cherryblossom

My Story...

Wow, has it been so long since I've written?  I do want to continue with my reviews and rantings...  I'm not gone yet.  I will come back once I get some extra time.  Lol.  I'm surprised that some people read my story on here.  I was asked to make several corrections from my professor and other classmates who helped critique the story that I previously posted on here.  It's basically like a yuri anime only with real people and less Japanese influence.  In the meantime, if anyone would like to read the critiqued version, I'm going to post it here.  There are several changes in the plot and even the way that it's written.  Hopefully, the change is for the better.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!  Also, I apologize for the large spacing.  I had to make the story "double spaced", so when I copied and pasted it in here, it created gaps.



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  • Current Mood
    chipper chipper
marimite

Non-Review Related / A Story Written by Me


Unfortunitely, I still haven't had much time for anime reviewing. :-(  I have, however, written a story for one of my classes that I've decided to post.  It's kind of like yuri anime... but with real people and less Japanese influence.  Lol.  Nonetheless, for anyone who follows my blog and wants to read it... here it is.  The paragraph indentations disappeared during the copy and paste process.  I also still have to go over it again to correct any grammatical errors, but it's basically finished.

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  • Current Mood
    curious curious
  • Tags
yurifangirl

Another Non-Review / Just a Yuri Anime/Manga Update

Direct Links:


This entry is full of yuri-good-ness.  I'm in a payapaya mood.

Alas, still no time for reviews. :-(  However, I have been looking at/through various anime and manga for later viewing.  I think I have serious ADD when watching anime.  I tend to skip around and watch multiple shows at once before finishing others.  I'd still like to watch the second and third season of "Aria" at some point, but I'm always in more of a mood for a fast-paced comedy with a splash of yuri.  Speaking of "Aria", if I did live on the planet Aqua, I'd definitely have a poster of Alicia on my wall.  I don't really know what that has to do with anything, but yeah... Haha.  Also, I don't know if it's just me, but I continue getting confused by their names.  Why must they all themeatically start with "A"?!  Akari, Alicia, Akino, Anna, Aika, Akira, Ayumi, Alice, ... Just to name a few.  I'm not skilled enough in Japanese to hear the difference in some of those names, but I'll continue watching.  "Aria" is very lovely after all.  It's not really a yuri, but it has shoujo-ai aspects.  Recently, I rewatched all of "Ichigo Mashimaro" (Strawberry Marshmallow), and I have to say that it was twice as funny this go around.  Since I skip around so much, it's quite a compliment for me to actually watch an entire show twice.  Love Nobue.  Her slight Lolicon ways are amusing.  Female Lolicons amuse me way more than they probably should... Haruka from "Kanamemo" = Hilarious too.  I feel like I've seen more, but I can't recall at the moment.

I really should stay on top of updating my Ultimate Anime List.  I think I have several shows that aren't even on there yet, that I've already watched all of the way through.  I think I'm a few episodes away from finishing the 26 episodes of "Gokujou Seitokai" (Best Student Council).  It's just too hilarious for words.  I thought the tsundere puppet would get on my nerves, but he's grown on me.  There's not really much yuri in it, but if I put on my yuri goggles, there's some definite chemestry between the two vice presidents, Nanaho and Kuon.  I know I'm not the only one who sees it either.  Although, I'd have to say that my favorite character is the kawaii little Rein who likes to say things in "threes".  Anyway, it's definitely a welcome comedic anime.  I wish I could find more like it and "Minami-ke", "Azumanga", etc.  I'm actually considering giving "Lucky Star" one more shot since I've only seen it once (and really didn't care for it).  It's such a huge hit with a large slice-of-life fanbase, maybe there's something in it that I'm missing.  (As a side-note, I don't only watch shows that have yuri or shoujo-ai in them.  I love watching any anime that's funny and hits my particular sense of humor.) 

Lets see... I watched all of "Hyakko", and YES it was a success at being humorous as well.  I wish it had more character development, but I'd say it's currently even with "Gokujou Seitokai".  "The Ring" references were so wonderfully out of place.  The character Nene Ando is what makes this show the most amusing to me.  Flaming pink hair, crazy clothing choices, and a slight horndog.  She openly proclaims that she is a bisexual, so it somehow gives her the right to flip up another girl's skirt or leap on them.  Haha... I really do like the character pervs.  I like female pervy characters because they amuse me.  Perhaps I'm biased.  Male characters who act that way towards female characters get on my nerves though... However if a male character acts comedically pervy towards another male character, then that amuses me too.  I'm weird.  I guess it really depends on how they are portrayed too. 

A couple of other anime torrents that I've saved on my lappy, that I haven't had time to view yet are "Hitohira" and "Tantei Opera Milky Holmes".  I've heard really good things about "Hitohira", so I'm looking forward to watching that.  As for "Tantei", I watched the first couple of episodes, and I'm completely aloss at what to think of it so far.  It's... just so Moe.  And I didn't think it could get any more Moe than "K-On" or "Ichigo Mashimaro"... and yet it is.  I really don't know if it's suppose to be a Magical Anime or a fan-servicey Magical Anime and Slice-of-Life Parody.  I hope it's the latter because it doesn't seem like it has much of a plot.  I do feel like there's this "Sailor Moon" Tuxedo Mask parody moment at the beginning of each episode, but I'm not sure if that was on purpose.  I also have "Kannazuki no Miko" saved on there.  I've been skeptical to watch all of it because of some of the negative things I've read about it.  Plus I have a feeling it's going to make me weep.  Just a feeling, but I'm going to suck it up and watch it all of the way through anyway.  That's really all of the anime that I've been viewing as of lately.  Well aside from downloading the Reo x Mai Diaries and  "Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo Anata to Koibito Tsunagi" from Shin-gx's Subs.  *ahem*  But I probably shouldn't even discuss that since I'm always saying how much I hate fanservice and ecchi.  Although, I have to say that despite the content of this yuri OVA being a tad (more than a tad...) explicit, the characters are really well done and likeable.  Moving along quickly...  I've researched a couple of different shows, but I haven't decided if I'm going to pursue watching them.  I looked into "Ga Rei Zero", but I think it's going to be a little more dramatic than I like.  Although, the sisterly chemistry between Yomi and Kagura looks really compelling.  I suppose if I survive "Kannazuki", I might give it a shot.  Another anime that seems interesting is "Taisho Yakyu Musume" (Baseball Girls).  That show sounds really promising and possibly right up my alley if it's anything like "A League of Their Own" with Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.  We shall see.   

So I finally got around to reading some manga, which I haven't done in quite some time.  I got to have something to do between classes! ;-)  I have so much manga saved in zip files on my computer, that I've completely forgotten was there.  I go on these downloading sprees at Lililicious and there's no stopping me.  Of course, Lililicious will take down manga that's been licensed, but I really appreciate this site for offering zip file downloads.  It's easier to navigate and offers yuri manga as far as the eye can see.  Anyway, back to what I was saying, I finished reading Strawberry Shake Sweet, and it was adorable.  Actually I might have skipped a few chapters towards the end in anticipation (Lol.. ADD strikes again), but I intend to go back and fully read all 17 at some point.  In my defense, it was late, and my eyes were getting tired... but I wanted to see the ending.  Julie-chan is so... gay for Ran-chan. Her instant and insane attraction was addictive to read.  It was humorous and just barely crossed into yuri from shoujo-ai.  Although, it would have been better if they had more smoochies, in my opinion, but it was light-hearted and cute.  Also, saved on my lappy is First Love Sisters Volumes 2 and 3.  However, Lililicious took down the first volume because it got licensed.  I don't want to start reading the second volume before I get to the first.  I looked on Amazon and a new copy of the manga is $50 while a used is around $30... wth?  I'm sure I could find a more reasonable price for it in a book store somewhere... someday.  For now, reading First Love Sisters is on hold. 

I really would like get the Candy Boy manga.  I'm slightly confused how many chapters it includes... and how much manga is actually involved with the series.  I have four chapters of Candy Boy: Young Girls Fall in Love, which isn't about the two main sisters.  It's still cute.  If I recall, it mainly follows around Sakuya.   And then I have a random file called "Candy Boy Manga Ch 10" saved.  Chapter ten?!  I really need to stop staying up at God awful hours and downloading things that I can't remember in the morning.  I have no idea where the previous 9 chapters would be.  Maybe I'll try to research it more on Google and figure out how many pages and mangas are involved with this series.  There aren't any signs that it's been licensed yet, unfortunitely, so buying it is not an option.  Next on the yuri manga list is Girl Friends by Morinaga Milk.  Someone suggested it to me in the past.  All I knew was that it was called Girl Friends by someone named Milk.  Typing in "Girlfriends Milk" in Google will get you a slew of curious websites, I'll tell you what.  However, I manged to find all five volumes on MakiMaki Scanlations.  I've also heard really good things about that manga, so I'm looking forward to reading that when I get some time. 

Now that I'm looking over my Manga zip files, it's also occurred to me that I have five volumes of Marimite from Lililicious that I haven't read either.  Shame on me!  And I call myself a yuri fan.  Of course, I really don't consider "Marimite" yuri so much as shoujo-ai, but I'm splitting hairs.  In any case, those files had to have been downloaded years ago.  Hopefully, I'll get around to them and add them to my "Maria Sama Ga Miteru" anime review (when I get to reviewing that anime).  I have recently re-read the first Strawberry Panic! manga volume though.  I actually purchased that one and the second volume, which is a shock since I'm such a download junkie.  I have to say... I like the anime much better.  However, I'm thankful that these volumes were written.  Without them, there would be no Shizuma...  There's something about physically holding a manga that makes it more enjoyable to read as well.  If I could, I'd buy so much manga and anime that I'd end up in the poor house. Lol.  However, in my case, it seems the majority of manga that I like hasn't been licensed in America yet though.  Maybe there's just not a big enough yuri fanbase. :-(  It's definitely not as big as the yaoi one.  I know that for several reasons.  Otaku USA magazine also agrees.  There's a defined yaoi manga section in the magazine and when people write in asking for a yuri section, the editor of the magazine says that there's just not enough yuri manga being produced to have a monthly designated section.  How sad is that?  What's an obsessive yurifan to do?  Ah well. 

Although this manga doesn't really have to do with what I'm talking about... I'd like to mention Voiceful by Nawoko, since I'm yuri chatting it up tonight.  It's a manga that I've purchased in the past and just to throw my two cents in.  It's fairly cute, if not slightly uneventful, as well.  I really liked the way that the characters were drawn.  It's simple yet stylish.  I really don't remember there being much yuri in it.  I think there was some slight shoujo-ai, but the manga is definitely listed under the yuri catagory for... probably the same reason "Marimite" is (a reason that I'm unfamiliar with).  Lol.  Honestly, I'm not even sure that Voiceful was "out" enough to be considered shoujo-ai.  I had to put on my extreme yuri goggles, and I see yuri in non-yuri things.  It's a curse... or a gift of mine, depending on how you want to look at it. ;-)  Also, if I remember correctly at the end of the manga volume, it has a two different 9-10ish page previews of Kashimashi and (would you know it...)  of First Love Sisters.  What a tease.  I'll find you Volume 1: First Love Sisters!  One day!  As for Kashimashi, I'm just not a big fan of gender bender based anime/manga.  This is especially the case if yuri is involved.  I don't even want to get started on the rant, "If it's really a boy involved with a girl, then how is it still yuri?!" 

I might be here all night if I do.  I'm actually amazed at how many gender-bender animes that I've ran across too... "Kashimashi", "Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru", "Kampfer".  Those are just off the top of my head.  Is it really that popular?  I guess I shouldn't complain since I haven't actually seen those shows.  I've just read reviews and the occasional anime synapsis of them.  I have to say... I didn't mind "Princess Princess", which is technically a gender-bender anime.  However, the show doesn't focus on the male characters being involved with female romances while cross dressing either.  They actually had a job-related purpose to dress as girls, and it was hilarious.  I just don't think I'd be amused by female characters randomly falling in love with/getting involved with male characters who are pretending to be female.  One of the reasons why I haven't watched "Simoun" is because I read that all of the characters begin their lives as females and then later choose to be male if they wish.  I think it just takes away from the yuri aspect of a show, but I'm also just weird and picky about certain things.  I feel like the gender bending anime is saying, "Yuri is only okay if one of the characters is actually a male who turned into a female or is pretending to be female, etc."  On the flip side, I definitely wouldn't want to watch a yaoi where a boy used to be a girl that got magically turned into a hot guy either.  I was one of those people who was happier after all of the characters in "Ouran High School Host Club" discovered the main character's actual gender.  Now I'm getting way off topic though.  Lol.

It's hard to find a good pure yuri these days. :-(  Well, maybe not hard, but there doesn't seem to be many.  There are much more shoujo-ai's.  In fact, there are also shoujo-ai's that claim to be yuri which is misleading if you're expecting actual relationships and not just blushes and giggles.  There were a couple of shows that I watched a few months ago that I expected to contain more yuri due to the hype about them, "Aoi Hana" and "Sasameki Koto". That isn't to say that they weren't enjoyable though.  There was enough of the romance aspect in  these shows to be considered yuri. *cough* Unlike Marimite *cough* Haha, I attack "Marimite" way too much.  Honestly, I believe "Marimite" is very important to the yuri community.  Without it, I doubt we would have gotten shows like "Aoi Hana" and "Sasameki Koto".  I keep getting "Aoi Hana" (Sweet Blue Flowers) and "Sasameki Koto" mixed up with each other when trying to recall them for some reason.  Maybe it's because the main characters of the show look freakishly similiar.  Just look: Sumika Murasama from "Sasameki Koto" and Fumi Manjōme from "Aoi Hana".  I have a theory that they're actually the same person. ;-)  Anyway, there is a HUGE hype about "Aoi Hana" in the yuri community, but I personally liked "Sasameki Koto" better.  The pacing in "Aoi Hana" was a bit too slow for me.  In any case, I love that the romance and emotional aspects in these shows are being enhanced while slightly lowering the fanservice.  To me, it means that yuris are being more accepted and recognized by more people other than by an all-ecchi fanbase.  Hopefully, this means that more shows will be produced that hold a balance between the barely shoujo-ai "Marimite" and the fanservicey overly yuri "Strawberry Panic".     

Anyway, that's really all I had to say for the time being.  Just a quick extensive update. Wow... that was WAY more than I was going to say, but I tend to ramble.  Anyway, I'm off!

***
Shizuma: "Who says I can't?" 

***


tomo

I'm Turning Japanese... I'm Turning Japanese.

Chopsticks, Torrent Anime, and Bootlegged Copies

So…. Irrelevant post about nothing really. I tried using chopsticks for the first time today for an entire meal. Conclusion: Chopsticks are hard for people not used to them. I suppose there are some people who can just pick up a pair and use them perfectly on the first try, but I doubt that’s the norm. I’m so dorky… I had to watch a youtube video that explained how to hold them and pick up food. Haha. But by gosh, I was determined, and I only accidentally flung my food across the table once. I consider myself success. I also found that using chopsticks for the first time felt similar to learning to use a pencil for the first time. It’s as if you have to train the muscles in your hand to cooperate, and the key seems to be practice, practice, practice, which is true for just about anything. I’d like to be comfortable using them in private before trying them in public. Who knows what might happen if I do? Images of that sushi scene from “Failure to Launch” comes to mind.

I’m not sure if it’s even news worthy, but I decided to dabble in the art of using torrents or bit torrents to download high quality anime. I’ve grown annoyed with Megavideo’s time limit while watching anime. I’ve tried several suggestions from others about how to remove the time limit, but it simply won’t work or the steps are too long for me to even want to try. Some websites like Veoh don’t have time limits and, unlike youtube, don’t make users break the videos up into millions of parts to fit within a particular time. Unfortunately, not all anime can be found there or on Divx, etc.  Also, the quality of the subtitles are sometimes hard to read on certain sites.  Solution?  Download torrents. 

I’m not going to download EVERY anime I want to watch, but I’ve got some like “Strawberry Marshmallow” (Ichigo Mashimaro), “Candy Boy”, and currently downloading “Kannazuki no Miko”. The speed of downloading the last one is atrociously slow. I think I started it along with the others the same time yesterday around 2 or 3 p.m. Then I left my lappy on ALL night and this morning at 9 a.m., the other two had successfully downloaded but “Kannazuki no Miko” was only at 50 percent. Geeze…

It’s kind of scary for me to start downloading things from the internet all willy nilly too. Viruses lurk… everywhere. I thoroughly checked out the sites before using them. If anyone wants a couple of reliable torrent downloading sites: I’ve used: Shin-gx’s (http://shingx.wordpress.com/) and Lime’s (http://www.lime-anime.net/torrent.php), and I haven’t experienced any issues at all. Plus these sites have people who commented on the torrents, so you know that others have used them too. I’m sure they’re other reliable ones out there with a lot more anime, but I just started my torrent fun.

If you don’t know anything about torrents (like I did… and I’m still newbie-like) and would like some helpful advice, all you have to do is download first a torrent. I used Utorrent (http://www.utorrent.com/). Install that. Then go to one of those sites listed above and pick out an anime that you want to download. A good thing about those sites is that they group the shows in whole seasons, so you can download the whole season and possibly any extra ONAs at once. Save the file on your computer. Open it in Utorrent by either clicking that anime file or opening Utorrent on your desktop and selecting it. And then be prepared to wait… and wait.

The speed in which it takes to download depends on how many people are currently using that program. Which is kind of weird, in my opinion. Important terms to know about torrents, seeds and peers. I’m currently downloading “Kannazuki no Miko” and it has Seeds: 5 (7), Peers 3 (12), and a Speed of about 15 kB/s. Seeds are people who have the file available to share. Peers are people trying to get that file. The total number of people in each section are in parenthesis, but you won’t connect to everyone at the same time. The number next to the number in parenthesis are the people you’re actually connecting to. Basically, a torrent with higher seeds to peers will be faster in downloading. Which is one of the reasons why “Kannazuki” has such an immensely slow downloading speed at the moment. There are different reasons why a torrent can be slow, and they’re different ways you can attempt to help move it along, but I’m not getting it all that.

I’m probably going to use torrents the most for anime that hasn’t/won’t come out on dvd or hard to obtain copies of... or ones I simply can't afford to officially buy right now.  “Candy Boy” hasn’t been officially released onto dvd, and it doesn't look like it will.  I have no idea what’s up with “Strawberry Marshmallow”. I looked for the dvd online, and it’s currently unreasonably expensive… Did it get discontinued or something? I hadn’t seen prices so high since I started looking for the first couple of seasons of “Sailor Moon” on Amazon or Ebay and got smacked in the face by $100 prices for official non-bootlegged copies. Who can afford that?! I completely understand why “bootleg” anime is so frowned upon by the anime community. It hurts the profits of the organization and decreases the chances of getting more seasons from a particular show, if everyone is off buying cheaper copies. However, I do understand why people buy anime that isn’t going to be released onto dvd, if they don’t have the opportunity to download it to their computer or make dvd copies themselves of the show.

I was reading in different anime forums, and some of the anti-bootleg anime lovers are two steps away from stoning people who buy bootlegged copies.

What about the shows which will never be released onto dvd? Someone stated that supporting bootleggers were damaging to the anime company and no respectful anime fan would buy them. Then they ALSO went on to say, “Don’t buy from bootleggers, just download the shows onto your computer and watch them instead.” Uh… is that somehow less harmful to the anime company than getting a copy elsewhere? You aren't supporting the organization either way… I’m not going to lie. I bought a bootlegged copy (and might I add very high quality) of  “Kanamemo”. Who knows if that show will ever be released?

Of course, I’ve bought my fair share of official anime shows, but who I am to say that buying bootleg anime is wrong? Yes, I mentioned that it can be harmful to the official releases company, and you never know if you’re going to get a decent copy of the show when ordering from random companies in Malaysia. However, what of the shows that will never released onto dvd? What about the people who don’t have the means to download it to their computer? Or the people who want to watch it on their television? What’s the difference among anime fans who only watch anime from anime websites and don’t buy the actual dvds to those who download torrent copies of the show to those who buy the bootlegged copies? I just don’t think anime fans who sometimes want to buy more affordably priced anime, when official copies aren’t an option, should be so shunned as they are.  Of course, people who think they are buying official copies but are actually buying bootlegged copies can be an incrediably frustrating and inconvenient process.  You should definitely do some research before buying a particular show.  Like first making sure it was released onto dvd by checking wikipedia or something.  If it wasn't... and you randomly find "Kanamemo" on ioffer.com then... well you know.

Back to my previous comments though... I especially think this of the people who attack others who buy bootlegged copies if the first-said people only watch anime on free anime websites instead of actually purchasing the official copies. I’m probably alone with those thoughts, but this is simply my opinion. I certainly didn’t mean to get off on a tangent, but I’ve just been thinking about these things for a while. I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject, but these are just some small opinions and questions that I’ve formed on the matter. Obviously, officially buying anime from reliable websites is the ideal choice, but sometimes not everything is as simple as that. Why are things always considered so black & white in our Technicolor anime world?


candyhands

Behind the Reviews

This is a "Behind the Reviews" pun on "Behind the Scenes" type of entry.  Maybe there's at least one person who reads this diary... Lol.  However, the purpose of these anime reviews are for my records mainly, so it's not a big deal if there aren't readers.  For anyone who does stumble here and likes them, I thought I'd mention a few important things about myself and the reviews.

1.) I like what I like.  I may post mainstream anime every once in a while, but those aren't the ones that I focus upon.  I watch Shoujo, Slice-of-Life, yuri/yaoi, and comedy anime the most.  I do sometimes watch completely different genres.  However, those are the types that I seek and will be the main source of reviews.  If you aren't a fan of those, you've probably haven't heard of any (maybe one or two) of the anime listed in my Ultimate Anime List.

2.) I have serious OCD when it comes to researching anime before I watch it.  I usually read between two or three reviews of a show before I'll sit down and watch it.  This isn't always the case, but I always have a general idea of what the show is about before watching it.  Because of these obsessive tendencies, I sometimes (pretty much all of the time..) reference other reading materials about a show in my reviews.  I won't claim their opinions as if I've written them though.  I will always say, "I read this..." or "I've seen other people say this..." when discussing my opinions.

3.) Sometimes I do rip off biographical information from other websites such as THEM's anime reviews or Tv, Tropes, and Idioms.  But ONLY the information that discusses the plot of the show to stick in my "Setting" section.  Sometimes I don't, but other times I can't remember exactly what time period the show was set or what the name of the town that it's occuring, so I look those up before writing the reviews.  The information that I may use from other sites is just the basic biographical plot or setting of the show.  I usually only take a couple of sentences, and  sometimes I rewrite them in my own words completely.  There are also times when I remember everything about the show, so I don't need to reference any other material.  Although I have used Tv, Tropes, and Idioms extensively to write my "Anime Terms" entry.  I wanted to make sure that the definitions I listed there are accurate, so I use it as a reference for that purpose.  (Which I never claimed to have come up with those terms anyway, but still.  Lol.)

4.) I've seen a lot more anime than I have listed in my Ultimate Anime List.  Although the list is composed of "Watched" anime, I suppose that's a bit of a mislead.  There are animes that I've watched in the past that I haven't kept track, and therefore, have forgotten.  There have also been several shows that I've watched a little bit but inevitably lost interest for various reasons.  The fact is... I've seen a little bit of a lot. (Not trying to be punny this time.)  So someone might think, "You say you like yuri but you haven't even listed some of the more popular yuri shows like "Kannazuki no Miko", "Simoun", "Revolutionary Girl Utena". 

The truth is that I have seen most of them but stopped watching.  I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with them.  Perhaps, I was in the mood for something light and the show was darker than I felt like watching.  Or I wanted to watch a SOL yuri instead of an action-y Scifi one, so I stopped.  Whatever the case was, I will probably go back and watch those in particular all of the way through at some point.  I'm definitely not fond of the idea of judging a show before seeing all of the episodes.  That's why I don't have them listed in my Ultimate List with the word "dropped" next to them.  In fact, as of right now, I only have one show in that catagory, and I've stated that I'm going to give it a try again possibly.

That's really all I wanted to add for now.  That's just some extra info. about me and my reviews.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day!


  • Current Mood
    sleepy sleepy
lily

"Koihime†Musou" Review


Introduction: My anime reviews are simply for fun and my opinion of a series.  Therefore, they should be taken light-heartedly. :`)  I do my best not to throw in huge show spoilers either.  I may elaborate, but I won't directly give anything away.  Also, many things about me and this journal have been discussed in the Introduction entry here, if you're interested.  The bolded words in the middle of my reviews have been fully defined in the Introduction or in the Anime Terms entry here .  Lastly, for a full list of anime shows that I am reviewing, visit my Ultimate Anime List entry. Thank you for taking the time to read my Journal!


★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

"Koihime†Musou" Review

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

Initial Thoughts: I... am at a loss for words.  Parody series gone wild.
Setting:  This anime is based off the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.  That story centered around ancient China during the 14th century in a war, turmoil, and bloodshed-y era.  There's a lot more to it, but that's the jist.  If you want to read more about the classic novel then click here.  Take that novel and turn the characters into a fanservice female cast and you have Koihime! 
Plot: This show has so many angles, I often wondering WHO is the target audience.  Koihime†Musou (or KM, as I'll refer to it) was based off of a visual novel followed by a strategy video game.  The game, in turn, was based off of the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.  

Obviously, KM is a Fighting series considering that its premise was taken from strategy game... which was taken from a book about the hardships of war.  Strangely, this show FEELS like a Slice-of-Life.  I think everyone will agree, for the most part, that a Fighting series and SOL and defined as being different genres, yet this show feels like it has aspects of both.  I really can't say why.  If I had to speculate, I'd say it was because this show is such a parody at times that it comes across as more humorous than dramatic.  Who knows if that was the intention though?  There's fighting, developing friendships, heavy ecchi and slight yuri at times, and general feeling of going on a journey in the plot.

I looked at this show as FIRST a parody and then as a Fighting series/SOL.  It was parodied after the novel, but it also had some anime shows thrown in there.  I'm unsure of every anime that was parodied, but I did recognize "Sailor Moon" and "Strawberry Panic!".  A character who wears a disguise and goes by Butterfly Mask...     She fights for love and justice!  And basically just swoops in, picks up someone in distress, and runs off with them.  Sound like anyone else we know?  Unfortunitely, I've never read the classic novel, so any references to it were completely lost to me.  Although, the show is still enjoyable even if you're watching it with a blind historical eye.  Also, it may have been just me but I kept getting "The Legends of Zelda" theme song in my head when they'd head off for an adventure. 

With all of that being said, I'm just going to state my opinion of the show briefly. 
Positives: It's definitely funny and entertaining for the most part.  There are some heart-warming scenes too.  I don't generally like Fighting series, but the fighting scenes aren't prolonged, and I was never bored during the action moments.  There are a massive amount of characters, so you'll find at least one person to like. 
Negatives: Lord, if there were ever a prototype for an ecchi harem series, this would be it.  It's such an abundance of fanservice and yuri.  It's as if these girls were the last ones left on the planet, and they have all secretly decided that they want to procreate with each other.  Actually, the majority of flirtations, inferences, and sexual innuendos are targeted towards the main character, Kan'u.  Even though, there is some shameless flirting among some towards others, this show is technically not a yuri.  Nothing is ever SHOWN to be happening, but there's no denying that some things are definitely going on among certain characters.  Which characters are actually yuri is up for speculation.  Personally, I think some of them need to take a cold shower, especially the character Sousou. 

I mentioned in my "Strike Witches" Review that there are two types of yuri.  This yuri is no doubtedly targeted towards the shounen audience.  You won't have relationship building as much as seeing one of the girls fall into another girl and have them lay on top of each other on the floor in a sexual pose for an abnormal amount of time.  The main problem with the show, in my opinion, is that it wasn't quite funny enough to be a true comedic parody.  There wasn't enough serious fighting to be an absolute fighting series.  There wasn't enough relationship building to be a heart-warming shoujo yuri series.  The ecchi that was present was too much for someone who HATES fanservice to ignore, but there wasn't enough of it to please someone who watches a show because of it.  So you'll have someone who says, "Ugh, their breasts are ridiculous proportions, and they're all one step away from sleeping with each other."  And you could very well get someone who says, "That's it?... There isn't any yuri actually going on!"  As strange as that sounds, this show borders on many different directions and never quites lands on one.  If you watch it without any expectations, then it's a lot more enjoyable.  In fact, I laughed several times.

Characters!
There are just TOO many characters to define.  You'll find characters ranging from the Genki Girl to the WBTY to little Lolitas.  Just about every episode introduces one or two characters.  Some of the development is lacking because of the massive amount of characters.  The good news is that we follow the protagonist, Kan'u as she meets each of them.  Therefore, we are slowly introduced to everyone as she is.  That still doesn't mean that you won't get confused towards the end of the series about whose kingdom has which character though.  Here is a wikipedia list of all of the characters and brief description of who they are.  I'm just too lazy to make one here.  I will, however, discuss Kan'u.

Kan'u is your typical action girl on a journey of justice.  She's sworn to avenge her brother and rid the world of bandits.  (She REALLY reminds me a Xena.)  Her weapon is awesome.  Which reminds me, each character has their own weapon and talent.  The majority of them carry scythes-like weapons or staffs though.  Kan'u is known through-out the land as the beautifully dark-haired bandit fighter.  As a running gag, no one assumes that she is the bandit hunter because "rumors tend to get exaggerated" aka: she gets insulted that she isn't as pretty as the rumors say by just about everyone.  For someone that's treated as "average" looking, she certainly gets a massive amount of yuri attention from the other characters that she meets.  She wins the record for getting put in the most awkward situations with the other female characters who are pursuing her.  I made an amusing game for myself while watching the show.  "Who will hit on Kan'u next?  How will they do it?  And how will she get out of this situation?"  That part of the show was actually very amusing.. to me anyway.  (Maybe I have secret perverted sense of humor.  I have been watching a lot of fanservice lately, but I digress.)

That's really all I have to say about the show.  I've watched the second and third seasons, "Shin Kohime†Musou" and "Shin Koihime†Musou Otome Tairan", but I plan to watch them again at some point.  The website in which I was viewing them, had half of the third season loaded under the second season.  It was so confusing, that I ended up watching most of the episodes out of order.  I will say that the artwork is actually consistent with all of the seasons.  Often times you'll see a severe and distracting artistic shift, but this one looks the same through out.  If the characters weren't drawn so fanservice-y, I'd like the character designs more.  (However, not all of the characters are drawn in that way.  The younger ones have normal body proportions.)  All of the seasons have the same feel of a journey, and there was no downfall from the first to the third season in my opinion.  Did I enjoy this show?  Well, I was interested enough to watch the second and third seasons.  In fact, I'm interested enough to watch them again.  Just because I mentioned that the series seemed perpetually placed on the border of different directions, doesn't mean that you won't enjoy it.  By all means, give the first episode a watch before making any decisions.
 
Side-note about the title: Normally, I'd try translate the the title.  However, I'm running short on time.  I do know that "Hime" is a word for princess or lady of a higher birth.  "Koi" literally means carp, as in the fish.  However, it can also mean love for the opposite sex or a longing feeling for a specific person.  The word "Musou" stands for Warrior(s).  (Although, I've also read that it stands for Outstanding, Incredible, Extraordinary, etc.)   When you get to the following seasons, the word "shin" is put in front of it.  I'm fairly sure that shin is used as heart/mind/spirit or faith.  Basically, I use it as another word for "integrity" in this instance.  You can take those translations as you will. 

Favorite Characters: Hmmm... I liked Sousou.  Haha.  Wow. I really am a Covert Pervert.  Although, I'm taking away the "covert" part by admiting it.  It's okay.  I'll deny my CP ways in the next entry again.  I did like little Chouhi too though.  I've decided to add "Covert Pervert" in my anime definitions considering that's another anime type that I've seen.  I probably won't go back in my older entry reviews and identify all of the CP characters.  But then again, I may if I have time.  Those characters are simply too amusing to ignore. 

There were many funny quotes, but unfortunitely, I'm late for class.  I may come back and update this entry more.  It was a little rushed.  However, I do think I blabbed on enough for everyone already.  Lol.  We'll just see how it goes.

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★ 


kanamemo

"Kanamemo" Review


Introduction: My anime reviews are simply for fun and my opinion of a series.  Therefore, they should be taken light-heartedly. :`)  I do my best not to throw in huge show spoilers either.  I may elaborate, but I won't directly give anything away.  Also, many things about me and this journal have been discussed in the Introduction entry here, if you're interested.  The bolded words in the middle of my reviews have been fully defined in the Introduction or in the Anime Terms entry here .  Lastly, for a full list of anime shows that I am reviewing, visit my Ultimate Anime List entry. Thank you for taking the time to read my Journal!


★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

"Kanamemo" Review

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

 
Initial Thoughts: Fluffy sweet... Shoujo, Slice-of-Life with a side of Loli-fun and yuri. 
Setting: Present-day setting in a newspaper office named the Fuhshin News.
Plot: I'm back!  Way sooner than planned.  What can I say?  I'm currently done with all of my homework and wanted to take a quick break aka: write a review.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it. (Lol.)  Without any further ado, here's the review! 

Kana Nakamachi is a middle school student who lost her last living guardian and home all in one swoop.  With no where to live and no means to support herself, she goes in search of a job.  After a series of rejections, she finally ends up in a local newspaper establishment with a variety of wacky co-workers and an, obviously, Tsundere boss.  Kana, suddenly thrown into the newspaper delivery business, starts a new chapter of her life and learns that a family can come in many different shades.  I suppose you could say that she also learns the value in never giving up when life gets you down, but she seems to hold this personality from the very beginning. 

That's the basic premise of the show or at least what I gathered from it.  It's definitely FIRST a comedy, but it also has a few heart-warming scenes thrown into it.  Since this series is a Slice-of-Life, I am not grading it too hard in terms of character development and thin plot lines.  Some reviews have stated that the series falls short because there is not enough character development.  Although, arguably, Kana does receive some by the end of the show.  I do think some of the other characters could have used more of a turn in the light in order for the viewer to further appreciate their presence.  However, it did not keep me from enjoying the show.  I'll discuss the characters (all female cast) a little further down.

First I'm going to discuss the style of humor and general tone in the show.  The MAIN source of humor is Kana's naivety mixed with the contrasting other characters' personalities.  There's some slight fan-service but nothing really obvious.  Of course, I watched the "censored" version since it was easier to find.  The "censored" version has a little bubbly thing that covers the characters when they're in their underwear and whatnot.  I'd say the fan-service would be extreme at times if you didn't watch that version.  I'm not sure if the other natural version is even available to watch online, but you could probably find it if you really wanted to.  I don't feel like the show really lost anything just because of it though.

Because one of the characters (Haruka) is a severe Lolicon, Kana ends up getting groped and horrified just about everytime she turns around.  The show's comedy relies heavily on this yuri loli-con concept.  If that bothers you, then you won't be able to make it through the first few episodes (and definitely not towards the end when it's kicked up a notch).  Although, to be fair, Haruka only acts out extremely if she's drunk.  Unfortunitely, she's also drunk constantly.  In the anime, I was way more amused than bothered by her antics.  Although, if she was a real person, I'd suggest she go to AA immediately and be monitored when she's around small girls.  Haruka's antics towards Kana definitely qualifies this show in the yuri realms.  There is also an actual yuri couple, Yume and Yuuki.  They are by far the most naturally displayed yuri couple that I've ever seen in an anime, but first I'm going to discuss a few of the other characters.

Character List!
 
  • Saki, referred to as "Chief", is the assistant chief of the Fuhshin Gazette.  She's an elementary student but, obviously, a WBTY character to be able to RUN the entire newspaper staff despite being the youngest.  She's also really Tsundere to Kana more than the others for some reason.  Perhaps it's Kana's Moe personality that brings out the Tsundere-side in Saki.  Her hair also seems to have a life of its own at times.  In one instance, her pigtail is seen smacking Haruka across the screen after Haruka dives at her little Lolita self.  She's definitely the Straight Man to everyone else's Wise Guy antics.
  • Haruka (self-proclaimed Lolicon) is a heavily drinking college student who's studying bio-fermentation.  No doubt her major has a direct impact on why she's always mixing drinks.  She's constantly seen "attacking" the other girls on the staff who are under fifteen.  By attacking, I mean leaping at them in attempts to fondle, poke, grab, squeeze, and do all sorts of things that would be double-standardly horrendous and inappropriate actions from a male character.  She is, however, often smacked and even tied up by the other members of the newspaper staff when she gets out-of-hand.  Hinata especially keeps her in check.
  • Hinata, the green-haired tomboy is a somewhat carefree girl who likes to gamble and, oddly enough, invest in the stock market.  She's very prudent and hesistant to spend money on frivolous items.  She has attempted to join a college, but as a running-gag, is said to have failed the entrance exam multiple times.  (Unfortunitely, Hinata's character seems the most under-developed to me.  She's needs more lines and a backstory.)
  • Yume and Yuuki are the yuri couple.  Yume is a blonde wide-eyed Genki Girl while Yuuki is a tall dark-haired shy girl.  There is not much stated about these character's backgrounds in the anime.  Although, we know that Yume comes from a very wealthy family.  Also, Yume and Yuuki appear to have known each other since they were children.  The humor that derives from these two is Yuuki's very jealous reactions to Yume touching another character in a friendly manner.  She doesn't SAY anything but a dark aura appears over her head and everyone gets REALLY nervous.  When Yume notices, she rushes over to her and assures Yuuki with physical attention.  Also, these two characters tend to get lost in their own world when their together.  The other characters become embarassed at times by their obvious public affection.  Although, the others don't show any signs of having a general problem with their relationship.
     
  • Mika is very Tsundere... to everyone.  She seems to have come from an upperclass family; although, the anime never delves into it.  She works in another newspaper delivery service but spends ample time with Kana and at the Fuhshin News.  She's short-tempered and... well Tsundere.  She's quick to hide her emotions and not admit her mistakes.  Spoiler about Mika's personality towards Kana. (Spoiler: Mika seems to develop an obvious crush on Kana which explains Mika's Tsundere personality towards her and her actions.  Although, in the manga it is Kana who appears to have feelings for her instead.)

And those are the main characters.  Despite the series getting somewhat negative reviews, I enjoyed it.  "Kanamemo" managed to keep my interest 90% of the time and even had a musical episode thrown in there.  Not many non-musical shows can pull off an interesting musical episode.  It was quite out of no-where, but yet I didn't find it odd that they started singing through the duration of the episode.  (I still have that "Working Girls" song stuck in my head.)  The general flow of the series was light-hearted and upbeat.  It was like "Strawberry Marshmallow" meets "Azumanga Daioh".  I haven't read the manga, but I'm considering doing it in my free time.  The manga is on-going and there lies my hopes for a second anime season.   

Manga: I've read that the manga has a generally different tone than the anime.  "The manga tends to focus more on verbatism, obscure pop culture references, and dialogue-based humor.  The anime has a lot of slapstick and slightly naughtier humor, but it also retains the dialogue-based humor."  Kana is portrayed differently as well.  She's more confident and not as shy or perhaps emotionally sentimental to her parental loss as she is in the anime. 

Side-note about the anime title: Usually, I classify what the title of the series is if it's in Japanese, but I think "Kanamemo" is pretty self-explanatory.  The main character's name is Kana.  Kana can be translated as "One who is powerful or excellent".  Kana is a very typical name... in the animes that I've seen so far anyway.  I've mentioned it a few other times.  In the "Minami-ke"  and "Candy☆Boy" reviews, I translated Kana as standing for summer.  Ka literally means summer and Kana can mean "sand".  Kana stands for "summer" in "Minami-ke" because the other characters had themeatical names for the seasons.  I wouldn't necessarily assume that THIS Kana stands for summer or sand, so I'm sticking with the original definition.  That's just my take on it though.  Plus I don't have a firm grasp of the Japanese language, so I'm not going to begin to try to elaborate on why these names can have different meanings.  Lol.  This just what I read.  It makes more sense to me that Kana's name would mean "someone who's powerful or excellent" considering that the series is about a girl who finds her own inner strength.  Also, I take Memo to mean "something to note or remember".  Kana memo.   

Favorite Characters: Towards the end of the series, I really started to like Mika.  Also, I'm not sure what it says about me, but I was way more amused by Haruka's antics than I probably should have been.

Favorite Quotes:
Mika: "Damn you, Johnny!"

~*~

Kana: "So how did you all learn to ride a bike?"
Yume: "The first thing I did was go down a hill this steep. *emphasizes*  Then... BAM THERE WAS A TRUCK RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!
Yuuki: Eeeek! *passes out*
Yume: *runs over*  It's okay!  As you see, I'm still alive!
Hinata: First someone's gotta do mouth-to-mouth!
Yuuki: *jumps up and drags Yume to a private area*
Kana: Um... Yuuki-san?
Yuuki: We're going to go do some mouth to mouth now.
Kana: ...For who though?
Yuuki: For me.
Kana: But why?
Yuuki: I have to hurry so I don't die. *disappears in the bathroom with Yume*

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
  • Current Music
    Kurage Nagareboshi by Otsuka Ai
  • Tags
momiji

Non-Review Update

I've pretty much got my plate full for the next few months, so I'm not sure when I'll start reviewing again.  I'm applying to Graduate School in the first week of March, so I have a lot of information to gather in the mean time.  Plus, I start my final semester for my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology in a week.  Lots and lots of reading will inevitably take over my anime viewing time. :-(  However, I will return.

On an unrelated note, I'm terribly depressed about a recent laptop mishap.  Especially since I consider my laptop an extension to my right arm.  Although I have McAfee Antivirus installed, a virus totally attacked my system yesterday.  I assume it was an application that I recently downloaded to convert media files.  I also assume it was a virus because when I turned on my computer, the screen started flashing so much it was like mid-day Mardi Gras.  It wouldn't even go to my start-up window.  It did give me the option to reset ALL of my settings and files back to the manufacture settings.  (Aka: Delete everything I care about and have accumulated.)  I had all of my media files and written documents backed-up, thankfully.  That be a lesson.  ALWAYS back-up everything.  Always.  Of course, there was ONE thing that I forgot to back-up, my Favorite Websites bar on Internet Explorer.  Over fifty different websites assorted into different catagories gone.  There's no way that I'll be able to remember where they all are.  That coupled with the fact, that I'll have to reinstall all of my Sims 2 games and the two different printers that I use has just made me sad.  Over the past six months, I had a family of Sims that hit perfect.  Then they had kids, and I made them accomplish Platinum mode.  Then I made them have children and was playing with a third generation.  Perhaps I should have figured out how to back-up the Sims 2 games.  Lameness.

I am thankful that I made this journal though.  With all of my Favorites gone, at least I have my Ultimate Anime List entry to remind me what anime I've already seen, plan to watch, and what anime I'm currently keeping an eye on for further seasons.  I'm also glad that my six month old laptop didn't explode all together.  So I'll try to look on the bright side of this situation because it could have been a lot worse.  With that being said, I just wanted to do a quick update to inform anyone who happens to stumble here and likes to read my reviews. 
 

~*~


Since 2011 is the year of the Rabbit, I'm going to put a quote from my favorite character from "Fruits Basket",  Momiji.  I was also born under the year of the Rabbit, so this year is suppose be very lucky!  Maybe my luck will start next month...

"I believe... I want to live my life, carrying my memories with me.  Even if those memories are painful, even if those memories do nothing but hurt me...  Even those memories I wish I could forget.  As long as I keep carrying them with me and don't run away from them.  Someday... Someday, I believe I will get to the point where I'm not oppressed by those memories.  That's what I believe.  I'd like to think that there's not a single memory that I have which would be okay to forget."
 


  • Current Mood
    hopeful hopeful
lily

"Strike Witches" Review

Introduction: My anime reviews are simply for fun and my opinion of a series.  Therefore, they should be taken light-heartedly. :`)  I do my best not to throw in huge show spoilers either.  I may elaborate, but I won't directly give anything away.  Also, many things about me and this journal have been discussed in the Introduction entry here, if you're interested.  The bolded words in the middle of my reviews have been fully defined in the Introduction or in the Anime Terms entry here .  Lastly, for a full list of anime shows that I am reviewing, visit my Ultimate Anime List entry. Thank you for taking the time to read my Journal!

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

"Strike Witches" Review

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

 
Initial Thoughts: .......... What am I watching?  And why can't I stop?
Setting:  In 1939, a great war began in the skies against a technology-advanced space ship known as the Neuroi.  The Neuroi began destroying conventional military forces on earth.  Therefore, young magical girls have been called and assembled to defend against the invaders.  In 1944, Yoshika Miyafuji is approached to join the 501st Joint Fighter Wing by, ace witch, Mio Sakamoto. (No... I'm not kidding, but it's a lot better than you'd think it would be.)
Plot: The plot is briefly intergrated into the "Setting" column but will also be elaborated on further down.  For simplicity's sake this is a Mecha anime mixed with a Magical Girl genre.  I know that I said it would be a cold day in... before I watched a Mecha.  However, I figured I'd expand my comfort-zone, broaden my anime horizons, and all that jazz.  I blindly went into "Strike Witches".  I only knew that it was about some magical cat girls using an alternative history storyline that drew information from World War II.  In fact, in the show's premise, the witches are based on real life ace pilots from WWII.  The only one who I was really familar with was Charlotte E. Yeager.  Her personality, back-story, and events in the show are actually based off her real life counterpart, Charles E. Yeager.  Now who says that history can't be fun?  

The first concept about the show that I'm going to fully address is the thing that MOST people have a problem.  The fan-service issue.  It's there... it's everywhere.  It's mostly in the form of their underwear.  (Haha, sorry.)  No, really though.  These characters have a serious case of lack of pants, (as you can see).  In fact, many fans and non-fans jokingly claim that the war was started because the enemy stole the world's supply of pants.  I'm assuming that they don't wear pants because of the fact that they have to LEAP into their Striker Units in order to quickly take off into the sky after their enemy.  I imagine having pants on would get them tangled inside of the unit.  Although, that doesn't explain why they don't at least wear short skirts or stockings...  Not wearing pants wouldn't pose such a big deal if the camera didn't randomly do extreme close-ups on their hindquarters (and even frontquarters)  when they're in the air, aka fan-service shots.  That and doubled with the fact that the majority of characters are in their mid-teens disturbs people, even making them feel like Lolicons.  I certainly don't blame them.  When I first started watching the episodes, I had a hard time stomaching some of the in-your-face fan-service until I got used to it, or rather put on my denial goggles and began not noticing it. 

It's a shame too because this show has WONDERFUL storylines, character development, historical references, and action galore.  Let me just say this.  I greatly dislike Mecha anime and huge doses of fan-service, but I enjoyed this show.  That says something about the writing.   When I read a few other reviews, the majority of them said they could NOT get passed the loli-fan-service to a point where they could sit down and actually watch the show.  That's perfectly understandable, but I'm one of those people who did (or at least tolerated it).  Therefore, my review on this show is going to be more positive than negative.  There's also splashes of yuri thrown into the anime.  The small amount of yuri seems like it's done for comedic purposes rather than actual romantic aspects.  There's not a lot of it, but it's a general undertone considering all of the main characters are female.  If that bothers you, then you probably won't find this anime as funny as those who don't mind it.  Also, if you're extremely sensitive to character relationships, argueably you could say there's a lot of "in the closet" relationships among the characters.  However, that's also a very opinional observation. 

Side-note about Yuri: There's definitely two main types of yuri animes.  One is romantic yuri that focuses on characters, storyline, and love.  That type is that is targeted towards the shoujo audience.  The other is blatant fan-service yuri that's targeted towards shounen.  This show seems targeted towards the latter, male audience or towards females who like ecchi.  That's why there's skimpily dressed girls but fully-clothed guys.  Although, the character development is a lot better than most fan-service yuris would be.  It's a good thing I liked the characters and storylines too.  Otherwise, this show would have annoyed my feminist side. Now... onto discussing the actual show.

As I mentioned earlier, this show is about fighting magical cat girls based on WWII ace pilots.  (No, seriously.  It actually works.)  Elements of WWII planes are incorporated to create the "Striker Units".  The Striker Units are the main defense system used against the aliens Neuroi because they fight in the sky.  Also, only witches have the power to use these Striker Units.  While this may be the plot, the show is surprisingly more about character development than other aspects.  Although, there's some amazing action sequences when they fight.  There are quite a few main characters, but the one that we follow is Yoshika Miyafuji.  Her magical power is the ability to heal.  Therefore, her personality is very caring and sensitive.  Yoshika does not believe in war because of what happened to someone she greatly cared for in the past.  She's approached by basically the leader of the ace witches, Mio Sakamoto.  Mio encourages Yoshika to join the navy and use her powers to save the world along with the other witches.  We follow Yoshika as she grows from shy, unsure, and having unstable powers to a hero.

I'm going to briefly list the main characters.  (Those who don't want to know any spoilers about what nationality the characters are or who they tend to fight with, just click the picture link listed below and skip this review until you get to the "So there you have it." paragraph).  I'm not sure how talking about their nationalities and fighting partners would be construed as spoilers to the show's plot, but here's a warning nonetheless. 

Here are the main characters from the 501st Strike Witches unit (clicky here for a pic.).  It might help to look at the picture as I spout off about their nationalities and fighting partners.  I can't remember all of their ranks but I believe Mio is in charge.  They tend to pair off when they're fighting on occasion.  Mio's close with German commander, Minna.  Barkhorn competively fights/competes with Erica, also German .  Perrine (French nationality?) is definitely Mio's Fangirl, so she's around her...a lot.  Charlotte, American racer turned pilot, works closely with the Italian Genki Girl Lucchini.  (Lucchini tends to sleep more than your average Genki Girl, but when she's awake... you'll see.)  Eila, Finnish nationality, and, little Russian, Sanya are probably my favorite fighting team.  (Also, YAY for the inclusion of a Finnish character.  Finland happens to my the country of my grandmother, but no one's apparently heard of it around here.  Moving along... )  Our protagonist, Yoshika, is usually paired with the shy British sniper, Lynette Bishop. If I didn't list some of their nationalities, it's because I'm not worldly enough to figure out what language their first and last names are in.  Many apologies.  Not that their nationalities are important to understanding this series, I just find it interesting to learn about back stories before going into a show.  Especially since the characters are based off of actual people.  It's also interesting to note that although, they are multi-national, everyone speaks perfect Japanese in this anime.  Who knew? ;-)   

Although they sometimes pair together while fighting because they're friends (or more than friends?  Who knows with this show?), another reason is that their powers can compliment the other's.  You don't want to get near Sanya and Eila when they're fighting together or Charlotte and Lucchini for that matter.  I won't go into a great amount of detail about who has what power because I don't want to ruin any surprises for you.  I'd just like to say that although Perrine comes across as uptight and unthreatening, she doesn't NEED to pair with anyone to unleash an insane magical attack.   She also complains that she hates that it messes up her hair (Lol).  The characters not only fight with their magical powers, but most of them also have HUGE guns.  (What's with men's fantasies about girls with big guns?)  Although, the character who fights the Neuroi's lazer beams with an amazingly sharp sword is by far the most impressive...   

So there you have it.  This show has action, good character development/ friendships, plots, and very humorous moments.  There was obviously a lot of time and effort put into it in terms of its historical references.  I think it would also have had a massively huge fanbase, if it hadn't included so much underaged fan-service and blatantly annoying sexual innuendos.  Honestly, I'd probably be embarassed to WATCH this show with anyone around me because of some of the overt inferences.  However, if you aren't bothered by Yoshika's habit of getting into unexplainable yuri moments, such as accidentally groping others and having questionable dreams.  Of course, she's a very definable Covert Pervert due to these traits.  That coupled with the show's obvious fetish for loli-fan-service, then you really should give at least two or three episodes a shot just for the sake of the good character development and action sequences. 

Although, it took me about four episodes before I became completely absorbed into the storyline and could NOT stop watching.  I know that I haven't discussed the second season or OVA yet.  Honestly, right now I'm only on episode three in the second season.  I might come back and do an update on this review when I finish it (if I feel like I need to add any information).  Initially, I have noticed that the artwork on the show got incredibly better in the second season.  I haven't noticed as much fan-service either, but that could just be me in a state of goggly denial in that I'm watching half-naked magical teen girls.  Some of the characters are older though.  In fact, Mio turning twenty has a huge impact on her character and the show.  Lastly, as always, I hope that my review was helpful. :D

Favorite Characters: Sanya... her magical power and personality is simply awesome to me.  Of course, Charlotte is also an extremely likeable character.  To be honest, there really wasn't any character that I disliked.  Some of them were a tad under developed by the end of the first season, but that's to be expected in a 12-episode season with elevenish main characters.  (Heck... "Sailor Moon" had five seasons and over 200 episodes to fully develop all of those characters.)

Favorite Quotes:  
Erica Hartmann: *looks all over her room*  "I.... can't find my pants."

~*~  

Update: Still watching season two, but I wanted to add that the characters are getting more development.  Plus, there are some really good episodes that I've watched so far such as Lucchini visiting her homeland in Rome.  There's obvious Italian historical landmarks present in that episode which is really cool.  Also, my favorite fighting team, Sanya and Eila get an entire episode dedicated to them.  Eila has a power that I never even noticed in the first season but is elaborated on in a touching episode in the middle of the season two.  All in all, I think I'm liking season two more than the first.  There's also talk of a  possible third season or OVA.  So If I catch any wind of it, I'll come back and update.

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
yurifangirl

"Sasameki Koto" Review


Introduction: My anime reviews are simply for fun and my opinion of a series.  Therefore, they should be taken light-heartedly. :`)  I do my best not to throw in huge show spoilers either.  I may elaborate, but I won't directly give anything away.  Also, many things about me and this journal have been discussed in the Introduction entry here, if you're interested.  The bolded words in the middle of my reviews have been fully defined in the Introduction or in the Anime Terms entry here .  Lastly, for a full list of anime shows that I am reviewing, visit my Ultimate Anime List entry. Thank you for taking the time to read my Journal!

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

"Sasameki Koto" Review

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

 

Initial Thoughts: It's not a love triangle; it's a love decagon.  Whoever thinks love is easy should watch this anime.
Setting: Typical high school setting and places shown in slice-of-life animes.
Plot: So... I wasn't planning on reviewing this show yet because I wanted to start posting/writing on more comedic slice-of-lifes like Azumanga and Lucky Star (especially since I start college back soon and my reviewing will be on a hiatus).  However, the shows that I've been reviewing thus far are fairly alike.  Therefore, I figured I'd keep on trucking with the yuri, shoujo-ai, and slice-of-lifes.  I also want to go ahead and post a review while the show is fresh on my mind.  I can tell right now that I'm going to have trouble giving an in-depth discussion on this show.  It doesn't have overly complicated concepts, but it's hard to fully describe because it's so different from any other yuris that I've seen.  I'll do my best though.  There might be some slight spoilers about who each character likes, but it won't be too detailed.  In "Sasamiki Koto", it's hard to discuss the characters without addressing who they like.  I normally wouldn't go so in-depth, but this is the only way that I feel I can discuss this show thoroughly.  If you completely oppose spoilers, then I suggest possibly reading someone else's review.  I won't ruin anything big for you though.

"Sasameki Koto" has a serious case of: She loves her!  But she's in love with that one over there, who's ironically in love with the first girl!  Sasameki Koto translates to "Something Whispered" or "Whispered Words", which is a lot more suited than the name, "Candy Boy", in my previous review. (I conclude this considering that in one episode Ushio whispers something crucial and, may I add, surprising to Sumika.)  If I had to sum this series into one sentence it would be: This is a yuri slice-of-life anime about love.  There's a lot of angsty one-sided love, but there's also actual couples in love as a counter-balance.  On paper, this show has a lot of things in common with "Strawberry Panic!".  However, the tone of the show is entirely different and perhaps more realistic to life.   This isn't an all-girl's school and lesbianism is not the world's norm (which most yuris tend to display).  I praise the show for bringing into light the ostracization young lesbians may feel.  Also, it is in this tone, that I assume is the reason WHY the two main characters have trouble communicating their feelings with each other and to others (as frustrating as it is to watch...). 

There's also no outright fan-service that I can recall, or many on-screen physical displays of affection.  It's still considered a yuri, nonetheless.  Just when you think that "Marimite" wins the award for bluring yuri/shoujo-ai to the point where you think the shoujo-ai can't be stretched anymore without being considered full yuri, this show gives it a run for its money.  If you're unsure what I'm implying, I simply mean the show is somewhat of a yuri tease, similar to "Saki".  Is that a bad thing?  It depends on what you like.  If you like outright relationships and clear communication about their feelings for each other, then this show will probably frustrate you to tears and possible violence (I'm kidding about that last one, but still.)  As a hilarious side-note: One of the sub-characters of this show is a "Marimite" fanatic.  Of course, the manga that she carries doesn't SAY "Maria-sama ga Miteru", but the cover of it and poster in her room is obviously of Yumi and Sachiko.  She also often talks about how love between girls should be kept private.  I'm not sure if that's a shot at "Marimite" or an ironic statement meant to parallel "Sasameki Koto" 's themes, but it's amusing to me, regardless.  Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.    

The show's two most central characters are best friends, Sumika Murasame and Ushio Kazama.  We follow the show through the perspective of Sumika, so we aren't privy to the other character's inner thoughts.  Sumika is very Tsundere-like as well.  She has dark hair and glasses; she's the class representative, skilled in karate and sports, and intimidatingly tall.  Because she is our protagonist, she is also the easiest to sympathize with and to understand, which is a good thing.  If we were an outsider and not privaledged to her inner thoughts, her actions seem borderline crazy at times.  Ushio Kazama is an opposite to Sumika in every sense of the word.  Ushio, a Genki Girl, tends to be more cheerful, open, clumsy, and blissfully clueless.  Argueably, Sumika can be pretty clueless too...  So what's the main concept of the show?  Well, Sumika is in love with Ushio, but Ushio only likes "cute" girls, aka small, Lolita-like, and Moe, if you will.  She also has no idea of Sumika's feelings.  Sometimes I wondered if Sumika was even aware of the length of her own feelings.  Although, it's interesting to note the change in both of their personalities towards the end of the series.  They both grow emotionally, which is always gratifying. 

We have five more sub-characters that make up the group, they inevitably form.  The little Lolita Miyako and her girlfriend, Tomoe, are probably the most stable couple on the show.  The token straight girl is Sumika and Ushio's mutual friend, Kiyori.  She's the one always eating bread.  Then we have the "Marimite" fan that I mentioned earlier, Azusa Aoi.  (Spoiler about Azusa: I think you could argue that Azusa lives in a "transparent closet" in terms of her own orientation.  She blatantly protests Tomoe's openly expressed lesbianism but is a massively secret fan of yuri herself.  She even self produces a yuri magazine and attends yuri festivals.  Azusa, I think thou protestith too much...ith.)  Lastly, we have Akemi Yamasaki, ahem... I mean Masaki Akemiya.  Masaki is the only main boy character, not that the other characters know it.  He's extremely cute and shy and likes Sumika.  Of course, Sumika only has eyes for Ushio.  Therefore, he cross dresses (quite well, I might add) to catch Sumika's attention.  He cross dresses so often, that his younger sister found out about it and sent some pictures of him as a girl to a magazine.  The pictures were accepted and started appearing in magazines displaying him as the new top girl model.  Ushio becomes a HUGE fan of Masaki, who models under the alias: Akemi, and decides that she loves her. 

So you have Sumika who loves Ushio who loves and thinks Masaki is a girl, who only dressed as a girl because he loves Sumika.  Obviously, mayhem ensues.  Another comedic character ploy is that the "Marimite" manga that Azusa loves is written by Ushio's brother, who's also under a female alias name.  Therefore, Ushio tends to bolt away from Azusa in fear that Azusa will discover that her brother is the author.  (It was stated by Ushio that her brother's publisher asked him to keep his identity a secret because it might hurt sales for yuri readers to know that a male wrote it.)  Azusa tends to flock near Sumika more than the other characters. Therefore, Ushio ultimately distances herself from Sumika whenever Azusa's around, much to Sumika's dismay and irritation.     

That's about as in-depth as I can go without directly giving what happens to them away.  I can say that you would think that a show with a love decagon (or rather a love quadrilateral, if you want to get technical) concept would shoot for a more comedic tone.  Don't get me wrong.  There are some VERY amusing scenes, but there is equally, if not more, drama.  I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster witnessing this show for the most part.  I'm sure the characters felt the same way since they experienced it first-hand, but I digress.  I also felt a little emotionally drained after watching it.  The unrequited love is a huge card played on here.  That's one of the reasons why I was so skeptical to watch it in the first place.  (That and the fact, that I had a friendship in high school that resulted in being horrifyingly similar to Sumika and her one-sided love angst she carries for Ushio.  And who would want to relive that?!)  The concept of sitting down to watch Sumika lust after Ushio who likes everyone but her does not sound like fun.  However, the show does not present the characters and their actions in expected ways.  Therefore, it makes the series a lot more interesting.  Sumika and Ushio have more depth built into their character, so it's similar to watching real people rather than simply watching one-dimensional hormonal anime characters.  Although, I'm sure hormones had some roll to play in this show.  There is unrequited love, but there is also the emotional maturity and growth that occurs as a character gets older and learns to understand their feelings more.  I do feel like this show captured that. 

Tomoe put it best when she said something like, "I would rather sink in the mud of my love than run from her on a road of thorns."  Love is hard.  Love is messy.  Love definitely makes you do absurd things, but being afraid to even try... can ultimately hurt you more.  The show doesn't end exactly how you'd think it would.  However, I'm pretty sure there will be a second season because the manga is still going strong.  I haven't read the manga, but I've heard a lot of people like it.  I don't think the anime strays too far from it, but I'm not 100% certain.  I do know that a LOT more is covered in the manga than in the anime.  There's more characters, storylines, and there's seven volumes so far.  The manga also discusses Ushio's train of thought... where the anime leaves off.  But similar to the anime, the manga tends to follow the yuri-tease pattern so be forewarned.

Just to briefly discuss the music: I have to say that the opening song and other themes are extremely soothing and nice.  The lyrics are lovely as well.  "Someday together with you, the sky we looked at / Quietly, into my heart, it melted away / the white note paper / the letter I wrote has left without telling me / If I tell you my repressed feelings, we cannot go back. "   I feel as though I'd hear this type of music on "Marimite" or if I was floating on a cloud.  It's sung beautifully.  In fact, I'm listening to theme right now as I write this review.  (Lol!  Oh lord, I'm further alienating myself from my non-anime friends.  I actually don't know anyone to discuss anime with... hence one of the reasons for this journal.)  Anywho, the art on the show isn't that bad either.  I really don't know how to rate the artwork on animes, especially since I haven't seen a lot of varieties of them.  I'll probably only mention the artwork in future reviews if I completely love it or utterly disliked it.  I suppose that's really all I have to say about this show.  I'm going to skip the 'Favorite Quote" section since I listed a quote earlier in this entry.  Hope my review was helpful! 

Favorite Characters: It's hard NOT to like Sumika because she's the protagonist.  On a relating note, that's one of the reasons why so many people don't like Ushio.  Personally, I'm not sure of my feelings on Ushio.  Perhaps if I knew her perspective more, she wouldn't seem so insensitive sometimes.  I'm not sure if Tomoe was suppose to be a popular character, but she's really likeable among fans.  I like her too.  She has the range of being really mature to being a little wacky.  Her driving skills leave a lot to be desired as well.
 
On an ending note: If you want to watch a shoujo-ai with semi-yuri anime that deals with the complications of relationships, friendships, and growing up with a slight humor undertone, then you'll probably enjoy this.  Personally, I grow weary of yuri teases similar to "Marimite".  I'm in search of something with more defined relationships with a well-written storyline in a slice-of-life setting, but it's always interesting to see what's out there as well.
 

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★