviews

• Fortune Arterial: Red Promise (It's actually been a while since I watched this but I wanted to do a review because I actually liked this as opposed to the majority of people whose reviews I did read.)
• Clannad: After Story + Kyou Chapter OVA
• Moshidora
• Highschool of the DEAD + OVA
• The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross (Thought I'd try a manga review.)

Anime started this week: Bottle Fairy. It's terrible.

Manga started this week: Princess Ai

Anime completed this week: Highschool of the DEAD. I was actually following the dub, but I couldn't stand waiting any more, so I watched it all on Thursday.

Song of the week:

I actually download songs like a madwoman, so this week, I decided I would make a video of the top 5 songs I added to itunes this week! I uploaded it to megaupload which really decreased the quality a lot. It took me hours, and hours, because my editing skills are rather rusty. It took me ages to cut the songs and put them together properly so it would sound okay.

5. French Kiss - Kakko Warui I love you! (Sket Dance OP) - It's so catchy!
4. Kishida Kyoudan  & The Akeboshi Rockets - HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD (HotD OP)
3. momo - Daisuki da you (Moshidora ED) - I love the chorus.
2. UVERworld - CORE PRIDE (Ao no Exorcist OP) - Despite the fact that the ending theme is absolutely unbearable, I love the opening theme and have been listening to it over and over. I love the gang vocals.
1. Nakano Aiko - Camellia no Hitomi (Hidan no Aira ED) - I've been listening to this on repeat.

I do realise they're all songs from anime, but I haven't really had the chance to go look up some new English music. Some of the obscure music I like is not so easy to find.

SPRING ANIME RANKINGS v3
I revised my scoring system this week. I think it actually makes more sense now and the scores match my thoughts on the series'. The amount of 'fluff' in all the episodes this week was insane.

1. Hidan no Aria = : It doesn't fail to impress yet again. After I see something happen, I realise how predictable it was. What makes it good is I didn't know it was going to happen. Aria's character is also nice because she shows more of her deredere side.
2. AnoHana = : Emotional overload. It's absolutely beautiful. It's quite powerful in the way it makes the viewer able to empathise with all the characters.
3. Gosick : Adding this in this week since it's on going as well. The real story is unfolding. The ending was so touching.
4. Hanasaku Iroha = : More melodrama and amazing art.
5. Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko = : The show that you really like, but have no idea why you like it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
6. Ao no Exorcist +1 : Really cheesy episode but I liked it. I hope this show continues to improve.
7. Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai +1 : Total mindfuck, but something is happening. I can just feel it underneath all the bad but funny fan service. The series is mid-way through now, and the way I see it is it'll either be absolutely mindblowing, or it will fail epically. 
8. Astarotte no Omocha +2 : This is turning out to be a lot more than it initially was. It's nice, and somehow manages to put a smile on my face.
9. SKET Dance +6 : Really a hit and miss kind of show. This weeks episode was really heartwarming.
10. Deadman Wonderland -4 : Conceptually, I like it but it's getting more and more boring by the week.
11. Dog Days +1 : That twist at the end. Shocking. 
12. Steins;Gate -3 : *Yawns* Need I say more? It's not confusing or anything, it's just really weird and extremely boring. The banana jokes aren't funny any more.
13. A-Channel +1 : This show is just bad. What happened?
14. C -3 : I'm so disappointed that this isn't as good as I thought it would be. Animation isn't good at all.
15. Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal -2 : It's like this show doesn't even try to be good.
16. Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi = : Don't even get me started on the fan service. There is also absolutely no plot whatsoever.
17. Sekaiichi Hatsukoi = : Just not feeling the emotion. It's so superficial. It's lame.

Best of the week: AnoHana episode 5. The emotional impact this show has is amazing. 

Worst of the week: Hoshizora and Sekaiichi. Wow. Never have I ever seen anything so bad.

Most memorable moment:

I really want to see Victorique meet her mother. This moment was one of those 'awwwww' ones.

Seikon no Qwaser「REVIEW」

Details:

Producer: Hoods Entertainment

Season: Winter 2009

Episodes: 24

Genre: Action, Supernatural

Demographic: Shounen....really?

Synopsis:

In St. Mikhailov Academy, Oribe Mafuyu meets a silver haired boy called Alexander. He is a Qwaser, a being who can manipulate iron and draws his power from breast milk. A mystery surrounding an icon tranforms the academy into a setting for conflict between the various Qwasers.

To make a long story short, let's just say this was very different. Not in terms of the plot per se but rather in the use of sucking breast milk as a plot device. Frankly, the plot itself didn't stray very far from your typical good versus evil storyline and even though I tend to enjoy that kind of anime a lot, Seikon no Qwaser became quite sleep inducing at certain points. It was very episodic to begin with a new enemy appearing every episode. The plot didn't really begin to develop properly until the later half of the season.

The basic concept of a Qwaser is original though. I have to give this show credit for that. The idea is that a Qwaser is a being who has control over a single element. These elements, however, are not the typical earth, air, fire and water, but rather chemical elements that you would find on a periodic table. The show combines science and religion in a really odd way, and watching it would be a better experience with knowledge of Christianity and chemistry. I didn't really get a lot of those religious references but they're not really too important.

The characters in Seikon no Qwaser were far from original. With the girls, you have the tsundere, the damsel in distress, loli, rich bitch, and the list goes on. The males were generally the antagonists and none of them were particular well developed in any way. In fact, the characters were relatively superficial. They don't have any really solid back story. The only real explanation you get is the reason for Sasha's vendetta against the Twelve Adepts, but that was just generic. It's not generally a huge problem if there's a lack of character development for minor characters but here, the characters never stray from their given trope and really just stay the same for the entire series.

The art wasn't fantastic. The focus was generally more on exaggerated features such as breasts, rather than overall aesthetics. At times, breasts and facial features seemed disproportionate with the rest of the body. I'm not really sure if that was done on purpose or not. Although, I guess it's expected from an anime that was made for fanservice. The animation was average. It wasn't terrible but it didn't really stand out either. I thought the action scenes were done really well though. They gave a good view of what was going on.

Musically, it wasn't particularly memorable. The soundtrack wasn't revetting or anything, but it did compliment  what was going on, so I don't really have any issues with that. The opening and ending themes weren't too good, in my opinion. 

Overall, it wasn't really a memorable experience. It was basically a story made for fan service. Being a girl, the ecchi and practically borderline hentai didn't both me at all, but it does make this something I wouldn't recommend to everyone. It's not something that I would watch again either. Conceptually, it's unusual, so I rate this series a 6/10.

GOSICK: The Two-Thirds Edition

So zak4994 commented on my previous post and asked what I thought of GOSICK so far, and I thought this would be the perfect time to do a post on it. Why now you ask? Because two-thirds is better than a half. Besides, a nice arc just finished. Beware of potential spoilers.

Overall, what I love about this is the elegant style. A 20th century European setting is perfect for a mystery and really adds to the whole feel of it. (Does anybody else love Victorique's absolutely gorgeous period dresses?) It reminds me a little of Sherlock Holmes. I also really like the way the story doesn't solely focus on the mysteries but also focuses on the development of the characters' relationships.

Characters

I absolutely adore Victorique. She's too cute for words. Her back-story is really interesting and at this stage, seems to be the driving point of the story. I also really like the development of the relationship between her and Kujo. Avril just seems irrelevant except for her own arc in the story. Grevil is an interesting one. It's as if he's torn between doing what his father wants and doing what he wants. I'm curious as to what the role of Brian Roscoe is, and Corderlia's relationship with him. Victorique's father, Albert, seems to have some sort of major role in this.

Forehead flicks do hurt. I know from experience.

Plot

I think initially, we don't really realise the point of all the mysteries. They didn't connect, and it was just one case after another. As soon as one finished, another one would start in the next episode. I've read a lot of comments and things about the mysteries, and a lot of people seem to be saying that the they're too simple. They really aren't that simple. If you watch this series while sitting there straining your mental ability to figure it out, you're just lessening the enjoyment for yourself. Just sit back and enjoy it. Seriously.

Now maybe I'm reading too much into this, but consider this. GOSICK is set in 1924 between World War I and World War II. Albert, Victorique's father, asked Leviathan to created an army of homunculi. An army of artificial soldiers to fight in the war. I'm guessing here that this is World War I. Now, before Leviathan died, he suggested that if Albert wanted to have power, he would have to have a daughter of unexplainable power. Enter Victorique. Although the biggest mysery right now might be the origin of the Gray Wolves. With that aside, the story of GOSICK seems to be an alternative path of history, rather than an isolated story. It's a take on 'what would happen if there was another country involved in WWII?'

Raspberry face.

After the Leviathan arc, the story has become considerably darker. I've started to view in a different light I guess. It's not simply just my mindless Saturday morning fun any more. It's like having a sudden epiphany that made it all seem worthwhile. I really was starting to wonder where the series was heading. That doesn't  mean I wasn't enjoying it. I really love this series. It is by no means a perfect 10 but it is definitely one of my favourites. I could probably watch it over and over again, just for the fun of it.

Future?
In terms of what's going to happen, I'm just as curious as the next person. However, I'm not usually one for trying to guess what is going to happen in the next episode or even at the end. It just lessens the impact if you turn out to be right. I prefer to take it as it comes. I'd like to find out the history of the Gray Wolves besides the fact they possess some sort of supernatural power. I don't ever want to see Victorique and Kujo separated. The thought of it pains me.

---

So there you have my thoughts so far. For now, I'll leave you with some adorableness.

07/05/11 Weekly Wrap-Up

Shameless shipping. They're so cute.

I thought I'd start doing this due to my lack of time to regularly write reviews, and because I feel like writing about random things. I'm far from impressed with my progress at school despite the fact that people keep telling me I'm doing fine but I've been doing a whole load of retail therapy. On Tuesday, I did a bulk order from Book Depository. I might actually post my manga collection after I get my books. Maybe. SUMMER LIST WILL BE UPDATED SOON.... MAYBE.

Pending Reviews:

• Seikon no Qwaser
• Fortune Arterial: Red Promise
• Clannad: After Story
• Moshidora

SPRING ANIME RANKINGS v2

1. Hidan no Aria +3 : I thought it just couldn't get any better. How wrong was I.
2. Ano Hana -1 : Aria took over. This show is still amazing though.
3. Hanasaku Iroha = : The art is beautiful and the story is developing quite nicely.
4. Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko -2 : Where the story is going, I have no idea, but this show makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
5. Deadman Wonderland = : It was really boring this week. I have it on a 6/10 at the moment, and that's really saying something about the anime this season.
6. Ao no Exorcist +2 : It was interesting this week. I actually didn't yawn at all while watching this week. There was actually some element of surprise. There was also guns.
7. Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai +8 : I think I'm starting to piece things together in my head. This anime is quite funny. I think I was just being to harsh previously.
8. Steins;Gate +2 : Somewhat predictable revelation but execution wasn't too bad. Character interaction is nice.
9. Astarotte no Omocha +5 : Latest episode was kind of nice... after I got over how annoying Lotte was. 
10. C -1 : So incredibly boring. The story isn't making much sense. It's so vague. The animation is so bad, my eyes burn. 
11. Dog Days = : Nice battle scenes. Other than that, it was boring. The singing at the end was nice.
12. Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL : I just started this week. It's pretty generic and childish.
13. A-Channel -6 : The same jokes are being used over and over. It's not funny anymore.
14. Sket Dance = : Episodic. Not funny.
15. Hoshizora e Kakaru Hoshi -2 : Cliché. Really bad harem. Retains interest but little in terms of development.
16. Sekaiichi Hatsukoi -8 : So you finish with one couple and just move onto the next? The romance is basically like rape... I just sit there cringing for 20 minutes. Not to mention, I don't really understand the connection between the couples?

Ratings changed drastically after one week. The first four are pretty solid, but after that, they're not fantastic.


Anime completed this week: Clannad: After Story, Moshidora

Best of the week: Hidan no Aria episode 4

Worst of the week: Sekaiichi Hatsukoi episode 5

Song of the week: Hidan no Aria OP - Scarlet Ballet by May'n

I actually really didn't like this song at first, but I actually really like it now. It's grown on me. Not to mention this amazing piano transcription. I'm going to learn it but even though I'm classically trained in piano, I'm not sure if my fingers can handle it after not playing for so long.

Most memorable moment:

Girls with guns.

It seems as if this whole post is about Hidan no Aria... I love this show, so what can I say.

On another note: