...what are you watching...

Ouran Host Club live-action movie 2012! was as mah-velously corny as the tv drama. When Haruhi realizes her feelings for Tamaki and has the daydream? Hilarious. The movie is basically a spin on the last anime arc. I haven't really read any substantial part of the manga other than the last few chapters, but I'm pretty sure this story is a stand-alone. The movie takes place during a school festival where there is a contest between the school clubs in which the winner gets the main salon as their club room. The competition between the host club and the American football club heats up; yes, the football club is quite moronic. A young ojou-san is a guest at the school and makes moves on Tamaki...blah, blah. Her brother is played by the ever-talented 2PM's Nickun...(he's kinda terrible at acting). ~7/10 rating~ There was nothing extraordinary about the production beyond what was seen in the tv drama, so in terms of visuals, it was a little of a let-down. Even so, it was still enjoyable.

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..)

Ouran High School Host Club 10! The episode is made up of the school newspaper arc, Honey/Mori's story, a dash of Tamaki's grandmother and a sprinkle of Kyouya's family; also with a tiny second of Dragonball Z. One more episode is left.

Ouran High School Host Club 9! covers Haruhi's part-time stint in Karuizawa. Most of the small jokes from the original story were cut out of the episode while it focused on Hikaru's PMS and introduced Tamaki's grandmother. The Kyouya x Honey fanservice was just weird. Hey, there's going to be a movie, surprise, surprise.

Tiger and Bunny 24! Talk about feeding fuel to the fire; is pixiv and nico exploding yet? Have to admit the episode was predictable; Kaede saving herself, Kotetsu sacrificing himself, the heroes choosing to believe in the duo. It was still fun to watch, and the fanservice made it better. Hope all is well next episode.

Ao no Exorcist 22! So there's a new pope and Yukio is named the new Paladin. Operation Jacob's Ladder is set in motion where the pope orders the exorcists to go on the offensive and kill all demons. As far as original anime ending, this is the overkill type. There's a Ghibli moment where Yukio kills the god of the forest/boar who is mad that they are killing his friends. Rin confronts Yukio when he goes after Rin's cat and gets sentenced to death. Overkill? Yes. Bad? Yess.

Ouran High School Host Club 8! was Nekozawa and Kurumi's story; not as funny or believable as the anime version. The episode also brought some of Tamaki's family background up. Tamaki's father was amusing to watch.

..but still have time for jdrama.


Ouran High School Host Club 6-7! The actors playing the Hitachin twins aren't particularly cute, but they are slowly growing into their characters. There were small differences in the twin story. I liked the Matrix-y moves from Tamaki. The actor is very bendy. Episode 7 covers the host club's visit to Haruhi's house where they meet her father. The actor who plays her father was great.

Tiger & Bunny duet single?...ah, ha, ha, expectedly campy. Spent a good half hour browsing through Tiger & Bunny nico videos. Oh, the camp.

Blood-C 7! The dog runs a shop that grants wishes....and is voiced by Watanuki/Fukujun. Oh the CLAMP fans are rolling their eyes. I have to compare Saya's blank slate to Magical Madoka's indecisiveness; both taking up way too much air time and both being very annoying. BUT that being said, the series could turn itself around at the end. I'm guessing that Saya will remember being a vampire near the end of the tv series and the movie will be more badass. She did try to lick the blood-covered ground...maybe she'll remember that she isn't a moron sooner rather than later.

Usagi Drop 8! It's O-bon time and Rin almost figures out how she is related to Daikichi.

No. 6 8! Old man explains it all. Nezumi, Sion, Inukashi and Rikiga plot to infiltrate the correctional facility. Curious as to what Safu is doing in the lab or what the scientists have done with her. Also curious as to why the old guys all have a crush on Sion's mother; Rikiga, the legless, old man, Yoming (who is a tad creepy now). Hey, Nezumi sings prettily in this episode.

Ouran High School Host Club 5! I think the actor playing Tamaki has collagen injected into his lips. It's the beach episode....where all the crabs are already cooked & bright orange? There are a few changes to the story, but the characters are slowly developing; ok, only Kyouya's character is. The twin episode is next.

Ouran High School Club 4! Renge comes looking for her uki-doki prince. The climax was rather badly acted. Makes me want to watch the anime again.

Usagi Drop 7! Daikichi's cousin and her daughter come to visit after running across some marital bumps. Looks like she returns to the ungrateful bum at the end.

Mawaru Penguindrum 6! Ringo wants to relive her deceased sister's life.

No. 6 7! Kinda funny that the hangers-on kept with the series up to this point still hoping it wasn't that type of relationship. Anyway, Shion and Nezumi work behind each others backs when they discover Safu's abduction. There's a goodbye kiss and an amusing fist match afterwards. Best couple ever!

Blood-C 6! Saya kinda sucks at the whole saving people thing. Is it Nico that is censoring the episodes with streaks of white and blobs of black over the graphic scenes? I should watch a fansubbers version. Didn't expect both twins to be gone so soon..or not. The dog, of course, says some cryptic things via CLAMP style. This is a terribly written/paced show.

at least anime is still entertaining...

Ouran High School Host Club 3! combines a character from the manga with separate incident from the manga; the anime didn't feature the Morse Code girl as a separate episode. Haruhi's first kiss was amusing. The actor playing Kyouya is growing on me, but the twins still lack convincing charm.

Natsume Yuujinchou San 6! That was some flamingly groovy music while Natsume and Natori were out and about. Too bad the animation was poorly done; Natori's face looked less than stellar. Anyway, Matoba brings an actual sense of danger to the show that normally isn't there. Great episode.

Ao no Exorcist 17! plot-holey everywhere. You can kinda tell the anime writers want to wrap the series up with a short, clean story. Amaimon is quickly disposed of with one slash. Rin starts training. Baldy student looks like he got possessed.

Also, Sad Etsy Dogs...lol.

Mawaru Penguindrum 4! Fun to watch Ringo's delusions. The musical element was a nice touch.

Sacred Seven 5! beach episode...terribly dull. You learn that the butler is unappreciated. Not sure why, but none of the characters are likable. I'll see if the series turns around next week before dropping it.

Tiger and Bunny 18! Unlike Sacred Seven, these characters are quite likable. Kotetsu tries to tell Barnaby that he is quitting, but Bunny beats him to it, and considers quitting after his memories of his parents' murder become distorted.


Ouran High School Host Club 2! The acting settles nicely between being really bad and bad enough to be funny. I find it mostly funny..though the twin-cest scenes and Honey-senpai's scenes still weird me out; some characters just don't look convincing as live-action characters. The 2nd episode covers the high school health examine. While the drama follows the anime fairly closely, there are a handful of jokes missing. Makes me wish there was another season of anime. :)