30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 10

Day 10 - Favourite Slice of Life anime

I'm going to take this as 'slice of life, that doesn't have supernatural elements.' In which case, Hanasaku Iroha takes the cake. When I see the words 'slice of life', I do not usually think 'exciting', but that's exactly what this anime is. I just can't stop watching it!

30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 9

Day 9 - Saddest Anime Scene Ever

Nagisa's death from Clannad ~After Story. Full stop, no questions asked. This scene was the first in an anime to actually make me cry. And I didn't just cry, I sobbed until I couldn't breathe properly. I couldn't even watch the opening animation for the next six or so episodes without tearing up, because the music was so emotional. And seriously, Tomoya crying over her, holding their new born baby, talking about the future and all the things they'll do as a family, as if to convince himself that she wasn't going to die. And once she actually died "Nagisa! Nagisa! You promised you'll always be with me... we promised we will many times, right?" with emotional montage playing in the background. Oh dear, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 3-8

Yes, I know this is late. My computer has been crashing and malfunctioning like crazy, so there's my excuse. Enjoy!

Day 3 - Your anime crush

Bah. I wish I could be bothered to get a better picture.

There's too many to list, really. Fakir from Princess Tutu is my all time favourite character, and biggest anime crush ever (hello, have you seen his Estrogen Brigade Bait page? /fans self/ Tall dark and snarky, jerk turned heart of gold, loves unconditionally, troubled but cute, very protective, can cook, ride horses, write stories that come true and is an epic ballet dancer. I'm still not sure that I didn't dream him up...) but I don't want everything on here to be from PT.

So, I am also giving a honourable mention to the entire male cast of Hakushaku to Yousei. I have never seen so many good looking males in an anime before. It was awesomesauce and mmsauce mixed together. In particular, I loved Edgar J.C Ashenbert. His ash-mauve eyes, ridiculously flirty behaviour and troubled past made me get my mmm thang on every time he came on screen.

I would list the many, many more, but there was only supposed to be one in the first place. I have far too many.

Day 4 - Anime you’re ashamed you enjoyed

Arakawa Under the Bridge. Just... yeah. It is the weirdest thing I have ever watched, but gosh I loved it. I mean, nothing even made sense half the time, but it made me laugh all the same. I don't even try to explain this one to people because, how can you? I'd like to note right now that my favourite character has a star for a head, and claims he is an alien. Yeah.

Day 5 - Anime character you feel you are most like (or wish you were)

I think I loved Princess Tutu so much, because I connected with all four of the protagonsists so much, and empathised with them. There really was a bit of myself in each of them. But, I'm using that anime for two other days, so I'll go with something else. Who do I wish I was? It would be pretty fun to be Misaki from Maid-sama! or Amu from Shugo Chara!. Not to mention, both of them have Usui and Ikuto in love with them, respectively, so yaysauce. I think I'd like to be Lydia from Hakushaku to Yousei the most, though. I love her hair, and the way in which she won't back down on what she believes in. Did I mention the fact that she lives in presumably 1800s England. And she has two swoony-worthy guys in love with her. And she can see fairies. And she has caramel coloured hair. And she gets to live in a mansion with Edgar. I'm ridiculously jealous.

Day 6 - Most annoying anime character

Jaken from InuYasha. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT STUPID TOAD-THING? "Lord Sesshomaruuuuuuu!?" Seriously thing, shut up. No one likes you. Even Sesshy thinks you're useless.

Day 7 - Favorite anime couple

Fakiru. My OTP to end all OTPs. I'd never had much interest in fandoms, fanfics, fanart or anything that wasn't an original show... Then I came across this pairing. I think my love of them stems from my whole Elizabeth/Darcy shipping-style complex. Both characters are just so stubborn; they just can't see how similar they really are. In their defence, they do have a lot of differences. This causes them to fight... a lot, but in my opinion, the best relationships are ones where both people are very different, but have the same values. That is why this pairing wins. Also "I'll stay by your side forever" was the most romantic, squee-worthy line like, ever.

Day 8 - Most epic scene ever

The last episode of Death Note. 'Nuff said.

Okay, so this list really doesn't express the scope of animes I've watched... There are just some that particularly stick with me, and come to mind when doing this. Hopefully my computer will stop crashing, and I'll stay more on top of this list in the future. ^^

Spice and Wolf + Hanasaku Iroha Episode 1

Dear reader, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to fulfil my aforementioned challenge of watching three animes in three weeks on account of having a life. I know, how would have guessed that I would actually do stuff? Realistically, no one is reading this, and I am just writing it to express myself anyway. In which case, there is no problem. Awesomeballs. Yes, I just ended a formal address with 'awesomeballs because I am cool like that.

I'm back! My goodness, I've really been slacking off with blogging for the past few days. Tomorrow I shall update the 30 Day Anime Challenge posts because, wow, I've gotten behind. Anyway, I've decided to move on from Maid-sama! even though I was enjoying it very much. Why? Because I really do want to at least start three new anime during my mid-year break, and as you can see from the title, I now have. Originally, I'd intended to watch Spice and Wolf  or Baccano! next, but after watching one episode of Hanasaku Iroha, I can tell that it's going to be the one I watch first.

I started Spice and Wolf a few days ago, and to be honest, it wasn't as good as I had hoped. I'd read so many good things about it, so I expected to be hooked from the first minute. I can't say why I wasn't, because there were a lot of things that I liked about it. Seeing as it's getting late, and I want to sleep, I'm just going to take the synopsis from the TV Tropes page.

The setting of both the novels and anime is a middle-ages European-esque world. Lawrence, a traveling merchant, accidentally frees the local harvest god, a centuries-old giant wolf named Holo who takes the form of a young girl. She convinces him to let her travel with him and seek out her dimly-remembered homeland.

Interestingly, the main thrust of the anime is centered more on the business of Lawrence than on Holo's supernatural nature. Instead of action or fanservice, Spice and Wolf is far more likely to focus on an in-depth discussion on the currency exchange market, with no notable attempt to make it more interesting by going over the top. Surprisingly, the show does this rather well using character interaction and business intrigue. The romance between Lawrence and Holo is also a major part of the plot. 

Uncharacteristically, I am looking forward to this series focusing in on Lawrence's business, because there was some pretty blatant fanservice in the first episode (for guys that is. No chests for me D:). That said, I love the animation. Scenery porn and what not aside, there are small things that make me really like it. Like Holo's smile. It's just so... cheeky. Okay, so I just like Holo in general. She's a very interesting female protagonist, and proved to be even more complex than I would have thought. Props to Lawrence for keeping his mind on business when Chloe was so blatantly throwing herself at him. That could have been because, you know, he was thinking about a certain naked female fox harvest-god, though. I really do ship that.

Now, I must gush about the opening. To me, an opening sums up a show. Let's use Princess Tutu, for an example, because I love to mention this anime whenever possible to cover for the fact that I'm much to scared to talk to people about how much I love it in general life. Straight away, I could tell that the show wasn't going to be the fluffy-happy-young story that it claimed to be, because the opening was so incredibly melancholy. I must confess though, I laugh almost every time I watch it, because I end up clasping my hands to my heart and singing along in a very over-dramatic fashion. But, I digress. The opening to Spice and Wolf is amazing. Like, amazing. So amazing that it needs to be shared here. Watch it. Now. I love that it's not your typical upbeat-yayteimz opening, though these do have their place (Change the World from InuYasha, anyone?) It is just so beautiful! There's this real sense of thoguhtfulness that come with it, which I adore. The opening alone makes me want to watch more of the show. Which is lucky, because I just didn't feel hooked at the end of the first episode. It's really bugging me that I didn't, because I can't say there was anything I disliked about the show, and there was much that I did like. Then again, all of my favourite animes, I dropped after the first episode or so, only realising that I loved them after returning to them, sometimes months later. So I'm sure that I'll finish Spice and Wolf, and if it manages to hook me in, I might watch the second season as well.

On to Hanasaku Iroha. I've been wanting to watch this anime all season, and now I'm kind of bummed that I left it so late to start, because it ends next week. This is one of the few animes I have ever watched that has completely grabbed me from the first episode, and it's one that I didn't really expect to. Ohai there TV Trope summary. Thankyou for making my life easier.

The comedy-drama series follows sixteen-year-old Ohana Matsumae, a mildly happy-go-lucky but pragmatic girl who dreams for drama in her typically normal life of school alongside her best friend Koichi "Ko" Tanemura.

When Ohana arrives home from another day of school, her eccentric mother Satsuki decides to send her to live with her estranged grandmother while Satsuki plans to flee their apartment with her boyfriend after he racks up substantial debt in their name. Ohana tells Ko, who confesses his feelings for her, but their relationship grows awkward when Ohana is too surprised to respond and Ko runs off without telling her goodbye.

Ohana's mood soon brightens only to get quickly get dashed against the rocks when she finds out the hot spring inn—Kissuiso—isn't quite to her fantasy as her unfeeling grandmother Sui Shijima quickly puts her to work, she runs afoul with coworker Minko "Minchi" Tsurugi, and each of Ohana's well-intentioned gestures towards Minko end up with not-so-pleasant results.

Despite this, Ohana tries to not let the circumstances get her down as she works hard in her new environment.

Okay, so whoa. If this and Ano Hana represent the Spring 2011 season fairly, than it has been quite amazing. Despite the fact that Ohana looks ten rather than sixteen, I like her. She reminds me a lot of myself in the way that she always dramatises everything, and thinks of her life as a story. Unlike her, I wouldn't allow my grandmother who I had just met to slap me in the face three times without sheet going down. She's probably just a better person than I am.

On to the reviewing. Animation is like... whoaballs. When I say scenery porn, I mean scenery porn. It even has a sort of 3D feel to it at times, which is cool. Kind of reminds me of something KyonAni would do, but not as freakishly realistic. I also like the way the character's mouthes are illustrated. It's just that bit more detailed than most shows, and yeah, I just always seem to notice mouths mkay. Do not judge me!

The characters are quite messed up, which always makes for good drama. I'm a little annoyed at myself for picking a third slice of life to watch in a row, but the heart wants what it wants. I never thought I would like magical girl or slice of life, and they're turning out to be my two favourite genres. I must really suck at predicting myself /laughs/.

So, my first impression of this show has been very good. Love the characters, it's not too boring-slice-of-lifey, the animation is great, lots of drama, voice acting is good so far. My only complaint is the opening song. I haven't bothered to research what is it yet, but the singer's voice is rather grating. On the other hand, the opening animation is fantastic.

Apologies, I was going to upload Hanasaku Iroha screenshots for this post, but my computer had a security issue. Bummer.

I just watched the S&W OP five times straight, and now I feel like watching the next episode. See how fickle I am? The is [demisemiquavergirl] signing out. I hope you are having better luck prioritising anime than I am!

30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Your favourite anime that you have watched so far.

It's a big call, but I'm going to go with Princess Tutu. Whenever I mention the name to people, they give me a look that is somewhere between confusion and amusement. I will agree, it has one of the silliest names ever. But, title aside, the show is completely fantastic. There is so much attention to detail in the art, even if it is almost ten years old. The characters are interesting, and the second season makes you question reality. There's also a lot of free will/determinist stuff kicking off, which is awesome for literary nerds, such as myself.

One of the things I loved about the show is its inclusion of classical music. Instead of being used in some gimmicky way, ballet and classical music is used to enhance the show, as the oprettas in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera are. I also love that the show has a very open-ended conclusion for the two main characters. While the less popular pairing gets to go off, get married and live happily ever after, the main heroine is left with nothing. Well, nothing except an incredibly hot ballet-dancing knight-turned-writer, who loves her unconditionally. Which is lucky for her, because she ends up stuck as a duck, with everyone else forgetting that she ever existed. One could say that the ending is very bittersweet, but that's what makes it amazing.

The shipping in this show is awesome. You really can't predict how the ships are going to go from the beginning. Actually, unless you've read spoilers, you've got next to no chance of guessing what's going to happen in the show. All of the characters go through a massive development process. Despite all the fairytale/ballet allusions, the characters in the show are very real, and display a lot of raw emotion. What you'd expect to be a children's anime turns out to be a very emotional and sometimes harsh journey. Like Drosselmeyer, the omnipresent story writer and controller of fate, I am a sucker for tragedies.

Is it sad to say that I miss this show? Because I do. I think I will go watch an episode now...

Ano Hana: Episode 11 (Final)

Warning: This post contains many spoilers.

I had such a strange feeling, leading up to this episode. Last night, it was somewhat comprised of excitement, mixed with anticipation and a hint of apprehension. As I waited, not so patiently, this morning for the episode to be subbed, the feeling of anticipation grew and grew. What was to become of the characters that I had come to love so much? Would everything be tied up? Would it be left open-ended? Would anyone die? Would romance blossom? Would the group unite, or would they fall apart? Needless to say, by the time I actually watched the episode, I was already emotional.

I had high expectations for this episode and this anime. Not only did it exceed these, but it totally obliterated them. From the second scene of the episode, I was crying. I didn't realise, until the ED music kicked in, that I'd never stopped. I believe that it takes an ending to really cement how wonderful a journey has been. A sad ending highlights this even more, as you can contrast both the good and bad times. I honestly don't know whether the ending was happy or sad. It would most correctly be classed as "bittersweet." Why? Because Menma got her wish, and everyone sorted out their issues. That's a good thing... right? If only it were that simple. Let's go recap the episode.

Jintan is confused as to why Menma does not disappear after the group set off the rocket. He has assumed that this was her wish, and granting it would help her pass on.



The Super Peace Busters call Jintan to meet with them. And, one by one, everyone confesses to being selfish. Tears ahoy!

First is Anaru, who breaks down, saying that she wanted Menma to pass on, so she could have a chance at winning Jintan's heart...

Yukiatsu is soon to follow, admitting that he hasn't changed, and he still loves Menma.

This causes Tsuruko to have her break down. After much prompting from Anaru, she finally confesses her feelings for Yukiatsu, but knows that they will never be requited.

And then there's Poppo, hoo boy. For most of the series, Poppo acts as the comic relief. However, in this scence we see him reduced to a sobbing mess, confessing to everyone that he saw Menma die. Turns out, he had been suffering from extreme guilt, because he wasn't able to save her.

Jintan finally ackowledges that Menma loved all of the group members, and wants to help them say goodbye to her. This is a big change from the guy who wanted Menma all to himself, and relished in the knowledge that the others couldn't see her.

Yukiatsu... Giving credit to Jintan as the leader. Whoa.

Jintan finds that Menma as fading away, as she has remembered her wish: To make Jintan cry.

He goes to reunite Menma with the group for one last time, only to find that he can no longer see her. To make him feel better, a teary Menma tells him that she is simply playing hide-and-seek.

The group go looking for her. They're all a mess.

Desperate to tell everyone that she loves them, Menma writes notes in her diary with her remaining strength.

...and leaves them under a tree. More super-sad-crying-times ensue when they read them.

Jintan insists on seeing Menma again, and to everyone's surprise, she appears before their very eyes. Finally, the group are all able to tell Menma that they love her.

After admitting that she wants to stay with them forever, Menma disappears.

Cue emotional epilogue montage, where everyone is finally moving on with their life. We are left with this image...

I don't think I've cried so much in an anime since Clannad ~After Story. Actually, the whole thing was quite reminiscent of Clannad. You've got the guy with no motivation, helping out the moe girl, and other friends. Both also have the added supernatural element, on top of being slice of life tragedies. I was a massive fan of the Clannad franchise, having watched both series and played most routes on the visual novel. Still, if I had to choose between them, I would say that AnoHana is just that little bit better. It has been firmly cemented as my second favourite anime, losing out only to magical-girl drama Princess Tutu, but that's only due to my personal emotional connection with that particular show.

I'm very impressed that the creators of AnoHana managed to tie everything up in the short time they had, and do it extrodinarily well. It was both heartbreaking and interesting to see all the characters finally break down, and move on. I did like that no new romantic bonds were formed in this episode; the character simply went on existing as friends, with any relationship development left open ended. This was the episode to either make or break the show, and in my humble opinion it made for the perfect end to an amazing series.

I want to spend more time with all of you! I want us to play together. So I'm going to be reincarnated, and then I'll be with you all again! So, now that Jintan's cried and we've said goodbye... You found me! - Menma's last words

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

Ooh, I can feel the tension building in the air! Okay, so it doesn't help that I just got linked to some "important announcement from J. K. Rowling" on Youtube that's apparently happening in just over five minutes. I stopped following Harry Potter after the last book was released, but it'll be fun to see whatever aforementioned author has to announce, be it trivial or not.

That aside, I have been having a countdown of my own; one to the release of the final episode of Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. AnoHana, as it is affectionately called, is an anime-first, 11 episode series that started airing in Japan on April 15th of this year. Not only is it an amazing anime that I will be sad to see end, but it is also the first ongoing anime that I have watched. Having only been on the anime scene for under a year, I hadn't ever really looked at what new shows were being released or bothered to watch them. That was until I stumbled across AnoHana.

Literally translating into English as "We still don't know the name of the flower we saw that day," AnoHana tells the story of a group of childhood friends, who grow apart when one of them dies.

- INTERJECTION! asdha,sgdahn. WTF sort of announcement was that, J.K Rowling? Additional info on Harry Potter sounds cool, but I was expecting something... more. More than Pottermore. A new series, or something published. Bah! Edit: It actually looks kinda cool. It would be better if the site didn't keep crashing though! Double bah!

My apologies, I had to get that out of the way. Moving on! When Menma, one of the groupmembers dies, those left living find themselves torn apart and a mess, filled with guilt and depression. Ten years later, the leader of the group, Jinta Yadomi (Jintan), has since become a recluse in his home. One hot summer's day, an older looking Menma appears to him and tells him to grant her wish, which she cannot remember. In a bid to try and help the ghost, Jinta must reuinte with his group of childhood friends, but nothing comes easily. Everyone has changed over the years, and it turns out that only Jinta can see Menma, so the group are reluctant to even believe in her existance.

Naraku Anjou (Anaru), who has had a crush in Jinta since childhood, is now the perfect picture of popularity. Atsumu Matsuyuki (Yukiatsu) is a popular A student, and popular with the ladies. Chiriko Tsurumi (Tsuruko) is his equally intelligent friend. Tetsudo Hisakawa (Poppo) has travelled the World, and stills carries his happy disposition. However, all of them still carry scars from the past, and have not truly moved on from their childhood. Anaru cannot face the fact that Jintan loved, and still loves Menma, not her. Yukiatsu, who had been in love with Menma, ends up crossdressing as her, to deal with his guilt over her death. Tsuruko is deeply troubled by the fact that Yukiatsu never has, or probably ever will love her, and Poppo still feels like the unintelligent outsider of the group. As for Jintan, well, he's just downright depressed, because shortly before Menma died, when he could have admitted his feelings for her, he instead insulted her. He still harbours feelings for her, and does not want to grant her wish, because he doesn't want her to leave. And Menma's dead and only one of her friends can see her, so obviously she's got tonnes of problems.

There has been so much going on is this anime, I don't even know how to summarise it in a post. There is a love like, dodecahedron or something going on. The relationships in theis show are so complicated and very delicate. From the first episode, I expected a lot from Ano Hana. So far, it hasn't let me down. The storyline has been heartbreaking, and reduced me to tears more than once. The only problem I can see is that the series is too short. I don't know how they're going to wrap everything up in one episode, because there is still so much that needs to be accomplished, plot-wise. That said, I have great faith that the creators of this show can pull it off. Episode 10 was nothing short of spectacular; one of the best episodes in an anime I have ever seen.

I have no doubt that I will be getting up early to download the final episode tomorrow morning, so I should go and get some sleep. However, I shall leave you with a wrap up of my opinions. Look out for what is sure to be a massive post on the finale, tomorrow!

Animation: 9.5/10. I'll admit, I'm not particularly picky when it comes to animation, but this show just blew me away. Such a vibrant colour palette is used, and the scenery shots are just gorgeous! Chin-wise, the characters could have been animated a little better, but that's the only complaint I can find.

Soundtrack: 9/10. Just... amazing. The opening and closing songs are just perfect, with the latter even bringing a tear to my eye on the occasion. The music used throughout the show also compliments the storyline well, and adds tension where need be.

Characters: 8.5/10. There are a lot of interesting, real and intricate characters in this show. Yukiatsu, Anaru and Tsuruko in particular, have always interested me. However, Jintan is quite transparent, and accounts for the loss of points in the catagory.

Voice acting: 9/10. Spot-on. There's nothing more to say. Oh, and Takahiro Sakurai (Yukiatsu). I will forever love him as a VA. He rocks my socks.

Story line: 9.5/10. So far, I have been completely immersed in the story. I have found it so complete beautiful and touching, yet also quite fun. Will the finale ruin this, or cement it? Only time will tell...

Overall: 9/10. An excellent anime, and so far, my second favourite ever. Bring on the finale!

From left to right: Poppo, Anaru, Menma, Jintan, Tsuruko, Yukiatsu.