NEW SEGMENT: Lovely Ladies of Anime

Hello! I'm running out of things to write on my blog, so I decided to introduce a new segment I call Lovely Ladies of Anime. I think I'd rather call it LLOA for short, so if I you see that, please remember that this is what I'm referring to. Basicly in this segment, I'll be writing about my favorite female anime characters. Who they are, what they're like, why I like them, and what they do for the series they're in. Why just ladies? Because face it, anime guys are usually kinda boring.

Okay, now here's the really weird part that may cause me to lose some of my followers. Not that I really care. (no offense followers) I refer to myself as an 'anime bisexual.' I am definitely straight, but there are certain anime girls that I just can't help finding attractive. I can't really help it, it's just how I am. I'm telling you this because I may make some comments about the girls I write about that may seem a little...odd. You know, about how attractive they are, how cute they are, ect. But I don't think I'm gonna be doing that too often

Now this segment won't begin until tomorrow, but please look forward to it. And comment below because I looove comments. I don't know, just talk about your favorite anime girls or something. Point is ME WANT COMMENTS!!!

Random Comments

Hello. I am currently in the middle of quite a few series, and I thought I'd let you know my thoughts on them so far. So here's some pros and cons of what I'm watching at the moment. Enjoy :)

Itazura na Kiss (at episode 5)



Pros: Achieves the difficult task of removing the cliches from a typical shojo high school romcom. Most of the characters are very likeable and fun without being typical anime steryotypes.

Cons: The story itself is not very original. The story where two people hate each other but then end up stuck with each other and fall in love has been used way too many times.

Hayate no Gotoku! (at episode 18)

Pros: A very original story and tons of fun, likeable characters. Packed full of hillarious and perfectly placed gags and jokes that you would have to be some hardcore humorless goth no to laugh at.

Cons: With a series like this, every episode needs to be as good as (if not better than) the last, and there are certain episodes that fail to satisfy.

Strawberry Panic (at episode 4)

Pros: Cute series that will satisfy the cravings of most yuri fans. the way the school system works is very original, and the scenery is nice.

Cons: All of the characters seem flat and uninteresting. It is very cliche, and every episode seems about the same. Nothing remotely interesting has happened in the story thus far.












Aria the Animation (at episode 7)

Pros: Wonderfull music and incredible characters. The story idea was original, and the background art pulls you into the story and almost makes you feel like you are there.

Cons: With characters like the ones in this series, the viewers will want to get to know them better. So far, this series has failed to let us venture into their minds.

2009 Anime Awards Cancelled

Yeah I've decided to wait until December and hold a 2010 anime awards show. Sorry for the inconvenience. That is all.

FINAL REVIEW: Welcome to the NHK!

Synopsis taken from myanimelist.net.
Satou Tatsuhiro, 22 years old, thinks that everything that happens around him is a conspiracy. He even figured out who is behind it all: The NHK, an evil secret company. "When you think anime, you think otaku. When you think otaku, you think people that dislike other people. Those people become hikikomori (people who shut themselves in)". So Satou manages to uncover the plot of The NHK (stands for Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai), after three years of shutting himself in (and rapidly approaching the fourth). In reality, he is nothing more than a NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), desperately in need of a cure from that "disease". He wants to break out from the curse, but going out and getting a job is frightening enough for him. That is until he gets selected for a "project"; it is a plan to help hikikomori like him in facing the reality of this world.

I think this may be one of the most relatable anime series I've seen thus far. The characters in Welcome to the NHK! go through so many different hardships, emotions and thoughts that I beleive everyone who watches the show will find at least one scene they can relate to. Now, the problems these people face aren't always on a large scale, like greif or abuse, but they are all affective in grabbing the veiwers emotions. The journey through Satou's mind as he struggles to break out of his hikikomori shell is a painful, beautiful, and honest one that will keep your heart pounding.

The characters in this show are mostly hit or miss. They are all evil in their own way, but we soon realize that they are not bad people, and that everyone on earth has an ugly dark side that they can't control. Unlike in a lot of series, Welcome to the NHK! lets you venture into the minds and souls of all of the characters and enables you to see why they are the way they are, rather than just giving you a fun character with an odd personality that is never explained.

The flaws? Not many. But no series is perfect. The only thing that really bothered me about Welcome to the NHK! was that some scenes gave off a completely different mood than what they were going for. For example, there was a very emotionally moving, heart pounding scene near the end that was about to have me in tears, (not going to reveal it. It's a spoiler) and then they changed the background music to the ending song, which kind of ruined the mood.

This series was phenomenal, and therefore very difficult to review. I think everyone, anime fan or not, should take a look at Welcome to the NHK! You will not be dissapointed.

Story: 9
Art: 8
Music: 8
Character: 9
Laughs: 6
Tears: 8
Opening: 9
Ending 1: 9
Ending 2: (will evaluate later)

Overall Rating: 9

FINAL REVIEW: Arakawa Under the Bridge

Kou is a very successful executive and self proclaimed 'elite' who's entire life has revolved around his family motto: "never be indebted to anyone." However, this all changes when he breaks this rule by nearly drowning in Arakawa river and being rescued by Nino, a mysterious girl living under the bridge, who beleives she comes from Venus. Nino tells Kou, who is desperate to get rid of his 'debt,' that he can repay her by becoming his lover. Soon enough, Kou finds himself forced to live among the variety of oddball characters that live under the bridge, and begins to see the world in a completely different way.

When I mention this series to my friends, I often refer to it as "comedy gold." That's because Arakawa Under the Bridge is without a doubt a work of comedic genius. Just about every joke is right on, and there's not one moment when you think the writers were trying too hard to make you laugh. There are so many hillarious, yet subtle details in this series that you can't really script. For example, Nino's hair spinning like a pinwheel in the wind, or the children fighting in the background.

The characters in this series make the show. First you have the two main characters, Nino and Kou, but its the rest of the under-the-bridge family that really keeps you coming back. There's the Village Cheif, a guy in a green kappa suit who thinks he is a real kappa, Hoshi, the star-masked man with a love for music, ladies, and beating the shit out of Ko, Sister, the male, ex-millitary nun, P-ko, the gardening ninja with a thing for the Village Cheif, Tetsuo and Tetsuro, the mask-wearing twins who beleive they have escaped from a lab, Stella, the seemingly innocent Brittish girl with a dark side, and Maria, the sadistic farmgirl. Yeah, there's a lot, and they are all amazing. To get rid of even one would ruin this series.

There are a few flaws to this series, but not many. The storyline wasn't all that great, and at times it was a bit hard to understand what was going on. Also, some of the best characters don't get the attention they deserve. If you're going to put a lot of characters in the series and make them all enjoyable and irrisitable, you can expect some dissapointment from fans when they don't see enough of their favorite.

I highly reccomend Arakawa Under the Bridge to anyone who is looking for a good laugh, minus the cheesy ecchi jokes many people have come to expect from anime comedy. This is a good, smart, strong comedy series, and I am glad to have become part of this wacky family.

Story: 7
Art: 7
Music: 8
Characters: 9
Laughs: 9
Tears: N/A
Opening: 9
Ending: {will rate later}
Opening (ep. 5): 7


OVERALL RATING: 8/10

TOP 5: Child Stars

Number 5
Coming in at number five is little Maria Takarada from my personal favorite series, Skip Beat. There was so much put into this character. Her tragic back story, her one-sided love for one of the main characters, and the connection she makes with the protagonist, Kyoko, affect pretty much everything she does in the story, which is more than you can say for a lot of characters. The only thing keeping her back at number five is that the writers kind of push Maria off to the side after a little bit and move on to other things, which is much more than this wonderful character deserves.

Number 4

I wish I could have found a bigger piucture of this girl instead of having to blow up an icon. Anyway, our number 4 child star is Stella from Arakawa Under the Bridge. She's the adorable, english speaking blonde brittish girl who, like most english speaking anime characters, isn't actually all that good at english. She looks and acts completely innocent, but she's hiding the fact that she's a badass kick-ass bundle of horror who transforms into an enormous man-lady when she gets pissed. Why is she only number four? Because once you get past her first appearence episode, nobody really seems to like her anymore.

Number 3
Number 3 is Kaolla Su from Love Hina. She's a foreigner from who the hell knows where, and you never really know what she's going to do next even though the only thing ever on her mind seems to be food. Her ideal greeting is a kick in the face, and yet you still kinda want to jump into the screen and give her a giant hug. AND she's an inventor. AND AND! She can change her age. So basicly, she kicks ass. End of story.

Number 2

Number two had to be two characters, because you kind of have no choice but to group them together. It's Tsukino and Kano Miyazawa from Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances). These girls are the amazing kid sisters of the protagonist, Yukino, and will bring a smile to your face just about every time they appear. Personally, I want these guys to be my kid sisters. They're adorable, smart, supportive, and hillarious and would be a joy to have in any household. Sometimes I wonder if the writer of Kare Kano created these characters specifically as the two amazing sisters she never had.

Number 1
And the number one child-star in anime is Anzu from Hanamaru Kindergarten, who may just be the youngest protagonist in anime history. Like most little girls, Anzu just won't shut up. But unlike most little girls, you don't want her to. She is an adorably lovable character, despite the fact that she's in love with someone at least five times her age. She has the ability to climb up a human being like a monkey, drive a kiddie car around like a pro with a grown man sitting next to her, and pretty much get everyone in the kindergarten on her side in her battle for a love that will obviously never be. And for those reasons, Anazu is the number one anime child-star of all time.

Like this bit? Comment below and give me an idea for another top five list! Feedback is always appreciated ^_^

I'm Sorry!

I haven't been posting a lot lately because a) I haven't had any inspiration until just now and b) my computer crashed again the other day. I'm using a different computer for this post, but I won't be able to post regularly again untill school starts.
Also, you may have noticed I've skipped a couple episode reviews of Arakawa Under the Bridge and a few of the other series I've been reviewing. In some cases, I will not be able to review every single episode of a series, but I will always, always write a full series review once I finish a series, so please look forward to those.
One more thing: if you have any ideas for segments I could do on my blog, please let me know what you'd like to see.
Thank You! ^_^