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Da Capo II: Episode 3

This episode is supposed to be about Nanaka… but no, it’s still about Koko. Millions of Shirakawa fans scream in anguish unison.

This is a point where Yoshiyuki is admirable though. Rather than being an oh so generic male lead who can’t decide which girl to pick, Yoshiyuki “sticks to one girl” (for now). He isn’t easily swayed in romance, whether it be the annoying but cute robot or the legendary school idol of the century, or even his two cute sisters. I guess the “boyfriend failure” dialogue of Anzu did stick to him, and so he decided to know more about Koko by joining the band. If only this kind of situation persisted, we will really see Yoshiyuki X Koko all the way to the end of the series. Unfortunately, anime is not that forgiving to innocent lovers, especially with a dating-game based anime at that.

The animation quality is really annoying. They don’t animate the girls good enough. The worst victim is still Yume, my poor Yume. Minatsu is second-worst, and Otome and Nanaka’s isn’t as consistent either. Surprisingly, Koko is the best-drawn girl in the series so far, which is more of a solid hurrah for her growing fans. No really, I think her fandom is growing by this episode, because girl bass guitar players look cooler than stereotypical singing school idols. And yes I’m trying to instigate the Nanaka vs. Koko war. School idols are so 2003 (or 2002), girl band members are the wave of the future!

Seriously though, Da Capo II aside from the animation quality is getting better in terms of story. It sticks to the original game faithfully and at the same time gives me a cloud of uncertainty by establishing more of the Koko relationship. I’m betting 2 episodes MAX before she gets baked… and then there will be cake. Delicious and moist.

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YARRR!!!

Another one of those leechers. And another one.

So many copycats these days.

I am annoyed but I usually leave them be. Usually those are mere web scripts. And they link back to me anyway, which is good. Good enough to help me gain more readership. Unfortunately some readers they invite are those —-tards, you know, the people who hardcore-ly defend their anime as if it were the second coming.

I think it’s about time that I speak against this rapidly annoying form of anime fandom, and hope to find the main problem of which it stems from.
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Da Capo II: Episode 2

[Minatsu->da-capo-2-minatsu-amakase] the tsundere robot. Surprisingly, this episode is quite faithful to her actual canon story. Having recently finished her scenario, I was quite happy so see this annoying brat animated.

Yume’s character design is really dropping. I don’t like her face, she really looks so Nemu now. Otome is oh so out of the loop… and Nanaka is NOWHERE. Is Anzu really relegated to being a side-character? Say it ain’t so!

I think Wataru’s reaction to Yoshiyuki X Koko is a wonderful sign of things to come. I’m eagerly awaiting the now-eventual Wataru-Koko-Yoshiyuki-Nanaka love quadrangle. Very exciting stuff!

YAY for banana jokes? This is the first sign of fanservice in this anime, and as a non-fanservice fan, I hope it will be the last.

Please keep in mind the opening sequence of this anime. WHY the heck is Minatsu the “last” girl in the OP? This is something really fishy. What’s more, she is looking at the sakura tree in the sequence… something which I didn’t even encounter in my playthrough of the game. Don’t they dare cut off the true Otome-Yume-Da Capo stories unless they announce a second season or some other sequel… otherwise this will just be [To Heart 2->toheart2-anime-review] all over again. And my bold prediction will be for Yume, but that is my Yui Horie bias talking.

But this episode was rather good, except the sappy Koko-Yoshiyuki scenes. Yoshiyuki here is a wuss for not taking their relationship any further. I mean… “holding hands”? they are freaking childhood friends, that’s something rather easy to get over and done with right? It’s a wonderful intro to Minatsu though, considering that she probably has the least fans. She’s not (To Heart) Multi level, but at least tsundere+robot=rare… right?

Da Capo II: Minatsu Amakase

Robot classmate Minatsu borrows her robotics almost exactly from Da Capo Generation One’s Miharu Amakase, down to the hole in her back which is used for some sort of system maintenance. On the attitude part though, I could say that Minatsu is quite different from Miharu. Miharu is an energetically positive girl full of happiness, while Minatsu is an energetically tsundere girl full of angst. Her character follows the basic cookie-cutter meaning of the term actually. But as the story progresses, she will deal with a very positive emotional transformation. Nevertheless, she is a very fun girl, whatever her moods may be.

Disclaimer: Lacking Japanese will mean lack of story details. I expect that there will be a LOT of errors in the way I understood some events, because I rely only on the spoken dialogue. To the Japanese-literate game players who may have found this page, please do help me in case I have mistaken in understanding some parts of the story. Please do post a comment or contact me.
Continue reading Da Capo II: Minatsu Amakase

Da Capo II: Episode 1

Summary:
– Why only 13 episodes?
– Gah, more Engrish from yozuca*
– Anzu didn’t get any OP lovin.
– Why is Minatsu a prominent figure in the OP? She was in the last scene.
– Yui Horie should have played Nanaka, the new eternal goddess of Da Capo II.
– They are not following the game from the get-go.
– Hooray for Koko fans!
– Another good song by CooRie.

I’m looking at the voice cast, and it seems like a strange mix-up. Only Sakura (yay Yukarin!) and Suginami reprised their role, and Yui Horie as Yume is a miscast for me.

And Yume looks like Nemu in this anime. This can’t be! Yume in-game is much cuter!

The worst part of it all this is that I “feel” [DCSS->da-capo-second-season] vibes. That’s not a good thing. Its deviation from the original game though is quite interesting, it will keep me guessing. Maybe we would have a reverse-play or mix of Koko and Nanaka’s stories? How would they handle the other girls now that they’ve made a surprising Yoshiyuki-Koko connection? The 13-episode limit still worries me, and Minatsu’s prominence seems out of place. Da Capo II lives up to its name, a “da capo”, back to the start again folks.

We deserve to know the true stories in the game, and so I will “try” to play the game once again to finish Minatsu, Otome, Yume, and Da Capo (Sakura) scenarios. I hope Da Capo II doesn’t turn crappy because when it does I will lose interest. In any case, if you haven’t already, please do read up on three of those characters on this project page:

http://bluemist.animeblogger.net/dc2/

All-in-all, this is a somewhat average start. I’ll be keeping eye on this still though.

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This is a [Summer of Bishoujo 3->summer-of-bishoujo] feature

School Days (TV)

School Days

Finally, another controversial anime. Ever since the hugely destructive emo soap opera in the name of Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien left me breathless, I’ve been clamoring for some other show that has all the angst of a mature romance story in anime form. Alas, no other anime ever came close to the greatness of that one… until School Days. But the question is, did School Days topple Kiminozo in my heart? Well, let’s see…
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Nice Boat

You should know by now. A recent murder incident in Japan forced all channels airing School Days to cancel the airing of the last episode. The bad news is we need to wait before we see the final bloody episode. Good news is that, yes, it will be expectedly bloody.

Apparently TV Kanagawa, the channel which was supposed to be first to broadcast the episode, replaced it instead with some nice scenery show. Geez, as if this show wasn’t controversial enough… and so thus our meme creators of the internet have a new target…

The otaku thus declared this a canon episode of School Days then? Awesome! It’s the calm before the storm, cause we know that the ‘real’ final episode of School Days will be teh perfectstorm. You should enjoy your boat while it lasts Makoto. You may have your show ‘axed’ for now… but you can’t escape the ‘saw’ and the ‘knife’.

Thanks for the LOL! It’s really a nice boat.

NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT NICE BOAT

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This is a [Summer of Bishoujo 3->summer-of-bishoujo] feature

Manga otaku for the win?

A bit of a shocker in the news a few days ago when Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigns from the post. Pretty bold move for a head of the one of the most powerful nations of the world. I really am astounded that this country runs on integrity of leadership for the people, everytime a leader loses face and support of his constituents one would be willing to commit political suicide for the sake of the country. I went to Japan last year as he rose to power, and resigned as I left eh? I even saw him in person really, campaigning or something in a speech held in a shopping district. I have no pics though so it didn’t happen I guess.

Well Abe is in the hospital for now, and as I read news articles, some interesting name shows up… Taro Aso. Huh? Rozen Aso? He seems to be a prime candidate for taking the helm. This should be interesting.

While I don’t think that he would transform Japan into Akihabara Country it would be interesting for us foreigners to see what kind of otaku-related legislation he would make (did he do something as Foreign Minister anyway?). Maybe promote moar moe~ overseas? Count me in for the cry for cheaper hobby goods that come out of the country. I’m betting he would spread the manga lovin first though, so all you manga lovers brace yourselves.

Don’t get your hopes up though, Aso may not even win. I’m not too keen on Japanese politics but if a PM can resign on a whim situations can be as volatile as a climax of a manga arc.

On the other hand, if government offices start hiring maids wearing gothloli Rozen Maiden-like outfits I would be pleasantly surprised. Sound impossible? Remember this is Japan, anything goes.

UPDATE: He lost though.

BREAKING: Philippine Television copies tokusatsu superhero show!

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/50nYl84y4sI0dkOZJ

Zaido

Ooh, sequel to Shaider… NOT!

Ahh, they never learn.

Frankly, I don’t know what to think anymore. What’s this? Amateur cosplay session? Heck I know better cosplay than your freaking cardboard outfits. And why is M. Bison there lol. Did your Sailormoon zerox become successful? I kinda thought it would come to this. By this time all those dramas I mentioned are over. Well that’s a short one. Did they break new ground? Were they popular? Dunno. I don’t see Lupin action figures that look like the actor. Heck I don’t see anyone selling sailor fuku. Would have been convenient for quick cosplay for girls. Heck I would have “worn” one for the fun of it… I kid I kid.

And now this, trying to hope that your show will be an official sequel to some old Japanese property… I’m betting some Japanese TV comedy show is gonna have a laugh at you when they get this footage. I don’t know if you can even match Japan’s special effects… of the freaking 1980’s. Quoting one of our famous movies: “You’re nothing but a second-rate, trying hard… copycat!”

I got a lot of hate on the [previous post->gma-telebabad-2007] telling me I’m too harsh or something like that. Well folks, why should I hate on my own country? I love Philippine entertainment… but there are limits. When our creativity is slowly crapping out on us, I’m starting to cry out loud in despair. Why copy? We can be creative. Look for instance, some folks are reviving our comics industry… betcha don’t know that? Maybe you’re too glued on TV to know. This ridiculous TV show is an example of our entertainment industry either running out of ideas, trying to bank on the success of an international property we don’t even own (that Marimar thing is another example), or just plain for ridiculousness sake.

And yet maybe these kinds of copy-shows sell. I’m not sure, I don’t watch GMA for this. I can find a thousand more television shows better than this. Sorry I don’t fit in their target market… and yet I’m supposed to be. I grew up with those metal hero, sentai and other tokusatsu shows. I enjoyed it as a kid. I’m grateful that the new kids can enjoy what I enjoyed back then, but please, PLEASE do a good job at it. We’re slowly becoming a laughing stock everytime we copy stuff. And next time, please do something compelling, creative and unique.

As long as you continue this kind of status quo and don’t give your shots at entertainment greatness, people will always turn to other avenues (Japan, US and others) for their entertainment.

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YARRRR!!!

It’s awesome! Anime blogs including mine are being copied! Thanks for the visibility. Gives me more visitors. On the other hand, don’t you get pissed off when someone copies your works for their gain. Maybe that sitey is generating profit. I demand some profit too. Please donate $$$ to the cause. I need to buy more eroge.
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