Maid Sama! メイド さま！

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.  

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.

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.

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 ) 

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.

The Kiss , the confession and the leap

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

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.

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Kimi Ni Todoke - hajimeru

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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Valkyria Chronicles

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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