Lately I've been hooked on Soul Eater and Fairy Tail as my source of entertainment. Though there's certain things that do bug me, such as obvious plot twists, dry jokes and over-exaggerated characters, there are still things that I thoroughly appreciate - which may be why I have watched nothing but children anime for the past 6 months.
Fairy Tail
Rather than making perfect characters, the series creator make sure that each character has a flaw that they have to overcome - which we assume they overcome as they grow with age. This makes it really easy for us to side with the character and cheer them on as they overcome their imperfections.
Black Star from Soul Eater
Another thing about the protagonists is that they aren't hit with the cautious and hesitant nature of adults. They follow their hearts and go at things full throttle.
What I've noticed is that they establish certain roles and relationships that we the audience take as absolute. Examples of these are: Gray and Natsu fight but will always be best friends, Erza is dependable and will always be in the eright, Professor Stein is Shibusen's greatest asset. After making these clear, the series challenge these notions through different events and plot twists. This is a really good way of keeping the viewer engaged.
Igneel from Fairy Tail
The last thing I am going to talk about is that each of these series have a end=point which will signify the end of the narration. For Fairy Tail, it is when Natsu finds Igneel. For Soul Eater, it is when the witches, kishin, and Shinigami end their war. This doesn't necessarily mean that this is how the story will be resolved - it could end with no resolution (i.e.:Natsu accepts that he will not find Igneel) or minor resolution (i.e.: Shibusen beats Arachne but the war can start again in years time). But the magic with this is that there is an end point - we are assured of avoiding a never-ending anime loop that only makes episodes to generate gross income. This is really important for me personally. I appreciate series that focus more on the storyline than stretching episodes or creating a season hit.
Now if you excuse me, I need to watch this week's Fairy Tail =P
With my second semester of graduate school done (at officially 8am today). I am free to get back to what I love and that is blogging about my Otaku sensibilities. <3
Durarara started off as a Light Novel in April 2004. It was then adapted into a manga in 2009 and an anime in 2010. This post focuses on the anime since that is what I have been exposed to.
A still of by far my favourite scene in the series
What has gotten me thinking is the origins of memory and how it connects the brain to the heart. These thoughts were inspired by the character of Celty Sturluson, a headless rider from Ireland. She is in Japan in search of her missing head. She senses it to be in Ikebukuro and has been living there for 20 years as a transporter. Because of her disconnection from her head, she can't remember events prior to having her head stolen. She believes that obtaining her head will give her a greater sense of who she is.
Celty and Shinra, another character in the series.
Having taken a class on Cognition and Perception, I have been fortunate enough to read introductory psychology on how memory works. Basically, the brain takes information from the senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing) and interprets it based on similar experiences that has happened in the past. If it a completely new sensation, the brain still tries to tie it to the closest similar past experience as a means of trying to understand it. It is like when people eat frog and claim it as tasting like chicken.
Since Celty is a supernatural being, we are allowed to ignore how she perceives the world without the use of a brain. We are even allowed to ignore how she stores information of events from the past 20 years. Despite this, I keep thinking about what about a headless body makes someone soulful and human. And the obvious answer at first is the heart. But upon coming up with this conclusion I come to wonder, How does the heart exactly tie to emotional connotations? Its literal function is to pump blood throughout the various organ systems. Why does it hurt when we're sad or feel light upon happiness? Is this simply a trick achieved by the brain because this is how we are expected to feel? I leave this thought to you, the reader, in hopes that you come up with the answers I could not. :)
In terms of the anime itself, I highly recommend it. The character development is excellent. The plot line isn't painfully linear. The art itself isn't too stylized but sophisticated. As show above, it also makes you think.
Rating: 4.5/5 -> simply because I am not done the series
In this episode, we focus on Saki Tochou. He's very reserved and takes his job seriously. Today's passenger is scheduled to arrive at his station but is late. The rest of the gang start fooling around (except for Fuwa Roppongi) and this does not help Saki's nerves. The passenger finally arrives, stating that she was at Tochou station to renew her passport. It seems that she is being transferred to America. Being only 22, she feels like this is too big of a change and doesn't want to go. Saki shows her sights of Tochou, calming down her nerves and finally convincing her to get her passport renewed.
Touchou greeting a passenger that doesn't show up
Personally, I find this "let's solve your problem by going sightseeing" a bit insensitive. I mean I guess I shouldn't expect much since you are just a train station, You can't possibly have experiences and emotions that normal humans have. So your method of comforting is limited, but I personally would not feel relieved about spilling my guts and having you respond by talking about this park and that street.
This episode proves to be a bit more interesting since the passenger shows entertaining displeasure at being on the train and openly shows her desire to get off. This girl's dilemna is having been rejected entry into a marriage group meeting due to her young age of 14. Our hero of the week Shinjuku tries to use his smooth talking ways to mend her irritated heart. He gets rejected and has to reveal his 'more sensitive and sensible side' to make her happy. A bit predictable but oh well. Oh yes - there was 3 or so Shinjuku brothers who were just as flaky as him - and ah yes more sightseeing.
It's probably apparent that I'm getting irritated with this show and wonder "why am I blogging about this". I suppose I still carry hope that there's some crazy plot twist that will happen after we go through a special of each character - but chances of that look pretty slim.
The other fall series I will be covering is the second season of Darker than Black. It's been a really long time since I've seen the first season (> year) but I do remember it being pretty good.
Summary
We start our season off in Siberia, watching a family look at shooting stars, making wishes. It's pretty sappy and you begin to wonder if you're really watching the right show - until a big ass meteor falls on the family, causing the boy (Shion) to lose an eye.
We've returned to the present and we learn that Shion is now a contractor and his father is some creepy scientist who is researching ways to erase a person's memory. The only person from the happy shooting star scene to be left unscathed is the daughter Suou, but her obsession to photograph the world in order to show it to her now emotionless brother, could make people think otherwise.
After some scenes to remind us of contractors and reunite with a familiar face, creepy scientist's laboratory is infiltrated. Shion helps his sister escape (while escaping himself). But the father is not so lucky. He seems to have died with electrocution (sounding familiar yet?) and April (yeah she was there) and Suou now make their escape outside the lab. They get interrupted by an unidentified contractor but he proves to be nothing against April. She is recovering and drinking away, until she gets strangled by everybody's favourite masked man. We end the episode with the little M16 member (sorry little buddy, I forgot your name) and a shooting star falling in the background (signifying a contractor's death).
Did April just die? And why is Hei's hair longer than normal? Guess we'll know more (and see more Hei) in the next episode.
Watch it hereOne of the new fall series I will be following is Miracle Train. The concept of representing train stations with handsome boys intrigued me. How successful and what direction will this anime follow? Let's find out!
Synopsis
First impression is a light and comedic anime with no heavy plot. Very much like early Host club. Six train stations are represented as handsome male boys, who ride a train called the Miracle Train, to help out girls who have problems.
The first episode has a girl whom loses her dog on said train and meets these six guys, the conductor and an assistant. The boys help find her dog and uncover the real reason she is on the train. Nothing fancy nor special but most first episodes aren't.
Let's meet our stations!
六本木史 [Roppongi, Fumi]
We started the episode off at Roppongi Station and the intros with this guy. He somewhat reminds me of Fuji Syuusuke From Prince of Tennis. Soft spoken, and gentle. He was the one who discovered the girl's true problem and is thus far my favourite out of the bunch (this may change as we get to know the other characters.
汐留行 [Shiodome, Iku]
The Loli character for this series. Nothing extreme like Honey Sempai (Host Club) or Toyoma Yuki (Wallflower). Not much on him.
月島十六夜 [Tsukishima, Izayoi]
I can't distinguish much of a personality difference between him and Roppongi. He is well mannered and calm. Also seems to have a thing for fish (like the river named after him).
両国逸巳 [Ryogoku, Itsumi]
The playful, daredevil type. His manner of speaking is also very casual and crash (a big difference from Tsukishima's perfect formal speech). And why are all daredevil type characters red heads?
新宿凛太朗 [Shinjuku, Rintarou]
The flirtatious playboy type. He's also very cocky. Addressed the female character as 'Kitten" at the beginning.
都庁前 [Tochou, Saki]
The leader of the group. Logically because he is the end terminal station. The typical megane character. Calm, cool, and collected, but sucks at rock paper scissors.
Final Thoughts
It seems like it has a lot of potential. It obviously is going to be compared to a lot of harem series so it should try to do something that makes it stand out. One thing I'm particularly concerned about is how we are going to get attached to the characters since their main interaction is with women whom they have never met. We may only see their formal side 95% of the time. The other 5% would be towards each other. We'll have to see how it goes.
Watch it hereFull Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 24
A pretty good episode. Just as Gluttony transforms, Ran Fan, Mustang, and Hawkeye find a way to escape the disaster. Al, Ed, and Ling stay behind to fight Gluttony but end up being eaten.
With his new knowledge, Mustang heads over to central in hopes of allying with the higher ups of the Military in an attempt to usurp Bradley. When he gets there, he realizes that it is already too late and the Military itself is corrupted.
I was surprised by both plot twists. I half expected someone to get eaten, but didn't think it would be so many people. And the whole military in central being corrupt came as a surprise too. I guess I thought if you were the Fuhrer, why would you need to get your team involved when you had complete control of everything anyway? We also get introduced to Pride - another Hommonculi, who warns Wrath to keep his Human feelings in check.
Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 25
A great episode. Ling and Al are exploring Gluttony's stomach and run into Envy, who also got swallowed in an attempt to save Ed (a chosen sacrifice). A few discoveries are made here:
Back at HQ, Mustang is getting pwn'd by Bradley and has his team scattered to different branches, and Hawekeye becoming Bradley's personal assistant. If you want to hit low, steal the wingman.
Al, Glutonny, and baby panda are sitting in some field (that has a way too happy atmosphere) contemplating on the next course of actions. They decide to go to meet Glut's Father - more light on his identity perhaps?
It has been 9 months since watching the first installment and about ten years since watching the original series. So watching the second installment of the remake of Neon Genesis Evangelion felt like a whole new experience, while keeping the feeling of nostalgia
No matter what decade we are in, Shinji still needs to grow some balls
Setting the Stage
So in the first installment, Shinji joins NERVE as a way to get the attention and praise of his father (haha good luck with that). He moves in with Misato in attempt to establish "a home atmosphere." He transfers to a new school, gets beaten up, meets Ayanami Rei, gets beaten up some more, goes emo, and fights some angels.
And Action!
We begin with episode with a battle between Eva Unit 05 and some angel. The angel is eliminated but so is Unit 05.
The scene changes to a cemetery. Commander Ikari and Shinji are at Yui Ikari's grave. A brief and somewhat awkward conversation passes between the father and son as they recall memories of Shinji's mother. Commander Ikari gets on a helicopter and leaves and Shinji is left alone, looking wistfully at the helicopter.
Being the great babysitter that she is, Misato is waiting at the scene to bring little Shinji home. Unfortunately, another Angel decides to cause some traffic on the way home.
But don't worry Shinji, a Crazy German Girl has everything under control.
That's right, Asuka has arrived to Japan in order to kick some angel ass. Given she's a little pretentious and doesn't really like anyone. But deep down, she just wants to sneak into people's beds.
After a field trip and some more angels, Asuka understands the meaning of teamwork. Sadly, this lesson can not be put into use. Unit 02 is banned for usage, but fear not Asuka! Unit 03 (along with some dummy plug for Unit 01) has just arrived and is ready for use. Unfortunately, some creepy cell that takes over things has landed on Unit 03, causing it to turn into Angel 09. With Unit 00 under repairs, Shinji is the sole Eva pilot capable of destroying this angel. Of course, Shinji refuses to fight this monster since Asuka is inside. Commander Ikari's order? Screw Shinji, get the dummy plug to do it.
Shinji doesn't like this order and throws a tantrum, gets in trouble, and gives up piloting Eva unit 01. The ex pilot for Unit 05 steals Unit 02 to defeat another angel that appears. She doesn't get very far, so she turns unit 02 into Beast form. This helps the fight a little bit, but still looks like a lost cause. Ayanami Rei gets on the scene to do the job right, but gets absorbed by the angel. Shinji, who is conveniently located on the scene of the battle, goes berserk and runs back to HQ in order to save Rei. To match Shinji's emo attitude, Unit 01 goes into Beserk Mode and saves the day. The angel is destroyed but it is apparent that this is the beginning of the Third Impact - better known as the end of the world.
And Cut!
Even though it has been ages since I have seen the original series, the movie seems to follow the story very well. The effects, just as with the first movie, have improved dramatically. The english voice acting at the beginning is also nicely done. My resource for watching this was a bit poor, thus harming the graphics. But when the release for this movie has hit places other than Japan, I'm sure higher quality versions will become available. When the happens, I definitely recommend watching this movie: wheither you saw the original series or are just beginning to understand the legacy that is Evangelion.
After two weeks of painfully waiting for its release, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 21 finally aired! (It did air a few days ago but I was swamped with moving to a new place)
Watch it hereWell I was completely unaware that the 19th episode was translated at the same time. So I didn't end up watching it until Monday night. Since I didn't have the agony of waiting to affect my bias, I'm not sure if the effect was the same had I needed to wait. Overall still a good episode.
My favourite sequence
Summary
As Elizabeth tries to escape the clutches of Gluttony, everyone's favourite Colonel comes to lend a hand. The concepts of Homunculi are introduced to this group and we even get a glimpse of Lust's philosopher's stone
The location of the curls of her hair, her facial structure, the cropping, way too many things to point out on this great shot
Many times in the episode, the lives of several people were being tossed in my head as being alive or dead. Just as I became resolved in their death, they turn up to be alive.
Death status
With the state of Roy and Jean up in the air, we are assured that Homunculi can be killed. On the other hand, we discover that Alphonse has a limited amount of time before his armour stops responding to him. The Episode ends with Ed facing his father
I wasn't expecting this
Final Thoughts
I suppose I am leaving with a few feelings. Besides the well being of Mustang and Havoc, I also want to know why the Fuhrer did not interfere with the killing of Lust.
Until next week FMA BH!
Rating: 4/5
After 2 weeks of mind numbing anticipation, the English sub release of FMA BH 18 finally hit the online scene on Sunday afternoon. Having not seen the original series, I was eager as hell to see the outcome.
{My favourite scene)
Feelings prior to watching:
FMA BH 17 ended with the feelings of betrayal and surprise from Colonel Mustang. This series has been nothing less than tragically depressing since episode 1 - with people betraying your trust left, right, and center. Part of your conscious is searching for the goodness of mankind, which is my personal reason for coming back for more.
Colonel Roy Mustang prior to doing the deed that made me hate him for 2 weeks
Summary
Don't read if you don't want spoilers!! At this point in the series, my hope in mankind pretty much deteriorated so it was an uplifting surprise to find out Colonel Mustang had an ethical backbone. Edward regains his moral resolve and things progress smoothly until those annoying homunculi rain on the parade.
Some epic screen captures
Final Thoughts
It was seriously a good episode. The creators really know when to place high and low points. There seems to be no limit on how cruel or mean a character or situation can be.
Rating: 4.5/5
