Ano Natsu de Matteru Final

March 30th, 2012 in Anime, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Episodic Reviews by

"If you want to mess with her...I'll show you how badass I am"

A brilliant An ABSOLUTELY PERFECT end to what was possibly the best anime this season, notwithstanding the fact that they were delivering a very cliché story I have to say that they did an awesome job with it. Throughout the course of this episode I pretty much switched through 4 phases.

The first being the hype of Remon handling that robot bus like it was a toy car and the fact that she was indeed MIB (finally our suspicions have been confirmed). This also explains how she knew Manami (Tetsurou’s sister) seeing as her husband was also MIB. My only remaining question is… how old is remon? Also we got to see biker Rinon again (cen never get tired of seeing that)

The second was of intense anticipation and ‘awww-they-look-so-cute-together-ness’ from the point where they were on the train up till that crystal memory pod archive thing appeared from the lake and placed them both in the memory. Im my mind I thought YES! THEY MADE IT! AWESOME! I Have to give it to Ichika and Kaito they are an awesome couple, they don’t struggle to say what needs to be said or what is important (glares at Kimi ni Todoke, whole bleddy season and nothing significant happened). (more…)

Fan Service Alert 1 – Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny OVA

March 27th, 2012 in Anime, Fan Service Alert, General Reviews, Ikki Tousen by

Do you remember that scene from “Young Frankenstein” where Gene Wilder is in bed, tossing and turning with anxiety? Then he cries out “All right, you win. You win. I give. I’ll say it. I’ll say it. I’ll say it. DESTINY! DESTINY! NO ESCAPING THAT FOR ME! DESTINY! DESTINY! NO ESCAPING THAT FOR ME!

I give up. It’s that I feel many animes are going overboard with the fan services to the point that the show is impaired from being as good as it could be. Now, it seems some have dropped the pretense and are pure fan service, so if you are on the prowl for such offerings, here you go.

I have always had problems with Ikki Tousen in the fan service aspect of it. I mean, we are talking major league perversion. In the first series, Ikki has no concept of undergarments and is, for the most part, naked, her gigantic jugs heaving about for guys to grope and grab, and the guys grope and grab, as her gigantic jugs are heaving about. Forget conjugating verbs! And when these ladies fight, they are pretty much denuded while in their combat mode. I gave this the highest rating on my ecchi meter, not just merely for the nakedness, but the other aspects of it, mainly intent and implication. (more…)

Short Run Series V – “Kamen” Get It

March 24th, 2012 in Anime, General Reviews, Kekko Kamen, Short Run Series by

This is a strange series (not “Eiken” strange, more strangely strange or oddly weird). Kekko Kamen is a parody of Gekko Kamen. It was originally a joke that Go Nagai, the original manga artist for this, expected the production company to deny. Instead, they embraced it whole-heartedly. Rather odd for 1991, both in idea and content. And all accomplished in a mere four episodes.

We find ourselves at the Toenail of Satan’s Spartan Academy of Higher Education (and try and get THAT on a bumper sticker if your child was an honor student), where students are put through rigorous educational and testing travails that serve no real purpose other than to abuse and denigrate. Our heroine in question, Mayumi Takahashi (topless, lower right), is really not that good of a student. Whether she lacks the wherewithal to be a better student or the academic structure does not allow her to thrive or perhaps she is misdiagnosed and really has ADD or some other learning disability, she is constantly at the bottom of her class. When the Midnight Test Session goes badly for her, she is removed by her teacher (the man dressed in hospital scrubs, including the face mask) and confronted by the Principal (The Toenail of Satan, another masked man who wear a jester mask; the two guys in upper right) who then proceeds to sexually humiliate our hapless scholar. She is trussed up with chains, spread-eagled across a wall, frantically awaiting her fate.

A new female teacher of discipline (who looks suspiciously like a Nazi of some caliber or ilk; that is her getting clobbered in lower left) comes in and proceeds to remove Mayumi’s clothing with a whip, stripping it away lash by lash. Before the final action can be done, before she is completely denuded, the Teutonic Terror is stopped by….Kekko Kamen! (more…)

Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 11

March 22nd, 2012 in Anime, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Episodic Reviews by

I'm liking the focus Kaito!

What started out as a heart-wrenching parting of friends turned out to be a comical race against the clock to God knows were. The pace this episode was nowhere near the usual for this show, it was actually slightly rushed but was a pleasant change. At the end of this episode I’m sure everyone who has been following this show was on their toes anxiously anticipating the next moment.

One more episode to go, the grand finale. Will they find the place and promote Earth from level F allowing Ichika to stay? Or will they find something else entirely, something so profound that although Ichika has to leave they all come to a greater realization that it was for the best? While all points to option one Ano Natsu has proven itself to be very unpredictable time and time again (:O is that bus part Optimus Prime??)

Its good to finally have everyone aware of each others feelings and even better that we have things settled Tetsurou x Mio and Kaito x Ichika. Kanna, well unless Ichika leaves then she’ll just have to deal with being alone for now although I love how she screamed ‘You’ll regret it in 3 years’ (even though i’m pretty sure he won’t). Well as we say in le français comme si comme ça (one can interpret it here as.. ‘it is as it is’). (more…)

I Ain’t “Maken” It

March 17th, 2012 in Anime, General Reviews, Maken-ki! Battling Venus by

This is what I consider to be part of the ‘new wave’ of anime. Now, I haven’t been watching anime as long or as intently as others, but I can still spot a trend and I do not really like things as they are going down. I gave a kind of partial comment of this show a while back, but I wanted to give this series a full opportunity to prove itself. It did, but not how I wanted it to go down.

The full title is “Maken-Ki – Battling Venus” (Pronounce that word ‘mockin’, as you feel that that you are being mocked).

Takeru Ohyama (the dweeb in the lower right corner) has been accepted into TenbiAcademy, which recently went co-ed. He knows absolutely nothing of the school, save that it would accept him. He meets Haruko Amaya (the one with the kendo staff in the center), who is an old childhood friend, but circumstances have kept them apart for at least three years. When he meets her, he is surprised that she has a massive pair of breasts on her…grown into a beautiful and mature woman. (more…)

Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 10

March 15th, 2012 in Anime, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Episodic Reviews by

He just looks awesome doesn't he?

Episode 10 of the 12 to air this season and although things are starting to shape up to give us all the nice mellow ending that everyone would be content with, somewhere in my gut there’s a little man screaming out that we haven’t seen all there is to offer. That there is something hidden in the plot just waiting to pop. And while on one hand I really want things to settle so that the anime can end, I also want something BIG forcing there to be a second season (hey I really like that show ok).

As I mentioned today was relatively slow but not in any negative way whatsoever, we had quite a bit of personal growth where Kanna and Tetsurou is concerned and Mio is very gradually coming out of her shell. Although our main characters Kaito and Ichika were not the focus of this episode, the few moments where they had their screen time was nothing less than fastastic (especially at that point where Remon slides Kaito that *clears throat* item ). And for those who failed to notice >.< Kaito not only immediately knew what it was but stashed it into his pocket, and although it seemed as if he only took it so Ichika would not see it. When the need arrives *whispers* Kaito you’re good to go.  (more…)

Façade : A little more about me

March 13th, 2012 in Featured, Miscellaneous by

facade-gin-mushishi1

Ever so many times in the past I have been asked ‘What do you do when you’re not watching anime?’ and I suppose I could always reply with the very obvious ‘well blogging of course!’. Truth be told, while a lot of my free time goes into blogging I do have school, my other half and other miscellaneous hobbies. Now as the first two are private and shall forever remain a mystery I shall be giving some insight on my other hobbies (yay >.<!!).

  • SLEEP! –  I’m not sure if this can exactly be considered a hobby but it seems recently I’ve been doing it so much I might as well put it in.
  • Gaming – Sad to say I haven’t exactly had much time for this one recently (sacrifice sleep time? Nevuh!). As I prefer the community feel of MMORPG’S my game of choice would be Cabal Online but I should also mention at a certain point it sucked up so much of my time (and some money) I might as well have switched to Party Casino (at least there I would have the chance of winning!)
  • Information Security – Some call it hacking, others call it penetration testing but whatever the name it involves compromising a vulnerable system which actually is as thrilling as it sounds minus well, what you see on tv (it’s nowhere near as quick and easy as they make it seem.. well most times anyways). Ah yes, I believe it is also worth mentioning that I only work on the ethical side of the spectrum and have had my certification for about 3 years now (so there’s some experience under my belt). (more…)

Cheese and “Macademi”

March 12th, 2012 in Anime, General Reviews, Magician's Academy by

Welcome to JurassicPark….I mean, Macademi Wasshoi! One of the finest magician’s academies anywhere, even though it does exist in an alternate dimension and it is a bit of a workout to get to it, but if you want to better who you are as a magician, this is the place to be.

Takuto Hasegawa (far right) lives in two worlds, spending a lot of his time at the Academy. Think of it like Hogwarts, but not as dark or imposing. One day, while preparing for a summoning spell exam, he happens to create a girl (look, I know it hard to get a date as a teen, but really!) whom he calls Tanarotte (the one in the Daisy Dukes soaring through the air). But this creates a problem. Tanarotte can either be a God or a Demon and this throws off the balance between all three worlds (Earth being in the middle).

When emissaries come out from the other two worlds to try and dispatch Tanarotte, they are pummeled into submission by her. She has not made the decision what she wants to be, but since she is hopelessly devoted to Takuto, it is felt that as long as he keeps her happy, things will be OK. To that end, the bulk of the show revolves around how Tanarotte tries to understand her surroundings. However, when she does not understand her full power, which is often, things get out of hand. (more…)

There Are Two Kinds of “Destructions”

March 9th, 2012 in Anime, General Reviews, Sands of Destruction by

This certainly started out interestingly enough. We are in an Alternate Universe, where Man is the subservient creature, bending to the will of the Beasts. They are in a second-class citizenship status, not much more than how we treat animals. There are all grades of beasts, from those with human features, but the ears and tail, all the way up to full beasts. Into this mix, we find Kyrie Illunis (he’s in the number one slot), just your normal wolf-beast, slaving away at a local eatery. There are whispers afoot about a mysterious woman, Morte Asherah (number two slot), a member of the World Destruction Committee, who is in possession of the Destruct Code, a weapon of unbelievable power and fury, which has the might to destroy an entire planet, reducing it, and everyone and everything on it, to sand.

It is a busy lunch hour and Kyrie is bussing tables and slapping down food, when a hooded figure comes in, asking for a meal. As he serves her, the local constabulatory comes in and confronts his woman, who is no other than the aforementioned Morte. Angry that she spent the last of her money on a meal she cannot have, she takes Kyrie hostage, brandishing a huge sword blade. If she cannot go free, many will die, starting with Kyrie. At that point, Kyrie’s ears fall off. He was wearing a costume? He’s a human? Well, he needs a job. They fight their way free from the café, enlisting the help of Toppy Toplan (number six slot), who is a dwarf bear of incredible strength and power. In rescuing them, he also becomes part of the World Destruction Committee. (more…)

Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 9

March 6th, 2012 in Anime, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Episodic Reviews by

This week’s episode of Ano was nothing short of a masterpiece hitting a straight 12 on the Richter Scale. Flashing back to last week we ended with a cliffhanger where the rescue pod that was sent down to pick up Ichika got destroyed (compliments to our tag team of Rinon and Kaito) and with Kaito injured in the process she had to use her ‘skill’ to heal him.

Now of course the explosion of an alien pod is going to attract quite a bit of attention and Ichika’s friends had just enough time to arrive on scene to see Ichika in her vulnerable state. Now I will give it to Ichika, while she could’ve hid it or make up some sort of excuse she didn’t, she immediately decided to fess up and tell her friends what she really is

(more…)