Fall season starts!

I like shounen anime aimed at small children....

Hunter x Hunter 2011 1! the abysmally lengthy & weird ant/insect arc of the manga ended, and a new, more interesting manga arc has started. I guess reviving the franchise by recalling its better days is a smart move. As with the 2nd version of Hagaren, this 2nd version of HxH speeds through some of the initial scenes; shortening some of Gon's intro, and the initial meetings with Kite and Leorio were cut. Gon and Mito no longer live in the 'tree' house which is a tad disappointing, but Madhouse Studios does a nice job with the overall production. The new seiyuu actually sound quite close to the original ones. There was mention that this version will be made for younger children; this being aired Sunday morning while the last version being aired Saturday nights. I'm wondering if more of the violence will be cut out later on. Anyway, the first episode introduces Gon, Leorio & Killua as they travel to the Hunter testing site via boat. Both the opening theme and ending themes are skippable.

I skimmed through Fate/Zero and it looks really good for a sci-fi, anime-style, King Arthur-y story; a bunch of angst-ridden character seek the Holy Grail. The problem is that I didn't watch Fate/Stay Night, so I don't know the juicy relationships of all the characters. Fate/Zero is its prequel. Fate/Stay Night didn't really get good reviews, so I'm not sure whether to get into this franchise. Might hold off until I see how many other series I feel like watching.

Fall season starts!

I like shounen anime aimed at small children....

Hunter x Hunter 2011 1! the abysmally lengthy & weird ant/insect arc of the manga ended, and a new, more interesting manga arc has started. I guess reviving the franchise by recalling its better days is a smart move. As with the 2nd version of Hagaren, this 2nd version of HxH speeds through some of the initial scenes; shortening some of Gon's intro, and the initial meetings with Kite and Leorio were cut. Gon and Mito no longer live in the 'tree' house which is a tad disappointing, but Madhouse Studios does a nice job with the overall production. The new seiyuu actually sound quite close to the original ones. There was mention that this version will be made for younger children; this being aired Sunday morning while the last version being aired Saturday nights. I'm wondering if more of the violence will be cut out later on. Anyway, the first episode introduces Gon, Leorio & Killua as they travel to the Hunter testing site via boat. Both the opening theme and ending themes are skippable.

I skimmed through Fate/Zero and it looks really good for a sci-fi, anime-style, King Arthur-y story; a bunch of angst-ridden character seek the Holy Grail. The problem is that I didn't watch Fate/Stay Night, so I don't know the juicy relationships of all the characters. Fate/Zero is its prequel. Fate/Stay Night didn't really get good reviews, so I'm not sure whether to get into this franchise. Might hold off until I see how many other series I feel like watching.

It's not the end...there's a movie.

Wrapping up the summer season...

 

Ouran High School Host Club 11! the end (until the movie). Tamaki has to quit the club after the club's anniversary party when his grandmother interferes. He also tells Haruhi that she should leave the club. At the party, Kyouya is able to show the benefits of the club to Tamaki's grandmother; totally cracked up when Morinozuka was playing the harp with the girls' mothers fawning over him. And with a push from Haruhi, Tamaki stands up to his grandmother. ~8/10 rating~ The drama contained absurd acting and dialogue, and was actually funny. Yuusuke Yamamoto does an over-the-top job as Tamaki. Haruna Kawaguchi was cute as Haruhi. The supporting characters also did a decent job in their roles though sadly, the live-action BL fanservice was not convincing at all.

 

Ao no Exorcist 25! the end (until the movie). Well, Yukio, Rin and the black cat were cute. Satan was defeated by convenient logic and a couple sword slashes. ~7/10 rating~ The characters and production were great, but the story didn't make any sense when it diverged from the manga. The students had no training, and no growth in skill or strength, but defeated the big evils. Satan, Mephisto and the Vatican's plots were too flawed to be believable. Like Soul Eater, the anime just ran out of story to end satisfactorily. (will we get remakes in a few years?...zzz..)

It's not the end...there's a movie.

Wrapping up the summer season...

 

Ouran High School Host Club 11! the end (until the movie). Tamaki has to quit the club after the club's anniversary party when his grandmother interferes. He also tells Haruhi that she should leave the club. At the party, Kyouya is able to show the benefits of the club to Tamaki's grandmother; totally cracked up when Morinozuka was playing the harp with the girls' mothers fawning over him. And with a push from Haruhi, Tamaki stands up to his grandmother. ~8/10 rating~ The drama contained absurd acting and dialogue, and was actually funny. Yuusuke Yamamoto does an over-the-top job as Tamaki. Haruna Kawaguchi was cute as Haruhi. The supporting characters also did a decent job in their roles though sadly, the live-action BL fanservice was not convincing at all.

 

Ao no Exorcist 25! the end (until the movie). Well, Yukio, Rin and the black cat were cute. Satan was defeated by convenient logic and a couple sword slashes. ~7/10 rating~ The characters and production were great, but the story didn't make any sense when it diverged from the manga. The students had no training, and no growth in skill or strength, but defeated the big evils. Satan, Mephisto and the Vatican's plots were too flawed to be believable. Like Soul Eater, the anime just ran out of story to end satisfactorily. (will we get remakes in a few years?...zzz..)

Strike one

Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle 1! Daimon Kaito, a genius puzzle solver, is invited to play a live-action puzzle game that puts lives at risk.

- Not quite liking the character designs or the character personalities
- So-so production

Quick impression~ Kaito and the obligatory, bumbling female character, Nonoha, enter the game. In the past Kaito made some sort of mysterious promise to solve puzzles. Nonoha is your typical tsundere female who isn't smart, but has one useful characteristic, a good memory. Zzz...

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi OVA 2! there's the 2nd season starting this week, too. The OVA is about Hatori and Chiaki visiting Chiaki's mother. A day in the life of a yaoi couple was kinda sweet, but zzz...

Strike one

Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle 1! Daimon Kaito, a genius puzzle solver, is invited to play a live-action puzzle game that puts lives at risk.

- Not quite liking the character designs or the character personalities
- So-so production

Quick impression~ Kaito and the obligatory, bumbling female character, Nonoha, enter the game. In the past Kaito made some sort of mysterious promise to solve puzzles. Nonoha is your typical tsundere female who isn't smart, but has one useful characteristic, a good memory. Zzz...

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi OVA 2! there's the 2nd season starting this week, too. The OVA is about Hatori and Chiaki visiting Chiaki's mother. A day in the life of a yaoi couple was kinda sweet, but zzz...