Fall 2006 Anime Season’s Recap…. What I didn’t get myself into and vice versa.

As the new year is looming, this is a good time now to recap and reflect on Fall anime series I got into or not… I’m taking the list of anime from here….. and this is an edited list with the anime titles that stuck out in my mind as I type this entry. Obviouslythere are some anime I would wish to list, because my mind is still agog with it..but not sure where to randomly put it.. before I get myself confused with trying to list it.

Black Blood Brothers…. interesthing anime.. I like vampires and got stuck in episode 7.. getting confused as I was overwhemed with school.

Kiniro no Corda ~Primo Passo~ or La Corda D’Oro ~primo passo~ …. two different versions of name Japanese and English version. I’m still quite confused by the naming, so I’m calling it primo passo. Watching this anime and with other events has my napping tendencies for loving classical music. I really like the music in this series and really would love to play the game that is said to be coming out of it. Provided I learn to read and speak Japanese of course.

Black Lagoon Second Barrage ….. I really like this series… it made me laugh, cry, and all about being quite violent that I shudder to even try and not think of it’s probable release in America with all the censorship and dubbing.

Pumpkin Scissors – I like this series at the beginning, but the series as I tappered back in watching it seems to have slowed down. So it’s a bit redundent if the guy keeps on getting hurt all the time in trying to save something… like a human weapon.. still I love the scenes he has with his cats… they’re sooo cute!

D. Grey Man – Been getting quite aimlessly. Not even sure what is it even about…but two of my friends are watching it for the purposes of a seiyuu. It’s going on a list of anime to be watched seriously… following titles like Le Chevileir D’Eon, Trinity Blood, Blood+, Count of Monte Cristo.

Death Note – Been following… enough said about that.. I’ll still follow it on the attempt of finding anime in common with other people… that being said… I think this is one of the more sucessful Fall anime.

Ghost Hunt – Watched episode 1, was really confused and backed away.

Red Garden – Like D-Grey Man, getting it aimlessly for art reasons.. but quite confused of the plot altogether.

Negima!? – Been trying to get into this anime with no avail… got confused with not watching it in two weeks and forgot where I was up to.. but really want to see this anime…. despite the fact that I have to remind myself to watch the first season before jumping into it.. and afraid that is self going to try and mentally hack into the anime for it’s harem tendcies, but still intereted because there’s that older women and younger male theme going on.

Busou Renkin – Stopped watching immediately after episode five or six. Felt it was going no where and quite frankly visibily sick of the butterfly guy and what he did with that Busou Renkin thingy down his briefs….

[Edit Jan 8, 2007] Kannon (2006) – Now for clarification, I’ve only watched the first episode and decided not to watch the series, since this series is a remake from the 2002 version along with the avaliability of the game on the market. My impression of this series was of confusion and there is such a copy of Onegai Sensei’s theme.. which didn’t please me one bit.

I mention this series, because nearly every other blog I looked at had some mention of this series, so why not join the bandwagon on mentioning this series. I have negative feelings on this anime.. also because there seems to be such a hentai feeling radiating from this series.

Sumomo mo Momomo – Let’s see with an earlier entry denoucing my dislike of this series.. that’s it. I was very leery of this series.

Katekyo Hitman REBORN! – Same feeling as Sumom mo Momomo.. saw the first episode and had to stop, too disguisted with the wrongness of the series to even try and comment… but I’ll take a stab at it.. the anime title…. the hitman… his voice…. and the fact that the boy runs around in underwear for some really stupid reasons.

Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori - I really like the first season and looked forward for this second season as well, but not very much releases of the anime as a fansub, so I’m looking for the drama, but there has also been a very slow release of the episode in readable English. The concept of the new character is okay.. I wonder if she’s going to take Ai’s place as Jigoku Shoujo or something more evil is going to happen. Also another note.. this series so reminds me of Vampire Princess Miyu.. I can’t put a finger on it.. but this series reminds me so much of the TV series of Miyu.

Hataraki Man - Want to see more episode soon! Very slow in releasing and wondering if the female lead is going to break up with her boyfriend or vice versa..since she is never around. Kinda was thinking about this series as I watch Kimmi no Petto…and placing mental comparisions between her and Iwaya-san.

Bartender - An unexpected treasure find. I love the music of this series and definitely think that this series is quite original in introducing alcohol to people. Really want to see more episodes.. but like many other anime series this season.. it is very slow in releasing, but so much better than a lot of other series.

Death Note: Episode 12

In Episode 11, there was an introduction to a second Kira and now in Episode 12, you get introduced to Misa and her Shinigami Rem. I kinda deduced wrong for how she got Shinigami eyes when they mentioned how she got her Death Note from another Shinigami. I learned how to kill a Shinigami in this episode. Not that I think much of the reasoning.

Seems too hard to accomplish, when they mention that a Death God would have to fall in love with a human and then rescue them from certain death instead of taking their lives as a Death God’s purpose to live. Surmising that situation, I imagine that’s how Misa got the Death Note as Jealousy gave the powers of Death Note to her on a platter with Rem being the messenger. Jealousy reminds me of a sniveling coward… Pettigrew if you would picture when I saw it.

Certainly Misa is a new character, but I still don’t know what to think about her. How old is she and why the hell does she act so bubbly. Under that exterior I sense a more cunning and evilness to her.

The fake Kira (Misa) sent a tape to the police wanting to meet the real Kira (Light) without any police interference. I think that upon meeting each other, there would possibly be indications of wanting to steal each other’s Death Note to have more power. The implications are quite clear as Rem adomishes Misa for thinking that he/she would fall in love with her and then with Light’s speech in the end to kill the fake Kira, if he/she gets caught in a police plan?

Several thoughts about this episode… is there a gender for the Shinigami… hearing the seiyuu, I wonder if it’s a guy or a girl. I deduce guy.. but still have to wonder are Shinigami genderless? Another thought… would Misa fall for Light? I also think that Light doesn’t think much of the fake Kira. Also that situation where L was frighten of Shinigamis… does that hint something of L’s past or for future reference?

For a more complete summary of the episode and screeencaps.. go here. In moments like this I think I’m good a writing rambling thoughts, but if you want straight summary. Please go there.. since it’s a great anime review blog.

Tsubasa Chronicles 2 – Ending.

Let’s just say I bounced around watching this series. I really like the whole concept.. a lot better than xxxHolic… and what character development has been made for Sakura and Syaoran. They are older and this is an alternate universe from Card Captor Sakura. I still like it, as CLAMP inevitably made this a huge crossover event with mentions of various worlds, characters and looks for everyone. Examples are characters like Chii of Chobits, various X characters, I think Tokyo Detectives, and characters from Magic Knight Rayearth. Various examples of looks were of them as Super-deformed or as crayon drawings.

The art and music is off the hook for the first series series, to the point where I really felt something for the look of Syaoran than for stars like Hugh Jackman or even the impeccable Alan Rickman. What I like more about the second season from the first season is the art, since there were many moments for the music to show through… as a tangent point… I really liked the ED theme.

The ending of this series arc is gives quite a happy-sad feeling. I feel kinda frustrated for Sakura as so many memory feathers separated again and then the realization that a 3rd season is going to come out is filling me with much anticipation. This anticipation is hoping to continue on with the manga and profit standard..still I want to see more! I’m still thinking of getting the character guide or not.. but because I don’t read the manga… it’s kinda hard for me to stomach whether or not I want to get it for the few color pages and spend about $12 for it. I really hope for an art book for this series and for xxxHolic.

Charmin Bear Mascot and Kimi wa Petto

Such an old comparsion right? I would think so.. since Kimi wa Petto is several years old as a Japanese Drama (J-Drama.) Even still I just recently started on a kick to watch J-Dramas and this was one I watched a little while ago.. but doesn’t anyone think that Iwaya-san and the Charmin Bear looks similar. What I meant to say is that as it was in Episode two of the drama, Iwaya Sumire was made to wear a costume that was a bear, during an article assignment in the park. What happened when she wore the costume was quite funny. Now compare this to the Charmin Bear in Time’s Square restrooms…

I can show a picture of Iwaya-san as a screen cap, but I couldn’t find any good pictures of the Charmin mascot.. comparable, so this entry is still kinda incomplete. Hmmm… there’s a graphic novel release of Kimi wa Petto..  Tramps Like Us from TokyoPop.

Curse of the Golden Flower

Happy Holidays to people and their families. Anyhow I went and caught a showing of this film and I have to say, it’s an excellent film. Having gone with a close friend, he underestimated the audience for seeing this movie. The film was relatively short, unlike Hero which was longer. This movie centered on the royal family during the Tang Dynasty with a theme of patriarical heriarchy. The conclusion was not something my friend liked. I have to say that it is the norm for Zhang Yimou’s films.

The visual depictions of Tang’s royal palace, like the multi-color glass colums and costuming is spectacular. The much work and detailed on every gown of Gong Li as Empress Phoenix is amazing and the way she acted her role was fabulous. I was impressed with details of the costumes, such as the weight of the crown Gong Li wore in one scene as with the various armors that Chow Yeun Fat and Jay Chou must don.

I would be very surprised if this movie is not nominated for an Oscar as with winning a slew of Hong Kong film awards. The cast is certainly a big drawer… Gong Li, Chow Yeun Fat and Jay Chou.

I was not impressed with the action, but given that this is a drawer for the American movie crowd, I would say there is a need for action with the fake blood, after the skeptism of my friend.

iTunes “Clean” Rating.

I just noticed today as I was looking for a song from iTunes. I don’t really have that much of a comment, but since I saw this rating today… I have to say something. Perhaps it is my dismay, but as I looked for the soundrack of Carousel, I find that the album was rated Clean. Can it not be rated G or something more different sounding than Clean, so then does “Explicit” as I see in other songs on iTunes means Dirty then?

Death Note: Episode 5-11 and Movie

I’m really behind in watching this series. In the mean while I have also watched the first live action movie of Death Note. It is as I saw it in both sequences. I liked the scene where the police met L for the first time.. but I don’t like Light’s arrogance. In some perspectives you can imagine him as an antagonoist while L is the protagonist, but on the flip side.. would it be like that ethical view of Hammurabi’s Code or as Exodus 21:23-27 as they indicate of letting proper punishment fit the crime?

Episode 8 was quite interesthing, surveillance on Light’s house and the fact that he threw out an expensive camera is something. Personally, I’m still trying to come to grips with a holiday spotaneous decision of a new laptop purchase I made with my friend. But back to Death Note, at this part of the anime as well as other parts, I think this is where the fiction comes in. Would someone in reality really second guess all of each others actions… and then in order to continue a facade, do all these other actions to write with both hands? It was quite funny to see Ryuk’s withdrawal symtoms as to not be able to eat apples. Hmm.. upside down..

Still as Episode 9 progresses, this is where the live action movie differs… there was more emphasis placed on the FBI agent and his girlfriend in the movie, but they are minor victims in the anime. I would think as L said, where Light thinks of himself as god, then it also should be as Ryuk would say, that he himself would take Light’s life in the end. There’s no possible way that the series would end in one where Light’s real idenity as the Kira is made to the police without lessening the quality of the plot. Still I think that is why I see a girl on the covers on the Death Note manga in later. I’ll see her soon and perhaps she will change the story to make it malleable.

Still I was very surprised to see L actually taking the same exams and entering the same college as Light. How old is he? If he did assist with the American FBI, then does that mean that he was very young when he became a police officer….? Still kinda strange for his actions.

In looking at Light and Ryuga.. (is that his real name? So many alias)… Like Jekeyll and Hyde, on the flip side and then some….

I guess I got my answer for who the mysterious girl is… a second Kira and this one with Shinigami eyes, she actually took the offer where as Light refused.. interesthing.

Sims 2

Well I’m an enthusiast for the game.. that doesn’t mean that I’m very good at the game. I just got Sims 2 and three other expansion packs: University, Pets and Open for Business. Might want to get Nightlife soon. I’ve always been a fan for the console games, for the PS2, GBA and DS… I have had the hardest time in playing this game, still I will try to do my best to combat this games as with the other games I brought, may it be video game or visual novels.

In playing Sims 2, you get to alter the way the character looks and live their life. Usually I would put the name of Miz and then go for the aspiration of Knowledge to be a perfectionist in what I do.