Spoilers? Proceed at your own risk. Be advised as well that I read a fan translation. It will never be as accurate as the original text. If I pointed out something that could be attributed to the way it was translated, kindly tell me. This might as well be called a review of the translation, aside from being a review of the novel itself.

Reading Hyouka was quite an experience. If I would have to describe it, it’s as if you’re listening to two people exchanging vague inside jokes with one another. You have to possess an understanding of Japanese history, specifically 1960′s to easily understand and follow some of the historical references.

The gist of the first volume revolves around Chitanda’s favor to Houtarou to find out Sekitani Jun’s past (Chitanda’s uncle), not that the characters know that it is deeply related to the the history of the Classics Club. In order to find out the details of the past, the four main characters searched for sources that would give them an idea on what truly happened. Because of that, I believe it’s safe to say that Hyouka is a mystery/detective light novel. As such, I was hoping that “subtlety” would be observed throughout by the author in order to effectively build up the mystery.

Like other light novels (says Wikipedia), literary minimalism as a writing style is observed by the novel. One of the discerning factors of literary minimalism is having characters who don’t think out loud and Houtarou is the perfect example of that. Showing, instead of telling a situation is also an apparent characteristic of the said style. The issue I raised about subtlety refers to this because Hyouka fails(?)/chooses to deliver a certain line in a telling fashion instead of showing it. I am citing here the line that bluntly said “database” in order for the readers to readily assume what role Satoshi’s going to play in the story. It’s quite a cheap shot in my opinion.

One of the things that also bugged me while reading the novel was that, Houtarou’s lazy (I hardly believe it’s for saving energy) personality is quite apparent in his narration. You can sense that he’s trying to shortcut some of the details when he’s telling the story (The deduction part is an exception). If not, he’ll begin explaining that he doesn’t want to do a certain task because of [insert explanation here] instead of just getting things done. Although it is suitable for his personality, I find it not engaging to read because of that. His energy-saving tone makes me want to save energy myself and stop reading the novel.

The letters and calls Houtarou receives from his sister serves as an oar if you consider Houtarou as the boat. It’s definitely an interesting aspect of the novel that moves the story forward. It might be seen as a deus ex machina but it effectively camouflages itself as a normal occurrence in Houtarou’s life.

I could also probably compare Another to Hyouka in its style of using clues and hints. Both used little involvement of things that would later be significant, albeit loosely connected and not fully utilized. For example, Another’s use of the “Why, Rei-chan” dialogue which the viewers thought to be of no meaning actually turned out to be a big clue to know who the extra one is. Quite similarly, Hyouka had the book that would later be used as a vital source of info involved in a case that pretty much turned out to be borderline filler content. Who would have thought?

Much of the exchange and deduction as for why Chitanda’s and Mayaka’s theories were debunked was explained clearer and better in the light novel. KyoAni’s animation actually just confused me instead of simplifying the explanation. There’s a lot of questioning the usage of word involved so I suggest reading this part to appreciate Houtarou’s deduction. KyoAni’s imagery can only do so much. I really enjoyed this part of the light novel since it’s better if you can also stare at the handouts that the four of them prepared. You can see for yourself the points they are talking about and why exactly they are arguing the clarity of a certain phrase.

Overall, the novel was too historical, which is why it was hard for me to appreciate it. Aside from that, Chitanda’s relation to the story was quite weak. It might be a memory she badly wants to remember but if she remembers it right, I think the reason she cited on why she cried is pretty shallow, and unconvincing. I don’t think a child could have understood the deeper meaning and hidden message that her uncle meant.

Interesting points for those who are watching the anime:

• The second part of the first episode was a filler.
• Sekitani Jun is missing for 7 years already. People that are missing for 7 years are legally declared dead. The Chitanda clan would soon attend his funeral. Chitanda wanted to know the truth so she would be able to send off her uncle properly.
• It was mentioned early on that Mayaka belongs to the Manga Studies Club. Despite this, she still joined the Classics Club to pursue Satoshi.
• The big ornate book borrowed for the art classes is actually the source which Houtarou used for his research. It’s the history book of the school. It pretty much holds the key hints about the whole incident.
• Unity and Salutations is the equivalent anthology series being published by the Manga Studies Club.
• Satoshi’s source is Kami High Monthly, the publication of the club they visited to look for the Classics Club anthologies.
• Kanya Festival is a nickname for Kamiyama Cultural Festival. The nickname’s origin is closely related to the incident.
• The meaning of the word Hyouka involves wordplay, but using its English meaning.

I invite you to read this article if you want to know more about literary minimalism.

———————

image credits: pixiv user うら

I don’t have a history about fighting teachers, or “opposing” them for any matter. This is one of the reasons why I was hooked to Kare Kano’s approach in its 7th episode which involved top students going against their teachers, with their parents as their allies. Pretty daring isn’t it? It’s cliche for delinquents to do such a thing but they are totally the opposite which is why just like Yukino’s father, it gave me shivers of excitement.

For a short summary, that is the episode where Yukino and Arima’s parents were called to see the faculty advisers to discuss about the relationship of the two in connection to the sudden drop of their grades. Pretty much a typical situation if I were to be asked but what really pulled me into this episode is the conversation among the teacher and the parents of Yukino and Arima.

There are probably a lot more shows that also excellently portray the theme of parenting in an anime (e.g. Usagi Drop) but the 7th episode of Kare Kano will always be one of my favorites. You can really see how supportive Yukino’s parents were. This is the episode that made Yukino’s father on the list of my all time favorite characters. He had a very nice statement on how he thinks parenting should be done. Likewise, it was touching to hear what Arima’s parents had to say about having to worry together if ever he’ll feel troubled in the future.

For all this time, our daughter has always decided everything for herself. I have never instructed her to do anything. Of course, I can understand what you are saying, but because I think of her future that I do not wish to restrict her. I feel that I would take away all of my child’s possibilities if I restrict her now and make her face her studies. I believe children have the right to freely think and feel for themselves. Studying is important, but a day in high school is far more precious than a month is in adulthood.

The focus of this show has always been Yukino and Arima’s relationship but the concept of family is rather pre-eminent throughout. For all I know, this has been discussed in more detail during Tsubasa’s arc (eps 11~13) where she remarked that Arima might have been captivated by Yukino not only because of her personality but also because of the familial warmth that emanates from her. This is rather to be expected from Arima who didn’t experience how a normal family could have been.

The family background concept is also apparent in the situation between Arima and Asaba. Arima was abandoned by his true parents while Asaba forsook his parents, yet these two are best friends. Similarly, Tsubasa feels relaxed with Kazuma (and vice versa), because both of them know the lonely feeling when nobody’s home after opening the door when they get home.

I find it amusing to watch that Kare Kano explores a not that apparent side of attraction to someone apart from the romantic aspect of relationships. The thing is, sometimes people are drawn to other people because s/he somehow satisfies and gives you an ample amount of happiness by “fulfilling” (intentionally or not) the role of someone that’s normally shouldn’t be missing  in his/her life, i.e. a certain family member of some sort that’s gone. In Kare Kano’s case, it’s the Miyazawa household’s familial warmth spillover to Arima via Yukino.

This actually somehow reminds me of the recent manga I read (Sangatsu no Lion) where the “family” members are composed of people all trying to help one another in recovering from their respective tragic past.

Other participants [Week 2]:

Late post is late but this is my entry for Trzr’s Rewatch Month project where we’ll rewatch our favorite anime in the month of May and post 4 entries (or maybe more if you want) for each Sunday. The Kare Kano header of this site has never been this relevant.

I find myself empathizing with Yukino’s realization during the early part of the anime in that there’s always someone out there better than you, and for her, it was Arima. Yukino’s attempt to beat Arima, and suddenly feeling empty after her success was fortunately, a feeling I wasn’t able to experience.

Note: I’m not sure if the nomenclature system of Philippine’s educational system is the same to that of other countries.

Not to brag but simply to illustrate — During my elementary days, I’ve been at the top of my class. I was quite proud of myself having been accelerated as well and skipping the preparatory level. I was considered for Grade 1 immediately right after my first year in the Kindergarten, even though I’m not the top of my Kindergarten class. Weird, right? In short I was the youngest through out my elementary classes, and also the top of my class at the same time.

And so, here comes the high school period when I came to realize that there are lots of people even better than me! Consequently, I immediately fell from the ranks.

This is pretty much the reason I understand the scene where Yukino stated that it feels cold to be buried as an average/normal person. I used to be the at the top as well but unlike her, I wasn’t that into the idea of popularity. I wasn’t aggressively competitive to others as well. I’m a firm believer that one should see their own selves as their competitor and not other people.

At first, I can feel the pressure from my parents who were expecting me to perform well and I was thankful that they understood my situation and it didn’t end up like Koyomi’s [Bake/Nise] relationship with his parents. In a way, it was an eye opener. I was never that studious in the very first place. Education has its own merits — it’s just that I don’t want to deprive myself of other things.

Meanwhile, Yukino has been putting up a show for everyone ever since she realized she would hear more praises if she could excel more. She’s been basically living her entire school life in order to impress everyone even though she’s just as normal as any other person when she’s at home. Imagine how silly that is. Her resolve is pretty amazing yes but I don’t like how she initially derives happiness from what others think about her.

Now that I think about it, I’m such a popularity freak. If I had raised my true self without restraints, I might have become a comedian who has sway of the world. Trying to become a creature that was not me was an idiotic thing to do.

It’s a bit coincidental that this post coincides to my Round 2 match on Aniblog Tourney. Ranks and stuff are important but trying to manage your blog just to fit what others want from you is just wrong. I get that listening to what others have to say from time to time is important — as long as you don’t stray from what originally your blog is.

It’s a better feeling if people acknowledge you, even without the ulterior motive of wanting to win.

Other participants [Week 1]:

• Trzr23: Remembering Love – Clannad: Beauty in negativity
• Nopy: Martian Successor Nadesco (Part 1)
• Justin: Reliving Daikichi and Rin Once More (Part 1)
• Marina: Uchuu no Stellvia: Heading Home to Space
• @fkeroge: Sibling and Filial Drama in Kanon
• Kai: Gintama and the Art of Randomness 
• kluxorious: Opposite Attractions in Lovely Complex
• Ty-chama: Death Note and the Questionable Moral of its Characters
• chikorita157: Clannad After Story Part 1
• Nadav: Aria

———————

image credits: whoever vector-ized the official image

Jormungand’s universe is definitely something else. I may not be able to assess each and every detail on how the arms dealing industry really works, or if the machinations on how wars and conflicts over those interests are actually plausible — but I think viewers could see that it still portrays a bit of our reality.

Millennium Development Goals. It was the first time I ever heard it from an anime. Are people even aware of what it’s all about? Hopefully.

Note: You have to see episode 4 to fully understand this entry. I’m not first time reader friendly.

Click it to see the original size

I’m not a gun nut but after hearing what Koko said about the statistics of gun ownership, I just had to clarify is she’s making it up or not. Guess what, digging the internet gave me the infographic at the left and I was really surprised. Just like Jonah, I was under the impression that most of the guns do belong to the army. It felt unreal that 1 out of 10 people owns a gun. But looking at the current statistics, it’s actually even higher. It’s already roughly 1 out of 7.

We live in a world where weapons are always an arms distance away. Sad, isn’t it? These things are more reliable than human kindness.

Really sad. I mean, I enjoy seeing gun fights in anime without really thinking and realizing the larger problem about guns and fire arms in general. This thing that I guiltily enjoy actually deprives other people of their future. Aside from the act of killing someone by using it (duh), imagine if the money used for manufacturing guns were allocated instead in alleviating the issues that MDG wants to address? Funny thing, Koko said that the sustainability of achieving the 2nd and 4th goal of MDG requires 22B USD annually. Adding up the revenue of the top three economies in the arms selling industry already equates to 21.5B USD. That’s just the top three!

I’d probably continue enjoying gun fights in anime but seeing as there seems to be a lack of perception about guns as a deviant tool, it is quite alarming. At this point, I’m inclined to believe Koko on her belief that humans have decided to exchange the future of the next generation to that of violence.

Even people who have nothing to do with violence will become savages if they have a weapon? Where in the world do you expect to find people who have nothing to do with violence?

I don’t even understand the logic on why civilians would want to acquire guns for themselves. I know Maslow says that safety is a necessary thing for humans but I don’t think that it qualifies as an excuse. Are they even sure that owning a gun would warrant them the sense of security? Just like how Lelouch said it, only those who are prepared to fire should be fired at. Maybe we are treading again on the concept of Fundamental Evil/Good (care of the recent Nisemonogatari) but I comprehend Koko’s way of seeing things similar in a way to that of the Code of Hammurabi.  ”An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” – violence for violence.

Koko acknowledges that every person is capable of violence ["You may be kind, but the world is not"] which is why she doesn’t mind the existence of guns, or in her case, selling them as a merchandise and using them. Is it part of her good running evil plan of achieving “world peace”? I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, she knows how hypocrite she is even though she’s an arms dealer herself.

I wonder if civilians who own guns know that they are being hypocrites themselves. Safety? Security? Don’t make me laugh.

———————

image credits: pixiv user takaburu ; infographic by chacha.com

It’ll be Round 2 real soon on the most controversial Aniblog Tourney and I’d like to use this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have voted on Temporal Vortex’s match. Thanks to all your votes, we made our way to Round 2. I also want to thank our Round 1 opponent Love the Machine for a fair and square match. Please do check out his site if you guys are interested in doujins!

The first match of TV was set on April 22 but technically, it’s already April 23 here in the Philippines when the polls went live. April 23 actually marks the anniversary of the site which is why I’m happy that the site not only made it to the second round of the tourney, but also finally reached 4 years of age. Yeah, this site’s pretty old already despite the lack of activity.

I am very sorry that I had nothing to give back to people who actually took their time to criticize my content and layout. But, I really appreciate everyone’s feedback, suggestions and comments to the site. There are very few of you who actually did this throughout Round 1 so you guys deserve some mentions.

Again, thank you for all the viewers, readers, and my twitter followers who have kept me alive in the community. You know who you guys are. May we all spend more years together (with or without drama) in this anime blogosphere.

———————

image credits: pixiv user 黒いｱﾝﾁｸｼｮｳ＠不風くれ

Majority of sports anime have the team’s ace as the main protagonist and as for someone who hardly considers himself athletic, I was hardly able relate to any of the characters with respect to the sport they are playing.

I’m not a fan of sports genre anime and I can probably name only three anime(s) that I liked namely Slam Dunk and the baseball duo* (Cross Game & Touch) by Adachi Mitsuru. Well, before Kuroko no Basuke aired, that is. I’ve been following this series ever since last year via its manga and I’ve been drawn in by the supporting role of Kuroko despite being the main character.

Although I don’t avoid leadership roles, I tend to be the backstage guy. My main characters on MMORPGs are mainly full-support Clerics and Priests or whatever you call the class that heals and do the buffs. This nature of mine’s probably the reason why I like “the basketball which Kuroko plays”.

People actually think it’s easy to do the “support” role but, they’re underestimating the amount of attention one has to have in order to effectively keep an eye on the lives of your party members to keep them off from dying. Using the same analogy, Kuroko’s strategic passes probably needs him to be extra keen in observing the whole court.

It’s rather rare to see characters from a sports anime who actually specializes in supportive maneuvers. Sports have always been decided through scores and that’s why every basketball player practices in shooting the ball. That’s always been the highlight of any sport — the dunks, the home runs, the goals, the scores. Anything that has something to do with defense and support is underrated.

For someone who somewhat lives in the backstage, I find it a bit disheartening that at the end of the day, people always only get to notice those who do the scores, and seldom other people who made those scores possible. This is pretty much the reason why I’m biased on liking Kuroko. Kiseki no Sedai and Kagami are undoubtedly great players but I’d prefer somebody like Kuroko who’s capable of reinforcing anyone.

Hardly anybody specializes on support because everyone wants the share of attention received when one’s on the front lines. Very few ones volunteer to do the equally difficult but dull part of the game.

* – I also like Adachi Mitsuru’s H2 but I only read the manga and didn’t watch the anime. (as recommended by other fans)

———————

image credits: pixiv user 腰痛

I hereby present my wrap-up post for shows that ended this March. It’s way too late I know. I was quite surprised and overwhelmed myself while writing the post because I just realized that I indeed watched 11 shows simultaneously last season — it didn’t seem like that.

This cover includes the following shows: Another, Guilty Crown, Natsume Yuujinchou Shi, Nisemonogatari, Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou, Persona 4, Chihayafuru,  Ano Natsu de Matteru, Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai, Shakugan no Shana S3, Zero no Tsukaima: F

Spoilers everywhere. You’ve been warned. For the walls of texts.

image credit: Noizi Ito

Another

If you follow me on Twitter, I’ve had my frequent screams while watching it so I guess it somehow fulfilled its purpose as a horror/thriller/mystery anime. The whole concept of the curse was rather shoddy as it’s totally absurd but I guess that’s what makes it a “curse”?

The final chapter of the manga was scanlated just before the final episode of the anime aired so it somehow preempted my expectations on how things were going to end (I’m already spoiled on who’s the Another by the middle of the show btw). The manga’s final chapter had Sakaki bawling his eyes out in front of the grave and I found this particular scene very powerful compared to the anime’s abrupt shift to Misaki during the same scene. From then, it catered to the romance going on between the two which I actually found great since the manga lacked this aspect. I would have just preferred if they did include the bawling scene to justify the whole “I just killed my aunt” action of Sakaki.

The manga had a great development during the revelation of who’s the Another. Although the anime actually handled that scene just fine, they decided to cop out a flashback scene where Reiko said that she’d willingly take in Sakaki in case he’d be maltreated by his father. I believe this was the only scene that makes the whole “Goodbye, Mother” line relevant since it was during this scene that Sakaki said that Reiko somehow personified his mother — but since the anime didn’t have it and yet still retained the “Goodbye, Mother” dialogue, it somehow felt disconnected.

Overall, the anime did a good job. It excelled on the developments between Sakaki and Mei but it overlooked some of the details about the ending and decided to focus instead on the main characters. An example of this would be the creepy ending of the manga which hints the continuity of the curse in contrast to the anime ending that showcases the conversation between Sakaki and Mei which hints their budding relationship. The anime did a great job in animating the action inside the inn. I undoubtedly enjoyed the scenes, even the ridiculous Sakaki scene where he did the call in a calm manner despite the fiery background. Although I don’t really mind the assumed deaths of Akazawa and Kazami, it’s probably one of my biases that I prefer the manga ending as well in that regards since they both made it safe in the end. The manga even suggests a Teshigawara x Akazawa pairing.

image credit: pixiv user Un_Lia

Guilty Crown

The clusterfuck of the season. Need I say more? I believe the anisphere is populated already on how this show sucked – which is why I don’t think I still have to state my reasons (it’s pretty much the same as theirs). The anime’s only redeeming quality would be its OST.

Personally, I think Gai is the lamest character in this show so I don’t know what’s with the Shoe hate. I believe that the hate for him stems out from his failure to act as a true leader (not as some lame ass dictator) but everyone has their own share of fault on this one. They were all ungrateful bastards and at the same time genius whiners. Shu could have just leapt off that wall and left everyone there to die, seriously. You all can hate Shoe for what he has done but please don’t forget as well to hate the traitors he tried to protect.

Killing off Inori (the freaking cat’s cradle symbolism finally made sense) was a nice choice but I would have preferred if Shu died alongside her than letting him live with that kind of condition. But I guess this kind of ending is also welcome. It’s just painful to watch though. It’s the price he had to pay for that stupid void genome. Don’t even ask me about that Daath guy. Stupid Deus ex machina. The series clearly has an issue about direction and plot.

The best part of the ending? Of course Arisa surviving.

image credit: pixiv user トモアキ

Natsume Yuujinchou

Natsume Yuujinchou never fails to deliver that mellow and warm fuzzy feeling. There were lots of childhood stories this season which is good since I’m actually starting to feel tired from the youkai story of the week format. The first episode immediately put Matoba on the spotlight and as usual, his sharp glances towards Natsume remains a mystery. Resolution of the arcs that involve him has always felt insufficient for me because of his convenient retreat. But this time around, it seemed better due to the scene that showcased Misuzu together with other youkais flying above the forest, pledging their loyalty to Natsume without even having to use the Yuujinchou.

This season also had the greatest development for Tanuma’s character. I’ve always wanted a development on his part since he’s Natsume’s closest friend. Up until now, I’m still hoping Natsume would tell Tanuma all about the Yuujinchou. Meanwhile, on Nyanko-sensei’s part, that scene where Natsume gets to rest on Nyanko-sensei’s body was a nice sight. And of course, the implication that Nyanko-sensei gets to be a part of the family picture was the highlight. It’s probably the greatest development so far for the whole series. After all, Natsume Yuujinchou primarily focuses on the relationship between humans and youkais. Natsume and Nyanko-sensei’s relationship is the ultimate embodiment of that. After fifty two episodes, their relationship finally officially ripened into a familial one.

image credit: pixiv user 1

Nisemonogatari

Nisemonogatari always had this subdued atmosphere when it comes to tackling the issue of immortality. It was such a great prelude on how Kizumonogatari would break loose on that issue real soon. I’ve also mentioned months ago that Nisemonogatari had its way on contradicting statements, in relevance to its title. Yozuru claiming how Koyomi is pushing his views on his family about Tsukihi while having her way through violence pretty much speaks for it. I also liked the philosophy talk in the end which primarily stemmed from Kaiki’s notion regarding fakers actually having more worth than the original. The theme pretty suits the whole Nisemonogatari and somehow clears up the whole issue of deceitful pretense for both the sisters, and even on Koyomi’s case as a demi-human.

I don’t like to bother expounding the oddity resolutions for both Karen and Tsukihi since both felt very pre-imposed just like in Bakemonogatari. It sounded silly when the bee’s curse came down as an illusion just as how there’s just a misunderstanding on how to interpret these oddities. I don’t think I’ll ever be fascinated on how Nisio Isin handles the explanation for the oddities. I prefer not to mind it that much though since I don’t think it’ll ever be the point of the story. It has always been about Koyomi’s relationship and interaction with his harem. No matter how ironic it is, in the end, Nisemonogatari was all about family. It still boils down on how Koyomi cares for his sisters, at least for this season.

image credit: pixiv user 無地

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

I really like this show. I could rewatch it and still laugh over the ridiculous scenes. Hidenori’s responsible to majority of the laughs, but I also like Yoshitake’s haphazard switch from being goofy and serious. He won me over because of the flashback scene as Rubber Shooter. Tadakuni oddly reminds me of Kaname’s behavior (Kimi to Boku). I like his confused role as someone who is being dragged around by the two although we all know that deep inside he’s just being a tsundere. The student council crowd is also a nice group of its own. Both Motoharu and Karasawa are pretty flexible characters as they could interact almost to any of the cliques/characters.

Despite the anime’s seemingly big city setting, it’s quite enjoyable to witness the interactions among characters that aren’t from the same school. Yanagin, Ikushima and Habara aren’t even going to the same school. The proximity of some characters from other characters are just intriguing. It’s implied that Yoshitake is actually acquainted to Yanagin and Habara. I like how there’s no barrier at all simply because the characters go to different schools. It’s amazing how some of these characters are still glued to each other despite some tragic childhood memories (Karasawa and Habara).

Overall, the comedy of the series somehow utilizes nostalgia via the school life setting and since I’m such a sucker for that, I was immediately smitten by the show.

By the way, I would gladly read a blog post if someone could explain the significance of the creative choice of using null faces for the sisters. I seriously mind it. I don’t know why a mangaka would do such feat.

image credit: pixiv user ままままも

Persona 4

I didn’t like how the show treated the social links leveling. Others probably found it creative during the summer part where Yuu gained the four social links simultaneously but I also found that crazy. In my opinion, the only social links that were done this way effectively were those of Nanako’s and Dojima’s because they don’t really trigger too many events plus the bond between the three were intrinsic due to their family status. Meanwhile, Ebihara, Daisuke, Kou and the like obviously could have been done in a stratified way. I know that it could have taken so much time if that were the case but I just don’t think allotting the whole episode and then *poof* you’ve mastered this arcana does not do justice to the characters. A lot more development could have been given substance or detail instead of having them show just for that episode, and then you never get to see them again. This is an important foreground to the game so I really wanted it to be viewed greatly as much as possible.

A great deal of “school life” was glossed over. It totally focused on the issue about Midnight Channel. This is why I mind the one episode = one arcana. At the very least, the game is supposed to meld the school life to that of crime investigation, and yet the anime turned out to simply focus on the latter. Majority of great tracks were also under utilized. One of my favorite tracks is Naoto’s Dungeon “Secret base” and I hardly heard that for 10 seconds. To be honest, I find myself enjoying the Persona 4 comic dub than the anime. Regardless, I find the anime strong in the backstory aspect. I liked how they added several stuff e.g Yukiko’s arc resolution, as well as the battle choreography. I dig the real-time aspect of the battles compared of course to the game’s turn base (who wouldn’t).

Where did Chie’s line “First we save Kanji, then we crush the killer! Finally, we crush the killer and send him to hell!! Got it!?” go by the way?

image credit: pixiv user S倉

Chihayafuru

Chihayafuru is the only sports anime I’ve watched that isn’t shounen so far. One can see the difference on how there are relatively weaker indication of rivalry unlike shounen ones that makes use of it as a conventional plot tool. More importantly, the matches were great enough to have a different spin every time so I was hardly bored. I mean technically, it’s always about NANIWA ZU NIII— and grabbing the card.

This show was unexpectedly great. I don’t like the idea of competitive karuta at all when the show started, seeing how the show exaggerated the whole point of the game. But like any other sports anime, it’s much more than that. Taichi’s character development tops this list for me. His struggle both in the aspect of love and karuta was intertwined and it was a bit upsetting to watch how he falls short on both despite his efforts. Chihaya had a fair share of development but her angle always had been primarily looking from the lens of karuta and karuta alone (and a little dose of Arata) which I’d say something that doesn’t interest me. At the very least, she’s entertaining to watch. In contrast to the competitive flair of Chihaya, we have Kana-chan on the literary perspective which is something refreshing to watch since she’s into imagery. Tsutomu’s data gathering is quite an interesting way as well to differentiate his way of karuta from the rest.

I don’t like Arata compared to how I like Taichi but I also don’t like how limited he shows up. He was introduced relevant to the story at par to Chihaya and Taichi so it bugs me on how the viewer is often just left to imagine what he’s currently up to while we get to witness Chihaya and Taichi.

image credit: pixiv user 毒田ペパ子

Ano Natsu de Matteru

I certainly agree to this tweet of lvlln regarding the show. Ano Natsu irked me right away when I first watched it because it feels unnatural. To name one, Kai’s overdone hallucinations. It seemed as if it’s trying too hard to put up a show regarding the love polygon. Instead of trying to execute things implicitly, the actions of the characters scream “I like you”. For almost throughout the show, everyone has been trying to grab somebody else’s attention without actually trying to build first the foundation on why or how they even liked the person. The topic is oftentimes subverted because the show chooses to emphasize the complicated-ness of the feelings of the five, instead of actually showing something as a proof of that sophisticated feeling. Though one might say that this counts as a character development, It’s not that clear if we don’t get to see any action from the part of the character aside from pondering.

I’d say it’s a sincere romance but it tends to focus too much on the obligatory drama, which then fuels another drama. It’s all talk but no show (All the show happened only during the last episodes). It lacks on actually doing something concrete to establish the drama. The show has a bad habit of showcasing the drama too much before developing the romance.  The romance should be the vehicle of drama and not the other way around, in my opinion.

Still, I had to give props to the show on actually taking the sad end route because I was totally expecting it’s going to be a happy end for Ichika and Kai. Also, Remon deserves all the love. She’s a total show stealer.

image credit: pixiv user 線

Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai

Papakiki wasn’t initially on my watch list because it badly emanates “lolicon bait”. It got me watching because I mildly get the Usagi Drop vibes from it due to the parenting theme. I was quite surprised that it wasn’t a full fledged ecchi show as I thought it would be but, thank God it knew its limits. If you are willing to neglect some of its flaws, it’s actually a decent watch. Try to imagine that they have an infinite source of money since you’d really question Yuuta’s capability to support three kids while working on part-time jobs and at the same time going to university. The moments among the four were not that special but it felt sincere. Almost all of the interactions were sensible enough as well, except probably for the “delicacy” issue.

I really liked the performance of the youngest sister. She’s the main attraction of the show in my opinion, and the series succeeded in doing that through her scenes with the neighbors. Miu and Sora had their moments as well but I’ll never understand how girls think (especially the ojou-sama type like Miu) so I just sat through their character-centric episodes without thinking too much why. Raika was very likable but it’s unfortunate that her screen time is very limited. Would have liked it more if the show further explored additional scenes with the Street Observation Research Society members and the university.

image credit: pixiv user 朝霧ちさと

Shakugan no Shana

Shana was pretty enjoyable this season because things finally seem progressing unlike the brief fillers in S2. The war scenes were rather great, especially those times that Altima’s EDs overlap. There were several scenes which I liked.  That moment when Yuuji asked for Kazumi’s help on the school rooftop, Wilhelmina standing like a boss during Tendoukyuu’s descent, Yuuji kicking Shana’s ass on the bridge fight scene, Shana regaining Nietono no Shana, Margery and Satou’s whatnot, and last but not the least, Khamsin’s death. Although all these moments were worth seeing, I have to point the idiotic purpose that the “gods” (the ones with weird ethnic tags) played on the war. They were a stupid addition to the cast. As far as I’ve understood their intentions, they simply want to continue the destined fight between Tomogaras and Flame Hazes without even trying to consider which side is right or wrong.

The story was probably made for it to be that way but Flame Hazes are actually quite idiots themselves. They were actually okay with the plan regarding Xanadu creation except for Tomogaras consuming humans. Right before Shana and others actually stated that proposition, I was under the impression that they were against the totality of the plan. They could have easily bargained for that if they told that sooner. The happy coincident at the end was rather ridiculous and weird. It’s like the bad guy won and yet it was still a good end. To sum it up, it was just a dramatized misunderstanding between the two parties because of the lack of communication. This goes for the whole Shana and Yuuji conflict as well simply because both have their own selfish concept of love.

image credit: pixiv user みか

Zero no Tsukaima

I was very glad when I heard that the final installment would finally be animated. I’m running out of patience on this series already because I really enjoyed the first season and yet the two succeeding seasons barely made it watchable. It wasn’t that long recently that the author Noboru Yamaguchi suffered from cancer thus the delayed publication of the two final volumes that will wrap-up the whole franchise. Despite his condition, he actually planned to publish the 21st out of 22 volumes last October 2011. The thing is, these two final volumes are still non-existent up until now. I was quite positive that maybe the author had his drafts already so maybe it could pass as a source material that JC could use for the anime — but I was naive.

I research from time to time the light novel contents so I was expecting ZnT would likely have a great comeback based from what I have read. I sensed that things weren’t going as planned though when the anime didn’t adapt the part where Tabitha supposedly has a twin sister that would gain the Void after Joseph’s death. Supposedly, Julio becomes her familiar as well, the same thing with  what happened between Tifa and Saito. That’s it. It finally got clear to me that JC would be giving the ZnT an original anime ending. It sucked. The climax event was terribly similar to that of the first season. All the build up just for it to regress back to what it was in the first season. And seriously, an ancient dragon? Come on. You can do better than this JC Staff. You guys could have waited instead for it to finish publishing than produce this one-of-a-kind.

———————

image credits: pixiv user スニーカー狂

The first chapter of the volume never had an impending feeling about the tragedy that will befall the characters playing the virtual game. Although there were hints of how Kirito, the main character, is regretful of some things as he began explaining the exposition and the current status of the game, none of it was particularly referring to something. I thought it was a bit weird that the description of the battle during the first part was a bit overdone in such a way that it’s as if it was a matter of life and death despite being a mere virtual game and true enough, it really was. I honestly think that the foreshadowing done during the early chapters was excellent.

First, let me tell you that I’m one hundred percent MMORPG nut so absurd things might seem pretty much normal to me since I was wearing MMORPG goggles when I read this. You might get confused when you immediately read this review so I would recommend and appreciate if you’d read this post first because it serves as a prologue for this Sword Art Online (vol.1) review.  I would definitely spoil you to the max on this one, and assume that you’ve read some of it, at the very least.

Exposition

The novel was quite fantastic in portraying a slice of realism through the players’ actions and reactions after they listened to what Kayaba’s announcement meant. What they once thought to be a game suddenly became a matter of life and death circumstance. As a reader, I was able to feel the rawness of what I call desire to survive from almost every character in the novel, and it was a great read because it made me feel so emphatic to the characters while reading it.

Kirito mentioned something about humans being adaptable to changes and he’s right about it. Several players mentally broke down after Kayaba implemented the game’s radical change (Asuna, the main heroine, is actually among these people) but after two years of uncanny struggle, a lot of players were able to cope up with it and eventually recovered. It’s a bit far-fetched that the gamers were still stuck in the game after two years of game play trying to beat the game (imagine how their real bodies would look like by that time). This brought in the matter regarding the players’ dwindling motivation and drive to continue the brigade in order to finish the game. Everyone is starting to get used already to everything, of course except for their fear of death.

As time slips away, players’ enthusiasm to beat the game slowly fade away, not to mention others being complacent already to their situation. The biggest faction of the players which is dubbed as “The Army” once led the mission to clear the game. Later on, the number of fighters they send to the front lines gradually declined, and now simply for the purpose of deceiving other players to show that they still are interested in clearing the game.

The inner conflict that the characters feel was a nice element. It’s pretty much the thing that propelled the story. The listlessness that several players feel because rescue has yet to reach them, added with a large dose of  despair and a tincture of hope.

Social Order

Just like what I mentioned, it’s the trace of reality that’s fantastic to read about the novel. It was fascinating to read about the community that was established by the players inside the game. If you think about it, majority of the gamers stuck in this game are probably pros considering they were eager enough to avail the very first release of the game and console.  I was pretty expecting that they have a knack in stabilizing the situation despite the confusion because they are gamers at heart, thus I assume there are those who certainly welcome this kind of adventure. The Army is one of the spearheads on this one as they united majority of the players at the start. They were able to formulate a framework of distributing ration and collecting tax as a form of payment for the protection they give to other players who chose not to risk their lives.

The pseudo society in Aincrad (it’s the name of the entire land mass setting of SAO) is pretty much the same to every other game communities in such that there are always bane existences as an exception to the majority of the players who are trying to finish the game in utmost socially acceptable way.  I must emphasize that there are quite a number of players who partake to their delusions and refuse to believe that dying in the game really means dying. As for that, they justify their nefarious behavior and actions, such as killing other players, as something petty.

I must note that I still don’t know what’s behind the hatred towards “beaters” as what they call it (portmanteau of beta tester and cheater). Apparently, the main character, Kirito, used to be a beta tester before Sword Art Online was officially released. This explains his leverage in terms of experience compared to several players (I don’t think that’s something you can call cheating). I can’t comprehend why they choose to blame the likes of Kirito for the situation they are currently in despite everyone else’s incapability to foretell that something like that will befall them. This irrational hate annoys me because it’s like barking at the wrong tree at its best. But hey, haters are gonna hate.

Intermission! Long post is damn long. It was rather hard to look for decent fanarts so I went ahead and used the light novel cover instead. Now I would really be happy if I’d have a bigger version of this cover without the texts…

Character Development

I found Kirito’s and Asuna’s reasons for their desire to live a bit boring and ordinary during the start of the story. Almost everything felt superficial during the start due to the lack of development for both characters. It’s implied that Kirito and Asuna spent a lot of time already prior to the majority of the story told in the first volume but everything are just skimped through. The information on the time spent together by both characters was crucial because it was weird that the two of them somehow just suddenly grew closer to each other which isn’t the case (see Aria in the Starless Night). I see this lack of supporting details a weak spot of the story despite the hints because one would really question Asuna’s rather “quick” and groundless (well maybe not that groundless if you accept Kirito’s looks as a reason) interest to Kirito right at the start of the story.

The reasons were not that bad though since desire to live and self-preservation do not really require something grand for it comes as an instinct. If this was just used properly as an explanation, I don’t think the author will still need to go for the usual back story that needs to be filled just so we could say it’s this something that drives their desire to live.

During the latter part of the story, Kirito and Asuna cited the efforts and support of merchant and craftsman job classes as a reason as to why they must persevere in finishing the game. I liked this part since I believe it’s pretty rational to express gratitude towards these players who keep supporting the likes of them who fight in the front lines.

I really think that the first volume lacked interesting (it didn’t appeal to me that much) character development. This is very much opposite of the almost spontaneously appealing narrative whenever it involves plot and game mechanics.  But this doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t have anything to offer. SAO still managed to put what’s vital, and that’s Kirito’s hedgehog’s dilemma as to why he prefers to be a solo player, contrary to most players who join guilds and train the usual way through partying. Why I didn’t like it that much? Albeit adequate for the story, I found it a bit overdone in the execution of the drama aspect. Still, it achieved what it’s meant for since it explained the reason for Kirito’s scarred mind, thus the solo hunting. Nothing much significant was mentioned on Asuna’s side (Aria in the Starless Night is a nice read to fill that void).

(Virtual) Reality?

One of the fascinating things here in SAO would be the irony in preserving a sound mind and maintaining a grasp of reality. The avatars obviously don’t need any food since they don’t really consume corporeal substance; it’s just data all along. Still, you’d find people who actually bother mastering the cooking skill than their sword mastery in order to produce delicious meals that could rival or even replicate the taste of the meals served in real life. It is interesting to witness people who actually wanted to escape from reality via playing games cling to things that would affirm their access to reality during these times. I thought it was a nice thing to ponder upon in the novel since it reinforces the idea of how the players coped up with their situation. Kirito’s dilemma on having a rare ingredient cooked instead of selling it for money pretty much speaks a lot about the perplexity he feels towards his longing to the real world.

“‘…this situation, this world, is this what Kayaba Akihiko wanted to make…?’ Both of us couldn‘t answer this question that was aimed half at myself.”

The quote above exemplifies the self-introspection of Kirito about the current status of the players and totality of the game itself. I’ve always enjoyed characters who often contemplate about their selves and I find SAO pretty engaging when it comes to that factor. It examines several things about reality, and on how humans perceive it (regardless of how borderline sci-fi it is).

The Romance and that Scene

I didn’t really thought that there would be a freaking sex scene (with an articulate, whole chapter description of the scene, mind you) in this light novel. I mean, come on! It’s virtual reality, for heaven’s sake! It’s about MMORPG! These characters should be having an epic battle with dragons and stuff! Not that I didn’t like it (lol) but, I won’t certainly praise it either. It came up and sounded like “We’ll all die tomorrow. I don’t want to die virgin, so do me a favor.” type of development. Just how cliché is that situation? I’m very curious as to how the anime adaptation will handle this one — on which I hope they don’t include it.

Note: To clarify things, the infamous chapter 16.5, the NSFW chapter, is a web-only version. The published novel didn’t have it — but the translated pdf version I read had it (I didn’t know!).

———————

image credits: abec

I think I have discerned a particular theme that I certainly enjoy watching and I’m hoping that there would be more shows like this in the future. I’ve come to realize this only after watching the recent movie of FMA and it made me remember my rewatch of Seirei no Moribito last year. Well that was random wasn’t it?

To get to the point, I think I really enjoy watching series that make good use of history as a plot tool. To make it a  little clearer, I really like (in Moribito) how the history of the founding of Chagum’s country was misinterpreted throughout the years. This made the whole procedure on how the sacred spirit inside him could be freed, more complicated. I find the whole idea of falsified (well — not per se) history interesting as it sets the conflict more onto rational terms. It becomes more about preserving what everyone has believed up until then or crushing the misled belief of the people. It makes the conflict go into the issue of realigning everything — sometimes even bordering into political issues such as motives of the people involved.

The more conflicting factions present, the more it makes me thrilled on watching the show. This makes the story more interesting in such a way that it normally takes something concrete — not just abstract solutions to meet the demands of the situation. And since there are “factions”, it’s rather interesting to witness how they’d clash with each other and ultimately see if things would work out according to someone’s plan.

Both Moribito and FMA also touched the idea of rebuilding a nation — making the involvement of the citizens to the big problem at hand produce more impact to the story. The impact to Moribito was easier to point out though because it concerns a necessity for the whole country.

The shows both had a share of foreboding sense that something bad is going to happen (or at the very least- something fishy is going on). The episodes of Moribito when Shuga was investigating the water levels is a good example because it was episode where Tanda showed and explained to him the relevance of the height of the mantis eggs to that of rains. FMA had lots of this bordering into conspiracy like the involvement of the prisoners to the experiments — and especially the connection of the Fuhrer. I still remember the scene when Ed and Al drew a radius of some sort just to discover portion of the Fuhrer’s office to be inside that radius. These scenes may not work like those from thriller shows but I like how everything’s unveiled as if the protagonists just dug their own grave by discovering something they shouldn’t have.

If there’s one thing that I really liked, it’s how the two shows somehow regressed back and turned to its origins. Moribito — to the underground tablets and shamanic practices and FMA — to the history of Xerxes and framework of Alkahestry. This part showcases the fundamental part of both shows, the lore from which they are based upon and how everything started. It’s not that common for an anime to make references to events that happened prior to the period that it is set. In my opinion though, both Moribito and FMA made an ingenious convergence in the way that the story was told. Moribito was pretty solid if you tie up the connections among Torogai’s knowledge, Shuga’s deciphered texts, and even the old farming song.

On the other hand, (I forgot already all the revelations that happened in Central during the last chapters!) FMA’s Milos movie (and this one’s rather presented disorderly) pretty much possesses the theme where you have to stitch together the background story and the lore. FMA has a penchant for locational oddities that often turns out to be related to transmutation circles’ patterns — and as usual, the story was technically driven by the “legend” of the Philosopher’s stone.

I guessed this somewhat applies to what Gosick does albeit majority of the myths being episodic and limited to a certain arc unlike the lore of the two aforementioned shows being holistic. Actually, maybe I could pitch in as well the cyber rumor-based driven story (care of Saten) of To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. This one though doesn’t largely depend on the rumors/lore to map out the incidents such as the Level Upper arc since the story would have progressed even without it. The rumors simply fleshes out early-on involvement of the characters to the incident (such as Saten actually finding the Level Upper herself and being a victim).

Well, I hope there would be more shows that handle their aniverse’s folklore more proficiently like the two so I get to see more stories that showcase a deeper interconnection between the past and the present.

———————

image credits: GENEON, and pixiv user  BAK

I wasn’t exactly excited over Nisemonogatari since I was pretty much expecting already that they’ll really adapt the rest of the Monogatari series given that Tsukihi and Karen haven’t had their respective arcs yet. But right after I saw the trailer, I can’t believe how much I missed the characters, especially Hitagi. The surreal backgrounds and settings, the walls of texts, and the eerie architectural design of the abandoned cram school, to name one, still fascinates me up until now.

The start of the first episode remains to be a mystery but Hitagi is still the same old Hitagi who loves to speak in a cold and condescending manner. And as usual, her actions to show her obsession love for Araragi are still very outlandish. She still has that overbearing and domineering personality. Watching her tease a restrained (because of unknown reasons) Araragi and banter with him totally made me remember why I liked Bakemonogatari.

I don’t know if it was Penguindrum’s influence or just my imagination but it looks like Akiyuki Shinbo has started to project some symbols in the series. I must note that despite the intriguing design of Hitagi’s house, it’s just one of those creative styles used by Shaft. Meanwhile, in the Araragi residence, if one could notice, the ceiling of the lounge where Tsukihi was lying while watching TV is filled with stage spotlights. Rings a bell? In the latter half of the episode, Hachikuji mentions that experiencing reality is like being on the limelight – a stage where everything and anything happens. But on the contrary, witnessing supernatural occurrences  seem to happen only in the back stage. Karen’s absence might be a foreshadowing to what we all know as the Karen Bee arc.

Another thing I noticed were the contradictory statements made by almost all the characters. First, Hitagi’s “Wouldn’t it be better if you died?,” which is obviously a statement made to simply mock Araragi. Then there’s Nadeko’s lie that she’s busy everyday except that day (obvious lie is obvious). Tsukihi’s wordplays on the meaning of trouble, trust and worry, and of course, Hachikuji’s “courage” positivity illusion on phrases. The one that really made an impact to me though would be the dialogue between Hachikuji and Koyomi about family.

Hachikuji mentions that it is rather expected for someone to have at least one secret to his family and that telling it to them means that they’ll be sharing the burden. Koyomi agrees to Hachikuji’s advice that it is proper not to do anything until he can’t hide his secret anymore of being a demi-vampire to his family. Meanwhile, shifting it onto the topic where Koyomi asks if Hachikuji would eventually leave the city, Koyomi mentions that he’ll be angry if ever Hachikuji won’t tell him if ever she ran into trouble. In a way, it’s contradictory that Koyomi decided not to tell his family about his condition even though he prompts other people (Hachikuji) not to hide anything from him once they’ve got trouble and that he’ll gladly share the burden.

I don’t know if the title has something to do with it but I’ve read Kizumonogatari and I don’t think there were situations/statements like these. Then again, it might just be Nisio Isin’s penchant for wordplay in general.

I would have loved to see everyone in the first episode but I guess that was asking for too much. I greatly enjoyed the somehow overview episode for what has happened so far after the events of Bakemonogatari. I was definitely surprised that majority of the first episode’s character development went to Hachikuji considering she’s the least involved to everything. I guess it also builds up my interest on what really happened prior to Koyomi being kidnapped since the first episode ended right at the middle of the flashback.

———————

image credits: pixiv user こうじ