Nyan Koi! *meow, meow, meow*

I have a stack of anime to watch which i have not been watching. From Naruto, to FMA and to a few more, it's been like TV watching me for the past few weeks. I wonder if the TV knows i snore ... *hehehe* .... Anyway, i manage to pick up this Nyan Koi anime some time back. I saw it a few times in the shop. Had this, should i should i not reason not to buy it. I didn't want it to be some bimbo shows that some anime are but the cat pics keep catching my eye and after reading the back cover, the story was pretty interesting as well.


This is another manga based anime that... like Kimi Ni Todoke, will have a season 2. The anime made it's way to the TV in Oct 2009.  I must say anything cat based in the story, is normally quite attractive to me.

It's a story about a boy who has allergies to cats. Junpei Kosaka is unfortunately surrounded by cats and people who have cats.  Worse still, he's secretly having a crush on a girl in school who looks like a golden retriever but is quite a cat fan! Of course being a harem comedy, there is some other girl in school that has a secret crush on him! Complicated!

His luck worsens when he angers a local cat deity when he kicks a can on a neko-jizo-sama, inducing the deity's head to ... drop off. He is then cursed with the ability to understand and speak cat - speak. And to top it off,  he has to do a 100 good cat deeds otherwise he will turn into a cat himself!

Junpei is helped along the way by a few cat friends like Nyamsus, his cranky house cat, who becomes his friend in the end. The story sees how Junpei overcomes his allergy and his dislike for cats, to someone who comes to like them despite sneezing till the cows come home. He's is also surrounded by women who some how come to like him and all have cats. It's definitely a harem anime/comedy here.

This is quite a light-hearted show, a departure from my usual dark, bloody and some times vampire-ish animes i like to follow. It's not a deep thinking show, yet it is addictive enough for you to keep watching and wonder will Junpei be able to free himself from the curse. And his harem of ladies keep you entertained either with their daffiness or their antics.

Watch out for the last bit of each show where they have the characters appear in a short skit.


What's good?
* Cats of course, in all shapes and sizes. And they talk, talk and talk. Check out how they appear when they introduce the next segment within the show, they go "meow,meow,meow, meow. If my d
* It's a good story if you don't want shows that are deep and dark. Light-hearted fluffy stuff.
* Junpei has a good heart, despite hating cats, he helps them out and practically almost everyone that comes to him for help.


What's not so good?
* Too many characters, only some get good character development stories.
* I frankly cannot stand the tomboy character in the show, she is nothing but an annoying distraction.
* Of course, there is no real end to Season 1, there will be a season 2. I hate cliffhangers like this.

Does he ever get out of his curse? Well, we need to find out in Season 2. Check out Nyan Koi if you are looking for some light hearted relief. 

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Edward Elric-Oh Chibi Chan!!

I think after Kyo Sohma (kyon-kyon), Edward Elric is one of my most favorite Anime characters. Before i start the review of FMA:Brotherhood, it's nice to write about one of the key main characters of the show. That's my Square Enix figurine by the way...

If you don't already know, FMA is one of the best anime series around and is 2009's most anticipated anime. After a 5 year stop, we get to watch the continuation of FMA. While i won't delve too much on the storyline yet, i want to touch more on the character Edward. With his younger brother Alphonse, both these 2 youngsters are the country's youngest alchemist practitioners, set in a 1940s background ( it looks a bit like Germany )

 

Ah... ignore the karaoke subtitles lah....

Edward is undeniably short for a 12 year old when he first joined the state alchemist ( and even as the series progress at the age of 17)  and is often mistaken for being the younger brother of the pair compared to a towering metallic Al. However, the 12 year old packs a punch not only in terms of his martial arts skill but his ability to think fast on his feet, making him a formidable enemy to anyone. The pair's journey in the whole story is to look for the Philosopher's Stone and Edward's one true goal is to restore Alphonse ( his metallic younger brother )'s body to his natural body. Edward's greatest regret is the pain and harm caused to his younger brother and will do whatever he can to protect his younger ( and most self -reliant younger brother that is ) from harm - sometimes to the point where he is pretty much blinded by this.  And you will see his determination to beat his disability when he fits himself with Automail ( kinda like prosthetics ) and how he bore the pain through the process, for a 12 year old, it's far more mature than his age. I also suspect Ed has fallen in love with Winry but is too proud to admit it. My take is Ed does not want Winry to be involved in their issues simply because he does not want her hurt in the process, hence does not tells her a lot of things and that annoys her till no bounds.

Actually, i never knew this i always thought Ed being short and Alphonse being one hulk of a metal was just purely coincidence but in FMA:Brotherhood, there was an explanation of why these are 2 like this. Though Winry will tend to disagree that it's the lack of milk ( which Ed hates ) that causes the lack of growth.

It's all not punctuated with doom and gloom, one thing FMA excels is the hilarious funny moments that fills the show and also Edward and Alphonses( at time - see the header ) funny faces! It's a riot at times.

I think Ed kicked-ass his Dad

When i first watched Full Metal Alchemist ( Season 1 ), Edward was the ultimate character for me. Strong, resilient and family comes first attitude is something that attracted my attention and a lot of viewers attention. Good acting from the seiyuu ( Romi Park ) also gives Edward a lot of depth. I cried tonnes/buckets when his mother died and Ed bore the responsibility of looking after his younger brother with a practically non existent father nowhere to be found. I think he found he almost had a father figure in Maes Hughes, one of the army people he meets along the way, and whom in turn takes care of the Elric brothers like sons. Be prepared for some heart wrenching moments here as the story develops. Edward wins a lot of people over in this show.

I hope you are tempted enough to start picking up FMA if you have not. Will be doing some reviews on Al next.

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