Recent news & updates
Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho: Tou 2nd Act – Episode 1 · 5 September 2007
This title has got to be the longest name for anything I’ve seen in the while, save for maybe Harry Potter. Even the acronym would be pretty long, TMGK:T2A. I watched the first season on a whim late one night earlier in the summer, the character designs, namely Hii-chan, caught my attention. It was also only fourteen episodes, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the first season enough to look forward to the second season. The second season aired back at the end of July and Syndicate subbed it just now, a little over a month later. From the looks of it, no one’s even putting out the raws, which is slightly disappointing.
The plot’s confusing as ever and the unbelievably low quality of the episode didn’t help. Notable things that happened: there’s a bunch of guys called the Twelve Generals of the Martial Fist out to kill the Twenty Eight Stars (of something, I just forgot what), which is basically everybody. And I mean everybody, they’re even after Sagaya. Daigo betrayed one of his former friends, who is now a general and trying to kill him. Kyouichi was, presumably, killed by one of the generals and left weltering in a pool of blood. And Hiyuu, while visiting the Sayo’s (I think) grave, runs into a guy that looks just like him, but with a pair of glasses. Also, Ai and Kisaragi changed their hairstyles.
Well, I thought it was an interesting start, short, sweet and to the point. It’s the first episode and the gears are already turning. Who are these Twelve Generals? Why are they trying to kill everybody? Who’s the cute guy with the glasses that just ran into Hii-chan? What’s up with Daigo and his mysterious past? Did Kyouichi really just die?
Tokyo Majin’s attraction, for me anyways, is its obvious simplicity. Its the typical good versus evil story, a bunch of kids obtain mysterious powers and are out to save the world. Hiyuu is the typical, laid back and silent hero with a heart of gold. Even the villians are typical, masked and extremely overpowered. So, scratch the plot, scratch the characters, what do you have left? Action, action and action. Basically, I’m in it for Hiyuu and the action. Everything else is predicable and sometimes I just want pure entertainment instead of someone’s philosophical lament turned anime. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy philosophical lament (see Darker Than Black), but sometimes the lack thereof is what makes it great.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – Episode 23 · 3 September 2007
Simon, Simon…!!!!!
Simon….oh my god….
Everybody!! O_O!!
How do they do it? How? I just can’t understand, how the hell do they do it?! How the hell did they come up with some as brilliant and as amazing as Gurren Lagann!? Heh, the proper response to said question would be, “Who the hell do you think we are!?” Gainax is genius, Gainax is genius.
Spirit and love, spirit and love makes the universe go around. The end of this episode, actually this entire episode, from Rossiu and Kinon to old Coco and Dayakka (poor guy, I think I spelled his name wrong), to the new uniforms and the flag from the capture of Teppelin, just everything. Just watching everything come together, everyone on the bridge of the Cathedral Terra, the Chouginga Dai Gurren, God, this is why life is worth living.
I’m fickle and capricious and I love Rossiu, how can I not? That scene was just perfect, you saw the whole thing coming but it was just executed perfectly. The talk with his old village leader, how the scripture was actually a prank, trying to commit suicide and atone for all his sins, only to be saved at the last second by Simon, Kamina style with a punch to the face. Then, Kinon runs to him from the cockpit of the Gurren Lagann. Having Rossiu piloting the Gurren Lagann with Simon was just a bit nostalgic, just a bit.
In the end, it’s a lot about what the show makes you feel, and a lot of what I feel I have a hard time putting into words. Brings me back to episode fifteen and the defeat of Teppelin. But now, Lord Genome and Viral are working with Simon and the Gurren Dan, launching in a giant flagship to warp across space and fight the Anti-spiral. One of these days I’m going to figure out why this show kicks so much ass and why this show is so amazing and why it makes me want to jump up on a table and express my love for humanity through over the top speeches.
They’re going to warp across space, warp. Not only did they break time and space itself, now they’re going to warp across the universe into a ring, the Anti-Spiral home world, and it’s not even about saving humanity anymore, it’s about everything! Seeing old Coco and that flag really got me, the symbol of the Dai Gurren Dan, Gimbley gawking at it, Gurren Lagann flying off and Kamina’s cape flapping in the wind…
For all its complexities and all its techno jargon, quantum mechanics and fancy words, life really is just about love and spirit. That’s just how incredible Gurren Lagann is, everything, everything happened because of human spirit.
Oh God, four more episodes…
Darker Than Black – Episode 22 · 1 September 2007
Just when I thought my internet patched itself up, it broke down again. My saviors go by the names ‘NETGEAR(1)’ and ‘tanuki’, providing me incredibly slow, but functunal internet service. I did manage to download the newest Darker Than Black episode before Roadrunner kicked the bucket, thank God for that.
It was a busy episode to say the least, some extraordinarily fast-paced plot development. A lot of talking, a lot of action and a lost of mysteries unsolved that left me gaping. I went back and watched it twice, because I just couldn’t get my head around some parts and I just couldn’t get enough of watching Hei eat noodles.
So, in short, Schrober, the overworked professor from PANDORA gets kidnapped by a naked lady that teleports, who’s in cahoots with Amber. Darker Than Black’s own Creepy Thin Man (Charlie’s Angels, anyone?) Wei, returns with shorter hair, an even stranger stereotypical Chinese outfit, and a hideous scar where half his face should be. Suddenly, the Americans got dragged into the mess and discovered some secret regarding Hell’s Gate. That’s six organizations total – EPR, the police, MI6, the ever elusive Organization, the Russians (Itzhak and Berta?), if they’re still in the game and now, the Americans. There’s a bit of November 11-Misaki before he goes off and, presumably, enlists in the EPR. The EPR, apparently, wants the existence of Contractors made known to the public. And then, Amber scares Mao to death in a tree.
The November 11 and Misaki bit was pretty interesting. Ever since that first EPR arc, the showdown with the heterochromatic kid, the possibility of November and Misaki as a pairing has been floating around in my head. It was also during that arc that I stopped hating November 11 to pieces for killing Havoc. He’s turning out to be quite the character and I’ growing quite fond of him. So, he spills some information about the Americans to Misaki, as a thank you for last time. Taps her on the head, saying that he couldn’t resist such a large wrinkle and tells her that from here on out, there will be no enemies or allies and to trust her own instinct. That scene was rather amusing, watch Misaki and Saito’s reactions. Such a large wrinkle, poke! It also explained his actions later on, asking to meet Amber and all. November’s joining the dark side, getting a new black suit in the preview, as well as making Misaki cry, though I’m not too sure if its him she’s crying over. Previews, previews.
It was also interesting to note that, possibly for the first time, Hei and the rest of the team are working together. After Huang’s arc, pretty much every member of team has made peace with themselves and their teammates. I liked the embassy infiltration bit, from Huang scouting out the place with cameras, Mao being the decoy, to Yin guiding Hei into the building. Every gear in the machine was turning, giving the whole thing a nice feeling of unity and coherency. I also liked Saito, Misaki and Yutaka working together. It’s the first time in a while I’ve seen Yutaka, was wondering what happened to him. The red bean bun and milk was hilarious. Recycle, recycle!
The Chief of Public Order, Hourai worries me, slightly. Who did he make a phone call to after he talked to Misaki. Why does he always wear gloves? That’s a question that’s been bothering me as well. It’s all just speculation, and it’s most likely wrong, but what if the man’s a contractor? What if the Chief of Public Order is a contractor working with Amber?
Anyway, EPR’s true intentions are finally coming to light. The fact that Harris tells Brita (naked teleporting lady) that he’ll make her forget, as always, sounds to me like he’s responsible for wiping the memories of the contractors Misaki captured. Maybe even Schroeber, since Wei said something about his memory being tampered with. And regarding Professor Schroeber, the man’s found of a way of making the gate unstable by firing accelerated electrons in meteor fragments, maybe that’s why Amber kidnapped him.
There wasn’t a lot of Hei, but that scene in the noodle shop was hilarious, the expression on Hei’s face was priceless. The line between Hei’s personalities are blurry, but nonetheless there. There’s Li, naive, innocent, clumsy and always hungry, the second he steps out of that shop and sees Mao, he slips into being the Black Reaper, cold, calm and menacing. Looking at the way things are now, I’m starting wonder which personality is real and which is fake, or maybe Hei’s a bit of both.
Next episode feels like the ultimate showdown between Hei and Wei (names, XD). This whole arc, actually, is like the calm before the storm. All the pieces in place and waiting for that final pushes that sets everything in motion. There’s also a lot of Mao in the next episode, his facial expression are so adorable and funny. When Ambers surprises him in the tree, that expression was priceless as well. Looks like we’re also going to get some answers from Professor Schroeber. With that said, there are only four more episodes left, just four, just four…
Dropping off the face of the Earth because my internet hates me… · 31 August 2007
For some unknown reason my internet service is acting weird, I’m getting someone to look at it next Thursday. Hopefully, this momentary breakdown will resolve itself before that. I don’t even have cable anymore, Time Warner Cable is evil! Evil! Ugh, I can’t even watch TV anymore. I’m stuck on my laptop, with a ten inch screen and a broken “m” key, trying to hitch on a ride on other people’s wireless network. It’s not working out well. So, I’m going to disappear for about a week. And to to quote MacArthur, I shall return.
Just the last three episode titles of Darker than Black (a.k.a. the end of the world) · 29 August 2007
it’s just too cute, I can’t resist the absolute adorableness, squeee >.<
I’ve gone about two weeks without a new Darker Than Black episode and it’s finally getting to me. I don’t even know why there was no episode last week, but it’s practically ruining my life right now. Have I told you I hate waiting? Have I told you that I have no patience whatsoever? Reasons why I burn my tongue on soup and why I can’t get the Halo 3 version 360 because I bought one already (but it’s so pretty!). I also despise my inability to speak Japanese, it airs on the 30th in Japan and I have to wait even longer for the subs. I should be glad there are subs to begin with.
23 – 神は天にいまし…(God is in Heaven…)
Well, the final three episodes, with titles as cryptic as ever, finally deviate from the bi-episodic layout. I’m not quite sure what to make of episode twenty-thre (my favorite number along with seven and forty two). It’s so weird and so vague, I don’t even have anything to say about it. Maybe it has something to do with the arc that came before, I’m not sure of that one.
24 – 流星雨 (Meteor Shower)
Twenty four, judging from “Meteor Shower”, it’s going to be epic, not Gurren Lagann epic, but the quiet, silent type of epic. There’s not much I can say about meteor shower, either. It’s a clever title, considering the context of ‘meteor’ in the show. And, it’s also absurdly pretty, the kanji actually make sense in Chinese. I’m guessing this is Frequently Asked Questions bit of the show. I also have a feeling that my impression is completely wrong because Darker than Black doesn’t do FAQs. Somebody else said that meteor shower might mean falling stars and falling stars mean dead contractors, ominous. This is probably the climactic battle of sorts and it’s going to end on a gigantic cliffhanger and I’m going to scream and kill somebody, wait a week, watch the last episode, scream and go on a homicidal rampage.
25 – 死神の見る夢は、黒より暗い暗闇か？ (Is the dream of that a God of Death has a darkness Darker than Black?)
The most intriguing title is probably the last, and fittingly so. “Is the dream of that a God of Death has a darkness Darker than Black?” I’ve always wondered what they meant by Darker than Black. In the beginning, I just thought it was a reference to Hei’s name. Hei means black, the man dresses in black. Yin means silver, her hair is silver. Mao means cat, it’s a cat. Huang, well, he wasn’t quite yellow, but to say anything else would ruin my pattern. It occurred to me shortly thereafter that the title probably had no literal explanation. I’m assuming the God of Death is a reference to Hei. But contractors don’t have dreams, so what are they’re getting at? Do all contractors not have dreams or is it just Hei who can’t dream? If it’s only Hei who is unable to dream, then is that his obeisance? It’s not sounding very cheery or optimistic. From the looks of it, Hei might actually die. The only thing I can think of, save for the dream of a shinigami, that’s darker than black is death itself.
The end of the world
chibis are too cute, hei is too good looking, chibi hei is too much for words. the world might as well end without hei
So, now, all the rambling and speculating aside, I have to come to terms with the fact that it’s really going to end in about a month. I have to come to terms with the fact that everything ends in about a month, this and Gurren Lagann and even Claymore. What am I supposed to do after September? School starts in September! Judging from the playing field and what’s out there, I’m not looking forward to any of the upcoming fall shows, save for Gundam 00 and only because it’s gundam. There are some really good series airing now from the summer, but nothing, except for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and possibly Baccano!, has me banging my head into a wall, screaming for new episodes. Now is the perfect time to quote that annoying Green Day song, “Wake me up when September ends.”
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time · 28 August 2007
Saw bateszi’s post up this morning, one of those things where you read it about and you just have to see it. Waited all day for the torrent, worth the wait, worth the wait.
For all the things I can say about the film, for all my praise and ravings and adoration, the best part of it all was how normal it felt, how simple and sweet, and short and light and colorful, like a dream but not quite a dream, like floating across the sky on some luscious, white cloud. And when it’s all over, you just drop right back where you were.
It’s like finding gold in a river, something, whether expected or not, is the most deliriously remarkable thing in the world. Everything was perfect, perfect, perfect. All the right things happened at all the right times. Just enough humor, just enough suspense, and just enough bittersweet heartbreak that resonates even after it’s over, loud enough and long enough. And, even if it had flaws, which everything inevitably do, I can’t see them and right now, I don’t want to see them. It’s like a happy memory, and you want to keep it as long as possible even if after a while, it gets fuzzy around the edges and you’ll gave to find corks to plug the holes.
I want to do a running jump off a roof, under open blue skies with the wind in my hair, the sun on my back, and with the impression that I can fly, fly across the sky and across time. That’s, more or less, exactly how I feel right now. Delirious, and a bit ridiculous.
Still, it just felt so normal. I’m tired, sometimes, of epic adventures, life changing discoveries, secret powers and destiny and fate, sometimes I want a slice of life. If I could leap through time, I’d retake a pop quiz for a perfect score, I’d go back and eat last night’s dinner, I’d sing karaoke ten hours straight, I’d avoid all of the uncomfortable conversations with friends, I’d play matchmaker for my classmates, I’d save myself from cooking accidents in class, I’d do everything Makoto did. It was extraordinary because it was ordinary. So real, and normal and complacent, like watching life. Ironically, it’s animated, yet it feels closer to being real.
Makoto flying off her bicycle, the peaches, the perfect pink flesh of those peaches sailing through the air, the train, right then, right there, that’s where it got me. There was something so beautiful to that scene, those peaches, those peaches. Watching all of it play out was just amazing. It just got better and better, from light-hearted fun to a romance bordering tragedy. She’s running after Kosuke and his girlfriend, when she trips and falls, looks up in horror and yells “Stop!” over and over and over, and time actually stops. She’s with Chiaki in the street, she’s searching for him, following his voice through the crowd, he waves and then he’s gone. She realizes that she only has one time leap left, dashes out of her house and runs and leaps, runs to find him. She’s crying and she turns around and Chiaki’s gone. She walks, and as the sun sets, he comes up behind her, pulls her close and whispers in her ear.
Perfect, perfect, perfect, down to the very last second where all I could see were the ending credits and a blank screen. Emotional roller coaster and I didn’t even leave my seat, so subtle and so quiet, but it hits all the right notes, pushes all the right buttons, all the right everything. Most unexpected, most delicious slice of life, ever.
In the end, Makoto ended up where she started, the first day she found the time leap. After everything, it rewound back to where it began. I guess, maybe that’s what we’re supposed to take it from it. Live in the moment, because you don’t have the time to think it all through, to go back and do it over again. Remember the past, look for the future and cherish the present.
And, yes, I’d laugh, I’d laugh if you told me you were from the future. I’d laugh pretty hard.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – Episode 22 · 27 August 2007
Oh my god, oh my dear god, oh my god. Did you see that? Did you see that?! So, so, they basically transformed, or combined, into Arc-Gurren-Lagann, tour a hole through time-space and annihilated a mugan ship, and that was only half of the episode! HALF! I’m just a little bit stunned, okay, alright, not a little bit. At a total loss of words, it’s amazing. And to think, after the time skip, I was afraid of the direction Gurren Lagann was heading in.
Epic? Does epic even work anymore? Are there any words to actually describe Gurren Lagann anymore? And you know, you know what? The real battle hasn’t even begun yet! This isn’t even the finale, this isn’t even the end! Will there ever be an end?! It was just so beautiful, watching that transformation. I just sat there, sat there and gaped, for a really, really long time. It doesn’t get any better than this, it doesn’t. All I could do was just laugh weakly, it was so impressive and big and flashy and, and, and it’s everything I love about Gurren Lagann. Arc-Gurren-Lagann, just looking at it, just looking at it…
And really, that’s only half of the episode, half! I love this show, I love this show! When the surface of the moon started cracking, forming into that ghastly face, that creepy smile, my god. The most brilliant bit is the climax of the episode. Nia and Simon and hearing Nia’s sweet, sweet voice at the end, seeing her clover eyes and her smile, I want to strangle someone out of pure joy, hug someone to death. Mass production grapals have mass produced spirits! The chance isn’t zero, that’s as good as 100% to me! They stopped the moon and the moon was actually a big, Spiral battleship, the Cathedral Terra.
And Rossiu, now that it’s all over, that look he had when he walked out of the Arc-Gurren-Lagann’s control room actually made me feel sorry for him. I can understand how he feels. It seems, from the preview, he’s going back to his old village.
I went back and watched the episode twice, couldn’t get enough of it. The preview, the preview for next episode, Simon’s sounding more and more like Kamina. I swear, I could hear just a little bit of Kamina in Simon’s voice from the preview. He’s even beginning to look like the man, flowing cape and all! The final battle is on the horizon, can’t wait, can’t hardly wait. There’s something to this show, there’s something to it, human spirit? The Spiral power, the human spirit, the will to live, survive, persist? Whatever it is, it’s beautiful. Epic Kamina speeches, massive ganmen combining, giant lunar spaceship, time-space tearing attacks, good ol’ Nia back (if just for a second), most satisfying, brilliant, epic episode, “YET”!
Code Geass – The End? No, not really… · 27 August 2007
Well, I just finished Code Geass and for all the time (about nine hours or so) I invested in the first season, I was rewarded with a most despicable cliffhanger. I can understand Code Geass’ attraction, be it aesthetic or intellectual, but it lacks a certain depth, as if the characters and story were scratching to break the surface of something greater. The characters felt like paper cutouts and only when the light hit them at a certain angle did they look real.
At first, Lelouch appeared to be the Code Geass equivalent of Yagami Raito. Both were quite Machiavellian in their approach, the ends justify the means. However, Raito had the ruthlessness necessary to achieve his ambitions, whereas Lelouch had actual consideration for others, a hindrance, really, in the “I’m out to create a new world order” business. If Lelouch didn’t care for Suzaku, how the hell did he manage to stay alive this long? Raito used his own father like any other pawn and Lelouch couldn’t even get rid of a childhood friend. That was exactly what he was missing, until he shoots and kills Euphemia, the ultimate “the ends justify the means” scenario. Sure, you killed your own sister and your first love, sure your best friend hates you and wants you dead, but look what it achieved: uniting the Japanese people against the Britannia Empire, the long-awaited rebellion finally begins. And I think he finally has an epiphany of sorts, that he’s going to have to give everything up to see his ambitions through and ultimately, he’s going to be alone (but not quite, because he has C.C.).
Just started watching Code Geass… · 26 August 2007
Random snippet because it’s five (correction, fifteen to six) in the morning and I’ve been up all night, for good reason. Waited a damn long time for Code Geass to finish downloading, even finished reading a book (Turing’s Delirium, go read it, worth the time) in the meanwhile. And then my computer suffered a traumatic, mental breakdown of sorts and I was surprised I even got episode one to play.
That aside, I’m actually liking Geass, so far, so far being episode one. So much for first impression…I’m a sucker for CLAMP, so the characters, and animation, are just pure eye candy. It’s extremely bright and jubilant for, what I’m assuming, to be a dark and heavy series. The mecha, the mecha, I’m also a sucker for mecha and even if I only caught a two minute glimpse in episode one, I’m looking forward to more action.
I’d also like to note the alarming similarities between C.C. and Amber. I’ve read it everywhere, on a lot of blogs, but it’s really freakish how alike they are. The hair, the eyes, even the strange white bodysuits! Very, very strange. And, there’s quite a bit Yagami Raito in Lelouch – the hair, the “I’m a genius bored with life, I’m God and I’m going to change the world, girls think I’m cute and ‘magical’ powers were bestowed upon me.”
And, from the looks of it, I don’t think Suzuka died. My theory: if you’re important enough to be in the opening, you’re important enough to stay alive, at least for a while. Suzuka reminds me a lot, a whole lot, of Sayoaran Li from Cardcaptors Sakura and more recently, Tsubasa. Actually, a lot of the characters remind me of other CLAMP characters, or maybe it’s the fact that’s five in the morning and sleep deprivation is finally getting to me.
From my, extremely shallow, standpoint, Geass is perfect: hot guys, guns and mecha. In any case! I’m going to go to sleep now, I’ll be back in the afternoon to marathon the rest of Geass. And now, to bed (or dropping dead at my computer table).
Gundam 00 – "Rebirth begins through destruction" · 24 August 2007
So, unable to finish writing my Planetes ramblings, I googled Gundam 00. Watched a bunch of trailers and teasers on YouTube and it’s looking pretty good. Interesting to note that it’s the only series, so far, in the AD timeline, following the Gregorian calender instead of being labeled After Colony or Universal Century. Three hundred something years in the future feels like a long enough time. The world is in perpetual war over energy resources. The big three: The Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (basically the United States, free nation, heh), The Human Reform League (China, India and Russia, I laughed at this one, the Human Reform League?) and the Advanced EU (well, it’s the EU, advanced, think of the leap from a GameBoy Color to a GBA) control the three solar energy system. The Celestial Beings, a private military organization, are out to bring an end to warfare, armed with, what else, four gundams.
Shiny, shiny, shiny gundams
Feels like Gundam Wing minus one, which may or may not be a good thing. There’s five guys in Wing, there’s four in Double 0, and they’re all, according to Wiki, extremely quiet. I sure hope they’re not missing a comic relief character. The colonist sent out the gundams to bring peace, the Celestial Beings sent out the gundams to bring peace. And, it’s always about peace, it’s always about a bunch of guys teaming up together with their modified gundams, crushing some government, fighting some war. It’s always about peace! Peace, peace, and some more peace! Relena Peacecraft? Gundam Wing was a massive anti-war statement, if anything. Guess that’s what’s so great about gundam, watching giant mecha battle it out in the name of peace and freedom and all that nice noise.