Disgea, RAY - The Animation, Simoun

To be honest I already di not like the game and also this show is just not for me, wrong humour, wrong style.

This looked actually quite interesting, or at least the basic idea of Ray's ability, but right after the first half of this episode I was so annoyed by the stupid storyline that I did not even finish it.

Simoun is an experiment: Lots of yuri, sketch-like backgrounds with overload CG animation for the ships, classical/french-chanson like music...I hated it. Sorry, it just does not work for me.

2006年04月14日

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya I

I really have to take back what I said about this episode before I had seen it...I actually like it...a lot. It's not omnly some standard harem or comedy show, just like the first episode promised this show is a bit different. The characters are, the directing and camrea shots are and so all in all it's a pure fun ride.
How can it be I did not realize Kyon's seiyuu is Tomokazu Sugita who did Rin in Shuffle!. I just love that voice so much, it's one of the main reasons for me to watch Haruhi Suzumiya, an Kyon talks a lot thoughout the show. Damn, this season there are so many great shows, how am I supposed to watch all of them?

2006年04月14日

Contact

I really don't know what to think about Soul Link...it's not good or bad in particular. Hope the story comes along a bit now that we have a red alarm or else I consider to skip it.

2006年04月14日

Prologue: Nana and NANA

When I watched the first episode of Paradise Kiss I knew Ai Yazawa a bit and was rather disappointed. Meanwhile I read a lot of her mangas, and perhaps I should give ParaKiss a retry, but first of all I was looking forward to the anime adaption of NANA, one of the best manga series on my shelf(s). NANA is nearly notorious for being so popular among Japanese girls and I totally understand why.

NANA tells the story of two girls, that by coincidence share the same name and the same goal: Living indepently in Tokyo. Those two couldn't be more different in character and style, and still destiny brings them to live together in a flat.
Actually manga volume 1 is about the background stories of the two girls, it's a good introduction to the following story. The anime jumps right into the event of their first encounter, and a fresh and also good start that is. I guess there's nothing I could critisize about this first episode. As expected from a show where one protagonist is singer in a band, opening and ending are great, Ai Yazawa's great humour found it's way through the brilliant art and animation in hilarious moments of deformed faces ^^
All in all a perfect start to a hopefully great show!

2006年04月14日

Etoile

As I couldn't find a summary for this episode so far here's a small one for you. Please consider my Japanese isn't too god, but I guess overall I got what was going on ^^

Summary

In the morning Tamao rehearses a poet she wrote outside in the sunlight. Afterwards she goes to wake up Nagisa by tickeling her. From today on Nagisa will wear the same school unform as the other girls, but she is embarrassed as Tamao wants to help her change.
On the corridor Etoile and the mebers of the student council greet the pupils. When they meet Etoile aka Shizuma adjusts Nagisa's necktie (Ican't believe they stole THAT from Marimite *SCREAM*), asks wether she can call her "Naguisa-chan" and tries to kiss her again in front of all people, but is interrupted. Afterwards rumours spread and all girls want to know if it's true that Shizuma almost kissed Nagisa.
At lunch normally representatives of all three schools and the Etoile eat together, but today Shizuma is missing. It seems this isn't the first time. Still in the afternoon she's lost, but Nagisa finds her - after attending the poetry club together with Tamao - by accident and sees how Etoile tries to kiss another girl. This time it's her who interrupts when she steps on a twig.
She runs away and comes across a beautiful building at the lake which is the library. There again Etoile appears and...SUPRISE...tries to kiss her, but...SUPRISE...they are interrupted.

Comment

Damn, I ask myself where this heads to...26 episodes how Etoile tries to kiss someone, no matter who!? She's like one of those tainted politicians that hunt after sex with children or something else that can't come to public and her helpers try everything to cover up everything. What exactly is the intention of this show?

This time the marimite feeling was even stonger, isn't also the music almost the same, not to mention the necktie-scene *argh* Infamy!

2006年04月11日

New World

Kiba is really not bad. It provides nice animation with decent action...but the logic got somewhat lost.
If I'm in a world where I don't know anything, the people, the rules...and I find somebody who cares about me in a friendly way (besides the hit on the head perhaps) I don't immediatley run away!

2006年04月11日

You're A Host From Now On

Ouran High School Host Club just kicks ass! I LOVE it! Look at this beautiful shots from the opening (that song also rocks, by the way)

*deep breath* Ahhhh, this show is so sugoi!!!
*breath again* Let's come back to normal senses. Together with Nana, The Good Witch of the West and Princess Princess this show was one of the most awaited this season for me. I read the first two volumes of the manga, that were recently published in Germany and I liked them...but the anime adaption is just...I can't find any words. Besides the great animation of studio Bones (e.g. Wolf's Rain) - and it's a pleasure a comedy show is done by a studio like this - the humour coming on screen is a hundred times better then in the mangas. Of course story and characters are the same, but to see the twins alive, Mori lifting up Haruhi like a plush teddy *rofl*, not to speak of Tamaki...

I already watched this episodes two times, and if those to come are just as good, this show will be top ranked in my seasons favourites...and that after only one week.

It's not only the humour, but there were several scenes that struck me. The art and presentation of the campus are simple beauty. And where else can you find a pink Big Ben?

Before I watched the show one sentence of BluWacky got my attention: "The POST-UTENA DIRECTION!" I totally understand what he means and that makes it even better for me. Sometimes I felt like shows tried to copy the Utena style, not in a good way mostly, but Ouran could be a successor, at least concerning the way of direction. It's used for the same style of drama, only a bit more modern. I especially love the following shot. I watched this scene several time, just because of it's beauty!

2006年04月11日

Princess Princess, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Damn, I couldn't be more disappointed. As a reader of the at least first volume of the manga I had high expectations for this show, especially after seeing how Ouran High School Host Club just kicks ass. But now...I did not even watch the first episode completly.
The story is mostly the same, the animation is decent, but when reading the manga I felt more like the characters look a bit like Fruits Basket, with Mikoto as a Kyou and Shihodani as Ayame. According to this Shihodani's voice is just wrong and why do the three protagonists all loke just alike with different hair colours??? The faces are the same!!! Also that music...oh my god, I almost fell asleep.
No, no...this adoptions seems to be failure, I'll keep to the mangas!

I'm glas I was warned that there's an episode within the episode or I would have switched off the TV immediatley. But with the knowledge I indeed enjoyed this strange piece of cosplay bakaness and its mocking towards all the anime cliches. The fact why I'm putting it on my drop out list is, that I'm quite sure I'm not going to like the actuall show. I will perhaps watch another episode, because of that green haired girl that couldn't take the filming serious, but there are so many other good shows this season. *blinking at Ouran, Good With of the West and Nana*

2006年04月09日

Cherry Blossom Hill

What I don't like about it: It's a rip off! It's a rip off! Marimite forever!!!!!!
The character design is strange and the yuri presence is exaggerated!

What I do like about it: Music, the idea of three girl's school together on one hill and the white uniforms. I just LOVE them!!!!

In general I'm a big fan of everything that's got to do with girl's schools stories (Malory Towers etc.) so of course I will keep an eye on this queer yuri series!

2006年04月08日

Hello, Mr. Elephant

Please, can you tell me where I can download the non-elephant version?

This must be the first fanservice show for girls I've ever seen. Inukami! was a total suprise, as it only looked like another harem show. Instead it plays around a lot with sex jokes and the typical magical girl cliches (Keita fights a supersize snake, that must be a lost Beatle or Rolling Stone with frogs....so much about Kiba and the balls out of the body) and after I was a bit sceptic about the humor it just gave me the laughs.
Additionally production values are high for a comedy show, so all in all a cool pleasure!

2006年04月08日

Wind of Fate

Kiba is a typical boy goes to another worl and has special abilities-shounen show.
That doesn't mean in general it's good or bad!

Actually I was quite suprised how much I enjoyed it. There are two points I have to nag about:
Those guys pull little balls out of their bodies O.o??? and honestly, the police cars looked like those of the clowns in Disney's Dumbo...it seems small, but then twenty people plop out.
Besides that animation was decent, the music attracted my attention and the story was told in a tantalising way. I will at least watch another episode!

2006年04月07日

Encounter

After Navel's production of Shuffle! the expectations are high in the community, so are mine, but I was slightly disappointed! The animation quality was lower than expected, the music isn't too good and this episode was filled with (fanservice) clichés. I don't know too much about the characters yet, will 12 episodes be enough for good development?

But after all it's Navel...and I guess my first impression of Shuffle wasn't much different ^^ There may be lots of fanservice, but the story premise is thereabout the same like in Starship Operators and we all know that show just kicked ass!

2006年04月07日

Gakuen Heaven, Yoshinaga-san Uchi no Gargoyle, High-School Girls

Okay, I didn't understand too much and there's a big bunch of good looking guys (looks like designed by Kaori Yuki), but it was rather boring...very boring, and not so stupid it's funny again (I'm thinking of Meine Liebe ^^).

When I hear the word "gargyole" I'd never think of such a cute character design as Yoshinaga-san Uchi no Gargoyle shows. There's nice animation, a kick-ass girl and a brilliant dubbed gargoyle. But in opposite to the cute look the story was rather serious, what was some kind of shock to me. I guess the show is not bad but not my kind of thing.

Hm, I only watched the promo episode and there were too many pantyshots, sanitary towels and pubic hair!

2006年04月05日