School Rumble S.1,2 and OVA's! Review

Another series, complete!  It was beautiful (╥﹏╥)  As Tenma says, "It's so cute,  it just makes me wanna punch somebody in the face!!"  Yea, Tenma is a weird one.  I kind of get what she means by that now.  No, no I don't.

This anime was great, some seasons better than others.  I liked season 1 more, because season 2 had its slow moments, but the comedy was always there.  Season 3, um I'll get to that later.  First, lets get the basics out of the way.

Genre: action, comedy, drama, romance, slice of life.
Age rating: 14+
Episode completed: 56
English dubbed: Available.

It's a love story that revolves around Tenma and Harima.  Harima likes Tenma, but Tenma likes Karasuma. While on a mission to confessing their love to that person, they are faced with numerous obstacles that pushes their feelings further from the truth.  Read more here. Tenma is a cute, goofy, spontaneous girl. And like most leading characters, she inspires me in a way.  She is always happy and optimistic.  She is the childish heroine type(I don't know any that are this type, but I'll just call her that).  And Harima was the "bad boy" with good looks and a rough exterior, but sensible on the inside as well.  He had a rough past that defined a lot about him, so he goes through a life-changing experience.  I kinda wished that the characters' past were more detailed and that their more intense moments held more drama because some moments were definitely teasing the viewer.  I mean come on, just kiss her already!! Then you realize he's dreaming . . Me: *Falls down down like anime characters who use that to fill in for surprised reactions :3* On top of that, season 3 is made up of only 2 episodes! Yea, they decided to skip a whole season and go straight to the conclusion. Which, was understandable.  As a viewer I started to get a little impatient and wanted to find out if they'll ever get together. I'm guessing I wasn't the only one. But like most romantic comedies, the ending had an unexpected twist and kind of lets you assume the best. Which was fine, I guess.  Now I have some hope that they will get together. Despite the lame ending, I'm glad I saw it.  It was just too funny :) Yea, I want to punch somebody in the face!


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Bleach 336 S.15

"Pursue Kageroza! Technological development department, infiltration!"

Spiritual Pressure restored: Ichigo and Urahara(and Kon) were lucky enough to get by the guards and sneak into The Department of Research and Development to restore Ichigo's spiritual pressure.  

Summary:

They sneaked in successfully thanks to a diversion, Renji, Rukia, Uryu, and the others planned out with Urahara. As they ran through the Seireitei, the suspense towards Kageroza's fusion with Nozomi, grew. And throughout the episode, a little from Kageroza's past was then revealed.  Have you noticed, every time a villain's background story is shown, it foreshadows his sooner than later defeat?  I hope that's the case. After some trouble's Ichigo, Kisuke, and Kon encountered with the soul candy used to copy Ichigo's spiritual pressure, the lab exploded(thanks to Kageroza's planning ahead).  So before the soul candy was destroyed, Ichigo managed to save it.  Ichigo swallowed the soul candy, but collapsed in pain.  Urahara revealed that the candy didn't fully restore Ichigo's spiritual pressure, so as he still gained some of his power back, his hollow powers had become greatly unstable. Despite the pain, Ichigo continued the search for Nozomi with them.  On their way out of the building they were found and surrounded by the reigai gotei 13. Kisuke told Ichigo he'd hold them off and that he should continue the search for Nozomi with Kon, who was desperate because he blamed himself for not saving her.  Just then Yoruichi shows up to help, with the real squad captains, for support. And you know what comes next . . To Be Continued . . . 

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya S.1

Class Introduction: "I'm Haruhi Suzumiya from East Junior High.  First off, I'm not interested in ordinary people, but if any of you are aliens, time travelers, or espers please come see me . . that is all."

Ha ha :)  Imagine hearing from someone, a class introduction like that.  That class would suddenly become an interesting one, don't you think?  I wouldn't mind meeting a person like that.  A complete weirdo.  And if that person ends up having God-like powers, the better.  Yes, a school needs someone like Suzumiya to help spread excitement and you know . . peril to the world, dangers like having the Earth disappear because miss Suzumiya was bored.  Yes, things like that. School would definitely seem less boring.

My first impression of Haruhi was, well "that girl is weird."  After her introduction her character's personality spilled out a little more and she then became the type of girl I wanted to be.  She was independent, straight forward, athletic, smart, unafraid, shameless, and still . . weird.  But she wasn't just weird, she was scary weird. And after that impression, my third wasn't so pleasant.  I then found her obnoxious, selfish, and way too full of energy.  It was hard to keep up with her.  It gave me a headache at some point. I was a lot like the narrator of the story(oh yea, the narrator is this funny guy telling Haruhi's story and all his adventures with her and what not. Didn't I mention this?). I found myself complaining a lot about her, just as the narrator always does, who seemed utterly boring sometimes. I mean, if he was so bored being around Haruhi, why hang out with her? Then again, I was acting like him, and yet still watched the anime. I'm one to talk :P  Of course there was a major problem, a bigger problem than boredness(is that even a word?) that kept him from leaving.  He became involved with Haruhi's problems.  Haruhi didn't know she had dilemmas though. Only Kyon(the narrator) and some of Haruhi's friends knew this.  The reason for that was because, all of Haruhi's friends(more like random people she snatched to join this new club she formed, the "SOS Brigade") were either an alien, a time traveler, or an esper.  Oh and the human.

I'd talk about the characters and "what" Haruhi is, but that would just spoil it.  Honestly, I'm still not sure what she is. The anime itself is a little mysterious.  I had started writing a little about it, but I'm more of an editorial writer when I do reviews.  But I think i'll start doing more episodic reviews to engage more readers. I can say, that the story is pretty unique. And there's still one more season to go, season 2!  So I've still got 14 episodes, for the plot to unveil. Overall, the anime didn't have much excitement or constant humor, for my taste.  I tend to enjoy more goofy, romantic, and action packed anime's, so throughout some episodes I kinda had to bear through them.  I'm also not a big fan of moé.  But despite the moé-ness, the story is unique in a way, even though I sorta got the feeling it was done purposely, as if trying too hard to be different.  It´s clever, just not one of my top 10.

And I believe the moral of the story is(since it was about Haruhi seeking more excitement with aliens, time travelers, or espers) that being human and happening to live on Earth could be just as special and exciting. You never know. There could be some alien in some distant star or planet, thinking the same thing, "I am not interested in ordinary *insert outer world race,* but if you're an alien, a time traveler, or an esper . . . please come see me. That is all."  

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Saint Seiya TLC: An Anime Review

Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, an amazing "prequel" to an equally amazing "Saint Seiya!"

The "Holy War" a battle fought between the Goddess Athena and the Underworld King Hades, has been taking place since the ages of legends.  This story takes place during the 18th century, far before the era of "Saint Seiya"(approx 200 years before).  It is a new story involving the former Pegasus Saint Tenma, the Underworld King Hades, and the Goddess Athena. When Hades finishes his giant painting that covers the sky, "The Lost Canvas," it is said that all lives on Earth will be lost. Tenma, who became a Pegasus Saint, wishes to stop his best friend Alone, who was chosen to become a vessel for Hades. Now, fighting for Athena, along side all of the chosen 88 saints, the Pegasus Saint must find a way to defeat Hades once again. - via Crunchyroll

This anime was actually good.  Right around the first three episodes it made me feel a little nostalgic.  I realized how much I missed that old-fashioned fighting, its Greek mythology, and the story about the cosmos and what not. It was nice to see some familiar characters, like Shion and Dohko.  It gives you more insight about their characters, what they were like in the previous "Holy War" when they were young. It shares a great amount of history that helps you understand more of "Saint Seiya" itself.

At first, I was debating whether to watch it or not.  I guess I wasn't expecting it to be like the first one, and I'm glad it wasn't. It was a different story and the characters were animated like most are now these days. It was actually funnier than the first.  I've noticed that a big trend in anime is its humor and this one had its share of funny characters . . . (like Yato).

So far, the anime left off at its first season and the latest episode was released this past month July 20th of 2011. There are only talks of a season 2 from other reviews or comments, but have found nothing official, yet.  I guess it all depends if the anime hits it off or not, but I am crossing my fingers.  I mean seriously, they still need to defeat Hades! But the ending wasn't so bad.  Even if the story didn't continue, it could pull off an ending like that.  You could always assume the best and if you're familiar with the story, then you know what comes next.        

I hope you consider this anime.  Just doing what I can to give this anime more hype :)

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The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince: Review

For all you Coffee Lovers . . . who love caffeine and romance, I suggest pulling up a chair with your favorite hot cup of coffee and log on to Crunchyroll to watch this Korean Drama.  It really will brighten up your day.  

I'm excited because I don't think I've done a review before, but as soon as I finished this series, I just couldn't help myself.  Now I'm not the Soap Opera type of girl.  Last time I watched one was maybe two years ago and I didn't even finish it.  I would watch Spanish dramas with my mom as a kid because back then, they were the Shit(ehem) they were actually WORTH watching.  Especially Latin dramas, but now they're either all remakes or just plain lame. Then again I haven't seen one in a while, so I may be wrong. That's just my opinion.  But despite my drama history, this one immediately became my all time favorite. Where were you back then!?!!

"Coffee Prince" highlights the life of a barista-to-be and the Café of handsome men at which she works. Apparently, it's a norm for a Korean trendy drama to highlight a particular profession. Because of this, the plot's resolve gave it a somewhat inspirational feeling.  It started back in 2007 (barely heard of it, how lame).  With a total of 17 episodes, unlike other dramas that drag on for hundreds of episodes, this short drama was just as satisfying, perhaps even more, and without all that extra fluff. Still, I yearn for the drama to continue its story. It's just your typical love story. Boy meets Girl, boy thinks girl is a boy, girl pretends to be a boy then falls in love with boy. Okay, so not so typical, but I won't spoil the rest for you.  I can spoil one thing though . . HOT Korean actors! Yes, the mere fact that every episode has this eye candy makes the subtitles seem unimportant less troublesome.  I had a hard time keeping up with the story, knowing I'd miss a pretty face. What a distraction.  But I'm not complaining :)

It was a pleasure to watch the characters progress as the plot thickened.  First impressions can be taunting. As the story carried forth, so did my love for their personalities.  The characters were well brought out and relatable. Not to mention, admirable.

Overall, the story is pretty unique and the drama is intense.  A slice of life that is balanced perfectly with comedy. I'd swear it were an anime if they weren't so obviously human.  The story line seemed to go perfectly with that of an anime.  A fantasy that is almost too good to be true, yet very real.  A must watch!

           

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a drama to attend to :Þ

[Image Source: Photobucket]