Showing posts with label Anime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anime. Show all posts

Maid Sama!  メイド さま!

>> Jan 9, 2011

Okaeri-nasai Goshujin sama...

It's been a long long time since i blogged about anime or dramas. Not really because i didn't watch any, not much time to blog about it anyway. Year end 2010 dramas were meh, but there were a few good animes in town. Kimi Ni Todoke was one i managed to blog and watch but i found this Maid Sama pretty interesting. While normally such fluffy animes normally past me, but some how Maid Sama's interesting story line caught me interested. I also learn alot of new words like "もえ、もえ” and ツンデレ. I almost gave up on this anime initially because i was watching it in Manila, and it was English dubbed for ANIMAX... god i hate those English dubbed animes. Loses the context.

However, i would think such storyline in real life might be a bit strange, particularly in the west. Some might say it bothers on セクハラ (sekuhara) *hehehehe* but it goes to explain alot of the characters in Maid Sama. While i quite like the Japanese lifestyle, i have not totally embraced the Otaku culture particularly the Maid cafe concept. So i was skeptical when i picked up Maid Sama! But Usui Takumi won me over! I can't resist orange haired ,green eyed men.  

Misaki & Usui
Usui Tamaki &Ayuzawa Misaki ( face red as usual )

Ok, storyline time. The story is based on 16 year old Misaki Ayuzawa's daily high school life at Seika High School. This was a school that was predominantly a male school until recently, they introduced a small pool of females in the school. Misaki is the epitome of a feminist, male hater ( her dad left her, mom and sister poor and penniless) and a always i can do better than men attitude. Her attempts to change the school to a more integrated male and female school got her nominated to the post of School president (生徒会長) with an all male council. Misaki is quite the super woman. She is almost the top student in school ( Usui beat her to it ), she runs the school council, and works part time at a maid cafe to make ends meet in her family. However, her strong and independent nature makes it hard for her to tell people she works at a maid cafe. Actually i find her pretty much of a control freak but her tough nature comes from her rather poor life. Sometimes, her school mates even call her Oni because she is as tough as nails.Until her classmate Usui Tamaki discovers her secret.

Usui Takumi on the other hand is a 17 year old student who seems to be a bit odd in the whole school. He's a cool, composed boy who is obviously quite popular with both the male and females in the school but he could  hardly give a hoot on anyone except to quietly observe everyone in the school. And the boy is pretty much of a loner. Stays in a big apartment on his own with no parents in sight ( his mother died and he was sent to Japan to live with his grandmother). Till he met Misaki. In the start of the anime, it looks like Usui and Misaki had their clashes but he only took notice of her when he discovered her working at maid cafe and her interesting choice of job leads him to learn a bit more of Misaki.
vlcsnap-71416.png
The Discovery

Misaki thinks that Usui will black mail here but he doesn't instead keeping her secret and teasingly asks her to be his maid. And thus the start of a rather strange ( stalker like at some times ) and poignant relationship between these 2. She hates his guts. He drives her nuts, she can't read his mind at times and he almost pushes a limit in the definition of harassment yet at the same time, he saves ( in some very timely interventions ) her from her own stubbornness and of course boys who want to take advantage of her naiveness and also makes Misaki question her own point of view may not be always right as she thinks it is.
Usui Takumi Worship
The Guys worshiping Usui-kun
The first 2 episodes get you wondering what Usui's intent is with the secret he knows, but it becomes clearer in the episodes along the way his intentions on Misaki. The poor girl is as blur as a sotong as we would say in Malaysia or Singapore and she is awkward as in response to his attempts to kiss her or post kiss reactions( hehehehe spoiler ) Her expressions are priceless in these scenes and her attempts to handle this is followed by a lot of blushing and wildly gesticulating arm movements.  Her attempt so say i like you to Usui always comes out as " 碓氷 代嫌い!” ( I hate you, which Usui interprets as like ) 
Ayuzawa-Awkward
What??
I especially like Episode 6, where Usui clearly made his intentions to Misaki. I thought it was quite gallant what he did but heck how he did it left my going hah??????????? (typical japanese way of expressing disbelief)  Jumping off a school building and yet survive? This guy is a super man.
Maid Sama-Lead Up to the Kiss
The Kiss , the confession and the leap

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Nyan Koi! *meow, meow, meow*

>> May 30, 2010

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.
Nyankoi Collage

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.
Nyankoi-Omake Collage

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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Next in Review: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

>> Apr 25, 2010

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood-001



2009's most anticipated Anime. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Oh Chibi-chan, you are up next in review.

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Kimi Ni Todoke (君 に 届け) - A review and there are spoilers.

>> Apr 24, 2010

Kimi Ni Todoke Collage
I make a horrible anime blogger because ... it's a heck more effort then being a food blogger! But i have decided to restrict my writing for anime based on shows i really really really like. Which is quite little at times. Some of the anime are not worth watching or putting a blog post up. But 2009 and 2010 has been a good anime year as i have seen quite a few number of good ones. This one is one of my favorites this year. Kimi Ni Todoke or in english, Reaching out to you.

This is actually an anime based from a manga as they always are and it's superbly converted to an anime. It's also going to be out as a dorama this year but i will hold me excitement on that as very few anime to dorama shows have really peaked my interest. For example, Honey and Clover, in my opinion plays better as an anime rather than a dorama.

Do you all remember the time when you were in high school, you feel like the social outcast? The gawky kid that no one wants to talk to or everyone throws a slushie at you ( this is so from glee :) ) Well, if those kind of awkward teenage moments come rushing back to you, then Kimi Ni todoke will bring you down memory lane. Set in Hokkaido, this is a story of a young girl who is considered a social outcast by her peers, mainly because of her name and her keen resemblance to a Japanese horror icon familiar to many.  Remember Sadako? Meet, Sawako Kuronuma. :) With that long long black hair and that ability to "sneak" up on people quietly,  the kids in her school thinks she is a freak actually. They even talk about her so called ability to curse people. Sitting next to Sawako was like sitting next to death itself.  Everyone takes to calling her Sadako instead of Sawako until people mistakes it for actually being her name.
Scary Sawako


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Kimi Ni Todoke - hajimeru

>> Apr 10, 2010

Poster Blog-Kimi Ni Todoke

Sometime this week, i will get to kick start the review of this anime, Kimi Ni Todoke... This is just a teaser. :)

Btw, the poster is done up by me, with pictures taken from around the internet.

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My New Toy

>> Feb 18, 2010

Muwahahaha -difficult to get Fatina from Tower of Druuga :) I loike!
Fatina-039

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Valkyria Chronicles

>> Dec 26, 2009

Top Left-Right(The good guys: Homer Peron, Faldio Landzaat, Edy Nelson, Irene Ellet, Largo Potter, Hans the Pig, Elenaor Varrot, Ramal Valt, Jann Walker, Welkin Gunther, Isara Gunther, Marina Wulfstan, Susie Evans, Rosie Stark, Zaka and Princess Cordelia )                        

More often than not, i get caught up in my animes. ( No, my life is not sad ) The characters placed in the anime are sometimes gets your guts far more than any academy award actor/actoress would. So, that goes by saying how good a job a seiyuu has done for that character (Seiyuu- Voice Actor) One of the shows that got me hooked on this year is Valkyria Chronicles. I could not believe i almost passed it up in the beginning. I am totally hooked on Faldio Landzaat's character.

Valkyria Chronicles is based on a Sega game which is now converted to an anime ( yeah they run out of things to draw about sometimes ) and i must say so far this is the best conversion anime i have seen. The anime is loosely based on this game itself and debut in Japan April 2009.

    Alicia Melchiott

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Natsume No YuujinCho

>> May 12, 2009

I love this 13 part ( Season 1) anime. Natsume no Yuujincho means Natsume's book of friends. And it is no ordinary book of friends, in fact it is a ghostly kind of friends.Yup, it's yurei, youkai and obake a lot. Now, every one knows that Japan has ghosts ( of the long hair kind which is a bad characterizations ) but besides the usual floor crawling kind, their culture is rich which stories of monsters, fearful ghosts as well as fairies.

Natsume is a young boy who has inherited the gift of the 3rd eye. The ability to see residents of the "netherworld" and to him that is gift he rather not have. His ability has left him being shuffled among relatives ( parents died young ) as no one would want a young child who kept insisting there is something in the room when there was nothing there. Till he was accepted by a childless couple in the small outskirts in Japan. However, his spirit visions don't stop and continue to chase him. Worse off, every yurei he meets, keeps telling him he looks like someone they seem to know.

One day, while running away from one yurei, he accidentaly breaks the seal that houses a large youkai known as Madara. ( voiced by Hatake Kakashi's seiyu ) and this youkai tells him that he looks like Reiko. Natsume's late grandmother. Who had also the power to see ghosts as well as "seal" ( by taking their name ) them in what she calls her book of friends. She later uses it to summon the ghosts for her own bidding. Reiko seems like a powerful person, who can beat the crap out of humans and ghosts a like and ended making some powerful enemies when she took their name.

Natsume strikes a deal with Madara ( who turns into a cat called Nyanko sensei ) that while he works to return the names of the ghosts stuck by the deal, any remainder will be given to Madara, who will also eat Natsume at the end of the deal.
Each episode, you will get to see the different yurei, obake, small gods that make up Japanese legends. Now how many are really from Japanese legends i am not sure but some are down right creepy - like those with 1 eye or those that crawl on the floor. Some are downright cute and sweet. I have to say there were some episodes that were so sad, really, you need tissues. There are really no frightening ones ( like in juon ) but it gives you a good inside of how deep japanese cultures are. My favorite story is of the one where the yurei is peeping behind the man's shoulder.
Natsume, is not alone in his quest and in his journeys, he meet people past and present that are "special" like him. When i say past, he gets to know about his late grandmother a little bit more through the ghosts that he meets in his quest to return their names. At the same time, meet other humans who can see ghosts like him.

What i like about this show:
* The ethereal feel about the show, it looks so... soft... and feathery
* The story line of course.
* Natsume's trusting nature of human and otherwise and the friendships he builds with people around him.
* The music, the intro and ending song was pretty good in my books. Especially the last song. Can't find it anywhere but it is a pretty awesome song.

I found that his grandmother was one scary lady to begin with. Takes some guts to bop ghosties on the head with little thought and beat the crap out of them and he seeks to distinguish himself away from her.

I only wished they could extend the story line a bit more. For me 13 episodes was short. After the first season, they introduced Zoku Natsume no Yujin Cho as a continuation but the series still feels that it has more to tell. For those looking for horror yet not to be scared witless, then try Natsume Yujin Cho for starters.

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Cat Shit One!

>> May 4, 2009

Ok, not the real cat shit but bro introduced this to me over the weekend and i am sort hooked on gun totting rabbits man. Watership down gone bad! It's based on the manga Apocalypse Meow but based in Iraq. If you wonder how they get rabbits for americans and different races representing different animals- check this out on wiki. Hehehe. This is due out in 2010 as a anime series about 12 episodes i think. Who thought that bunnies were soft - think again.

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Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

>> Jan 18, 2009

Such hypnotizing eyes....


Occasionally, there are some titles that are a mouthful - like the above. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto. Wah lau. But this happens to be one of the good Animes i have seen recently - however it is not new though. Released in 2006 and ended in 2007 i am not sure why it took so long to reach our shores.

The story is set at the end of the Edo period where the Tokugawas are slowly losing control of what they had. Japan is going through a period of unrest and foreign interest in entering the country. Now, to enjoy this anime, you need to know a bit of japanese history otherwise you might end up being a bit confused and find the story dull.

Akizuki Yojiro is a stranger to the town of Yokohama wandering around looking for the Hasha no Kubi - a legendary harbringer of unrest and evil. This hasha no kubi exists when their is great turmoil and possess people to do evil deeds and change the course of history. In the course of looking for this "head" Akizuki meets up a kabuki troupe that is more than just kabuki troupe. Each one with a reason why they are together now.
Despite being a loner ( after all he is the eternal assassin ) he finds himself drawn back to the troupe. The story goes round to tell of how the troupe's ulterior motives are shown by way of their script writer Ibaragi Sosetsu. Turns out he is no ordinary writer this one. He is after all in pursuit of the same item Akizuki wants to destroy. Also, you will see his character being related to some of the people in the kabuki troupe. Akizuki is somewhat drawn to the troupe leader kakunajou and in the later parts of the story, she follows him on his quest for the Hasha no Kubi.

The story will weave through critical periods of the Edo history - though some i am not sure if the timing was right. I always thought Okita Soji died before Kondo Isami did- however this was slightly reversed - could be me who got the story a bit off :P

What's good about this show:
*Well- the lead character of course - never seen someone so.. erm hypnotic and good looking - ah!! fangirl! But the fact he is loner and never wanting to reach out to others and being extremely good with a sword was one of the reasons why i was pretty hooked to this anime.
* The kind of story i like - Samurai stories and i love anything in old fashioned japanese history. Realistic or otherwise.
* A romantic story line that is subtle yet nice .... :)
* Cool historical characters - be it said i am a big fan of the Shinsengumi - and i was pretty much thrilled they are in the story line.
* Some of my favorite seiyu is in this one - though he is the baddie here, the voice of Kakashi is playing Ibaragi Sosetsu.

What's not good about:
* You need to be pretty good in your historical understanding of Japan to enjoy this.
* Ok - the copy i have - subtitle sucks - why are all the japanese name in chinese *curse*

I still have not finished watching this yet - but do give it a try - i love this anime - i hope it doesnt end depressing.

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Seirei No Moribito

>> Nov 4, 2007


This is one of the better anime's i have seen this year. I must admit i am normally hooked to historical themed animes.

The title is Seirei No Moribito- or Guardian of the Sacred Spirit. The story starts of with Balsa who is a travelling spearwoman. She is no damsel in distress, this woman. She can fight off any man and defend herself with no issues.

On her way back from her journeys, she rescues a young prince call Chagum. To thank her, Chagum's mother the second empress invites Balsa to the palace as a token of her appreciation. However, unknown to Balsa, there is a hidden motive for that. Chagum, is actually wanted dead by the emperor. Believed by the star diviner's his birth brings misfortune to the country, the King of Yogo sees that it is only fit to kill the young boy to free the country from potential drought.

However, the 2nd Empress loves her son too much and cannot bear to kill him. Hence when Balsa rescues him, she sees this as a chance to free her son from death. Balsa, and little Chagum runs away and hides from the forces of the emperor. They later find out instead of being a harbinger of doom, Chagum carries the salvation to the country- the much needed rainfall for the kingdom is found within Chagum and he must bring it to the legendary Nahji for the rains to come.

Chagum is not as spoilt as Balsa initially thought he would be but he is indeed a prince fit to be an emperor. Balsa discovers that this small child has an amazing ability to rationalize and also make mature decisions at such a young age. She in turn, teaches him life outside the palace and slowly sees her self as a mother figure for the young prince.

Now, the graphics of this anime is astounding, it looks beautiful and also very realistic. The story line is quite good. It keeps you addicted and you can watch it without so much as stopping. The soundtrack of this show is also good. I am quite stuck on the song Nahji no Uta which is a children's nursery from what i understand in the anime.

Do get this if you are interested in historical animes. Picture above is taken from the Official website.


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