Review: Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki

Yeahhhh I have a lot of pending reviews but this one deserves to be reviewed now, before I forget all the feels cos the movie is so damn awesome.

Studio: Madhouse, Studio Chizu

The trailer shows the basic stuff, like a girl falling in love with a werewolf (why does this sound so familiar) and have a couple of children with him. What the trailer DID NOT show is how totally different it is from the typical werewolf romance and shoujo shit the story is all about. Which is why you really HAVE to check this out even if it's not your preferred genre.

So you have the usual girl meets boy story, and the girl is attracted to the boy because he seem different. Familiar again? But good thing it wasn't set in a freakin' high school and the girl isn't a Mary Sue although she is kind of ordinary. At least there aren't any intervening characters that drags the whole story into some love triangle/reverse harem crap. It's free from soap opera and illogical happenings (okay except for the werewolf part). The girl isn't freaked out when the guy reveals who he really is, much like a certain empty shell who has the hots for a certain sparkly undead. That aside, the best thing about their relationship is that everything went naturally from just friends to lovers. There wasn't a need for either of them to try too hard to impress one another, those pointless blushings, the in denial scenes and what not. The guy may come off as cold at first but good thing he isn't like Uchiha Sasuke.

And the wolf guy is so sweet that I think I'm diagnosed with diabetes right now.

cooking for his pregnant wife = perfect husband

The art may be simple, yet the animation is pleasant. No one looks as though they're wearing special costume for a fetish-themed AV. The backgrounds deserved the details more than the character designs do.

Now allow me to rant out what I analyzed from the show. So prepare for possible spoilers.

Stories about a single parent is common in anime nowadays but this time it's a single mom who had to raise a pair of supernatural being. I'm amazed at how strong she is dealing with her loss and the burden she had to carry all alone. Deep down I expected her to snap and dump her wolf kids and moved on with her life. But she didn't. She fukken dealt with it. She knew that the children carries their father's abnormal genes that she even studied really hard on how to specifically raise them. So basically the story is about how to raise weird kids if you wanna compare it real life. And it had never crossed her mind to find a new lover/husband just to ease her burden. Rather than blaming her children for being that way, she made a drastic decision that prioritize what is CONVENIENT for the kids. She's patient and works hard all the way, never complaining.

Seriously, are all Japanese moms like that?

Now let's talk about the kids. I think there's a really strong message behind their character developments.

Being born 'special' has its advantages, and at the same time it has a drawback. Yuki (the elder sister) and Ame (the younger brother) both have the dilemma of being born as not normal, but each with their own way. Each of the siblings have their own stories to tell. Yuki was proud to be a wolf at first, but as she grew she felt more connected to the human side. Ame on the other hand was upset that wolves are often portrayed as the bad guy causing him to hate who he is, but the opposite happened. Ame and Yuki had a conflict on 'which is the right way for them to live?'; as a human or as a wolf?

The strong message here is, who are you to say which is the right path and which is not? One may think that the 'normal life' is the best way to live, the other may think that the 'road not taken' is what is best for him. But did it really matter? If you think the path makes you happy, then go on with it. Parents should really take note of this. I'm sure you'd be happier if your kid picks the stable choice (of occupation or degree), but don't turn a blind eye to the one who wants to do something different. Just support him, even if shit happens to him don't go all "told you so!".

I'm proud of both Yuki and Ame. Yuki, for putting a lot of effort to adapt with the normal life. Ame, for choosing the path as a lone wolf. Either way is a courageous thing to do.

Moral of the story, mothers and future mothers should take a leaf out of Hana's book :D

Last but not least, the OST!! The OST!!! By Takagi Masakatsu (not someone from anime industry world apparently). Here's the track I love most (I think it's the one where the wolf boy runs around the mountain with his 'sensei')

Review: Persona 4 - The Animation

Studio: AIC Asta & Aniplex

When the anime version of Persona 4 is announced, I had mixed feelings. It is one of my favourite games, something I love more than Persona 3, so I was highly anticipating it. But video game (and visual novels) adaptations are known to turn out rather disappointing.

It doesn’t matter if I knew the story or not, but I thought I could preview the first few episodes to see how they make an animation out of it. Bad news; the art quality was meh. Good news; the presentation of the story is GREAT!

And that is one hell of a surprise as in the game it feels more slow paced, and more like a high school drama. The anime makes the story slightly faster, and they changed some of the scenes yet still staying true to the storyline, just to not make it like an exact copy of the video game.

I won't talk much about the plot as I've reviewed it in the video game here (warning may contain spoilers) like 3 years ago.

For those who has played the game, then you’ll know what I’m gonna talk about here; the individual “Shadow” scenes have something extra. A little more flashback and a little more details, especially for Yosuke and Chie. I also wondered if they did do something about the social links, because there’ll be only 20+ episodes, how are they able to fit in all the characters? But they did it anyway. Probably the only thing I’m disturbed with because the supporting characters social link went too fast, and some compiled in a few episodes making it seem like filler episodes to those who aren’t familiar with the system of the game. Even so, I think it’s an excellent way to adapt the social links in the anime. Even Nanako has a special episode just for herself – which I think it’s important for us to understand her loneliness and her love towards her big brother ^^

one of my fave scenes which I'm glad that they didn't make it typically video game-like, so it looks more flexible and realistic in spite of being in another world.

While the art is not so impressive, I’m glad to hear the familiar tracks in the background. Plus, the OP and ED are unexpectedly GOOD. I’m glad they didn’t pick a random moe-voiced idols, any rock music or just about any hip-hop. Meguro Masashi made sure the songs truly reminds you of the Persona 4 feel and what it is all about.

The final episode was a big troll. During my gameplay I did not come across that final boss. After the ending credits there’s a preview showing that the true end will come in DVD!

When the “True End” episode is out, again, Persona 4: The Animation proved to be a worthy adaptation. It is obviously related to the true ending of P4, but with something you won’t be able to see in the game. Have you ever thought that it is unfair that only the main character’s friends get all the “pursuing my true self” scenes everytime you go down their dungeon?

Well guess what. The MC gets it too! The true ending is worth watching, very satisfying.

Review: Natsume Yuujinchou (anime s1-4)

So I'm gonna compile all four seasons of Natsume Yuujinchou, since each seasons contained like 12-13 episodes. And I don't think there's much to say, although I really like this anime.

Studio: Brain's Base

Author: Yuki Midorikawa

Natsume Takashi is an orphaned boy (oohh look! another orphan!) who grew up being able to see youkais. As a child he often see the spirits roaming about, frightening him or trying to befriend him. As result he often freaks out too suddenly, that most of his classmates and distant relatives thinks he's a crazy kid who craves for attention. Now as a high school kid, he lives with an old couple who has no kids, and is living in some kind of countryside where he decides to improve his interaction with people.

He inherits his grandmother's stuff, and there's one particular item called "Book of Friends" where spirits had signed their name in it to become Natsume Reiko's cronies. Unlike his tough grandma, Natsume seems rather weak but he has one hell of a punch. But most of the time he seems like the heroine lol. Anyway, the consequence is, a lot of youkais are either attacking him or begging him to get their names back. Apparently the contract limits their freedom. Natsume, being a nice grandson in contrast to his grandma, willingly give their names back (And he totally looks beautiful while doing that). Oh let's not forget the youkai called Madara, who really doesn't approve of Natsume releasing the youkais, yet he's pretty much protective of Natsume. Yeah we have a really tsundere neko.

and i love how rounded he is

So the summary sounds kind of shounen-ish. But in fact it's just slice of life. Though there are times when the episodes feels so shounen cos in the end Natsume saves the day (or Natsume is saved etc). I guess the show focused more on how to deal with being a freak, how to act normal when there's something isn't right about you. Other than dealings with humans, even youkai had the chance to express themselves. The youkai characteristics varies; not everyone is good nor bad, and they have their own culture, habits and weaknesses that makes them so unpredictable. It's interesting to know that in Shinto belief, their gods come to existence only when people need them. And they slowly disappear when humans no longer pray at their shrine. I kind of felt sorry for the minor kamisamas.

The thing that impresses me is how Natsume coped with his lonely life and is trying his best to be accepted without telling people of his secret ability. Usually teens who were shunned like that would turn out into a delinquent, but Natsume grew up into a kind and gentle boy - both to humans and youkais. If the Fujiwara hadn't taken him in, he would probably become a rebel. On another note; Natsume should've joined the track team, he's been running around since he was small XD

effin' cute!

Throughout all seasons, we're reminded of how to get along with people in spite of being a 'weirdo'. There's no reason to become a gangster if nobody likes you in the past, and Natsume is a perfect example of that. And he's so considerate of everyone that it annoys me that he's too kind, but his short temper made up for it. Maybe ronery people out there should take a leaf out of his book.

Unfortunately, season 3 bored the hell out of me cos there aren't any name returning scenes. Season 4 was a tease cos I thought it's about time to know what happened to Natsume Reiko. That's the only thing I'm curious. And I'd like to know the outcome of finishing the name-returning ritual as well.

I have nothing much to say about the art. It's just simple and nice, no moe nor overly bishified characters.

except, maybe this guy

Looking forward to season 5 (i hope)!

Review: UN-GO

There’s always something odd when it comes to mystery + supernatural, because this is where you can no longer use your logical thinking, or guess who the culprit is ahead from the detective.

I’m not a big fan of mysery, I don’t read/watch Kindaichi nor Conan, but I did enjoy Gosick. But I was turned off by Kamisama Memochou. As for UN-GO, I had a soft spot for Inga, regardless of what form s/he is in. And the detective is a guy so OK. He’s known as the “Defeated Detective” apparently, cos there’s the other old man who seems to have deduction skills that he only used to cover up higher ups mess. Plus, the main girl here isn’t that annoying. And I had nothing else to watch, the rest are a bunch of potentially annoying moeshits.

As far as I can remember, the mysteries consists of futuristic pop culture reference (idols, films, androids), I think this is the part which makes it interesting. Though I can say that Shinjuurou is cheating a bit by using Inga’s truth extraction powers, but he still did a great job. Cos Inga is basically clearing up his suspicions and making the suspect confess to people, without having Shinjuurou to dig deeper. Anyway, aside from Inga (whos always hungry for the truth) there's the artificial intelligence robot thingy who hacks databases - and we can actually watch her/his/it lurking through the interwebs.

Towards the end, the story becomes, as I dreaded, even more supernatural. For there was another creature that creatues illusions. This is where viewers can no longer relate to the mystery or detective, because personally I had no idea how the illusion is gonna be lifted in a MYSTERY themed. It was still nice to watch, but that supernatural power was annoying.

Yes this is another short review because I….watched this a year ago.

Review: Occult Academy (anime)

This goes way back to the year 1999, and there’s actually a school known as the Occult Academy due to its history of having occult stuff happening around it. One day a teenage girl returns to the Academy to take her deceased father’s place as a principal, and somehow ended up dealing with a ‘zombie’ of her father. Once that is over, a naked man descended from the heavens claiming that he came from the future just to change something in the past in order to prevent the alien invasion predicted to happen in 21 July 1999.

God, I remember nothing of 1999 that I can relate whatever I've seen in this show. I remember fangirling to NSYNC and such... anyhow, here are the protagonists:

Maya Kumashiro – is the daughter of the former principal of Occult Academy, who died and she returned to the school to take his place as a principal while spitting her absolute hatred towards occult. In spite of being a teenager, she’s quite capable of organizing school matters with the help of a smitten secretary. She plans to get rid of the occult culture of the school, yet no matter how much she despises the supernatural, she’s the most knowledgeable about the espers. Geez 2010 sure spawned a lot of tsundere.

Fumiaki Uchida (aka Bunmei aka Abe Minoru) – The man who came all the way from the post-apocalypse future whose mission is to find the Nostradamus Key and destroy it. That way he can change the prophecy made my Nostradamus, where it is predicted that something from the sky is coming to attack earth. When he was a child, he used to be a child celebrity who can bend spoons. He disguises as the history teacher and developed a shallow attraction towards a waitress at a local restaurant.

[supporting characters whom I don't remember much except for the giant wrench and portable keyboard... and also their attempt to troll Maya involving aliens]

Occult Academy made good use of the Nostradamus Prophecy and "2012". The latter disturbs me a bit, and I never like the idea of time travelling and changing history. That aside, I enjoyed looking at the various supernatural things that appear in each episode. You have mothman, chupacabra, aliens and even white/black mages (that’s as far as I can remember). Not to forget the ‘near death’ experience episode, which was rather a different way for the character to tell the truth about himself and reveal his back story.

The character development is really impressive for a series that have only 13 episodes. It was annoying to see Bunmei getting all aroused towards that waitress b1tch, who became a recurring character and emerged as a quite important character in the end. Bunmei was initially just another useless male character to compare with the strong and intelligent Maya, but he had a rather heroic end :3. Maya on the other hand, started off as tsuntsun and genuinely hated the occult as well as that useless time agent. But after the near death experience episode, she began to understand him and opened up to him, as she realized how much alike they were. Not only that, her relationship development with other characters, more particularly her father and her childhood friend, is a great lesson for us *__*

But the main highlight of the show is not the occult stuff, but the comedic elements and how excessively crazy it can get. Especially THE FINAL BATTLE. Oh my God what the helllll!!?? It’s not what I call ‘worthy’ but yes, it’s an enjoyable show nonetheless. And I still dislike the idea of time travelling.

Unfortunately I don’t remember the OP and ED. As for the seiyuu, can you believe Maya is also Mio (K-On)? D:

Review: DURARARA!!

[WARNING: May contain spoilers!]
[WARNING Ver.2: Content may be harsh!!]

[disclaimer: image does not belong to me]

Summary for Durarara!! or in short DRRR!! is about an urban legend that circulates around Ikebukuro that a Headless Rider randomly roam the streets... doing dunno what. The main protagonist, a normal looking from the countryside called Ryugamine Mikado was warned by his childhood friend Masaomi Kida to be careful of several weird guys; like the man in bartender suit, a parkour loving informant and especially a gang called Dollars and Yellow Scarves. But Ryugamine eventually got caught up into the mess and at the same time enduring his typical teenage life at school (such as having a crush on a girl).

Towards the end you’d see that the normal characters are actually masterminds of something while the not so normal characters just wanted to lead a normal life. OMG I seriously just realized this! And I was about to say that the first half was intriguing but the second half makes you wonder where it is going...?

Celty Sturluson, the headless rider

First there was this modern dullahan who cruises the city like minah rempit (term "biker gang girl" in Malaysia) with yellow cat-eared helmet. At first I thought Celty Sturluson was a total enigma, but turns out she’s not obliged to show her headless body to those she’s acquainted with. And she can be friends with just about anyone and is most of the time in the neutral zone. I like her as a mysterious esper, but when she decided to become more human (by developing a romantic relationship with an illegal doctor) it’s not cool anymore.

And I thought DRRR! is all about her. But we also get the chance to get to know a vending machine thrower named Shizuo Heiwajima... aka Shizzy-chan. Not only vending machines, he has the capability of bending metals with his bare hands. His super strength is a mystery. He can punch a thousand enemies in one go just like in hack and slash games. Yet in contrast with his behaviour, he admits that he hates violence. Although he is dere to his brother it wasn’t enough to make me like him because he experiences PMS... ALL THE TIME.

mutual loveerrrrrssss! don't deny it!!!

Now here comes the yummy part; He’s particular interested in Izaya Orihara in an obsessive way. Once he sees Izaya-kun in the street, he would alwaaaaays take the opportunity to play tag with him. Izaya is the hard-to-get partner!! I don’t believe it when they say they instantly hated each since their first meeting pffff. Both are just being tsun to one another. COME ON GUYS, the FANARTS are very CONVINCING!!! Cos even if you hate someone so much doesn’t mean you have to chase him all over the place. Anyway Izaya-kun is the sly double/triple/quadruple agent of the city. Gee I didn’t know that you can make a living by ruining other people’s lives.

Yellow Scarves are the dominant gangster group whose members are not ashamed to hide the fact that they’re yellow fetish. They were dormant until much later when they hear about Dollar’s activities. Dollars are colourless, and they’re not really a group of delinquents but just some random cyberbuddies. Guess who their leaders are?!?! One of those normal guys....

I'm running out of ideas to rant on the other random people. A lovesick dude, a persistent stalker, Russian sushi promoter, a gang of Otaku, and a slasher who believes slashing is one way to love one another.

Soooooo...

Is the anime as supernatural as I thought it was...?

Nay. The occult part comes now and then, but there are also those realistic shit. There are times where I got confused whether this story sci-fi or what. DRRR! is deep, but not something you can dub as “exciting” or leaving any huge impact. I still like it nonetheless. Recommended for those who’d love to see some serious mysterious randomness for a change. Oh yea... I think the hidden theme in this anime is ROMANCE. In a simple yet.... peculiar way. Surprising for me as well.

2 OPs and 2 EDs for the whole season are great, so are the sequences.
Let’s not forget the cast, as they were the main factor that seduced me to watch DRRR!! It was nice to see the violent side of Daisuke Ono as Shizzy-chan, who voice acted as the gentlemanly butler in Kuroshitsuji before this. And also Hiroshi Kamiya who voice acted as the kuudere Tieria of Gundam 00 this time as a psychopath. However, my top faves Jun Fukuyama and Mamoru Miyano were a bit disappointing (cos i prefer them being... OH SO FABULOUS~~~~)

I heard the manga has more Guro. I'd like to read it to know what's the real plot...

Review: Kuroshitsuji (anime)

[it's not BL, okay!!]

[WARNING: This review may contain spoilers!]

[WARNING 2: Sebastian fangirls GO AWAY!]

I finished this a long time ago. but I'm bored and I feel like writing reviews. So I picked Kuroshitsuji because I see everyone is obsessed about Sebastian, and I wanted to know what's so great about him. Then there's a shota that I'm attracted to, so I bought the anime before reading the manga. As I suspected, though it is not officially BL, but there are hints. *wink*

Oh yeah, this is Square-Enix's production! My fave game company.
Set in the Victorian era, this is a story about a 12 year old boy who lost his parents in a fire. He made a Faustian contract with a demon who serves him as a (combat) butler. Somehow this brat called Ciel Phantomhive got his riches back after he makes a deal with the demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis. Ironically he's named after a real life Sebastian Michaelis, a French inquistor who compiled a hierarchy of demons in Hell. Ciel is a sour-faced boy with an eye-patch, an have enough intelligence to manage a toy and candy company. But he's completely useless in combat so he goes SEBASTIAN, I CHOOSE YOU to protect him from pedophiles. But Sebastian doesn't mind being treated like a pokemon because it's his job anyway... until Ciel finds the murderer of his parents....
PROTAGONISTS PLEASE...

1. Sebastian Michaelis

Dontcha? Oh everybody does except for me :). Sebastian is overrated. His perfection is awesome but it's a turn off because he's a demon and he can do all the house chores impossibly fast. Faster than vampires! Every girl dreams of getting into his pants, including Maylene the maid, but you can obviously see how he condemns clumsy and imperfect people. Yup, the very moment he shoos the other servants away and do everything himself, I know I can never love him (I've met somebody who does all the work without discussing with his subordinates - i didn't like that leadership). And I wonder why you want a boyfriend like this hehehehehe.... unless you make a Faustian contract with him, he'll defend you with his life (?)... but it's not sincerely because it's what he has to do!

2. Ciel Phantomhive

 

Is it me, or are child geniuses overrated? Like his predecessors, he serves the Queen. But unlike his predecessors, he has a bodyguard. He treats him like a chess piece, and other people he knows are his chess pieces including his aunt. So he doesn't mind sacrificing his pieces until he attains his goals. Like Lelouch who's unathletic, but Lelouch has more pawns. Oh yea, one of Ciel's eyes is cursed too! Dammit, weird eye power is overrated too. He has an a fiancee who's complete opposite of him and annoys him with her girlish decorations (these b1tches just HAVE to exist). But poor Elizabeth just wants to cheer him up even though she's oblivious about what's really going on in his life.

3. Servants of the Phantomhive Household
Well at first I thought that the servants are useless, because Sebastian practically did everything the servants cannot do. He's an attention whore, so what can we do about it? But later in the anime (and manga) you'll find out what's their actual purpose.
- Tanaka. Issit me or are butlers always named Tanaka and Sebastian? Maybe the japanese butlers are Tanaka descendants... hmm. Anyways, he's the house steward, and used to be a butler serving under Ciel's late parents. But he got stabbed and can't do anything much... but he still can kick ass.

[From left: Maylene, Bardroy and Finnian]

- Bardroy. The cook. He cooks with flamethrowers and bombs. Go eat some black things if you leave him be. He's an American, and he's a bomb expert who can use whatever he finds in the kitchen to ward off intruders.
- Finnian. The gardener, who kills of flowers instead of giving them life. He was actually a super soldier of some sort about 500 years before Allelujah's time, so he has super strength in spite of his girlish looks.
- Maylene. The clumsy maid with a cracked pair of glasses. She refused to change them because it's the first present her master gave. But the truth is, she's a far-sighted sniper. You should see how she use hundreds of rifles to decrease the reload time.
***
Unfortunately, like any other anime adapted from a manga, it does not follow the real storyline much. At first, it did, until it reached the middle, where suddenly the plot got f*cked up at the point where everyone is fed with curry bread. Some characters that only appear once in the manga, became re-occuring characters. I'm okay with that because I love them (although they're lamer than Sebastian) - Grell Sutcliffe and Viscount of Druitt... both are rather gay-ish but they amuse me.

[yes I do, Grell!!]
In fact, the anime is gay-er than the manga. There's this dog-man called Pluto (only available in the anime) and he's often seen naked begging for Sebastian's affections. Fanservice much? I nosebled. Yeah... not to forget Grell's pansexuality that is misintepreted as lustful homosexual (not that I mind heh).
Towards the end, it becomes an angel and demon feud. Guess who won lol.
Adding up to the weirdness, it's the Queen Victoria's preserverence of youth and death god's realm (at least we get to see European's Soul Society). Suddenly Lau, the incestuous President of the British Branch of a Chinese trading company got his true purpose revealed when the manga didn't conclude anything about him yet. And the Undertaker's true self is revealed! Then it is revealed how useless Ciel is without Sebastian. And then the mission of the two protagonist seem to be complete, but then I heard the second season is coming. I really hope they don't f*ck it up anymore, cos I do want to see the Noah's Ark Circus.
Somebody please tell me if the Victorian butlers are really capable of being bodyguards too!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention another butler and his bratty lord. But this butler is more like a bodyguard who can do chores like cooking curry. They're good looking fellahs from India. Most likely ancestors of Bollywood actors. I suppose this is one of the three encounters of the name 'Soma' (other than Persona series and Gundam 00) - he's a cheery prince that claims to be Ciel's friend. In my opinion, his servant Agni is a hell lot better than Sebastian. (but why Indian youth always get white hair? Take a look at Lakshata in Code Geass and that Indian mercanary in Bladestorm video game). Although he's human, he can rival with Sebastian's skills. And he doesn't pretend to be nice, and he's at least genuinely helpful to the Phantomhive servants - something Sebastian failed to do (the story is about him, the black butler, of course he deserves all the limelight lol).

[Agni says, "DONTCHA wish you boyfriend was RAW like me?"]

So what do I think overall? The animation is pretty for a manga based anime. I'm happy with the exact adaptation in the first half until the sudden alteration of plotline in the middle of the episode. more supernatural stuff dominated the series, and I think the manga makes more sense. I'm really glad that that Maaya Sakamoto plays Ciel; I'm always amazed by how she can use husky voice and sing like a woman as well.
My favourite song is the second ED, Lacrimosa by Kalafina.
btw don't get me wrong. I love the manga, just not satisfied with the anime. And I may have offended Sebastian fangirls here - oi i told u to go away, didn't I? *points at the top* Sorry but... I fangirl too. It's just that I'm not the kind of person who shuts one eye to one's weakness(es) especially when s/he is so-called perfect (direct translation of a Malay phrase + pun intended). now now... don't get angry. Here' have a motivator~