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!

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.

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!!!

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.