thought i'll have this up before the big trip. been a hectic two days and i've been reaching home at 11 plus every night.
but at least i'm all packed and ready.
Chantal Kreviazuk's version of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" has been ringing in my ears since last week.
now i can really sing the first phrase, "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go".
in the meantime, enjoy Mio~
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Monday, 18 October 2010
Anime Marathons after Japan
now that i'm finally finished with the Fall season write-up, it's finally finally time to countdown to Japan!
TWO MORE DAYS!!
i'm sure i'll be doing loads of anime marathons when i come back from Japan, but i'll be more than willing to spend my weekends at home in front of the laptop. hahaha.
TWO MORE DAYS!!
WOOHOO!!
TWO MORE DAYS!!
i'm sure i'll be doing loads of anime marathons when i come back from Japan, but i'll be more than willing to spend my weekends at home in front of the laptop. hahaha.
TWO MORE DAYS!!
WOOHOO!!
Fall 2010
better than last year, there are 14 new series i'm planning to pick up this Fall.
as per Summer season, i will be blogging each new Fall series as i watch them. all biased opinions ahead, so please don't flame me for what i feel.
all biased opinions are up!
Kuragehime
Tsukimi (CV Hanazawa Kana), a jellyfish-obsessed girl, goes to Tokyo from the countryside, hoping to make it big as a illustrator. she stays in Amamizukan, an all-female complex, where all her roomies have their own "unique" otaku obsessions. Chieko (CV Saito Kimiko) is into Japanese porcelain dolls, Mayaya (CV Okamura Akemi) with Sangokushi, Banba-san (CV Kumai Motoko) with trains, and Jiji (CV Noto Mamiko) with old men.
Tsukimi encounters by a beautiful woman outside her local pet shop who helps her to save a dying jellyfish. beautiful woman goes home with Tsukimi, and she only finds out the next day that "she" is actually a guy, Koibuchi Kuranosuke (CV Saiga Mitsuki), who cross-dresses!
this is the 3rd otaku-orientated series this season, following Oreimo and Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai. and up to date, this is by far my favorite among the 3. the part where Tsukimi is having that "conversation" with the jellyfish is so cute. in case you think there's only going to be one male in the entire show, we still have 3 male characters that are listed but have yet to appear. i'm quite excited to see them soon, because they are voiced by Koyasu-sama, Itou Kentarou and Suwabe Junichi. mwahahahahaha.
posted 12 Oct,
Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai
Keima (CV Shimono Hiro), an avid gal-game player is known as the "Otoshigami" (the Falling God) in the online world for making all the (2-D) girls fall for him in more than 5000 games. he unknowingly accepts a contract from a demon, Elcea (CV Itou Kanae), to "capture" runaway spirits residing in real girls' hearts by making them fall for him, thus filling their hearts with love and forcing the spirits out.
this sounds somewhat similar to Kannagi, what with the random magical being and reluctant male lead. i'm almost sure Shimono-san was chosen because he's a natural at these character types.
To Aru Majutsu no Index II
Toma (CV Abe Atsushi) and Index (CV Iguchi Yuka) are back! as the "living store-room" of the Necessarius church's entire forbidden book collection, Index is still being targeted by individuals and organizations who wants to use the books for their own evil desires. Toma is still a Level 0 esper, even though his Imagine Breaker is enough to deem him useful as her guardian.
besides the return of familiar faces like Misaka (CV Satou Rina) and Himegami (CV Noto Mamiko), there's lots of newbies we can expect in the new season. at least, that's what the OP showed us. looking forward to seeing what other "misfortunes" Toma will be getting into.
Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru
unlike Kaichou wa Maid, the maids of Seaside Maid Cafe are neither cute, nor moe, and they definitely do not make your hearts flutter. unless you consider fluttering as the heart pounding when a cup of hot coffee is flying at your face. which is probably why the cafe has little to no business too. i doubt anyone would appreciate clumsy waitresses.
the weird thing is, they actually cast Sakurai Takahiro as granny Uki, the owner of the cafe. yes, Sakurai-san. as an old woman. i didn't even know it was him until i was looking at the ANN page. totally surprise here.
in any case, i'm going to continue watching because Irino Miyu is cast as Hiroyuki, childhood friend of Hotori (CV Omigawa Chiaki), and i haven't watched anything of his since Cross Game ended in March.
Shinrei Tantei Yakumo
to help a friend who is spirit-possessed, Haruka (CV Fujimura Ayumi) engaged the help of Yakumo (CV Ono Daisuke), who has a unique crimson red left eye that allows him to see spirits. after solving the first case, they started to work together, albeit unwillingly on Yakumo's part, as strange events starts to happen one after another in their university.
something that ah gu would probably love, a detective series. although it is geared towards a more spiritual nature. i'm just hoping i wouldn't scrapped this after a few episodes.
Togainu no Chi
set in a post-war Japan, the city of Toshima is controlled by a crime syndicate called Vischio. falsely accused of murder, Akira's (CV Toriumi Kousuke) only way to get back his freedom is to enter a battle game called "Igura" in Toshima, where he has to defeat the leader, Il Rey, and destroy the syndicate.
adapted from a BL game, obviously what i'm looking for are the pretty boys. i can only say i wasn't as interested as i would've thought i would be after Ep1. hope the story will start to pick up, much like how enjoyed Uraboku as the story progressed.
posted 07 Oct,
Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge
another sequel from Spring, Ichinomiya Kou AKA Recruit (CV Kamiya Hiroshi) and Nino (CV Sakamoto Maaya) are back with the residents under the Arakawa bridge. hopefully, season 2 will finally reveal the truth behind Nino and how she ended up under the bridge.
i've grown to look forward to every episode of Arakawa. it's nonsensical, but that is also what makes it so damn funny.
Otome Youkai Zakuro
Agemaki Kei (CV Sakurai Takahiro) and his fellow lieutenants are dispatched to fight alongside half-younin girls (half-human, half-youkai's), against out-of-control youkai's in an alternate Meiji era.
the only thing hindering Agemaki from doing his job is that he is terrified of youkai's! he tries to hide it from the girls, especially Zakuro (CV Nakahara Mai) whom he's paired with, but was found out rather quickly when he can't even go to the restroom at night without freaking out at the sight of random youkai's around the house.
now this is a super dark horse and may just be my No.1 favorite for Fall. youkai's, magic, guys in uniform, kimonos and nekomimi girls. you name it, they have it.
as for the romance go-ers (that's me), while the main couple is definitely Agemaki and Zakuro, i'm more interested in what will happen between Susukihotaru (CV Hanazawa Kana) and Yoshinokazura Riken (CV Hino Satoshi).
it's also another series with an awesome cast. besides those mentioned above, there's the likes of Toyosaki Aki and Horie Yui as twins Bonbori and Houzuki, and Kaji Yuuki as Hanakiri Ganryuu. it wouldn't be surprising to me if the female seiyuus were chosen for their singing abilities, as it seems that singing is part of the incantation for the girls before they start fighting.
posted 06 Oct,
Hakuouki Hekketsuroku
Chizuru (CV Kuwashima Houko) is back with the Shinsengumi bishies, Hijikata Toshizou (CV Miki Shinichiro), Okita Souji (CV Morikubo Showtaro), Saitou Hajime (CV Toriumi Kousuke) and many more. we get to see them with a change into Western-styled clothes, although i much prefer the Shinsengumi uniforms from season 1.
another continuation from Spring, i have NO IDEA why they always want to split what would be a perfectly normal 24-episodes series into 2 seasons. Ep1, or Ep13 depending on how you view this, was fantastic in any case. full-fledged swooning is required! for all the guys!
i will definitely be following up with a fan-girl post soon.
Star Driver Kagayaki no Takuto
Takuto (CV Miyano Mamoru) is the new guy at Southern Cross Island and his wish is to experience a fabulous high school life. this begins almost immediately when he saves his classmate Wako from a group known as the "Order of the Glittering Star Cross" who are interested in certain robots in the island.
these robots, called Cybody, are sealed in the island's underground ruins and can only be unsealed by shrine maidens, of which Wako (CV Hayami Saori) is one of them. as it turns out, Takuto just happens to be the "Galatic Pretty Boy", the ONE that can go against the Order, and he comes fully equipped with his own Cybody named Tauburn. if you think it's outrageous enough, you should watch Takuto's transformation sequence. it could have done Sailor Moon proud.
i was all anticipating Ep1 and it was probably THE show i was waiting for. but maybe, just maybe, it was a little too overdone. cos i didn't come out of Ep1 with heart pumping or mind-blowing excitement.
i'm still going to continue watching though. there are just some shows that you need to stick to, to see if they're really worth it. and really, just having Miyano-san as the main lead is reason enough to make me watch this. not to mention the stellar cast of Sakamoto Maaya, Kuwashima Houko, Fukuyama Jun, Ishida Akira, Tomatsu Haruka, Taketatsu Ayana, Miki Shinichiro and Koshimizu Ami.
Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai
Kyousuke (CV Nakamura Yuuichi) who has always been coldly ignored by his younger sister Kirino (CV Taketatsu Ayana) accidentally finds out that she is secretly into eroge. she ropes him not only into keeping her secret but also into her otaku world by forcing him to play ero-games in the middle of the night, all for the sake of getting to know her hobby of course.
as i watched Ep1, all i could think about it how dysfunctional the family would be if Azu-nyan (K-ON!), Alto (Macross Frontier), Kenpachi (Bleach) and Viletta (Code Geass) were sitting at the dinner table. cos that's exactly who the CVs for the Kosaka family are. hahaha.
posted 03 Oct,
Bakuman.
about two guys on their road to becoming mangakas. Moritaka (CV Abe Atsushi) has the gift for drawing but has no ambition in life. in comes top student classmate Akito (CV Hino Satoshi), who doesn't have the drawing ability but do have the literacy talent, and approaches him to be his mangaka partner after he sees Moritaka's sketch of the girl he likes.
i'm guessing we will see lots of manga references throughout the show, since One Piece and Dragonball has already been mentioned in Ep1. and since i've never read the manga before, i wonder if they would get all technical and show how a mangaka actually works in real life.
posted 02 Oct,
Tegami Bachi REVERSE
sequel to last year's series about Letter Bees (AKA postmen) delivering packages while battling giant insects called Gaichuu that roams the land of Amberground. since i don't read the manga, i've only heard that most of the stuff from season 1 are really all filler material.
this time, they are finally going to start the real story with Gauche and Lag. and the former will finally have more screen time instead of just being in the flashback scenes.
all biased opinions are up!
Kuragehime
Tsukimi (CV Hanazawa Kana), a jellyfish-obsessed girl, goes to Tokyo from the countryside, hoping to make it big as a illustrator. she stays in Amamizukan, an all-female complex, where all her roomies have their own "unique" otaku obsessions. Chieko (CV Saito Kimiko) is into Japanese porcelain dolls, Mayaya (CV Okamura Akemi) with Sangokushi, Banba-san (CV Kumai Motoko) with trains, and Jiji (CV Noto Mamiko) with old men.
Tsukimi encounters by a beautiful woman outside her local pet shop who helps her to save a dying jellyfish. beautiful woman goes home with Tsukimi, and she only finds out the next day that "she" is actually a guy, Koibuchi Kuranosuke (CV Saiga Mitsuki), who cross-dresses!
this is the 3rd otaku-orientated series this season, following Oreimo and Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai. and up to date, this is by far my favorite among the 3. the part where Tsukimi is having that "conversation" with the jellyfish is so cute. in case you think there's only going to be one male in the entire show, we still have 3 male characters that are listed but have yet to appear. i'm quite excited to see them soon, because they are voiced by Koyasu-sama, Itou Kentarou and Suwabe Junichi. mwahahahahaha.
posted 12 Oct,
Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai
Keima (CV Shimono Hiro), an avid gal-game player is known as the "Otoshigami" (the Falling God) in the online world for making all the (2-D) girls fall for him in more than 5000 games. he unknowingly accepts a contract from a demon, Elcea (CV Itou Kanae), to "capture" runaway spirits residing in real girls' hearts by making them fall for him, thus filling their hearts with love and forcing the spirits out.
this sounds somewhat similar to Kannagi, what with the random magical being and reluctant male lead. i'm almost sure Shimono-san was chosen because he's a natural at these character types.
To Aru Majutsu no Index II
Toma (CV Abe Atsushi) and Index (CV Iguchi Yuka) are back! as the "living store-room" of the Necessarius church's entire forbidden book collection, Index is still being targeted by individuals and organizations who wants to use the books for their own evil desires. Toma is still a Level 0 esper, even though his Imagine Breaker is enough to deem him useful as her guardian.
besides the return of familiar faces like Misaka (CV Satou Rina) and Himegami (CV Noto Mamiko), there's lots of newbies we can expect in the new season. at least, that's what the OP showed us. looking forward to seeing what other "misfortunes" Toma will be getting into.
Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru
unlike Kaichou wa Maid, the maids of Seaside Maid Cafe are neither cute, nor moe, and they definitely do not make your hearts flutter. unless you consider fluttering as the heart pounding when a cup of hot coffee is flying at your face. which is probably why the cafe has little to no business too. i doubt anyone would appreciate clumsy waitresses.
the weird thing is, they actually cast Sakurai Takahiro as granny Uki, the owner of the cafe. yes, Sakurai-san. as an old woman. i didn't even know it was him until i was looking at the ANN page. totally surprise here.
in any case, i'm going to continue watching because Irino Miyu is cast as Hiroyuki, childhood friend of Hotori (CV Omigawa Chiaki), and i haven't watched anything of his since Cross Game ended in March.
Shinrei Tantei Yakumo
to help a friend who is spirit-possessed, Haruka (CV Fujimura Ayumi) engaged the help of Yakumo (CV Ono Daisuke), who has a unique crimson red left eye that allows him to see spirits. after solving the first case, they started to work together, albeit unwillingly on Yakumo's part, as strange events starts to happen one after another in their university.
something that ah gu would probably love, a detective series. although it is geared towards a more spiritual nature. i'm just hoping i wouldn't scrapped this after a few episodes.
Togainu no Chi
set in a post-war Japan, the city of Toshima is controlled by a crime syndicate called Vischio. falsely accused of murder, Akira's (CV Toriumi Kousuke) only way to get back his freedom is to enter a battle game called "Igura" in Toshima, where he has to defeat the leader, Il Rey, and destroy the syndicate.
adapted from a BL game, obviously what i'm looking for are the pretty boys. i can only say i wasn't as interested as i would've thought i would be after Ep1. hope the story will start to pick up, much like how enjoyed Uraboku as the story progressed.
posted 07 Oct,
Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge
another sequel from Spring, Ichinomiya Kou AKA Recruit (CV Kamiya Hiroshi) and Nino (CV Sakamoto Maaya) are back with the residents under the Arakawa bridge. hopefully, season 2 will finally reveal the truth behind Nino and how she ended up under the bridge.
i've grown to look forward to every episode of Arakawa. it's nonsensical, but that is also what makes it so damn funny.
Otome Youkai Zakuro
Agemaki Kei (CV Sakurai Takahiro) and his fellow lieutenants are dispatched to fight alongside half-younin girls (half-human, half-youkai's), against out-of-control youkai's in an alternate Meiji era.
the only thing hindering Agemaki from doing his job is that he is terrified of youkai's! he tries to hide it from the girls, especially Zakuro (CV Nakahara Mai) whom he's paired with, but was found out rather quickly when he can't even go to the restroom at night without freaking out at the sight of random youkai's around the house.
now this is a super dark horse and may just be my No.1 favorite for Fall. youkai's, magic, guys in uniform, kimonos and nekomimi girls. you name it, they have it.
as for the romance go-ers (that's me), while the main couple is definitely Agemaki and Zakuro, i'm more interested in what will happen between Susukihotaru (CV Hanazawa Kana) and Yoshinokazura Riken (CV Hino Satoshi).
it's also another series with an awesome cast. besides those mentioned above, there's the likes of Toyosaki Aki and Horie Yui as twins Bonbori and Houzuki, and Kaji Yuuki as Hanakiri Ganryuu. it wouldn't be surprising to me if the female seiyuus were chosen for their singing abilities, as it seems that singing is part of the incantation for the girls before they start fighting.
posted 06 Oct,
Hakuouki Hekketsuroku
Chizuru (CV Kuwashima Houko) is back with the Shinsengumi bishies, Hijikata Toshizou (CV Miki Shinichiro), Okita Souji (CV Morikubo Showtaro), Saitou Hajime (CV Toriumi Kousuke) and many more. we get to see them with a change into Western-styled clothes, although i much prefer the Shinsengumi uniforms from season 1.
another continuation from Spring, i have NO IDEA why they always want to split what would be a perfectly normal 24-episodes series into 2 seasons. Ep1, or Ep13 depending on how you view this, was fantastic in any case. full-fledged swooning is required! for all the guys!
i will definitely be following up with a fan-girl post soon.
Star Driver Kagayaki no Takuto
Takuto (CV Miyano Mamoru) is the new guy at Southern Cross Island and his wish is to experience a fabulous high school life. this begins almost immediately when he saves his classmate Wako from a group known as the "Order of the Glittering Star Cross" who are interested in certain robots in the island.
these robots, called Cybody, are sealed in the island's underground ruins and can only be unsealed by shrine maidens, of which Wako (CV Hayami Saori) is one of them. as it turns out, Takuto just happens to be the "Galatic Pretty Boy", the ONE that can go against the Order, and he comes fully equipped with his own Cybody named Tauburn. if you think it's outrageous enough, you should watch Takuto's transformation sequence. it could have done Sailor Moon proud.
i was all anticipating Ep1 and it was probably THE show i was waiting for. but maybe, just maybe, it was a little too overdone. cos i didn't come out of Ep1 with heart pumping or mind-blowing excitement.
i'm still going to continue watching though. there are just some shows that you need to stick to, to see if they're really worth it. and really, just having Miyano-san as the main lead is reason enough to make me watch this. not to mention the stellar cast of Sakamoto Maaya, Kuwashima Houko, Fukuyama Jun, Ishida Akira, Tomatsu Haruka, Taketatsu Ayana, Miki Shinichiro and Koshimizu Ami.
Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai
Kyousuke (CV Nakamura Yuuichi) who has always been coldly ignored by his younger sister Kirino (CV Taketatsu Ayana) accidentally finds out that she is secretly into eroge. she ropes him not only into keeping her secret but also into her otaku world by forcing him to play ero-games in the middle of the night, all for the sake of getting to know her hobby of course.
as i watched Ep1, all i could think about it how dysfunctional the family would be if Azu-nyan (K-ON!), Alto (Macross Frontier), Kenpachi (Bleach) and Viletta (Code Geass) were sitting at the dinner table. cos that's exactly who the CVs for the Kosaka family are. hahaha.
posted 03 Oct,
Bakuman.
about two guys on their road to becoming mangakas. Moritaka (CV Abe Atsushi) has the gift for drawing but has no ambition in life. in comes top student classmate Akito (CV Hino Satoshi), who doesn't have the drawing ability but do have the literacy talent, and approaches him to be his mangaka partner after he sees Moritaka's sketch of the girl he likes.
i'm guessing we will see lots of manga references throughout the show, since One Piece and Dragonball has already been mentioned in Ep1. and since i've never read the manga before, i wonder if they would get all technical and show how a mangaka actually works in real life.
posted 02 Oct,
Tegami Bachi REVERSE
sequel to last year's series about Letter Bees (AKA postmen) delivering packages while battling giant insects called Gaichuu that roams the land of Amberground. since i don't read the manga, i've only heard that most of the stuff from season 1 are really all filler material.
this time, they are finally going to start the real story with Gauche and Lag. and the former will finally have more screen time instead of just being in the flashback scenes.
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Hakuouki II Episode 01
Friday, 15 October 2010
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Hetalia World Series Ep 28 & 29
Episode 28: Italy is not a good mediator
Episode 29: Austria's Freeloading Series
FYI, Beethoven was German, not an Austrian.
Episode 29: Austria's Freeloading Series
FYI, Beethoven was German, not an Austrian.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Nendoroid Hirasawa Yui (preview)
haven't had the time to do a photo session yet, but here's the Yui nendoroid ah gu picked up for me last week.
taken at birdy's house last week when we went over to do some Japan trip planning.
was the first time trying the camera of my new mobile, Nokia E5, so pretty much explains the crappy out-of-focus photo. oh well.
i probably will do a coverage together with the Mio nendoroid. just have to go pick it up from the shop and wait for my camera to come back.
taken at birdy's house last week when we went over to do some Japan trip planning.
was the first time trying the camera of my new mobile, Nokia E5, so pretty much explains the crappy out-of-focus photo. oh well.
i probably will do a coverage together with the Mio nendoroid. just have to go pick it up from the shop and wait for my camera to come back.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
OP Anime Heroes ~Enies Lobby Arc~
i don't like the figurine combination in this set. too messed up and incomplete.
1st row (L->R), Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Luffy, Chopper, Tom, little Yokozuna, Rocket Man
2nd row (L->R), Kumadori, Jyabura, Fukurou, Spandam, Rob Lucci, Blueno, Kaku, Kalifa, Leopard Lucci
3rd row (L->R),Yokozuna, T-Bone, Kiwi, Mozu, Nico Olvia, little Robin, Monster Chopper
Strawhat Pirates
yes, i HAD to take Sogeking, Franky and Robin from the Water 7 set to make them complete.
1st row (L->R), Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Luffy, Chopper, Tom, little Yokozuna, Rocket Man
2nd row (L->R), Kumadori, Jyabura, Fukurou, Spandam, Rob Lucci, Blueno, Kaku, Kalifa, Leopard Lucci
3rd row (L->R),Yokozuna, T-Bone, Kiwi, Mozu, Nico Olvia, little Robin, Monster Chopper
Strawhat Pirates
yes, i HAD to take Sogeking, Franky and Robin from the Water 7 set to make them complete.
Friday, 1 October 2010
beloved is back
*swoons over*
and he changed his hair parting!! now we all know his eyebrows curl in the same direction. HA!
don't like the mustache-and-goatee thing he has, though i highly doubt Odacchi is going to make him shave it.
check out the rest of the crew here.
they all look fantastically strong now. ^_^.``
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