I know it’s definitely a ploy by SHAFT to cut back on the animation budget, but there were a lot of nice, clean wallpaper-worthy screens from this episode.

Now where’s my completed ED?

Hanamaru Yochien: Surprisingly awesome. Had no idea what to expect with this show, and was pleasantly surprised by good platonic humor. Although I am a bit jealous of the facilities at Hanamaru, that two-story slide would’ve been awesome back when I was three-foot tall. The music in the show is soothing and goes really well with the show’s feel-good motif. And Hii-chan is the coolest kindergartner ever with a most epic ED.

Seikon no Qwasar: Too gimmicky. Sad to see all that awesome vocal talent go to waste. And the censorship really shows that it was pointless to air this series to begin with. Dropped.

Omamori Himari: Not much to see here. Dropped.

Dance of the Vampire Bund: Sorry SHAFT, I can only tolerate one stylistically experimental show per season, and this one doesn’t have Yoshinoya-sensei in it.

So looks like I’m sticking with SO•RA•NO•WO•TO, Hidamari Sketch, Ookami Kakushi, and Hanamaru Yochien. Overall, even though there isn’t a whole lot of originality, I’m pretty content with the new season. There’s obviously a lot less shows being made, but hopefully that leads to a higher signal to noise ratio.

After going through the entire last season on Umineko alone, I couldn’t wait for January to roll around with the promise of less QUALITY. And for the most part, it delivered. Most of the shows below have been talked to death elsewhere so I’ll keep it short:

SO•RA•NO•WO•TO – Too early to judge, but the show’s got a definite charm and mystique to it. I got a real Haibane Renmei vibe with the story focusing on a group of female characters inhabiting a rather isolated town. The only thing that bugged me slightly was how the character designs seemed so detached from the backgrounds. Still, the last non-adaptation I watched, Sola, ended up being pretty decent, so I’m curious to see how this show will play out.

Ookami Kakushi – Finally, a Ryushiki07 story untainted by DEEN. The first episode was a bit of a Higurashi clone: lots of slice-of-life/moe scenes with a bit of yandere at the end hinting at what’s to come. The character designs are a bit too porcelein, but I can live with it.

Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆ – It’s business as usual, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And I don’t have to wait an extra three weeks for my widescreen faces. All that’s missing are the completed OP and ED sequences. Can’t wait for the new marble single. Interestingly, I found more similarities with K-ON with Yuno’s make-up exam than Sora no Woto. The only thing that can ruin this show now is SHAFT’s dwindling budget (although those Bakemonogatari BD sales have to have helped).

Chu-Bra! – Cute and a somewhat interesting approach to the subject matter, but definitely looks like it’ll be a season’s worth of recycled gags.

Ladies Versus Butlers – It’s Kanokon with more nuditiy and a much less believable premise, if that was possible. Maybe will watch a couple more episodes.

Still not quite sure how I’ll handle the blogging, as I don’t have much to add episodic wise. But at least this season looks like it will give me more to write about.

For me personally, 2009 was pretty yandere. Here’s hoping for less trolling in 2010.

If there was just one thing that the anime adaptation was successful in doing, it was to fuel the hype machine for the release of the 6th episode of the VN. And for us non-moon-speakers, the ending of the anime coincided quite nicely with Witch Hunt‘s release of the English patch for Episode 5.

The first in the Chiru arcs has Lambdadelta as the new game master, with Bernkastel temporarily starting the game in Battler’s place. The idea here is to show how the game would be played with new players under the same core set of rules. And ideally, this should help us the readers figure out just what exactly these rules are, and the underlying force that’s behind this series.

I blame Episode 3 for it, but throughout this episode I caught myself being very wary that all of this will be just one big Beatrice troll. It was painful, as I really wanted to sympathize with what was going on with Beato’s character. But there was just something about the one-sidedness of the battles that came across as the game trying to tell me where to focus. It became too easy to place Beatrice on the good guys’ side, because it felt like abandoning a good opportunity to solve the mysteries and get to the truth.

But Erika’s character muddied the waters and made it really difficult to maintain my distrust of Beatrice. I think it’s pretty ironic that she got a lot of flak from readers, when she is essentially a representation of the fan. She cares only about finding out the truth, and we’re shown that that mentality has its consequences, not the least of which is that it ultimately fails. Simply piecing together several processes of elimination will not yield the truth of the Legend of Rokkenjima. As Ronove puts it, her method “lacks love.”

Regarding the actual mystery, I find it highly interesting that the first episode that any of the cousins died during the first twilight had George, Jessica and Maria all taken out in one go. The game sure had quite a different feel with those three gone. And it confused me to no end as the ‘cousins surviving the first twilight’ was a consistency that I had come to depend on. No ‘Uu’s and more suspiciously no despair from the servants Shannon and Kanon at the deaths of their significant others.

And the adults themselves got cast in somewhat different lights than normal. Really felt for Natsuhi’s character being dragged through the mud like that. Kyrie was somewhat suspicious as well with her remarks.

In the end, this Episode confirmed that I do not have a firm grasp of the core truths of the series. I think I’ve been concentrating a little too much on reading in between specific lines, and not trying to figure out the bigger picture. Who is ‘Beatrice’? Who is ‘Battler’? And who is the ‘culprit’? All the necessary clues have been shown by now, it’s just time to put the pieces together. There are a few theories put forth by others (namely Shannon=Beatrice) that I would like to explore more through a re-reading of the previous episodes. I was somewhat hopeful to find some support for my case against Gohda the Rose Killer, but the “how dunnit” and “why dunnit” never really materialized.

I’m guessing in Episode 6, Battler being the game master will certainly reveal big clues to the mystery, if not the whole truth itself. I just hope to start that game with a slightly better idea of events of the Rokkenjima serial murders.

There is a lot to say about the seventh chapter of what is now my most beloved story, and at the same time, there isn’t a whole lot to say either.

One word that came to mind while watching was ‘anguish.’ This chapter especially was infused with an almost suffocating sense of tense despair. From Shiki’s struggle to gain closure on the serial murders, Mikiya’s determination to protect Shiki’s happiness, and Lio’s manic quest for acceptance, you could feel the gnawing of the sense of hopelessness take its toll as the chapter went on. The resolution was very much an exasperation of all the build-up throughout the series and a look forward to a new normalcy.

This chapter was apparently directed by committee. That explains the stylistic distinction between different scenes, especially the flashbacks. This may also explain the subtle feeling of a lack of cohesiveness to the movie. I can understand that ufotable wanted to put its full effort into the final chapter, and make it consistent with Murder Speculation (1st Half). However, I can’t help but wonder how this chapter would have turned out if a single director was responsible for the vision and theme of the movie.

Thinking on it a bit more, I feel that Shiki’s character development may have been a bit too subtle throughout the series. Especially since her character was barely explored in the sixth chapter, save for a few seconds of God’s Word returning her memory. She was definitely struggling with her self-imposed murderous nature, but it was a bit jarring to see her go from the strong-headed protagonist to a lost soul finally admitting it needed saving.

Animation-wise, darkness was the theme. Much more than previous chapters, street lamps and moonlight were almost the exclusive sources of lighting. While very appropriate to the story, it did limit the range of the color palette for the backgrounds, although the few city-scape shots were hauntingly beautiful. I think there were hints that ufotable was slightly impacted by the economic downturn, but the movie kept the series tradition of being a showcase for how far animation has come.

Strangely, the ending song Seventh Heaven did not seem to be as integrated with the rest of the movie’s soundtrack as in the previous chapters. There was no real appearance of the song in the soundtrack until the credits hit. Perhaps it was because the song was produced well before the movie production was completed (or even started), or maybe it was because the song itself is the vocalized version of the overriding theme of the series. In fact, the rearrangement of some of the previous themes were much more prevalent. Still, the song and its lyrics succeeded in not only capturing the essence of the final chapter, but also of the series as a whole. And the choral elements of the soundtrack made many of the more poignant scenes elegantly epic.

It’s probably the fanboy side speaking, but I have a difficult time agreeing with omo that Kara no Kyoukai is simply ‘pure otaku fodder.’ Kara no Kyoukai’s main appeal to me was its devotion to the idea of ‘words and scenes charged with meaning.’ Both the super-charged action sequences and the long drawn out muted moments had something to say beyond simple exposition. The animation pushed the limits on sublime and the story unfolded the deeper elements with beautiful precision. It certainly isn’t all that accessible to those without some previous exposure to serious business anime. However, I contend that while Type Moon fans are the predominant audience, at least the movies really made an effort to go beyond the traditional otaku fare for something a bit more universal. At its core, it is a love story, explored through a very introspective set of eyes. Yes, it is entertaining, moe moe kyun and all that. But it also presented a theme of human nature, specifically murder, in a unique and thought-provoking way. Pretentious, perhaps, but the extraordinary execution allowed it to earn its right to make its point.

Now that the series is over, I’m left with that rare feeling of being somewhat more enriched than before I started the series two years ago. And a strong preferential sentiment towards strawberry Haagen Daaz.

Blogging is a lot like exercise or any club activity. Once you miss a few sessions, it’s very difficult to get back into it. Luckily, I’ve been accruing topics I want to talk about, so I should be able to break this fortnight of silence relatively easily. I’ll start with a recap of all that’s gone on in the realm of otakudom the past 20 days.

-I got my certificate from the community college signifying that I completed the 10 weeks of evening Japanese classes. And I signed up to take the JLPT level 4 test this December. Now I just need to get some actual studying done before then.

-Love Plus is… inexplicably gratifying. Something about adjusting stat points to directly affect behavior and dating styles may be very idealized, but it is pretty entertaining. And it’s forcing me to practice my kana and kanji, so if nothing else, it’s a glorified Japanese learning supplement. Currently going steady with Nene, will see if I want to create new saves for the other two, as Manaka seems to be quite the popular choice.

-Starting kendo is probably one of the healthiest decisions I have ever made. I’ve lost 10 pounds since starting, as I’ve become more motivated to hit the gym and really watch what I eat. Plus, it’s really fun and challenging, despite still not being able to do much beyond the basic moves. Hoping I can go to more of the practices each week to speed up the learning process.

-Picked up the October issue of Megami at Kinokuniya today, mainly for the article about Kara no Kyoukai. Also see that there’s a really cool looking messenger bag and trading cards coming out next month that I really want to be able to get my hands on. Neither HLJ, HS, nor KN seem to have them available for pre-order. Still looking for a copy of the Volume 1 LE DVD, and recalled out summer.

Overall, I’m starting to feel my age, as each week seems to go by faster and faster, leaving me very little time to enjoy my hobbies more instead of constantly moving from activity A to B all the time. I do hope Fall Season has less stellar shows so I can catch up on some of the Summer shows I missed out on. And fit in an extra kendo session and kanji cramming sessions.

I’m having such a difficult time just keeping up with episode reviews on this little outpost in the backwaters of the anime blogosphere. I can’t even imagine trying to maintain the “conversations” all those cool power-bloggers hold from time to time. Instead, I’m resorting to the batch summary of the anime I’ve watched since the last post.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutso 19-22: I’m getting the same feeling that I got when I watched the first season in the novel order: there just isn’t that much that really wowed me. The plot’s sticking to the novel’s, but there isn’t much in the animation or direction that is keeping me interested. Let’s hope Disappearance is different (should it actually be animated).

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 8-9: The lack of impact continues. So many big moments completely subdued by subpar directing and animation. And I really don’t understand the censorship, since they’re showing the blood anyway. Haven’t really picked up anything new the mystery in these episodes, although the emphasis on the Wolf and Sheep puzzle was nicely handled. I’m just worried that the censors are going to ruin the later parts of the arc.

Bakemonogatari 6-8: I enjoyed this last arc, if only for Miyuki Sawashiro’s smexy tomboyish charms. The love triangle was somewhat intriguing, but it looks to be pretty much resolved at this point. Supposedly things will start tying together soon, but knowing SHAFT / Shinbo, it’ll just continue this facade of an underlining plot for the rest of the season. Which would be perfectly fine with me. And on a side note, it seems odd that so much violence and ‘gore’ was shown while Umineko has to censor every little cut. I guess being artistically styled makes it tasteful.

Aoi Hana 1-9: Got caught up with this one over the past two weeks. It is a beautifully done J.C. Staff show with very elegant nuances. Too bad there’s only two more episodes left, as I wouldn’t mind following the shoujo-ai slice-of-life adventures of Fumi and Acchan for a couple more months.

Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 1-3: Finally finished this OVA on my PSP at the gym. Not much to say other than it was standard SZS fair, which I’ve gotten slightly bored of. Will probably start Zan sometime soon, probably on the PSP as well (it’s a good distraction while running).

One thing I’m particularly proud of is that I am watching all the shows this season raw. And for the most part, I’m able to follow along, especially since for Haruhi and Umineko, I’m already familiar with the plot. I think it came initially out of not wanting to wait for fansubs that vary in release time, and just going directly for the raws which are much more regular (except for the random sporting events messing things up like with Bakemonogatari). However, it does take some of the enjoyment out as I usually have to go dig for a blog with an episode summary to fill in the gaps. Still, I was going to do it eventually anyway, and better sooner than later.

In weaboo news, my quest to collect all the Clannad LE DVDs got a push forward with Season 1 volumes 1&2. Also got K-On Vol.2 on Blu-Ray along with Maddy Caddy. Would like to be able to collect the Haruhi DVDs this time around, but we’ll see.

And lastly, I am seriously looking into applying to the JET program for 2010. Everyone that I’ve talked to who’s gone has had nothing but great things to say about it.

And so starts the Meta world. I thought it was pulled off pretty well, with more BGM to boot. A little concerned about the faces in this episode, but nothing too unbearable. I kinda wished they did a better job with Rosa and Maria’s scenes. They captured the randomness of it all, but they could’ve included more of the dialogue and Maria’s fascination with Halloween. Other than that, the pacing of the episode was good and it ended at a good point.

Some things that caught my eye:

• Human Beatrice looks a LOT like Jessica in the anime…
• Beatrice has very blue eyes, even bluer than Battler’s
• Kyrie was a bit slow at noticing that a guest had arrived

I do hope the animation quality gets back up again. At the least, I wish DEEN would decide just how the hall with Beatrice’s portrait is arranged:

Looking forward to the first Twilight, and more Meta BattlerxBeatrice.

Well, it turns out that the $59.99 GSC Ryougi Shiki Garan no Dou 1/7 PVC figure was indeed a too-good-to-be-true bootleg. I definitely should have done more research before clicking buy now. Will probably file a PayPal buyer protection claim this week in hopes to recoup my losses. But a pretty downer of an experience all the same.

So what did I do to cheer myself up? Pre-order the upcoming Akiyama Mio and Ryougi Shiki Nendoroids from KNC. Tama-chan would be proud.