Changes and....Maids???

With this post I am reporting that some changes are going to happen to this blog. A few weeks I left J1studios.com in order to strike out on my own with the hope of having more chances to post updates to the blog as well as expand material to talk about here. So eventually what I want to do is update the blog with a new layout, new logo and just try to make it more awesome!

So what does that mean to you? Nothing, really! :) It just means that you'll still be coming to the same site reading more stuff about anime and Japan...and I hope that you like it...^^; But moving on to....

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Title: Kaichou wa Maid-sama!/Class President is a maid!

Animation Production: J.C.Staff

Premiered in Japan: April 2010

Original Creator: Hiro Fujiwara

Extra info?: Manga is available in the U.S. from Tokyopop called "Maid-sama"

The story is about a hard working, busy body, tough girl named Misaki Ayuzawa. She is the first female class president of Seika High School which ,until recently, used to be an all boys school. But she has a secret. She works part time at a maid cafe due to family circumstances but one day her secret is found out by the school heartthrob Takumi Usui. He promises to keep her secret if she promises to spend some time with him.

When I first heard about this I thought it sounded interesting and cute. Two things that were missing during the Fall season. Another thing that caught my eye and made me happy was the appearance of a bishounen (pretty boy for those who don't know)cuz I haven't seen one in what felt like forever!! But back to the anime...It's cute i've watched 4 episodes so far and it's really cute because Usui obviously is intrigued by Misaki because she doesn't give him the time of day. But him on the other hand he always pops up the right moment to give Misaki advice or save her from something. Their relationships is very tug of war like.

The music is okay. The opening "My secret" by Saaya Mizuno is that cliche Jpop anime sound and the ending by "Yokan" by Heidi is an alright tortured ballad type of song, it's not bad...but it's not awesome either.

The animation is...average as well. It could animate a bit better because there are times when a fight is happening or someone is falling and they have the still frame instead of animating the person throwing a punch or something.

In the end this anime doesn't do anything better or worse when it comes to animation but the story and characters are endearing and it makes you want to see how long can misaki deny Usui piercing longing stares. lol My score is an average 3 out of 5!

Changes and.....Maids??

Spring is here and so is new anime!!

Fresh New Anime Just in Time for Spring!!

First off let me say, "Gomen ne! Minna-san!"! I know it's been forever since I updated but that's because last season's anime was so uninspired, in my opinion at least, and rather than rant and rave about why it's so bad...I chose not to write anything at all. But now with all this new and great anime out on the nets, I'm inspired to review and write again!! So let's begin with.....

Title: B gata H kei
Genre: comedy, romance, ecchi
Premiered on tv in Japan: April 2010
Rating: A strong Pg-13 for sexuality

So I just started watching this over the weekend and it's hilarious. The story revolves around a young self proclaimed "bishoujo" ie. "pretty girl" named Yamada, we have not found out her first name as of yet. Anywayz! She's a virgin in high school and her goal is to have over 100 sex partner. Yes! 100 casual sex partners!! Only problem is she doesn't have experience and doesn't want her potential partner to tease her because of her inexperience. So what does she do? She sets out to find a "cherry boy" to be her first of many! Wow!

So yeah! Reading the synopsis for this and looking at pics for it I thought, "oh dear! another ecchi anime...-_-" But so far it's hilarious!! Yamada is absolutely clueless about guys and this along with her insane goal is bound for more hilarity to ensue. The only bad thing, I guess, you could say about it is that they are throwing out alot of fanservice at one time and the premise for it doesn't exactly allow for a long running season. But as long as it entertains and keeps my laughing then let the short ride commence!

My rating is a 3 out of 5!

Soul Eater- The best thing since...sliced bread!?

Some facts:
Original Creator:Atsushi Ohkubo
Animated by: Studio Bones
Music Production: Aniplex
Genre: action, supernatural, adventure, comedy
Dvd Release: Feb. 2010 (Part 1) March 30, 2010 (Part 2)

Soul Eater center around three groups of meisters and their human weapons (humans who turn into weapons) and their goal of eating 99 souls plus the soul of one witch to become a Death Scythe. A weapon so powerful that even Lord Death himself uses such a weapon. The main characters are Maka, Soul, Death the Kid, Patty and Liz and Black* Star and Tsubaki. These three groups of meister and weapons protect Death City from all type of evil crazy foes all the while still going to school and becoming stronger.

Soul Eater is a ball of fun! The animation is extreemly fluid and when people get into fights, they get into fights. There's actual choreography and you find yourself thinking/saying "damn! Did she just parry two hits at the same and while managing to kick/hit it!?!" It's sick!

Plus the character designs are fun to look at also. It kinda has a punk-ish edgy feel to it while also being kinda minimalistic. Apparently, the less detail to animate makes for awesome animation.

The music is awesome as well. T.M. Revolution does the opening song "Resonance" and it's the greatest song ever!! And the ending song "I wanna Be" by STANCE PUNKS is great as well. Makes you want to head out in the street fist pump in the air.

This anime is not to be missed!! It's fun, edgy, hilarious, and has so much action in it. It can be found online on youtube via Funimation's channel or you can buy it on dvd from your local video store. I give this anime a definite 5 out 5!! It's guaranteed to have you addicted.

Ps. For some reason i am having trouble right clicking to saving images so that's why i like no pics. gomen ne...^^

Seikon No Qwaser-All about the breast milk....

January is the start of new seasons for anime for the spring. And I have to say I am not all that impressed...Three premiers that I watched last weekend looked...not good. It was more loli-con and more moe with fanservice out the wood works. Me being an anime fan missing anime with actual story lines and meaningful relationships, it was a tad bit disappointing... :( But I'll get into that more on J1 forums...
Title: Seikon no Qwaser
Genre: action, comedy, supernatural and Ecchi
Rating: Mature (definitely not for kids!!)
Animation Production: Hoods Entertainment


Alright! So far I have watched two episodes of Qwaser and I'm just waiting for the show me that it's more than boobs. Now whether or not it does that...well I'm thinking of the chance of a piece of ice surviving in hell.

The summary is ," In St. Mikhailov Academy, Oribe Mafuyu meets a silver haired boy called Alexander. He is a Qwaser, a being who can manipulate iron and draws his power from breast milk. A mystery surrounding an Icon transforms the academy into the setting for conflict between the various different Qwaser."-ANN
As we can see it revolves around this power that comes from breast milk aannndd believe this fetishied to the fullest extent. Oh! And before I go further I have watched censored versions of this and it is incomprehensible! I've heard about how bad the raw version is and eventually I'll try to watch it...but I am so scared. Only cause in the censored version you still hear everything the moans and screams and such they cut away to some random bush or the sky when things get crazy. There is an enemy that pops up in the second episode and she is wearing next to nothing!! Unless you consider strategically placed ribbon to be clothes...

The only thing that keeps me interested so far is to see a maybe developing relationship between Oribe Mafuyu and Aleksander/Sasha and also the fact that it animates so well. If the show decides not to get crazy and/or make me disgusted/mad I'll keep watching. But the moment tentacles come out...I'm running to the hills.

Since only the first two episodes have been posted as of writing this article a rating will come later after I've watched at least five episodes.
Trailer Below and it's not suitable for kids so anyone under 18..don't watch it!

Spice and Wolf-looks pretty but moves so slow...

Title: Spice and Wolf/ "Okami to koushinryo"
Genre: romance, adventure, drama, fantasy, supernatural
Animated by:IMAGIN
Available on dvd? Yes at your nearest video store!
Licensed by: Funimation

I have been hearing about "Spice and Wolf" for a while now and occasionally I would forget about it then see a picture or something about it and think, "Oh! Yeah! I gotta watch that!" but then I would forget again. Well a solid year has passed and after hearing that Funimation had posted videos on youtube since they were releasing in the US in December 2009, I finally watched it. I like it..it's just the pacing is so slow...

The summary of "Spice and Wolf" is the story of a wolf goddess called Holo and a merchant named Lawrence. Lawrence makes a living by traveling town to town selling goods. One night he stops in the pagan town of Pasroe and discovers a strange naked girl lying in his wagon. He finds out that this seemingly young girl ,with wolf ears and a tail, is in fact the town's 250 year old goddess of harvest named Holo. She tells him that she wishes to leave the village and return to her home, the forest of Yoitsu since she believes that villagers have forsaken her. Lawrence is swayed into taking her with him with the hope that she will increase his profits and she is pleased because she can leave the village where only lonliness was her company. Unfortunately for this couple the religious teachings of the church is spreading throughout the land and the thought of a real pagan deity moving about is not a happy thought.

Spice and Wolf is really pretty and it animated great as well. Unfortunately for me the first four episodes move so slow. The story seems interesting but I'm not riveted to my chair eagerly looking forward to the next episode. I just have a mild interest in it right now but maybe it'll get better as the series goes on. This anime was highly acclaimed when it came out last year and has been getting alot of buzz online, mostly talking about the naked teenage looking girl, but it's been good reviews.

As usual trailer below...


So right now I'm giving it an average 3 out of 5.

Aoi Bungaku Series

Title: "Aoi Bungaku"
Animation Producer: MADHOUSE Studios
On Japanese TV: October 2009- December 2009
Available online?: Yes! Via Youtube and other anime sites.
Genre: Horror, mystery, psychological (episode 1-4)

I came across this gem while looking at another anime blog site and I love anime of Japanese folklore; so when I seen that this was a small collection of Japanese modern era stories i had to check it out! And I really enjoyed it.

As of writing this blog I have watched the first story called " No Longer Human," and it was crazy/depressing/ awesome piece of storytelling! The picture above is not Light Yagami from Deathnote but the tortured soul of Youzou. This character is conflicted about what it is to be human and even views himself to be a monster,not because he's ugly or deformed in any way. But because of an incident from his school years which he never forgot. Another thing that was interesting about this story is that he continually sees this humanoid but disturbing a form at his most vulnerable moments.

The series is 12 episodes long and the character designs were done by three different artists. These artists were Tite Kubo (Bleach), Takeshi Obata (Deathnote fame), and Takeshi Konomi (Prince of Tennis fame).

This series seems really interesting and I can't wait to see Akutagawa's "Hell Screen" (had to read this story in school and it's really awesome so I can't wait to see the anime rendition!! ^^)
So if I were rating this arc on storytelling, animation, and just worth spending time to watch then I would rate it a 4 out 5!

Anime You Should Watch But Haven't!!

This week I decided to do something different because..... I wanted to! :D So yeah, I was thinking about some anime that not alot of people in the states have watched either because they never heard about it or because they might have started to watch it but got bored along the way. One anime that I found alot of Otaku have never heard of was the,
"Gankutsuou-The Count of Monte Cristo"

Animation Produced by: Gonzo
Genre: Suspense, Romance, adventure, drama, science-fiction, thriller
Released in America on DVD by Geneon: October 2005-September 2006- Was re-released by Funimation this year and a complete box set is currently available.
Rating: Pg13- R (nudity, drug use, graphic violence)

This is classic worthy anime at it's best!! Gankutsuou-The Count of Monte Cristo is based on a french novel only titled The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. It's tale of revenge, stolen love and maybe even the naivete of youth. The original novel takes places in France during the 1800's; the anime on the other takes place during the 51st century A.D. primarily in France but also in other worlds and other galaxies.

The tale begins with a young man named Viscount Albere de Morcef and his friend Baron Franz d'Epinay on Luna looking for some fun. They meet a charismatic self made nobleman by the name of the Count of Monte Cristo and befriend him. Albert thinks that the Count is an amazing and kind individual and their meeting ends up leaving a strong impression on Albert. So strong in fact that when the Count visits Paris, Albert ends up acquainting the Count with the city's most powerful families. Therefore setting things in motion for the Count's plans...

This series is beautiful...The cover shot up there is basically what the series looks like. Everything has beautiful textures! From the fabrics on down to the jewelry, all the textures and colors are eye popping. And I've got to say also that the costume design was by Anna Sui, a well known costume designer and the quality shows. Granted there was one dress that one of the characters wore which irritated me but everything else looked immaculate.

This series was critically acclaimed and many people both praised and bemoaned the the eye popping textures and coloration used throughout the series. Seriously, there are times when the bright colors and textures can make watching it a pain after watching a few episodes. But the story is awesome and by the middle your anxiously waiting to see who else will fall by the sword that is the count's revenge and also how... It's a must see and like I tell anyone who watches anime and wants to watch something truly epic; watch Gankutsuou~ The Count of Monte Cristo and prepare to go on the best roller coaster ride!!!!! EVER!!!!

Kampfer-A guy turning into a girl!! uuhhh...

Title: Kampfer
Genre: Action, reverse harem, romance, comedy, ecchi
Animation Production: Nomad
Premiered: October 2009 on Japanese television
Rating: Pg-Pg13

This week I am reviewing this interesting/weird/yuri-esque-but-not-really anime called Kampfer. Kampfer starts off weird by the first episode. A boy named Natsuru Senou thinks he was just dreaming when he realizes that he was a girl fighting another girl who was shooting at him/her. Well when he wakes up and finds that his body has gone through some additions as well as a notable subtraction well...things get weird. Turns out that he was chosen to be a "kampfer" which is an elite who was born to fight but the thing is a kampfer can only be female. So unfortunately (or is it fortunately) Natsuru is transformed into a girl whenever another kampfer is nearby.

At first I was worried that this would be another fanservice laden anime with the Ranma 1/2 aspect of guy turning into a girl but it's really funny. The characters insult each other by saying things like "you a person who sounds like Yui Horie!" Yui Horie is a voice actress and other things more along the pop culture side like "Even though you are a kampfer you're not a mobile suit!", because the girl was dodging all the other girl's bullets. It's funny and they go through the trouble of explaining some of names and such!

I've watched up to the 2nd episode and it looks like girl-girl/guy relationship is going to develop so something to look forward to any yuri fans out there...It's just odd because one character is both a girl and guy but the girl is in love with the girl and not the guy...So yeah.

At the moment the music is not anything memorable to me it's just there so I will not be scouring the internet for music from this series. As far as the animation goes it is impressive and fluid. It's not Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0 but it's is cool and when a fight happens it isn't the cliche still scene followed by another still scene, there is animation and it's cool.

Right now Kampfer has my attention so I will be watching more episodes of this if nothing stupid happens. My rating is a 3 out of 5. It's not life changing but it's definitely amusing to watch.

Bakemonogatari 13- secret episode

Title: Bakemongatari "Ghost Story"
Animation Production: SHAFT
On TV: in Japan in October 2009. Episode 13 Exclusively online 11/3/2009
Genre: supernatural, school life, ecchi, romance,
mystery



Konbanwa!! This week I'm sorta taking a break from fall 09 anime previews and instead I am reviewing episode 13 part 3 of Bakemonogatari.

The newest episode which premiered online only on Nov.3 is the third part of the Tsubasa Cat Arc. I thought we would see more development in Senjogahara and Araragi's relationship but for the most part it's more fanservice with Araragi escatic over having such a pretty girl as Senjogahara as his girlfriend in addition to bits and pieces of story relevent information. I gotta say though...when Araragi randomly runs up to Hachikuji and starts talking lolicon-ish things I got scared and alot weirded out! I mean seriously!! You're not supposed to be like that!! Put little Hachikuji down and stop molesting her!!!

But yeah...episode 13 was still awesome and cute but it was also fanservice central. First with Hachikuji and then with Hanekawa in her kitty pajamas and cat ears, attached to her head. I hope the series continues onward and at the moment it seems like another episode is slated to be released. The question is when and if it's going to be an online exclusive or maybe even the premiere for the next season. And right now SHAFT is being extreemly quiet when it comes to answering those questions.

This episode gets 4 out of 5!

Get ready to get Xam'd!

This weeks review is on an anime called "Xam'd: Lost Memories" or Bounen no Zamudo. X'amd was created by studio Bones, the revolutionary animation studio behind
great animes such as Full Metal Alchemist and Eureka Seven. So far I have only had the chance to watc one episode of what looks like an amazing anime and I want to watch more!

The summary behind X'amd is the story about a normal high school boy named Akiyuki and how his life isn't so normal anymore. On the island of Sentan a war is happening between the military and those with the Hiruko called "Xam'd". One day Akiyuki is on his way to school when suddenly a terrorist attack occurs on the busand he is splattered with some glowing green goo. Next thing we know his arm transforms into this huge thing and he later transforms into some monster like thing called a X'amd. With his friend from high school and a Tessikan woman named Nakiami he learns to control the X'amd while also trying to avoid transforming into stone.
X'amd reminds alot of Eureka seven probably because of how it looks and just how it animates. The thing that Akiyuki ends up transforming into has the same color scheme of Renton's Mirvash so I would not be surprised if the creator of Eureka Seven also created this.

Unfortunately since I only was able to watch the first episode I will not be able to rate at this time. But over time I will more episodes and talk about it on this here blog! :) So stay tuned!!!

So in the meantime please watch this trailer which tells us that Xam'd used to be available only to watch on the PS3 network :D

Fall Anime~ Letter Bee- Tegami Bachi

Title: "Letter Bee" or Tegami Bachi
Animation Producer: Studio Pierrot
Premiered: October 2009 in Japan
Genre: Supernatural, Steampunk, adventure
Manga?: is currently being sold in bookstores in the US.

Another great anime that has premiered in Japan this fall season is Tegami Bachi or "Letter Bee" in english. The show is about a boy named Lag Seeing whom it seems was abandoned by his mother. A Letter Bee, named Gauche Suede, finds him and deems him a letter that must be delivered to a town so his aunt can look out for him. The time that Lag spends with the Letter Bee really makes him feel a deep admiration for him and what he does so he decides to become a Letter Bee while also making a promise to himself to find his mother.

So far I have watched the first five episodes online and absolutelutely love this anime. It's funny and the characters are endearing. Especially with the introduction of Niche who is a little girl who has animal like characteristics. She can jump really high and run very fast and her hair also turns into swordlike tendrils that cut into anything. Plus there's a scene where Lag is trying to get her to wear underwear under her dress, because she was running around without it for however long; it's just the cutest/funniest thing.

The music is pretty good also. Not quite memorable but the kind of music you find yourself humming along to when it comes on.

When it comes to how it looks, it really reminded me of .Hack//Sign. Maybe because of how the characters look or even how the landscapes are laid out. I don't know...or it could be the silver haired guys running around that remind me of Tsukasa.

All in all "Letter Bee" is looking to be a promising anime so I will definitely be watching this every week and I hope you guys will watch it too. :) My temporary rating is 4.5 out of 5. Definitely try and watch this!!

The fall season brings new colors and new anime to watch!

Hey good people of the internet! It feels like it's been a minute since I updated and I apologize for that. I've been a bit busy with real world stuff as well as just finding worthwhile anime to watch and share with you guys....

But enough on that! Like the title says, about this lovely season called Fall, it's also the time in Japan for a new anime lineup. Some of these titles that I have watched are Letter Bee/ Tegami Bachi and Seiken no Blacksmith. There are tons more to talk about but that will have to wait until the next update, which I hope to be sooner rather than later.

First!

Seiken no Blacksmith
Genre: Harem-esque, action, adventure and Fantasy.
Now Showing: On tv in Japan as of Oct 2009

The story takes place after a huge war overruns the land. Our main character Cecily Campbell is the daughter of a nobleman but she's also a knight. One day a mysterious man appears brandishing a sword or more appropriately Katana, that cuts through another sword like it was butter. Yeah..it's that serious.
We later find out that the mysterious man has an amazing power that no longer is easily found...

So far I've watched the first two episodes and I was entertained. The thing that really wowed me was how the animators went through all the trouble of animating the foot work of a character losing her balance or a character evading an attack.

The character designs also are cute/cool also and it generally looks like it'll be fun to watch.
I don't want to rush in giving it a rating just yet since I did only watch the first 2 episodes. So as time goes I will post a rating at a later date.

Next Update: Tegami Bachi

Bakemonogatari-Ghost Story with some romance mixed in

Title: Bakemonogatari/ "Ghost Story"
Produced by: Aniplex, Kodansha, and SHAFT
Animated by: SHAFT
Original Creator: NisiOsin
Runtime: Just finished airing on tv in Japan. Available to watch online.

I came across "Bakemonogatari/Ghost Story" a month or so ago and put a sticky note in my mind to come back and review it when I got the chance. Then I forgot about it. But I went online and seen it up in the ongoing series section and remembered my sticky note and proceeded to watch all 12 episodes in the space of 3-4 days! I love love love this series!!! Ever since watching "Mononoke" over a year ago I became a huge fan of supernatural/ horror anime so I was pleaseantly surprised with "Bakemonogatari".

Taking leave from my absolute gush-fest of this anime the synopsis of this anime is as follows. A boy named Koyomi Araragi is almost back to normal after being bit by a vampire over spring break. Araragi having a close call with an "oddity" himself is very sensitive when it comes to matters of the supernatural. Because of his empathy he comes across several girls who are all victims of demons, ghosts, and a slew of other craziness. And like all other harem anime the girls tend to stick around afterwards and flirt with the main character.

The first thing that caught my eye in the first episode was the way it animates. The way it moves is so smooth! Every step they take even every word they speak is well animated! The backgrounds in every episode are all very dynamic! The anime also has alot of word play in it and that contributes to the cool factor of the show.

My one gripe with the series is that it obviously relies on fanservice a bit too much. Even though I am unfamiliar with the original light series novel so I don't know if it had alot of fanservice but the anime seems to be bogged down by it. It isn't as gratutious as say..."Queen's Blade" but it does hold a presence. In fact in the first scene of the first episode it's there. Then by episode 3 the loli meter starts to go up and by episode 9-10 it hit's the roof! Just...loli...so much loli...

But I'm glad I stuck with it. The twelth episode kinda has a cliff hanger to it as far as the status of the two characters relationship...But I want more Bakemonogatari!! I want stories about crab spirits taking someone's weight away! I want more demons, ghosts, and kami stories!! I don't want fanservice but what can be done...

Trailer to come soon...

Bakemonogatari- 5 out of 5!! Go watch it Noooowww!!!

Crayon Shin-chan's creator dead?!?!

This is kinda a departure from my regular anime review and along the lines of being anime news; so yeah, I'm wearing my newscaster hat right now! This story first broke out 2 weeks ago when a Japanese newspaper called Mainichi Shinbun reported that the creator Yoshito Utsui was reported missing by his wife after he did not return home from hiking.

Over the weekend a body was discovered at the foot of Arafune mountain and was confirmed by authorities to be the body of Yoshito Utsui. So how did he die? Police have confirmed that the cause of the death was from a collapsed lung and other injuries sustained across his body on the day of September 11 which was most likely sustained from an accidental fall while taking pictures on the edge of a cliff.

When it comes to his manga, the editorial staff at Futabasha's "Manga Town" magazine has stated that the "future publication [of Crayon Shin-chan] is to be determined."
As of September 29, the president of TV Asahi network has stated that they plan to continue airing the animated series of "Crayon Shin-chan" after the death of it's creator.
-Anime News Network

Shin-chan has become some of a hit both in Japan and overseas. It's also interesting that when it come to translation it wasn't translated literally like many other animes. But it changed from something that addressed social concerns in Japan and became some random crass, dark comedic thing here in the states. I watched it on tv a few time on Adult Swim and it is the most crass thing I have ever watched! I'm sorry but kindergartners talking about manipulating men to their bidding... just...doesn't sound appropriate to me and I will watch alot of off the wall stuff.

Some of you out there might be shouting "hooray" from the rooftops while others maybe feeling a deep grief...Personally I am not a fan of Shin-chan so a balloon for those who don't care and pat on the back for those who do.

Vacation time is over but summer is still alive in Natsu no Arashi...

Aaawww...I can't believe summer is over... Lazing about in the park enjoying the cool summer breeze, watching anime with wittless abandon, and sleeping until noon; all that is over!....Unfortunately....
But in homage to summer, I am reviewing this cute coming-of-age anime called "Natsu no Arashi".

Title: Natsu no Arashi/ "Summer Storm"
Genre: comedy, romance, slice-of-life, supernatural
Rating: PG
Animation Studio: Shaft
Showing: The first season ended in Japan as of June 2009 and a second season is coming up very soon....in Japan. But it is playing on Crunchyroll.com

I must say that I am a little late watching this but I came across it online again and figured I'd watch and review it instead of reviewing "Soulmate" which is awesome by the way. But back on topic!

Natsu no Arashi is a cute slice of life show about a middle school boy named Yasaka Hajime and how he met this high school girl named Sayako Arashiyama or Arashi for short. Hajime visits a cafe nears his father's house and sees a girl named Arashi working as a waitress. He sees that she is older and is attracted to her boobs and butt and makes a comment about how "looking at older woman makes his butt feel funny." or something along those lines! So a big hulking guy comes in the cafe looking for Arashi and says that he will take her back to her family by force if need be. Hajime, the wannabe hero, makes a promise to protect Arashi and a friendship is born. Later, Hajime learns that he and Arashi, when they hold hands, can travel through time. Oh! And another little secret is that Arashi is a ghost!

My first impression of this is that it's cute and interesting.The people look kinda strange because everyone has this heavy line over their eyes so it kinda gives this weird Tite Kubo(Bleach) look. But as far as the anime goes. I have only watched the first four episodes and I want to find out more about the characters and story revolving around those who are ghosts.

This should definitely be watched at least once and if you start to think that it's an echhi anime. It really isn't. There is a good story intertwined with the madness/randomness. One filled with romance, tragedy, and a spin of comedy.

"Queen's Blade"-To Fanservice or not to fanservice?

Queen's Blade- Ruro no Senshi
Animation Production: Arms
Rating: R (Very suggestive themes, lots of boob/crotch shots, and innuendo...)
Premiered on tv in Japan: April 2009
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Ecchi

"Queen's Blade- Ruro no Senshi" or better known as Queen's Blade is an anime with lots and lots and lots of fanservice. So me being a girl my opinion will be vastly different from that of a guy. So..get ready! :D
The story circles around this event called "Queen's Blade", where every four years a contest is held for a new queen to be selected to rule over the land. The rules state she is only to be over the age of 12 years old and the contest is over when one person is either killed in battle or no longer has the capacity to move. Any girl/women from any country can compete and there is no limit on what weapons can be used.

So the episode starts off with a princess named Leina who tries to run away from a life of being married off to some random guy ;since she is heir to her family's kingdom thing. So she runs off and her sisters try to find her but to no avail, but Risty "the bandit of Desert Justice", yeah that's her title from the show, saves her from a demon named Melodana. Now the demon Melodana's boobs shoot out acid that dissolve only clothes and armor; not skin. I just thought I should point this out because that shows you what the show is all about. "Queen's Blade" is ecchi through and through. All the girls have super huge boobs, and there are just crotch shots, boob shots, boob-to-boob shots, everything that a guy or lesbian is into is in there.

There is fanservice everywhere. There is a mud fight in episode 3 between two girls, of course, and I think Leina's sister has a more than sisterly thing for her, and the characters arederived from every otaku's fantasy girl. You have your loli girl, a tough "I'm-out-for-myself' girl, the tragic princess, and even an elfen girl.

Because of the fanservice I did not like this at all. It just seemed extremely gratuitous and I wasn't really presented with a chance to get past the fanservice and try to appreciate the story, if there was one. "Queen's Blade" looks pretty, which must be a prerequisite to appeal to others, but there were just too many unnecessary boob/crotch shots for me to enjoy it.



I give "Queen's Blade" a 1 out 5. :(

This thing called..."Shangri-La"

Shangri-La
Animated by: Gonzo
Now playing on tv in Japan and online at crunchyroll.com

Alright! Well..what got me interested into this anime was the art which was done by Range Murata. He illustrated another of my favorite animes called Last Exile. Secondly, seeing that it was animated by Gonzo also made me want to check it out because even though they did tragedies like "Strike Witches" they also did cool stuff like "Last Exile", "Gankutsuo" and "Welcome to the N.H.K." to name a few. So I figure why not give Gonzo a second chance and watch Shangri-la. The outcome of that decision is...mixed.

Shangri-la is a story about a young woman named Kuniko Hojo who is fighting to survive in a world where carbon credits are traded between different countries and where the dredges of society are numerous and the privileged are the few. The poor reside on a land that for the most part is flooded and the city suffers from periodic missile showers from the city above called Atlas. Atlas is where the rich and privileged live and there are lotteries for the poor to participate in with the hope that they can live in the "Golden City" Atlas. Of course, the government that governs Atlas wants to only a few in but keep everyone else out; thus our heroine Kuniko fights to change that! Or something...

When it comes to how the show looks, it's pretty. The backgrounds are lush and the animation is smooth if albeit a little too simplistic at times. In one episode the quality of the animation decreased signficantly and I had to remind myself that I was still watching Shangri-la and not something else.
The music also leaves something to be desired also. The opening song is okay and the animation is fantastic but it hardly lives up to the ending song which I personally love! However the music in the anime itself is yawnfest and I was slightly upset about that...

Another thing that kinda disappointed me was the pacing of the show. But in hindsight that shouldn't be too much of a surprise because Last Exile suffered from the same thing. The show starts off strong at first but by episode 3 I found my attention wanning and caught myself asking, " Why am I watching this again?". I think the episode was just illustrating what life was like for the disadvantaged living in Duomo and I was just..bored. The main character was depicted as kinda flighty about what role she wanted to take and whatever obstacles they attempted to throw her way was just cliche. Seriously!! An old woman whose son was almost killed,until Kuniko rescued him, blames her becuase she's the reason(indirectly) that the town was placed in danger. Hhhrrmmm...>>

The premise of the series is interesting in that it is set against the backdrop of a world where the sea levels have risen and the forest and jungles have exploded in growth because of high levels of carbon dioxide.In order to keep carbon level low the world trades with Carbon credits to disuade people from emitting high levels carbon dioxide in the air and as a result there are some winners and losers. But the execution is lacking and I'm stuck wondering if the story will pick up or will it just die into oblivion like Studio Gonzo is doing reportedly.
Shangri-La gets an uninspired 2 out 5...



Don't like my review? Well please do head on over to J1studios.com and go to the forum to discuss why you disagree/agree. :)

Otakon 2009-Oh! So much fun!! XD

Pics from Otakon are posted above this post.:)
Btw..video is of a guy trying to do the dance from the Kannagi opening. Look all the way toward the right..

Alright, this weekend I experienced one of the biggest and greatest cons on the east coast called Otakon 2009. This year was it's sixteenth year, my first, and it was epic in size and in scope. The con lasted for three days (Fri-Sun) and they had more than enough scheduled for each day encompassing 12-14 hours on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is a shorter day because it's last day of the con, so they try to wrap things up by mid-afternoon.

When it comes to the convention's highlights, for me, was the premier of the dub version of Evangelion 1.0. The hall where it was being played was packed with people. Many who have seen the movie and many more who have not seen the movie but loved the series. The experience was awesome, aside from the projector cutting off every so often; but the moans and groans coming from the audience as the picture goes off was great.

Another highlight that was great for me was the quality of the cosplayers. The ratio of good to bad cosplayers was higher than other smaller cons i have attended in the past and i was pleasantly surprised! The wigs were great, no foamy/bad color/nappy wigs at all. The most popular series being cosplayed were Final Fantasy, Naruto, Gurren Laggan, and Hatsune Miku.The one weird thing about it was that there were alot of crossplayer or guys who dressed like female characters and girls who dressed like males characters. I came across one guy that was dressed as Ashley from a resident evil game and there were a couple girls dressed in bikinis supposed to be Naruto or Sasuke or Kakashi. Craziness!!

Now it's time to talk about the bad... Firstly, if you have an issue with being around alot of people...then you will have a difficult time here. Especially on the first 2 days. There are about an estimated 33,000 people that attended this year. So if you do not like wading through people to get to the anime showing then you might want to go to a smaller con. Secondly, standing in line for registration for three and a half hours!! It was a totally different experience for me and if it were not for people selling water and a person giving me water, I would've died 3x over...no lie. Standing outside in the sun with a t-shirt over a tank top is not fun in 90 degree humid weather. And that was about it.

When it comes down to it Otakon was awesome this year. Headlining acts for concerts were Kanon Wakeshima, Becca, and Mell. I attended Kanon's concert and it was sssooo great. I just wished that it was longer cuz as soon as she came on the concert was over :(...So sad....

The con also served as a way to help people who wanted to work in the anime industry to find a way to that. They had panels on topics ranging from translation to career planning for artist/geeks. It was great and I felt like I learned something while having fun!

Anime Conventions are a great way to meet new people, learn about new mangas/animes that are coming out, and learn about the anime/manga industry as a whole. So even if your a fan or if you want a career in this industry oorrr if you want to spend the entire weekend playing video games and watching anime than you definitely have to plan a trip to your local anime convention. It'll be the best experience you'll ever have.