Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Winter 2009

thought i'll do it different this year and blog each new Winter series as i watch them. if not, it'll be another 2 weeks before i can get all my biased opinions up.

all biased opinions are up!


posted 19 Jan,

Dance In The Vampire Bund
a vampire princess and her werewolf protector. sounds similar to Underworld anyone? though the vampire princess definitely looks more like Kirsten Dunst from Interview with the Vampire compared to Kate Beckinsale.

at least i wouldn't need to read the manga, given that it's not following the manga story, just using the settings and characters. the first 2 episodes were good, so it's safe to say i will continue watching to the end.

Nodame Cantabile Finale
once again, i'm not happy that it is another 11-episodes season. i mean, this is the Finale, how are they gonna round everything in 11 episodes? they have at least 5-6 books of materials to cover!

they've also changed the flow of the story, as i've noticed from the Paris-hen, so i'm not very sure how they're gonna fit Chiaki's dad back into the story.

well, as long as they don't have to rush through it. seriously though, it should be a longer series.

update on Haru Toki 3:
turns out, this is only a 1-hr special!! i totally missed all the parts that said it was only a special!

the only decent news is that the DVDs that ships in March will extend the special to 1.5hr. but still, this is somewhat depressing.

i need Ryuuki Kuro-sama.

posted 12 Jan,

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
although this has the magical aspect that usually appeals to me, i'm not very convinced by how the "summoning war system" is being carried out. each team "fight" by summoning chibi-versions of themselves, but there's really no actual fighting involved, even though they went to the extent of having battle systems in place.

once in a while, there'll be that one harem show that will interest me enough to watch. like Toradora, or Tokimeki Memorial.

this just happens to be it. at least for now.

as long as it doesn't irritates me as it progresses, i will probably follow through to the end.

Hanamaru Youchien
4-year-olds starting kindergarten with a new male teacher in tow. how they're gonna create havoc in school is basically what this show will be about.

i'm loving this for the same reason why i love Potemayo.

cos it is just too kawaii!

it's not as brainless as Potetan is, but it is definitely a more refreshing one, especially with the overload of ecchi/moe fanservice shows this season.

someday, they will have a season where it's fanservice for the ladies.

bring out all the BLs and romance dramas that wouldn't show any part of the female anatomy!!

posted 11 Jan,

Durarara!!
set in Ikebukuro with lots of urban legends and other supernatural encounters, it has a very Bakemonogatari feel to it even though it is by separate production companies. which hopefully wouldn't kill my interest in it since it looks quite promising for me to keep watching.

episode 1 was a major character-intro, so much so that i'm abit confused/overwhelmed. i'm sure future episodes will go into the characters in more details.

i'm quite happy to hear Miyano Mamoru back. and not just back, but voicing the more "genki" type of character that i prefer him in. although with this kind of genre, i wonder if he will have a different side to him halfway through the show.

posted 06 Jan,

So-Ra-No-Wo-To
a more serious version of K-ON. that's the first thought that came into my mind after episode 1. and i'm sure everyone else who've watched this will do the usual comparison between these two.

story-wise, i'm quite happy with the pace. but then again, i'm also more used to these slice-of-life dramas than anybody else i know.

i'm also starting to love trumpets more than the usual piano/violin/guitar that appears frequently in most music-based anime. especially after watching the Macross F Galaxy Tour where they had 2 fantastic trumpeters who totally stole the concert right under the divas' (Megumi and May'n) noses.

so yes, i think i'm gonna enjoy this show quite well.

posted 05 Jan,

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: Owari Naki Unmei
final anime to come out of the whole franchise. looks to be a direct sequel of some sort to the special from 2007 (HaruToki: Kurenai no Tsuki).

episode 1 was one-hour long instead of the usual 20min, which totally threw me off since i kept thinking it was gonna be a series. after checking again, found out it is actually a TV special. not sure how many episodes it will be, neither when the next episode will be out.

it's not just me. the boys are really getting cuter.

or maybe because it's been ages since i last saw them. in any case, i'm still swooning all over the place.

the other good thing is that they tend to bring back all the seiyuus for HaruToki, so many of my favorites are back together again.

No.1 pulling factor: Seki Tomokazu as Minamoto no Kurou Yoshitsune. seriously, i'm getting addicted to him voicing nobles/kings. and it's not just due to my SaiMon withdrawal. fine, it has everything to do with my SaiMon withdrawal. RYUUKI!!!

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