...what are you watching...

Tsubasa Shunraiki 1! I don't quite remember the loss of his arm being so humorous. There were a few nice visuals in this, but only visuals that don't involve putting eyes and chins in the correct places. Man, the characters were so badly drawn. Basically, this covers Syaoran's confrontation with Seishirou, and Fay being annoyed at his boyfriend's sacrifice. Um, right, there were quickie fanservicey references to Celes, so if you haven't read the manga, again, the OAD would make very little sense; for reference, an interesting piece of chapter 165 and up to 174 is what this episode covers (most of Volume 22). It probably helps if you read xxxHolic, too.

Sapuri 2! This is a pretty enjoyable series. Like all jdrama, they really emphasize how one character represents one type of working ideal while another represents a conflicting type. Fujii is the honest, by-the-book employee while 'Ogi-sama' is the manipulative..but covertly sensitive type...(but he kinda looks like he's faking it) employee. Yuya is the newbie who tries to get recognized...and will no doubt encounter evil temptations. This also has a age-gap theme as Kimi wa Petto did and it would be very weird if Fujii and Yuya end up together. I'm guessing the series will be one of those 'how our meeting influences our lives' type shows.



Ouran Koukou Host Club 15! takes place during a summer break. Tamaki and gang hunts Haruhi down as she is doing part-time work at a pensione run by a transvestite friend of her father's. The host club vie to get the last room available. The twins are the focus in this two-part story. I enjoy the twins' interaction with Tamaki, Haruhi, between themselves and the development of their personalities. They seems too be the most interesting characters so far. This part ends with the host club meeting a friend from Haruhi's past.



Tsubasa Chronicle S2 11! was a cute chibi episode. Bee Train didn't take advantage of all the comedic potential as the Prince of Tennis chibi fillers did, but it was a cute episode nonetheless. The next fillers look as lame as can be.

other mentionables--

NHK no Youkoso! opening song, Puzzle, by Round Table feat. Nino is another one of their fun, listenable songs. The anime looks nicely made but storywise, not as interesting.


Fruits Basket is at the next to the last chapter. Chapter 130 *spoilers* has Kyou finally free of the curse which sets off a chain reaction to the rest being free. I think each jyuunishi had to reject 'god' to free themselves...or in a way accept 'god' as human...this was assuming Akito was a god-like representation. That interpretation kinda got lost when he became a girl. Aaand the last page of the chapter links god to a faceless looong haired bishie. I'd hate to think that they were freed because they found 'love,' but that is to what the translations seem to refer. Then again, rejecting Akito/pseudo-god's kind of love and finding it elsewhere is an interesting concept.

caught up! (beware of a long post and spoilers)

Watched~

Chevalier D'Eon 1! ++ was apparently an early showing of this show. Excellent production, some unique action shots, a variety of nice cgi settings in Europe, nice and fitting character design and interesting premise makes this show worth trying out. Very nice visual details stand out in this episode. I started thinking this would be a strict historical anime like Emma was, but as the episode went along, I was a little disappointed that things pointed to the fantasy-horror genre in a historical setting. It looks as if they'll follow history, but it seems the 'spirit' of D'Eon's sister accounts for his feminine side. There are also vampires...which I don't understand the need for when they've got an interesting history to derive action from. I'll do a follow-up review when subs are out and the series officially starts (in August).

xxxHOLiC 13! The fallen angel spirit is to blame when quiet girls turn into insane ones. There was a little bit of 'plot' reveals as Maru & Moro are explained and the pipefox's true form is revealed....It's almost like Yue/Keroberos without souls and true voices. Watanuki is still a great character...but he'd be annoying if he were a girl. I also still wish for a higher quality video source...better to watch pipefox chomp on the wings. *chomp*

Mushishi 22! These extra episodes seem to put Ginko in a little more danger. Ginko's narration as he was drowning was sorta amusing. And the what-if you could be endlessly reborn scenario was interesting.


The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi 14! +++ the end was as most ppl thought, conventional. It was a slight disappointment, but hardly a surprise since the previous episodes/later sequences alluded to Haruhi 'liking' Kyon. I still enjoyed the series and would recommend it to anyone who wanted a funny, unique, excellently produced moe-ish anime. It was interesting that each character was an anime cliche, but the director made the story one of the best of its kind. I attribute its success to Kyon. ♥

Coyote Ragtime Show 1! is another space cowboy anime. Well animated but pretty dull so far. If you've already seen Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star, this is nothing unique.

Listening to~
Miyavi's new single, Kimi ni Negai wo. ++ Another progression in his music and I like it. PV can be found here. Playing in pjs = fun. Bright blue contacts = huh?

Tommy Heavenly6's Pray. Fun PV, cute song. Not sure if I'm a fan, but she's fun to watch and her music is addictive.

Mr. Children's Houkiboshi. Sakurai always conveys emotion...usually some sort of trying-to-convince-you of love/sadness/happiness. Another uplifting song. here's a tv performance.

Reading (ha)~

Cloth Road volume 3! picked it up at Kinokuniya on my trip. Those Clamp anime guides looked a bit lame so skipped outta that. The mangaka, Okama, of Cloth Road has a nice website which had tons of artwork...but has cut some out. (again, that's what happens when you get bigger). The manga is basically about seamstresses and clothing made to fight.

Naruto...that was a very sappy moment when Naruto thought about how he missed Kakashi. The rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

Tsubasa RC...darn Syaoran, I wanted to chew on Fay's face first.

started off feeling extraordinarily crappy, but a few green pills and anime makes it all better.



Jyu-Oh-Sei 10! Can't argue with the crowd. Thor wearing Macguyver clothes and a ponytail is 'hawt'. Third kinda lost points for not being as hot as a blond as he was as a brunette. All is explained in this episode (which means the conclusion is next...*weep weep*).



The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi 12! was a surprisingly mellow episode. The timeline goes back to the school festival where the episode one movie is being shown. Kyon and his friends wander around. Everyone eventually ends up the the auditorium where various musical acts are on stage. The group, EZON, takes the stage with Haruhi and Nagato as temporary members. Haruhi's niceness was weird until Kyon expains it. The songs were kinda surprising, too. ++ good episode.



Mushishi 26! the end. Watched this raw so this'll be a brief summary. It's a sweet piece which takes place in the past (young-Ginko!) and then moves to the present. Knowledge is power...ya.

is ok, but is the rhubarb supposed to be sour? maybe tangy is the official term.

xxxHOLiC 10! was successful in being slightly creepy. This show continues to be kinda boring due to not-quite-there directing and not-quite-there visuals. I don't think it'd attract a large crowd outside the CLAMP fandom.



Tsubasa Chronicle S2 6-7! Episode 6 was WTF. Fay and Chii go on a date. Chii's seiyuu tried too hard. I'm sure someone somewhere liked that episode. Episode 7 was better. If the production team could make every episode this nice, I'm sure my cringing would cease. Karen looked especially pretty. The choice in color palette for everything else was like a kid deciding he needs to use every Crayola color available.



The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi 10! A very good episode which features a classmate who tries to kill Kyon in order to get a reaction out of Haruhi. Nice action follows. ++