School Days

Description on AnimeDB.net

School Days

Here's part of an IM conversation I had with a friend, with their dialogue removed:

Anime Spotlights says:

oh!

Anime Spotlights says:

i GOTTA tell you about this anime that just shocked me

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it just stains the happy summer anime season with its finale

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eh, you'd never watch it though

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the ending is so messed up! sometimes it just pops into my head and i just stand there thinking,"ugh, that was So messed up!"

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it all started so innocently

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and then reality started twisting

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then the breaking point, when you know something horrible is going to happen but you don't know what

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what, what, WHAT's going to HAPPEN!?

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KAPOW!!!!!!

Anime Spotlights says:

KABLAMMIE!!!!!

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and it's over...

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and you are shocked

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stunned

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unable to watch anime for the rest of the day

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then you watch the ending one more time, to make sure it was for real

Anime Spotlights says:

yep! KAPOW!!!!!! KABLAMMIE!!!!!!

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for real man

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that was a crazy ending

Recommendations:

• Bokura ga Ita...high school romance with drama (See Anime Spotlight)
• Myself; Yourself...high school romance with some dark secrets
• Jigoku Shoujo: Mitsuganae...high school and vengeance go hand in hand

Video Sample:

El Cazador de la Bruja: Amigo Tacos

I just realized that I haven't made an entry about the anime El Cazador de la Bruja. Later, later. (Update: See Anime Spotlight)

I am having tacos today (steak hard shell tacos, they're great!) which makes me want to sing--Sing about tacos!

But here, I'll let Nadie do the singing for me.

Here is El Cazador de la Bruja's Nadie singing the Amigo Tacos song:

Ookiku Furikabutte! (Big Windup!)

Description on AnimeDB.net

I'm eight episodes into this baseball anime Ookiku Furikabutte and it is good stuff. I'm happy that Saizen (fansub group) decided to pick it up. :) I also watched another sports-related anime subbed by them, Eyeshield 21, which was a football anime that starred a shy quarterback. The main character of Ookiku Furikabutte is more enjoyable to watch because he pulls these great faces and has modest mannerisms. I'd have to say that Tajima and Abe-kun, and some of the other characters are growing on me, too.

A lot of the characters seem to have realistic problems that young kids in sports experience. I'm learning more about baseball, too. If people really do have abilities like some of these characters, then baseball players are really amazing. At episode 8, we're still covering the first game, which shows me the ups and downs that take place in just one game. With this time-span per episode ratio, I can see how the baseball anime Touch went for a hundred+ episodes. I think a lot of this is because we experience the game at hand as well as the events of Mihoshi's past that have set up the dramatic circumstances of the game.

I really like this one, and it's the perfect summer watch. Man, Tajima is cool! Love pointing out his Ichiro salutes.

You don't have to know a lot about baseball to enjoy this anime. If anything, watching it made me appreciate how complex it really is.

Recommendations:

• Touch...baseball and twin brothers, add a love triangle and a great loss, this is old but good
• Eyeshield 21...zany hilarious football anime that focuses on how a fast chicken-hearted youth can become an inspiration to those who used to bully him, with the help of an alter ego

Video Sample:

Kaibutsu Oujo (Monster Princess)

Description on AnimeDB.net

Kaibutsu Oujo or Monster Princess is good for a few laughs and if you like seeing main characters abuse their immortal slaves. Think of Rozen Maiden but the Shinku is now a chainsaw-wielding princess whose life is the aim of monsters from all around.

After the first two episodes, I thought it was okay. I liked some of the supporting characters (fuga, fuga~) and generally watched for some minor giggles here and there. But one episode with the body-snatching eyeball squid thing seriously grossed me out. I didn't expect it from this anime. It might be darker than I previously thought. Just watch that ending anime. It's vicious watching the little maidservant get drilled! Maybe there's more to this anime than I thought.

Recommendations:

• Rozen Maiden...young boy is pulled into a creepy doll fight, takes getting used to
• Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo...alpha female calls the shots while her assistant fights off creatures (See Anime Spotlight)
  
• Soul Eater...action and sprinkled with scary movie monsters and Halloween influence (See Anime Spotlight)
  

Video Sample:

Lucky Star

Description on AnimeDB.net

For weeks Lucky Star episodes have been sitting in my Finished-and-ready-to-watch folder and I thought I had nothing to watch. HA!

This stuff's great. I'm practically glued to Konata. She's obviously the star, but there are some great characters that just come out of left field. I thought I'd be annoyed with the Lucky Channel after a few episodes, but now Akira is my 2nd favorite of the cast. Her assistant's presence just brings out the best in her. Watch it for wacky bits episode by episode. I even look forward to watching the super-peppy opening theme.

Recommendations:

• Lucky Star OAV...just an extra episode, just as wacky
• Kannagi...playful characters and situations and some just hanging on
• Azumanga DaiOh...high school girls that don't take things seriously

Bokurano

Description on AnimeDB.net

More than just a robot anime.

An anime I find myself looking forward to is Bokurano. These kids get themselves in a fix that they can't escape. Lives and the fate of the world are on the line as each kid prepares to leave a chair, a life and an entire world behind them.

The choices they make, their cruel fate, and their individual lives leading up to their last hours together give a depth to this anime that I haven't seen in a long time.

Check out the the opening song. I really dig it! It's Uninstall by Ishikawa Chiaki.

Recommendations:

• Neon Genesis Evangelion...boy fights angels with a mecha
• Escaflowne...boy pilots huge cool mecha, girl affects the future with her fortune telling
• Mushi Uta...youths and the powers that they must cope with
• Aquarion...mystical and strange opponents, mecha, and some eyebrow raising battle rituals
• Tokyo Magnitude...two siblings must cling together when a 8.0 magnitude earthquakes hits Tokyo, bringing all they know crashing down on their heads (See Anime Spotlight)
  

Video Sample:

This season's picks

Tried some new anime, a lot I didn't like. I usually don't write about anime that I don't like. I'm not much of a critic. I'd rather talk about anime that I did like. The only anime that is keeping me alive this season are:

• Love Complex...I've already read all the scanlations available, and went ahead to read up to volume 8 in raws..kanzaiben is a tricky beast to read for me (See Anime Spotlight)
• Emma...ah, trying my best not to peek ahead at the manga
• Nodame Cantabile...love it. honey and clover replacement
• Bokurano...ah, just messed up sometimes (See Anime Spotlight)
  
• Naruto Shippuuden...Sakura is better, still hasn't impressed me (See Anime Spotlight)
• Seto no Hanayome...the characters are hilarious together, forget the plot
• Kaibutsu Oujo...that ending theme has some slightly disturbing sights (See Anime Spotlight)
  
• Ookiku Furikabutte...it's good so far. I don't know much about baseball, though (See Anime Spotlight)
  
• Claymore...it's not bad, but it's not as entertaining as it could be (See Anime Spotlight)
  
• Seirei no Moribito...gah, she can fight, take hits and strategize (See Anime Spotlight)
  
• Kekkaishi...barriers never got so much attention before this anime (See Anime Spotlight)