Claymore

Nick's Anime Update - July 1, 2007

Nick — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:08:53 -0400

Time for an update of what I've been watching.

Finished Watching

Catblue: Dynamite

I had finished a review of this 40-minute movie this morning. In truth, I've probably rewatched this around 5 times in the past week or so, most of that showing the movie off to different people. I don't have much to add here on top of my review of it.

Keisatsu Sensha Tai TANK S.W.A.T. 01

After watching Catblue: Dynamite, I was curious about Romanov Higa's previous work. TANK S.W.A.T. 01 is a second attempt of adapting Masamune Shirow's Dominion Tank Police manga as an anime. Romanov Higa was billed as the director, and the 29-minute OVA does feature a CG style. Unfortunately, I just find that it doesn't work as well as it did in Catblue. Most people don't seem to realize that the characters in TANK S.W.A.T. 01 are also CG with a cell-shaded style. It looks like they were modeled with a much more traditional "anime-style" look, and I just don't like how it looks in CG. Plus the "police-thriller" story presented just isn't too interesting.

Pale Cocoon

Coming in fairly new to the animation scenes is Yasuhiro Yoshiura, and his film, Pale Cocoon, can actually be compared to Makoto Shinkai's Voices of a Distant Star in many ways. Like Shinkai, Yoshiura did all of the writing, storyboarding, directing, CG, and animating for Pale Cocoon by himself. Both OVAs run under 30 minutes long. Both feature a beautifully composed song that provide an emotional climax towards to end of the anime.

But it's the differences that will set Yoshiura's work apart, and Pale Cocoon includes some very important features. Pale Cocoon seems to strictly uses CG for backgrounds, while Shinkai focused on hand-drawn stills for his backgrounds in Voices of a Distant Star. Though probably as a result of this, Yoshiura's hand-drawn characters simply look better than Shinkai's hand-drawn characters. Also, while Voices of a Distant Star feels like it's treating its characters and subject matter with gentleness, Pale Cocoon's atmosphere is much more colder and distant. And most importantly, while it doesn't quite have Voices of a Distant Star's emotional punch, Pale Cocoon is much more complicated; it's a thinker.

And when you figure it out, it can hit you like a ton of bricks. At least, it did for me; Pale Cocoon has me sitting back and pondering on what it's saying every time I watch it. I'll be keeping an eye on Yasuhiro Yoshiura's future work, as if Pale Cocoon is any indication, he might become the "next Shinkai".

Scrapped Princess - Episodes 1-24

I had an urge to rewatch this series after I finished reading the third volume of the translated novel so I ended up marathoning all 24 episodes in a day (skipping the rather bad opening and ending pieces in every episode). Pacifica is still a spoiled brat, though it seems I've thought her more of a brat the first time I watched the series.

The thing to know, though, is that the novel is definitely better than the anime. Shouldn't be a surprise there. The entire third novel (which I had thought to be pretty good, much better than the first novel) was compressed into maybe 2 episodes in the anime. And how the novel volumes are laid out really explains why the anime felt like almost-separate 2-3 episode arcs.

Currently Watching

NANA - Episodes 1-44

NANA got my nearly undivided attention a couple weeks ago after I finished Rocket Girl. I had initially planned to ration the number of episodes I was watching so that I would get to the end of the 47-episode season when the fansubbers release the last episode, but that idea was doomed as I found myself watching the series in 10-episode marathons, sometimes forgoing sleep to do so. Not a very good thing for my working life, but NANA happened to be a romantic shoujo that hit nearly all the right buttons for me. Plus I am really digging Nana Osaki, the "punk rocker" girl in the series. I don't immediately rail against Nana "Hachi" Komatsu like I know many people might, but I simply found her roommate to be much more interesting.

I don't fully fathom why these shows draw me in; they're often filled with the characters doing stupid stuff that will hurt their partners. NANA is almost an extreme of that at times, as I witnessed the characters doing stupid stuff that I can foresee causing severe problems with their relationships way down the line. I also fully acknowledge the double-standard based on gender I held to the characters. Fairly early on in the series, I wanted to hit Shouji for what he was doing, yet when Nana Komatsu does the exact same thing late in the series, I just felt sad. Perhaps I was just too tired to work myself into anger against her at that point. I am glad there are characters like Kyosuke and Junko at times, as they are perhaps the only normal couple in the series. And Kyosuke's openness with Junko is something very refreshing to see.

Well, I'm starting to ramble about the characters, so I'll cut it off here. This series has some seriously complicated relationships, as the anime doesn't just center on the two Nanas, but puts focus on all of the people they deal with on a normal basis. The music in the series is nice, and I liked the presentation of how the series is like some reminiscence by one of the two Nanas. The ending theme starting sometime before the credits start, often with one of the Nanas saying a short monologue before it cuts to the credits is quite well done.

Only awaiting 3 more episodes, and according to the series, this is only Season one! No word of a second season, though.

Denno Coil - Episode 4-5

This show continues to please me. I can't put my finger on what about it I enjoy, but this series is the one where I anticipate each new episode.

Claymore - Episode 11-13

I know that Astro was put off at the pure brutality in Episode 8 (and not just for one character there, too). I wonder if he'll be able to handle Episode 13. Wow. Not quite as harsh as Episode 8, but you wouldn't expect that to happen to such an important character to the series. I'm halfway through the series, and though I can see a few ways it can end, I have no clue as to which path it will take. I'm going to be continuing on without hesitation.

Lucky Star - Episode 10-12

This one has been mildly amusing to me, though I have to admit that I laughed hard a few times in Episode 12, when the girls go to a comic convention.

Darker Than BLACK - Episode 8 (Stalled)

No new episodes have been released since the last update by the fansubbers I've been using. I'm contemplating switching groups.

Currently Rewatching

The Twelve Kingdoms - Episodes 15-26

I've been watching this one with other people that wanted to see this series again. Got through the Taiki arc, which I find myself liking more of each time I rewatch this series. Also got four episodes into the excellent third arc of the series.

On Hiatus/Future Plans

Saiunkoku Monogatari - Episode 29 (?)

Legend of Galactic Heroes - Episode 50 (?)

Yomigaeru Sora - RESCUE WINGS -

Nick's Anime Update - June 10, 2007

Nick — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:58:47 -0400

I had turned 28 on Friday and received volumes 1 and 4 of the Monster manga as gifts. I went ahead and bought volumes 2 and 3 of Monster to fill in the missing volumes and volumes 2-4 of Berserk to continue it (getting both series and a Haibane Renmei t-shirt from Robert's Anime Corner Store). Monster was one of my favorite anime at the beginning of last year, perhaps the best suspense-thriller anime I've seen yet and has very well developed characters (Heck, how many anime series feature a 30-something year old neurosurgeon as the main character?). With Berserk, I largely just wanted to continue on with the events in the manga after what is portrayed in the anime.

Now, onto the "what I've watched since the past update" part. This time, I'll just update if I have anything on my mind on each series.

Finished Watching

Rocket Girls - Episodes 6-12

The fansubs for this series were being released at a one-per-day rate for the past week for some reason. Let's see if I remember what happened... Oh yeah, Yukari gets stranded in space due to a collision with some kind of debris, but Matsuri comes up to rescue her. They go down together in the same craft, but they manage have a safe splashdown in the most unlikely of places. They splash down in a swimming pool. Not just that, but the swimming pool in Yukari's old school.

At least, this gave the space organization a chance to pick up another female teenager astronaut. This time, she's an honor student named Akane. She's not even to the physical level of Yukari, but she has the knowledge and intelligence to make up for that.

And to my complete surprise, it seems the series ended after episode 12! That really caught me by surprise, as that ending felt far too uncertain to leave the series on. I wonder if there will be more?

Update: Ok, so that ending was incredibly rushed! Now that I know what actually happened there (and I probably should rewatch the ending again), well, I'm still a bit disappointed, though I did enjoy the series. Yeah, it was so incredibly implausible, but heck, that was the fun. The series never took itself seriously (Sending teenage girls up into space as astronauts? Absurd? Yes! And the series knew it too!), but I do like how the writers took pains to not (completely) trivialize the dangers of space travel.

Currently Watching

Denno Coil - Episode 3

Darker Than BLACK - Episode 8

Claymore - Episode 10

Not another cliffhanger, at least. I've also hand a thought about why there's not male "Claymores" in the world, and this series actually showed that I nailed the reason.

It's also very nice to see why Clare's rank in the organization was dead last.

Lucky Star - Episode 9

The Wallflower - Episodes 8 (Stalled)

Rewatching

The Twelve Kingdoms - Episodes 13-14

On Hiatus/Future Plans

Saiunkoku Monogatari - Episode 29 (?)

Legend of Galactic Heroes - Episode 50 (?)

NANA

Yomigaeru Sora - RESCUE WINGS -

Nick's Anime Update - June 3, 2007

Nick — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 22:47:50 -0400

It's been a couple of weeks since I've had one of these, and instead of looking at code this late on a Sunday, I might as well get an update in on what I've been watching in the anime world.

Finished Watching

Windy Tales - Episodes 7-13Miki and Jun

This series has been a wholly enjoyable watch for me. It has the episodic vignettes that a slice-of-life series would, but it has a very relaxing atmosphere that draw me to these types of series. Also, the unusual animation style really gave the series a sense of charm for me. Getting to know Nao and her friends, family, and teachers through small glimpses of her junior high-school life was quite enjoyable for me.

Truthfully, I was expecting the wind manipulating ability to take more of a center-stage role than it did, but it really seemed to only play a rather tangential role in the character's lives, especially in the latter episodes.

In the end, the series is a thumbs up from me, though I'm not sure I'd actually recommend the series to many people.

Haibane Renmei - Episodes 7-13

This series has always been one of my top favorites since I watched it for the second time many years ago. The mother-daughter dynamic between Reki and Rakka has been one of the biggest reasons this series drew me in. And if the series had ended before Reki's acceptance of Rakka's help, it would have been one of the most tragic series I'd have ever seen and probably reduce me to tears babbling like a love-sick little girl.

Yeah, I'm glad that ABe ended the series the way he did... Haibane Renmei is definitely my favorite of his work.

Currently Watching

The Wallflower - Episodes 1-8What a sweet little gir.... err... what?!?

I've been seeing several of these "reverse" harem shoujos (where it's the girl surrounded by many bishi guys) popping up, much in the same lines of Ouran High School Host Club. Compared to that series, it doesn't seem like The Wallflower will have much to go on, especially with the rather poor animation job (Much use of stills and chibis!). But in truth, The Wallflower (Also titled Yamato Nedeshiko Shichi Henge) has started off on the right foot by entertaining the heck out of me with quite an amusing female lead.

The idea behind the plot starts out with 4 (very good-looking and popular-with-the-ladies high school) guys are instructed by their extremely eccentric and very wealthy landlady to "make her niece a lady", else she will triple their rent. Of course, her niece, Sunako, shuns human contact and light, and her best friends are an anatomy model with all of his organs in display and a skeleton.

Of course, much of the time when she is cornered by Kyouhei, his shiny beauty causes Sunako to break out in a violent nosebleed. Heck, Sunako breaking out into gushing nosebleeds at the sight of her "harem" is one of the running gags.

Absurdity abound, I'm lightly enjoying this series. It may not be better than Ouran, but I'll continue watching this one.

Denno Coil - Episode 2

Others have said what I probably would say better than I would have right now. I'll just mention that I"m enjoying this one quite a lot.

Darker Than BLACK - Episode 6-7

Episode 6 ended on a fairly tragic note for me, as I was liking that former contractor. It also seems that Lin has motives that originate outside of the organization that has hired him, which seems very unusual for a contractor.

Episode 7, though, took a weird turn. Darker Than BLACK is now a partial comedy, with a struggling detective that hates cats.

Claymore - Episode 8-9

The ending of episode 8 truly shocked me. I mean, Claymore was already throwing out twists, but I really didn't expect that one. In the end, though, it was the only possible course of action that I thought the series could take, as harsh as it was.

Episode 9 finally returns to the "modern day" Clare. And with it comes another unexpected twist; Clare's rank in the organization. To me, this adds a bit to Clare's character.

And damn those cliffhangers!

Lucky Star - Episode 7-8

I'll let the screenshot speak for itself...

No Comment

Pretty amusing series, it is...

Rocket Girls - Episodes 4-5

We finally have liftoff! Am I the only one that thinks that the director isn't exactly doing a good job? I mean, even if much of the work in the organization is rocket science, should it take the mother of the main character on how to establish the lead pilot's confidence in the technology?

Ah well, off to the next episode! Let's see how Yukari gets out of this jam!

Rewatching

The Twelve Kingdoms - Episodes 1-12

I'm rewatching this one while showing it to a few new people. Of course, one person was constantly commenting on Youko's emo-ness in the first five episodes, while the other was showing extreme annoyance at the delusional Yuka. Both agreed that the blue-haired monkey that was tormenting Youko needed to die...

In truth, both of them have only seen up to episode 8, so far. I watched a bit further with another friend, who already watched the entire series once and wanted to rewatch it after reading the first volume of the novel.

Admittedly, the watching first arc (spanning from episode 1-13) for the first time wasn't what shot this series to my most favorite series. It was probably the third arc that really got my attention, but it took the second watch before I realized many of the real themes and lessons that Youko has to go through to become what she was in the third arc. What amazed me about this series is that the first arc was a coming-of-age for Youko, and it's here where many other anime would end. Instead, The Twelve Kingdoms keeps going, and as a friend said to me in PMs about the series:

But this story goes on. And, by the end, we experience the circle of rise and fall again and again, sort of the evitable repetition of chance, coincidence, and connection that makes our life recognizable and melancholy to us. Which is to say, that Juuni Kokki is less about one girl's growing up phase, but about what it means, really, to live. To know that we live without real endings and beginnings; to let go of self-pity and useless memories and to know the earth from which you came and make your place.

The most courageous thing you can do is to live. And 12 Kingdoms, rather like Zhang Yimou's earlier work, details just how hard that can really be.

On Hiatus/Future Plans

Saiunkoku Monogatari - Episode 29 (?)

Legend of Galactic Heroes - Episode 50 (?)

NANA

Yomigaeru Sora - RESCUE WINGS -

Nick's Anime Update - May 20, 2007

Nick — Sun, 20 May 2007 16:20:43 -0400

I am a couple of days late on this (pulling quite a bit of time on making sure a customer's server is working fine after a code migration), but here's my current list of what I've been watching:

Finished Watching

Berserk - Episodes 18-26

Nothing like compensating for all of the shoujo I've been watching lately by finishing up a series like Berserk. As it is, there's very few testosterone-filled yet thematically powerful anime out there like this one. Though many people dislike and pan the last three episodes for the horrible events they portray, I feel it works perfectly in line with the main ideas of the anime as a whole. This series is really about Griffith downfall, and is actually the prelude to Guts's story as it appears in the manga (which I've only read the first volume of so far). I've heard comparisons to Greek tragedies about the anime; not too bad for a manga that was simply inspired comics like Conan the Barbarian.

As I mentioned before, though I know some people that really identified with Griffith, I seem to be taken by Gut's realization of his lack of a dream. His inner search for this dream to call his own resonated with me. Not that Griffith is any less of a character in my eyes, as it is his definition of a "friend" that he says to the princess is what triggers this introspection in Guts. And this also highlights the complexity within Griffith himself, as you are never sure as to if what he's saying is a calculated action or really what he's thinking. Even through a re-watch, it's hard to tell.

Now that I've finished the anime series, I am itching to start reading the Berserk manga.

Currently Watching

Windy Tales - Episodes 1-6Miki, Jun, and Nao

I finally gave in and started watching this one. And I'm enjoying it. This unassuming series centers around a junior high student named Nao Ueshima who learns about people (and animals) that can control the air called Wind Manipulators. She (and some of her friends) eventually learns how to do it herself, as it's apparently an innate ability in living things in this anime. She's the president of the school's Digital Photography Club, which consists of two members: Herself and a friend, Miki.The Flying Cat and Nao

In the first episode, we are first introduced to the ability to control the wind via a cat that Nao sees on the roof of the school building while she was taking pictures of clouds. So, like any picture enthusiast would do, she climbs over the railing onto the ledge of a 5-or-so-story building to get a better shot of it. While taking a picture of the cat, it leaps off the edge and is held aloft by a strong gust of wind. Nao then looks up and sees the sky filled with flying cats. In her surprise and hurriedness to take a picture of the amazing scene, she slips off the edge. Taiki, a math teacher at the school who happens to be a Wind Manipulator, sees her fall and uses his power to discreetly slow her fall before she hit the bushes on the ground. Unfortunately for him, she had taken his picture during the fall, and with some investigation, Nao discovers the math teacher's secret.

As you can see from the screen shots, the animation is a much simpler style than your normal anime. In fact, it's quite the opposite of the highly-detailed look of the Shinkai movies I love, but it works to its advantage. First, characters tend to have a much more animated look to them. Also, though the series does make user of computers with digital effects and 3D modeling, the simple style really works at masking that and gives the series a nice hand-drawn look. The series is also filled with pastel colors for the backgrounds, especially in outdoor shots and scenes of the sky. I also like the extra touch of light glares; they are drawn by hand rather than omputer computer in post processing.

Nao makes a fine heroine in the school slice-of-life series, and the music give a nice, relaxed atmosphere to the series. I'll definitely be enjoying the rest of this 13-episode anime.

Denno Coil - Episode 1Fumie Hashimoto and Yuko Okonogi

Kineska was where I first really taking notice of this series (Though both AniPages and Cinnamon Ass had mentioned it before hand). After watching the first episode, I can see the enthusiasm with how subtle Denno Coil is being. As of the first episode, it's looking to be another series for young viewer, but it's not really treating the audience with kid gloves.

Already, I have questions that I wait gleefully for answers to in future episodes!

Darker than BLACK - Episodes 1-5

I first start really hearing about this Sunrise animated series from Iwa ni Hana. Sunrise is an animation production company that has rarely let me down, and so far, I've finding Darker than BLACK quite entertaining, if not answering many questions. The setting is a post-apocalyptic type world, but not everything has to be original, it really just has to entertain.

I really like how it presents the gore up front without it crossing over into over-the-top gore fanservice (I.E., Elfen Lied). People get their hands chopped off and heads cut in half on screen, rather than copping out with a off-screen action and splash of blood. And these are far from the most disturbing images. Astro has a good summary of that scene, if you dare to see it.

I think I will like this one.

UPDATE: I almost forgot to mention this, but the background music really had this bluesy and jazzy sound that was slightly reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop. This shouldn't be much of a shock, as it is the famous (at least in anime circles) Yoko Kanno doing the music for this series.

Claymore - Episode 7

Claymore is starting to lose a bit of its edge for me right now. It already seemed to lost that little bit of subtlety that it had in the first few episodes. Theresa's betrayal of the organization was interesting, which requires the #2 to #5 Claymores to face her (who is considered the #1 warrior). Of course, the young Clare is watching all of this. Thankfully, it seems the series is willing to take its time, of which it has plenty with 26 episodes. I just hope the creators don't drag it out too much and get in a pinch at the end.

Lucky Star - Episode 6

Bad car CG aside, Lucky Star is getting better for me over time. Besides, I'm watching this for the laughs, not for amazing animation. And it's delivering, especially with the references to MMO terminology and Konata's obsessions with video games and anime. I, for one, welcome our... err... I mean, I welcome the change in directors if that what improved the flow of each episode. Lucky Star has been nothing by more laughs and better cohesion since.

Rocket Girls - Episode 3 (Stalled)

The only reason this one is "stalled" is because episode 4 was just released today. I might write something during the week if something significant happens; otherwise, I'll put down something in my next update.

On Hiatus/Future Plans

Saiunkoku Monogatari - Episode 29 (?)

Legend of Galactic Heroes - Episode 50 (?)

NANA

Yomigaeru Sora - RESCUE WINGS -

The Wallflower

Haibane Renmei - Episode 6

This one's been stalled for a while, but I do plan on getting back to it at some point. Heck, I'm just getting to the good parts...

Nick's Anime Update - May 11, 2007

Nick — Fri, 11 May 2007 23:51:59 -0400

Hasn't been too long since I've done one of these, but I probably should force myself to do this at least once a week. I'll try for every Friday evening, if possible.

Well, here's the list! (Oh, possible spoilers ahead!)

Movies Watched

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

I've mentioned this one before, but after around the 4th rewatch, it still hasn't lost its appeal on me. A highly recommended slice-of-life shoujo with a 3D and likable lead character. I hope to have a full review of this one by tomorrow.

Paprika

I was rather pumped up to see Satoshi Kon's latest work, but Paprika ended up underwhelming me somewhat. Sure, many of the individual sequences were brilliant, but the movie as a whole lacked any sort of cohesiveness with me (which is a common issue I have with Satoshi Kon's previous work) and, even worse, none of the characters really appealed to me (which wasn't a problem with his previous work).

I will still see it in theaters, though, if it shows in town.

Mind Game

This 2004 animated movie by Studio 4°C seemed to have floated under the radar for many anime fans. And probably for good reason, as this outright amazing movie is very hard to chew on for most. The animation style ranges all over the map, from simplistic and flat to photorealism to outright surrealism, though I thought the animation style always fit the internal states of the characters and circumstances. Yet, this is a series that I think more viewer should see. This coming-of-age story of a budding manga meets God (and believe me, as an athiest, I thought that this was the most brilliant representation of the entity that I've seen!) and goes of on an incredible adventure that included a car chase with Yakuza and being swallowed by a whale.

Finished Watching

Ghost Hunt - Episode 14-25

This adaptation of Fuyumi Ono's series of novels is quite similar in one respect like her other rather famous series of novel, The Twelve Kingdoms: They both end with you wanting more! I'm more certain that there will be a continuation of Ghost Hunt, though I don't have any real proof of such.

This series starts of a bit slow and understated, but does feature some memorable scenes early on (That porcelain doll... *shiver*). The horror aspects really hit their strides at the midpoint, though, with the most frightening being the second-to-last arc, termed "The Blood-Soaked Maze". The main protagonist experiences a very horrific act in this one, one that creeped me out for a while. I guess it's my fault for watching these episodes late at night, but hey, that's the best time to watch horror-mystery shows, no? In addition to the horror aspects, it seems Fuyumi Ono has done some research on paranormal activity and history, from making a connection to Vlad the Impaler, to E. Tizane's categorizations of poltergeist manifestations. I hear the manga is a treasure trove of such information for those interested in such stuff.

More importantly to me than the story arcs and information given are the characters, and Ghost Hunt definitely contain some of the most varied mixed of different enjoyable characters. From Masako the TV-star spirit medium, Ayako the adult Shinto miko priestess, "Bou-san" the Buddhist monk who's day job is playing bass for a band, John the young Australian Catholic exorcist priest, and Lin the quiet and mysterious assistant, all of the supporting characters were immensely likable to me. But I was most focused on the like/hate relationship between the two leads, Mai and Naru. Mai swings between swooning for Naru and openly disliking his ego, but I whole-heartedly enjoyed her character. Naru is cold and critical on the surface, but he is extremely methodical and insightful in the paranormal cases he takes, and does pay full attention to the safety of the people working with him.

In addition to the Mai and Naru link is the atmosphere of the entire group together. In contrast to the often dark, horrific, and dangerous atmosphere of their settings, seeing the characters together gives a feeling of warmth and protection. There's never any arc-long sub-plots where they are at each other's throats (though spirit possessions do happen); instead, they work together and watch out for one another. They do have their smaller squabbles (Masako's and Mai's vie for Naru's attention, Bou-san and Ayako's disputes over their abilities), but they always put them aside when the situation gets serious. This is one of the most erratic collection of people that I've seen work together in an anime where it feels natural. That highly impresses me.

Currently Watching

Claymore - Episode 5-6

This series switches gears in Episode 5, bringing in another claymore in "Theresa of the faint smile". She's even more blunt and slightly contemptuous to the humans she saves from the youma than Clare is, and is said to be the strongest warrior in the organization. Towards the end of the episode, we learn that the young girl that Teresa gains as a tag-a-long is most likely a young Clare. The first half of the 6th episode was getting a bit too sappy for my tastes (And young Clare isn't much better than Raki, apparently), but the second half was something else in my eyes! What happened here was quite unexpected, given what I learned about the claymore organization.

Oh, to check on something, I rewatched the end of Episode 1. Unfortunately, that didn't quite give me much information.

Lucky Star - Episode 4-5

I have to admit, this one is growing on me. Especially Konata's obsession with her MMO, and her comment when she watching Haruhi (About halfway through episode 4). But having her teacher scold her through while they were playing together in that MMO nearly got me falling out of my chair while laughing! And the reactions of the other girls while she talks of tanking and AOE spells was just right. It is definitely amusing enough for me to continue watching.

The director had changed for episode 5, and the change is fairly subtle but noticeable to me. The first four episodes were very erratic. The fifth episode had a much better flow, with the girls actually going to a summer festival. The pointless everyday conversations are still there, but I am definitely enjoying the reduction of ADHD in the main episode. I also found the Lucky Channel segment to be a bit better than the others.

Rocket Girls - Episode 3

Okay, so I have to eat my words in the previous entry when I said that "it does seem to pay better-than-average attention to silly concepts like physics", but that still doesn't mean this series is not fun to watch. I really do like how an early potentially season-long subplot is resolved right in episode 2, and it already had several amusing moments. I am glad I started this one, and will definitely be continuing it.

Rewatching

Berserk - Episode 1-17

The music from Paprika plus the gruesome action from Claymore has inspired me to rewatch this classic shounen series (Classic? it's only 8 years old, no?). Though it looks rather unpolishedCaska, even for a 1999 production, to me, it has reached more ground in 6 episodes than Claymore did. Though the medieval fantasy setting and fight scenes are nicely done, what really solidified this series for me were the characters. Guts seems to just be a man that wants to live by simply cutting through people with his massive sword, but his reflections on how his life doesn't have any purpose really hit home for me. And these thoughts from Guts were a result of his observations of Griffith. Yes, the nearly perfect leader. Ruthless, ambitious, and highly intelligent, Griffith is the white-haired general who brought a rag-tag bandit mercenary group called The Band of the Hawks to a powerful calvary of knights who are the saviors of a kingdom.

Much attention are given to this two, even by me on my first watch. This time, though, I've really been paying attention to Caska, the other commander leading the Hawks under Griffith's command. She is a character I'd like to see more often in anime. She's strong, sexy, feminine, and dons full armor when she goes into battle. She's a leader in essentially a man's world and highly respected by her troops. Yet, she had a little-girl-like adoration of Griffith. And for good reason, too, as he was the one that saved her as a young girl from a life of abuse by a nobleman. And not in a direct manner, either. Griffith saves her by giving the young girl a sword and having her strike down her potential abuser.

What makes her role interesting to me in the whole design of Berserk is that the series makes no attempt at being politically correct; one series of scenes depict what happens when Caska's fighting effectiveness in a battle is hampered by her menstrual cycle. Some may call the series misogynistic, but I really can't see it that way. Like many other themes in this series, it's get pretty complicated. Even when Guts says that women don't belong in a man's world (I.E., serving as a soldier), he does later concede that "women have it tougher". Even Griffith did place her second in command of the Hawks for some time before Guts joined them. She *is* the third strongest warrior in the band; the others respect her as such.

Haibane Renmei - Episode 6

Yeah, I haven't progressed on this one since last time. I might continue it after Berserk.

On Hiatus/Future Plans

I still have the same list as last time, which consist of the following:

Saiunkoku Monogatari - Episode 29 (?)

Legend of Galactic Heroes - Episode 50 (?)

Windy Tales - Episode 1

I also have a few more that I forgot to mention that are in my "to watch" list:

NANA

This was recommended to me by a trusted individual, and it's one I've been hearing a bit about. It sounds like it's one of those relationship drama shoujos, which I do enjoy from time to time. Much stupid misunderstandings and crying ahead, probably.

Yomigaeru Sora - RESCUE WINGS -

It's been a while since I've watched a good military drama, and this seems to get some praises.

The Wallflower

My ex-girlfriend liked the manga for this one and really wanted to check out the anime for it. I checked out a few minutes of the first episode, and I'm not sure I'd like it, but I'll give it a try anyways.

Nick's Recent Activity

Nick — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 12:16:40 -0400

Call it laziness or burn-out, but I just haven't had the energy or will to sit down and write about the recent anime I've been watching. Indeed, I've been meaning to write an analysis of the Twelve Kingdoms novel and Fuyumi Ono's interview and a review of Asatte no Houkou (Quite a nice little series that doesn't overextend itself) and Mushishi. As it is, I do have a list of some of the new anime I'm watching:

Currently Watching

Claymore - Episode 4

I've been anticipating this one for a bit, but I was initially approaching it with expectation if it containing the violence and action of say, Berserk, without any of the deeper themes and with a female as the main lead. As it is, Claymore does have violence and action, but it is much less shallow than I was expecting. As I've only seen four episodes of the 26 episode series, it still has room to disappoint (I.E., ignoring or contradicting the early themes it sets, like Elfen Lied did), but for now, I'm going to continue watching this one.

Lucky Star - Episode 3

This one, I basically decided to watch after seeing that high-energy opening. I'm finding it amusing (and occasionally gut-busting funny), though, as I said elsewhere, it has nothing on Azumanga Daioh, like its comedic timing or well established characters. It's definitely gotten quite a bit of talk around the anime blog-o-sphere, but I'll be continuing this one.

Rocket Girls - Episode 2

This was mentioned by bbovenguy as a series that "pays pretty good attention to reality". I decided to check it out, and he's right; this series about the fledgling Japanese manned space program, out side of the silly characters and premise of sending high-school girls into space (They're lighter and smaller than a grown man, you know...) it does seem to pay better-than-average attention to silly concepts like physics.

Ghost Hunt - Episode 13

I picked up Ghost Hunt early on when I realized that it was based on the novels of the same name written by Fuyumi Ono (actually, based on the manga that's based on the novel, but I digress). Though it's been on hiatus since January, I've picked it up again and will probably watch it to the end this time. Though it has few out-right scary scenes, there's been several points that are out-right goosebumps forming creepy! It started out a bit slow and a bit underwhelming in the first arc; those first three episodes largely served to introduce the main characters. And what great and ironic characters they are! The bass-playing monk? The adult and seductive miko? The young Australian priest who learned to speak Japanese from the Kansai region? Hah! I'm sold. And the main protagonist, Mai, makes a very good female lead opposite "Naru", the normally serious male lead who runs a paranormal-investigative company at the age of 17.

Rewatching

Haibane Renmei - Episode 6

I was in the mood to rewatch this one, as it is one of the three animes that are able to consistently get me out of any kind of funk when I watch them. The other two are The Twelve Kingdoms and The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and which one I watch when I feel the edges of depression kicking in really depends on whether I want to watch a long series, a short series, or a movie.

On Hiatus/Future Plans

Saiunkoku Monogatari - Episode 29 (?)

I had watched this until I caught up to the fansub releases in December, and just haven't picked up watching it again (Though I've still been getting the fansubs as they were released). I do plan on starting up on this again, as it was quite entertaining and a rather well told story.

Legend of Galactic Heroes - Episode 50 (?)

So this isn't exactly a new series, but I think it is, from what I've watched so far, the greatest space opera of all time. Though the characterizations and plot exposition is done much like many anime do it in the eighties, the story is very well balanced between two talented individual generals on different sides of an intergalactic war; one side is a democracy much like the modern day U.S., and the other side is more of a aristocratic monarchy much like most of 17th and 18th century Europe. And both generals seem to do more fighting within their respective systems than with each other, as the series takes no pains in hiding the inefficiencies in both political systems.

This is a series I do plan on picking up later.

Windy Tales - Episode 1

I watched the first episode of this series and immediately put it on the back burner to when I have more time to watch it, much like Mushishi. It looks to be a series that I should take my time with.

Dropped

Moonlight Mile - Episode 3

I had expected this to be closer to Planetes than what I actually saw. The series took reasonably close attention to physics, but watching the two Gary Stu like lead characters stumble (But these rebels planned it that way!) their way into becoming astronauts was just not entertaining to me. And the extremely poor CG and animation (I mean, two guys running on the beach was animated with only 4 frames!) was just extra.

Claymore - Episode 2 Impressions

Nick — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:06:57 -0400

Well, I wasn't exactly on the fence when I started Claymore like Astro on the first episode, as I was planning to sticking with this one unless it really does something to repulse me.

Watching the second episode has me a bit more intrigued. The organization that Clare is in does interest me some, but it's Clare herself that draws me into this show. Her lack of hesitation at the end of the episode is something I like to see in that situation.

I know Raki turns quite a few people off, but I don't find him all that annoying. In fact, as Astro mentions, he serves a purpose this early in the series. He's much like Gourry from Slayers: the ignorant young boy/stupid idiot who needs everything explained to him, which is an indirect way of conveying information to the viewer. Also, it's likely Raki's role will change later, as he is the typical character that will grow as the season moves on.

I'm also reading complaints about not enough movement in the plot to make up for just how little actual action these two episodes have, but right now, I'm seeing it as they're laying down the back story. I guess I have much more patience with a series than most.

I'll update on this series as the need hits.

Claymore - Contact

Nick — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:06:02 -0400

This guy seems to be a contact for Clare to the organization for supplies and job orders. He also seems to like to mess with Raki...

Claymore - Raki

Nick — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:04:20 -0400

Claymore - Clare

Nick — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:13:11 -0400

For some reason, Clare brought Major Motoko Kusanagi from the first Ghost in the Shell movie to mind when I first her. And not in the way she carries herself, but just how her face looks. It could just be a coincidence, or I could just be wrong.