...what are you watching...

Tried to watch the first episode of Accel World...zzz...dropped.


Zetman 1! Is that Edward Elric I hear?

+ Overall good production
- Speedy intro
+ A true comic-book hero-type anime

Quick impression~ There are artificial beings called Players created by humans for fighting game entertainment. A few of the Players became sentient and turned on the humans. Jin is a young boy living in the slums. Kouga Amagi and his sister are his rich friends that fight for justice. Unfortunately the anime speeeeds through this part. Jin's 'grandfather' is killed by a roge Player, and Jin is taken in by a nice hostess/prostitute. They too, are attacked by a Player. A whole lot of setup takes place in this one episode. It took 12 volumes of manga to get the main characters in place to actually fight Players, so I wonder how much editing the anime will do. The manga was pretty graphic and this first episode does make it more palatable. At least it doesn't have blobs of censoring. Anyway, if you are looking for some action this spring, this would be the anime to watch.


Shiro Kuma Cafe 1~ a dose of cute.

+ Polar bear (Takahiro Sakurai), panda (Fukujun) and penguin (Hiroshi Kamiya) hang out
+ Nice animation production
- Really bad japanese word play
- Not as funny as it tries to be

Quick impression~ Panda's mother pushes her son to get a job. He finds a cafe run by Polar bear. Penguin hangs out at the cafe. Panda eventually gets a parttime job at the zoo as a panda. The wordplay is not that funny despite the fan-fav seiyuu, but the animals are nicely animated. Maybe the kids will like it.


Kimi to Boku 2 1! just a continuation of the prior season. The boys have a sleepover at Kaname's. The dose of cute I was looking for.



Fate/Zero 2 1! The first season's opening was pretty forgettable. This season's opening was typical Kalafina, but the visuals!? Way to spoil the whole show. But they were delicious visuals. And the ending visuals were soo sad; Kiritsugu and Irisviel. The episode picks up right where the last left with Saber and Rider fighting Caster the big squid. Berserker vs. Archer's aerial battle was so fun to watch, too; his vessel was very flamboyantly made. And on top of that there was Tokiomi vs Kariya... Drooling all over this show is very bad...in a gooood way.

Btw, did a domestic company pick up this show for distribution or is the $500 (370 on sale) from Aniplex the only option? ...and you wonder why pirates run rampant.

The Thermae Romae live-action movie looks great. Abe Hiroshi! Little old men!

Some feel-good movies recently about the net:

Kimi to Boku jmovie! a live-action movie (not related to the manga of the same name). This short film is about a budding, young mangaka who finds and raises a little kitten. The kitten is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto. The kitten observes the young man through the years and keeps him company. ~6/10 rating~ for cute cat. Story, of course, is bittersweet..possibly not exciting enough for most audiences.


Usagi Drop jmovie! the live-action version of the manga of the same name is expectedly sweet. It has good pacing and covers much of the highlights the anime version covered. The story is well-edited in that respect. Kenichi Matsuyama does a great job as Daikichi; though not quite as tired/grumpy as the manga/anime version. And the young actress who plays Rin is perfect; definitely looks like a little bunny-like child. ~8/10 rating~ for some welcomed fluff. The dance sequences are the only wtf additions...not terrible, but just weird.


Hotarubi no Mori e jmovie! from the mangaka of Natsume Yuujinchou, is an animated movie based on the manga of the same name. Hotaru, a small child, gets lost in the forest. She is found by a youkai named Gin who helps her find her way. They become friends with a catch; that being that Gin will disappear if Hotaru touches him. She visits him each summer through the years. ~8/10 rating~ The movie doesn't have any extraordinary production, but it is very cute and bittersweet.

And last week in animeland:
Chihayafuru 21! The gang pass their school exams and start the qualifying karuta competitions.

Nisemonogatari 9! Araragi and Karen's sibling perversions are at work again. Two new characters arrive. And Araragi and Hachikuji do their thang.

Hunter x Hunter 2012 21! After the exams. Gon et al get stuck in traffic on the way to the airport. There's more than that, but the traffic jam was the only new scene.

Hunter x Hunter 2011 13! recap already? Zzzz...crossing my fingers for new theme songs next week...something cute.

Kimi to Boku 13! the end of season 1. The boys visit their kindergarten as a part of a career training field trip. Revisiting the beginning of the anime; it's a circle! The kids drag them into their playtime. This was a rose-colored slice-of-life series which was light-hearted enough to make me smile each week. It wasn't comedic genius or as sweet as Usagi Drop. The random cat scenes and background music made it a little unique in a quiet way. ~7/10 rating~ for a well-told manga-to-anime series; downside is that it hasn't convinced me to read the manga.



Fate/Zero 13! the end of this season. And what a cruel send-off; right at the start of a battle. This was my favorite series this fall. Thoughtful dialogue, really good visuals at times especially during the battles, interesting character development, and great suspense building. While I expected to like Mawaru Penguindrum, I almost dropped Fate/Zero, fortunately did not, and ended up liking it more than Penguindrum. The only thing that mars this series is the fact that it prompted me to watch Fate/Stay which was horribly disappointing. Advice: skim Fate/Stay's wiki page, avoid anime. ~9/10 rating~ <3 Rider; he was obviously the lead in this anime.

Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam 11! So the little girl in the opening is Alvis (Are they saving Klaus's cameo for the end?). I though the title 'Last Exile' meant that there was only one Exile. Anyway, Alvis is on Turan's side. Now both sides have an Exile user. A supposedly brainwashed Liliana with the Federation visits Millia to declare an end to the war, but ends up attacking the Silvius. The animation and progression of the episode were pretty horrible. Did the regular crew take a holiday vacation?

Last Exile: Ginkyoku no Fam 10! Recap episode...zzz...


Kimi to Boku 12! The gang visits Shun's younger brother at his middle school. It's the infamous 'pat the crotch' scene.

Kimi to Boku 11! Yuki and the cafeteria lady's daughter are collecting combini stickers to get a free plate. Very cute episode. Definitely did not have any fond feelings for cafeteria food like these boys.

Chihayafuru 11! Chihaya and the gang play their final match to decide who goes to nationals. Arata apparently had computer trouble...not angst preventing him from getting Chihaya's messages.

Chihayafuru 10! Chihaya's club competes in their first group tournament. The traditional roots of the game and the likable characters are what make the story interesting. I can't really see that watching hours of the game alone would be very exciting. So youtubes helps with that: Hey, real life karuta complete with traditional garb. Aren't the sleeves in the way? And a large auditorium filled with players. And children who seem to be playing with different rules (holding their hands on their heads?).

Kimi no Boku 10! School festival time. Chizuru likes the girl who likes Shun. Love triangle. Zzz...

Kimi to Boku 9! So the random cat scenes are weird. Isn't it a little too suggestive to imply that all these boys are nekos? School festival prep episode. Yuki and Chizuru use the copy machine for the first time. Kaname becomes busy. Mellow episode.

Skimmed through the first episode of the kdrama, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. Where are the flower boys and ramen? Yawn. Then skimmed the kdrama, Vampire Prosecutor...um. Zzzz...

DW crossposting failed?

Kimi to Boku 8! is about Yuki's involvement or lack there of, in the anime/manga club.

Chihayafuru 8! Sadly, the last club member is not a bishonen, but it was still a fun episode.

Kimi to Boku 7! Yuta has a short-lived relationship.

Last Exile: Ginkyoku no Fam 5! Fam easily gets her first ship (out of the 15 she promised). Millia establishes her country on the Sylvius. Still a decent show, though apparently if you are female and under 18, you can get away with anything.

Hunter x Hunter 2011 7! Gon and Killua face Netero's challenge on the airship.

Fate/Zero 7! Saber along with Archer fights Caster while Kirisugu fights Kayneth (Archer's master). This show showcases some of the best characters, and anime battles since Hagaren. The fights aren't particularly original, but are very well made and dramatic. Good to see that Kiritsugu has more than just guns. The opening scene was also so funny; Waver won't buy Rider pants.

Kimi to Boku 6! Kaname's mother is funny. In this episode Kaname remembers when he first got his glasses.

Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam 4! In an effort to cheer Princess Millia up, Fam tries to take the elusive Sylvius airship. It's captained by Tatiana from the first series. She captures them and offers them their freedom for 15 other ships. There were some interesting technical details (regarding the ships and flying) in this episode. I have a feeling we'll see a lot more of the first season's cast throughout this series.

And still browsing new dramas...
Sengyou Shufu Tantei ~Watashi wa Shadow 1! is about a simple-minded housewife who lives only for her husband's needs. One day she gets into a bad situation and finds out that a private investigator has been following her. To get back some incriminating photos, she does parttime work for the PI. Her husband's female boss seems to want him (was also the one who hired the PI). The housewife's father and her husband also seem to have some sort of mysterious business transaction going on. Kyoko Fukuda has lost a bunch of babyfat since the last drama I'd seen her in, but she still carries the naive act well. Naohito Fujiki surprise, surprise, plays the ideal businessman...again (wish he'd switch up his hair or something). Not a terrible show, but at least it didn't put me to sleep like the Yokai Ningen Bemu show did.