Drawing a New Circle: Beginnings of my shoujo collective

shoujocircle

See, I have this little collective in this blog called the [Summer of Bishoujo->] project, a series of posts about the eroge/bishoujo genre. Lately though, my interest in this side of fandom is in a bit of a decline, and so I may have to focus on a different thing this time.

Over the years I have really written a sizable amount of content for that genre. In this blog, readers have always known me as one of the guys who like bishoujo games. But there is an entirely other side of me that I want to express, and that is… the shoujo genre.

Surprised? I have written enough of categorized, stereotyped, and multiple hair-colored girls. It may be high time for me to write about more real, sweet, cute, cool, spicy, and romantic sides of femininity. I’m not a girl though (but when did it matter anyway?) Shoujo is IMO the best. Ever. Nothing can match its power in expressing the female spirit. So many characters, unique, lovable, and strong. So many stories, magical, romantic, and endearing. I have been entertained by shoujo anime and manga time and time again, and this may be one genre that I can never get tired of.

Problem is… how do I start? In the bishoujo side I really built up a foundation over the years, posting, cross-posting, and referencing even my older posts. With shoujo I really have to start from scratch. I think I have written only a few anime reviews. Also, my memory’s getting old, and with it the knowledge of all those shoujo manga and anime I have followed over the years are just fading away. I really hope that this is not the case, because I really have LOTS to talk about in this genre.

Those were really the days. I was a shoujo fan before I was a bishoujo fan, this was and is essentially my beloved genre. From IRC downloading of fan scans to buying Fruits Basket manga. Watching Karekano in VHS. Shamefully discovering Cardcaptor Sakura because of Cardcaptors (that horrible US adaptation). Crying over Full Moon wo Sagashite. Kodomo no Omocha, nuff said. Everything Hana Yori Dango from manga to jdorama (even taiwanese [not korean yet]). Reading all things Yoshizumi Wataru from Marmalade Boy to Ultra Maniac. All those mahou shoujo anime from Ojamajo Doremi to Pretty Cure. Enjoying the symphony of Nodame Cantabile. Zipping through Skip Beat in just 2 days. Wondering what Honey and Clover is all about (haven’t watched it). Eagerly awaiting the next fated NANA chapter. AND MORE CARDCAPTOR SAKURA! I want to express, write about, and enjoy these with you.

And so, as I attempt to draw a new circle, a new collective of content related to the shoujo genre, I hope you guys and gals can stick around as usual. I’ll be the same lazy old blogger (almost 4 years now), but yet exposing another one of my high interests. This is not to say that I’ve abandoned the bishoujo circle. I just want to include this new one. This should be a spot-on way to drive me to WRITE MOAR PLZ.

As a final note, this blog’s hidden tagline in WordPress had always been:

“where shoujo and bishoujo meet”

I think I displayed the tagline in a couple of early blog layouts. I had never lived up to that vision. I hope it will finally all come together starting from here.

Megurine Luka – Double Lariat
This song kinda inspired me to write this, as it kinda signifies moving on to a different or bigger direction in life.

Philippines bans Hentai

http://www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=3253

In a nutshell: Congress thinks ALL cartoons with explicit sexual content are considered child pornography.

More of the “this is why we can’t have nice things” and “won’t anyone please think of the fictional children” variety.

Okay, I’m not the kind who can defend hentai. I don’t watch them, frankly. I’m not trying to prove myself innocent by saying so, but I am not the type of person who watches pornography, in all definitions of that word. Sure, I have eroge plenty here, but I skip the H parts. They are not relevant to me.

Now I have questions:
– Mere possession? Isn’t that an invasion of privacy or some other human right?
– I think press releases are too broad. I need details. If I has loli girl in swimsuit, is this safe?
ccswim

In my opinion, I think legislators are getting too ahead at anything. To my eyes, they can’t even enforce anti-piracy bills or anything related at all to the internet. Well, if that’s the case, maybe all hentai-loving Filipino folk are still safe… as long as they are not selling or distributing any kind of hentai that is. This is actually a good bill (I mean its overall intent is good), and I agree with some parts. There is no such thing as a hentai industry in our country. No eroge or ero anime are being sold here legally. If they crack down on animated erotic content, they’re hitting two birds with one stone, because those stuff are also pirated. But I need my questions answered. If a person possesses it without any intent to sell, promote or distribute, they shouldn’t be sanctioned. This one’s easy, we have clear human rights and privacy laws that protect us. Also, the line between “fanservice” and “explicit content” must be clear. This latter part would be fun to debate on. If Japan, UK, or America can’t get those definitions right, what more with the Philippines.

In the first place, “hentai” as a word does not mean “Japanese pornographic cartoon that depicts children in explicit sexual activity”. It’s a disservice to a language, having definitions wrong. And additionally, a disservice to the people of the Philippines, giving us wrong and inconsistent information.

D.C.if ~Da Capo if~

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I’m probably one of a few handful of people who still cares about Da Crapo, although I’m admitting that this bishoujo thing is slowly starting to wear out on me. And yet the series may still matter, after all, it was a [remarkable anime->da-capo] that put bishoujo games into the anime map. One thing that ticks me off in ALL the anime counterparts of Da Capo (and even Da Capo II) is that the best girls always gets the worst parts. That girl is the lovely lovely [Kotori Shirakawa->da-capo-kotori-shirakawa] (and her descendant [Nanaka->da-capo-2-nanaka-shirakawa]). While Kotori had a decent arc in the first season, the [second season->da-capo-second-season] was of failed promises. I thought that she will be the main character in that season because Nemu and Sakura were gone. Alas, the two returned anyway, while Aisia stole the entire show not too long after. And so the prospect of having this D.C.if OVA almost 3 years after the last Da Capo anime gives me the giggles. It’s Kotori, and it’s Da Capo all over again!
Continue reading D.C.if ~Da Capo if~

Yume

Yume wo miteita.

Sono yume no naka ni, kaze no youna, kasuka na koe ga takai sora kara boku wo yondeiru. Kimi no koe dake kikoeta. “Sora ga aoi yo ne?” Kimi ga hohoenda. Demo, yawarakana kaze ni dakare, anata omou kokoro setsunaku naru. Mou modorenai kana? Anata no ude ni tsutsumareteita yasashii hibi. Yasashii koe. Yasashii na basho. Anata wa ima doko de nani wo shite imasu ka? Kono sora no tsuzuku basho ni imasu ka? Kawashita yakusoku kokoro ni mada aru kana?

Tsumetai hitomi no mama ningyou mitai ni hohoemu, zutto kono mama de tooku wo miteiru. Me wo tojite miete kuru, kaze no yuku michi. Miagereba hibiki dasu, hoshi-tachi no uta. Nijuuyo jikan zutto, kono mama de, ikiteimasu.

Anata no soba ni iru dake de, tada sore dake de yokatta noni…
Kaze to utau you ni, doko made mo issho ni tonde yuketa nara ii nanoni…

Doushite? Doushite suki nan darou? Konna ni namida afureteru no. Kimi no koe kanashii hodo hibiiteru no. Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka tooku hanarete wakatta no. Namida tomaranai. Tomaranai. Konnan ja, kimi no koto shirazuni ireba yokata. Dareka wo suki ni naru kimochi shiritaku nakatta yo! Kuyashii yo, tottemo. Kanashii yo, tottemo. Jibun ga warui no. Konna jibun ga mijime de yowakute kawaisou de daikirai! Soredemo, anata wa watashi no daisuki na hito. Zutto, zutto, daisuki na hito.

Matteru. Nijuuyo jikan zutto matteru. Kono basho de matteru. Kono michi de matteru. Modorenakutemo matteru. Wasurenaide ne. Wasurenai kara. Itsumademo oboeteru. Kono machi ga kawattemo. Nani mo ka mo kawatte mo. Sono yakusoku wa ima mo kono mune no mannaka ni imasu. Modoritai. Ano hi wo modoritai. Mada shinjiteiru. Anata to no yakusoku dake, tada shinjiteiru.

Yume no naka ni imasu. Korekara mo zutto, imasu.

No matter how hard it hurts me, I’ll never say goodbye. Your presence will always linger in my heart. Wanna see your smile again.

Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 11: Something New

Well, it’s been a long time since I cared about Animax-Asia again. For so long, this anime channel has never changed much in terms of its dubbing policies and prowess, showing yes, the same quality that caused a lot of my complaints over the course of this episodic drama. I didn’t care anymore what kind of anime is being shown there and even in our own local anime channels. I guess I really just ended my anime-on-TV watching altogether, in favor of digital distributions and DVDs. I do admit though that this channel, and all others showing anime series locally, have really contributed to the popularity of this kind of entertainment as a whole in our country. Nowadays I wouldn’t be surprised anymore if someone comes up to me and mentions certain “niche” series, the NOT NARUTOS and NOT BLEACHES of genres. I think even the sometimes-talked about ‘elitism’ within groups of anime fans seems to be blurring itself away as well. Nowadays I don’t think other people would say that some anime will just be “bastardized” or it will lose its niche appeal once it comes on TV to be shown to the mainstream. I think people now appreciate that they have a vast selection of shows to choose from on TV. Choice is good.

cb5
Let me focus on what’s happening on local TV first. There’s a new player in town, well actually an older player, local channel TV5. Since the new management change, the channel has revived its anime primetime block. This will be the first time in 5 or so years that anime can be seen on evening, because the other major channels have trashed this idea in favor of more lucrative markets like gameshows, the usual teleseryes and more meh reality series. TV5 goes a step further, with its anime selection seemingly and surprisingly relevant to the very discerning anime fan. Maybe their staff are anime fans too, probably knowing about the fansub and internet world and also what’s critically acclaimed and popular in anime. From classics like Ranma 1/2, mild hits like Special A, DNAngel, and Ragnarok to REALLY good stuff like Azumanga Daioh, Shakugan no Shana, Code Geass, and Cowboy Bebop, this is really a powerhouse lineup that trumps even the 24-hour anime cable channel selections. Whatever I sampled about their dubbing is not bad, and they even completely show the openings and endings. The guys at TV5 know their stuff, and I say kudos to them for this excellent alternative programming especially in competitive times. A few more mentions though. QTV selection is quite decent as well, but they show anime on some odd and unpopular schedules. ABS-CBN and GMA has yawn-inducing reruns and kid-focused new anime. Studio 23 still shows the ever-antique Samurai X, but at least it’s picking up pace with Blood+ (original English dub, quite rare) and the upcoming Gun X Sword. Hero TV is as usual, nothing to report, although as a bishoujo anime fan I’m rather surprised to see some bishoujo game based anime there (Kiminozo, Happiness and Da Capo).

Now, let’s go to the meat, Animax-Asia. It really had been stagnant for quite a while. They have the same good-to-average-to-poor dubbing quality and they still hire the same voice dubbers for the job, all these years. Everytime I channel-surf in random, when it comes to Animax-Asia, I would say “OMG they show this anime now? But meh, dubbing as usual.” There are also lame attempts at capturing new markets. I think they tried some magazine shows, featuring stuff I wouldn’t normally see in an anime-focused channel. They have quirky Takeshi’s Castle-style Japanese game shows too. I don’t see Music Station often there anymore, have they canned their jpop music show? They also do specials for Hollywood geek shows and movies in sci-fi and comic genres. Finally, they have their own original anime production. I think a Filipino wrote the script of LaMB, which is quite nice but it’s not my genre.

And more confusion, as some anime (like Slam Dunk) are being shown BOTH on dubs and original Japanese with subtitles in different time schedules. What’s up with that? Old AXN anime fans haunting them? Trying to win back the audience they lost (me included)? Well, this may be a start. Another nice anime selection, Nodame Cantabile, is being shown ‘exclusively’ in original Japanese with English subtitles. Considering the content of this popular shoujo anime, it is rather logical to show it on subs, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they give it their lame dub treatment someday. I really hope not. This is positive news moving forward. They have returned to their roots, although I initially thought that they are just testing the waters.

But this is where it really begins. The other major, and this time it’s rather MAJOR, change in Animax-Asia is the announcement of not only one, but two new anime premieres in the original Japanese with English subtitles format. Good, more subs for the sub-loving audience they want to return to. But wait, there’s more to this. When I mean new anime, I mean NEW, as in fresh in Japan. As in SIMULTANEOUS PREMIERES! SIMULCAST!

imageimage
http://www.animax-asia.com/news/animax-asia-makes-history-world’s-first-same-time-anime-simulcast

Tears to Tiara and the new Fullmetal Alchemist will be shown on Animax-Asia in the original Japanese language with English subtitles. Tears to Tiara will be completely simulcast on the same time schedule in Japan… you can literally watch the episode at the same time Japanese fans can watch it. Fullmetal Alchemist episodes will show a mere week later from its Japanese counterpart. I think that this is, really, historic.

While Crunchyroll already does this in its internet distribution, these are firsts for television. I think they have reached a maximum-possible turnabout for anime premieres. To think that some time ago, we still need to wait a year or two for anime to appear on television sets, now we (English-literate anime fans) can have same-second entertainment the way the Japanese gets entertained. This is also a direct challenge to the gray-area (pirated if you see it that way) anime fansub scene, because really, is there any need (other than private collecting) for Tears to Tiara fansubs now? Not that I predict that show is worth it. I like Leaf/Aquaplus game based anime but I don’t follow their fantasy pieces (Utawaremono included) as much as To Heart and White Album stuff. Fullmetal Alchemist – Brotherhood though, this is the BIG one. If the old series had so much critical acclaim even with its complete diversion from the manga, what more with this when they said that the new anime will faithfully follow the manga this time? New episodes premiere in six days. Only speedsub lovers would dig the fansubs now. Even I prefer marathon runs especially on shounen pieces like these, so recap marathons on the channel would be welcome to me.

This is really the next step, a huge one for anime fans like me. Along with internet distributions and rapid DVD releases, Japanese anime companies are finally seeing the international market, and that they can cater to them by showing them the absolute latest of what they can offer. They also know now that they can reduce potential piracy by doing so. I hope that this is only the beginning. I don’t think Animax-Asia will rest on their laurels now that they have more positive mindshare coming from me, sub fans, fansub viewers, FMA fans, Tears to Tiara fans (however few lolz), and all others in the mainstream. This can only continue with MORE simulcast premieres right? I hope that you guys can muster some time to give them positive feedback, maybe by e-mail, guestbook, or blogging, showing our appreciation for this wonderful news (so we can have moar of this). Even with the recession, well, “in fact” with this recession, innovation will be something that will drive things forward, create new markets and energize the economy. This is innovative television programming. I am truly looking forward to this, as I can finally have a reason to turn the TV on for anime, delivered the way I like it. Finally, something new. WELCOME BACK!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 1: The end of Animax-Asia? Too sudden!?->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 2: Cardcaptured.->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 3: Trying to Adjust->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 4: Towards the 1st Anniversary->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 5: I gave up on Animax-Asia->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 6: One year since->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 7: Dubbed in Filipino?!?->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 7.5: Initial D Filipino Stage->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 8: More Pain->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 9: Now in blue->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 10: Fake Revival->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 11: Something New->]
[Animax-Asia… Dubbed in English – Episode 12: Red with anger->]

Canvas 2 ~Niji-iro no Sketch~

Canvas 2

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In a cookie-cutter world of bishoujo anime, sometimes there are a few series that surprise and amaze me, one of which is Canvas 2. I actually watched this during a recent vacation trip of mine, and it never failed me at all during the boring bus rides. Canvas 2 is a witty, smart, and effective romantic comedy that tries to humanize the usual bishoujo romance and add not only an artistic element (focusing on art and drawings), but also real-life concerns and decision-making.
Continue reading Canvas 2 ~Niji-iro no Sketch~

Life lessons from a bishoujo male lead

Hallo. I’m a male lead in a bishoujo game! And in my world there are lots of girls, not any different from your so-called “real life”. I’m just a bored and boring guy just like some of you. Maybe some of you play me because I already have tons of girls served to me in a silver platter, something which some of you may never get to have because similarly you are wussies like me! But I will differentiate myself from you, because I already have the girls, right? All I do is pick one! Easy squeezy! And you know what? I can “screw” them in the end of my short life! Jealous? Well, I only live like a few months because most of the time my story ends before graduation or something… but still… lolz.

Let me tell you, it’s easy work! I just be “kind” to the girl I want to have… done! I bump into one girl, she drops her books and papers… I just pick them up! Hello there iincho! I just out-shout and out-smart tsunderes who are annoyingly loud at times. I can bring out her softer side. I can just act like a baby to those girls older than me. I can also act like a onii-chan to those younger than me. See? It’s easy! Because I’m fiction!

Now it seems like it’s nearing Valentines or whatever eh? Lots of bloggers and others proclaiming their loveless lives calling it SAD (Singles Awareness Day) or whatever? Hahahaha! Too bad for you guys, because you live in reality! I heard it’s more complex over there. What with all the emos and such running around the internets. Me? I’m not supposed to surf the internets in my world anyway. I only have highschool settings. You know what I think what’s wrong with you guys? The internet itself! It allows you to groupthink. You meet people with almost the same lives as yours. You hear the same cries. You become most the same. And yet you don’t know each other in reality. And yet you still derive something from each other in reality. If you’re ronery you become ronerier because you see similar ronery people making you not move yourself because “oh other people are like this anyway, so I’ll remain like this for the rest of my life.” Me? Sure I have a worthless male sidekick or two, but at least I’m not affected by other people in other bishoujo game worlds. My world is small… well, small enough that all girls in my world look beautiful. HAHAHA!

Eh…

Ok fine, I need to reflect on myself, as I am actually giving you disservice as well. I am a “wish fulfillment” property. I am not real, but some people may consider some parts of me and apply it to their own lives. Sometimes it can be beneficial, other times, not so much. I’m not in the position to explain this complexity in your lives, because I am not complex enough to think so. Maybe you are. It will depend on your personality, the environment around you, and the decisions you make towards life. You are a complex being.

I’m sorry if I’m kinda boastful about my own fictional world. Well it’s not my fault that I’m fictional, some writer made it out of their own thoughts. More importantly though, the writers made it out by their “inspired” thoughts. Those writers, they live in real life like you do. They may have experiences like you do, and maybe some experiences you don’t have yet. Similarly, you have experiences they don’t have as well. Ooh it sounds all confusing to me. In any case, I think you have tons of ways to live your life. Me, I only follow my dialogue and decision points. This is important, because to me, everything is a script. The world you have there is sometimes unscripted, and you alone are writing it, one second at a time. You actions, your decisions, you control your reality.

I don’t know how to console you. I may not even have the right to. But if this is any help, here goes. If you compare yourself with others, you may become bitter and jealous. There will always be people better than you. It works both ways too. There will be people worse off than you. But that gives you no reason to screw up further. Also, let me tell you this, because my endings with my chosen girls are sometimes unwritten. There is life after love. Even if you got your girl already, there are still challenges ahead. I can only imagine what these are, because as I said, I can never live it. How to nurture these relationships over the years are still up to you. How you grow yourself is also up to you. Many of you think that love is the only thing lacking in you, not realizing other real things you lack. People are somewhat blinded by love, saying it’s the only thing that matters, especially in this love month season. Again, that’s just groupthink. Sure, your society seems to embrace that notion, and that singles who grow old being single are somewhat ‘silently’ frowned upon. Bah, but who cares what they think? If you affect yourself with their thoughts too much, you would only pity yourself further and you just sit in that corner crying.

There is some truth to the “be yourself” saying that is sometimes overlooked. If you just simply and literally “be yourself”, you may end up not growing up and moving towards the goals you are supposed to set yourself. I think a better way to rephrase it is to “accept yourself”. Whoever you are, whatever you are. Know your limits. ‘Then from there’, build on your limitations to pursue your goals. Realistic goals first before you insert any fantasies. Well, fantasy goals can be good too, it reinforces your positive thoughts. Be yourself, accept yourself, then change. The only thing that may be constant in your world is change. Sometimes it’s hard to change, I know. Personally I can never change unless the writer gives me an additional scenario in a revision bump or fandisk. As I said, I’m just at the mercy of my writer. Don’t be like me. You are your own writer.

I hope I made some sense. My fictional life may never be reality, but at least some part of it is. It would still depend on you if you can apply this to yourself or not.

Lovingly yours,
(insert bishoujo male lead name here)

Da Capo II: Maya Sawai

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She’s not my favorite character in this game, but I like Maya because she actually reminds me of one of my ____ in real life. Unnecessary tidbit aside though, let me just say that Maya is almost the same as many other iinchos (class representatives) in the anime or bishoujo world. She is a tsundere meganekko. Well she’s not exactly as snobbish or strict as an iincho usually is, but she still has the spunk and the strong character. Like any strong character though, there are some vulnerabilities inside, so let me show you what she has in store for us.
Continue reading Da Capo II: Maya Sawai

I hate siscon

noooooo
I used to like [siscon->boku-wa-imouto-ni-koi-wo-suru]… but I hate it now. Because most of the time, especially this year, siscon wins, and my pick loses.

Let me count the ways (possible SPOILERS for those not watching)

true tears
This was the beginning of my frustration. After building up Noe for most of the series, some kind of wild deus ex machina led the guy back to Hiromi. Not that I hate the siscon in this one, but I hate the emoness of Hiromi. She is dark, moody, always looking sad. Noe is the light, positive, warm and fuzzy. Okay fine, I admit that in terms of story, true tears is actually well balanced. Equal opportunity was given to the two main girls, and also surprisingly a short but sweet oneshot for the third girl. But still, summing it all up, I choose the bright over the gloom.

[Kimikiss->kimikiss]
Technically still a siscon for me, because the guy calls her “Mao-neechan”. I don’t see how the guy would like Mao-neechan. It wasn’t fleshed out as much as I would have liked. Also, the shift just began out of nowhere, and in the final episode no less. In any case, as I said in my review, this anime seems open-ended enough to have some sequel, maybe college kimikiss rabu dorama is good.

Da Capo II
Well I forgot. Did he pick one here? I think it was some generic no-girl-wins anime. I played the [game->dc2] to death and so I had all the girl fix I needed, so I didn’t care who wins who in the anime. Besides, the ones in the running are “two” sisters, so I can never win here. Ah I know, the reason I was fawning about this anime was the lack of Nanaka. She had no arc. A whole half-season with Koko as girlfriend… and NO NANAKA ARC. Underdog Koko wins. Kotori fans lose again.

Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka
The latest addition. This is one of the worst reversals I have seen yet. The episodes are clearly aiming for my pick, the kawaii tsundere himesama Yuuhi. It had the best episode at 10, one that I myself was surprised. Usually in anime like this, girl or boy confess, then next day, tadah… they’re a school couple acting like they’ve been together for 5 years. In this one, it mirrors real-life feelings of worry. So, they said “I love yous”, now what? They don’t know how to move after this. Embarrassments. Not knowing how to act. Some things still not set. It’s cute! They really acted like a new couple madly in love but they still have some lingering worries.

But then the imouto starts to go emo over his nii-san. Out of the blue, because there was not enough focus for this kind of angle. I know the guy always mouthwaters over his sister Minato, but really, the WTF comes from the guy’s best friend (the sidekick guy). HOW DOES HE KNOW THE SISCON? He’s forcing some unneeded drama, saying “can you live without your sister”. HA? Suppose the brother has a gf, does it mean bags-a-packing separation already? Madness! Also, what the hell is the main guy… a worthless dependent? But he can cook and take care of himself even without Minato. He’s just lazy, so he depends on Minato for the chores. So I blame the sidekick too. That was out of line.

Insight (end spoilers)
There is a pattern with siscon:

Well most of the time, the imoutochan or oneesan seems eternally close to the guy. Typical setting is the unbelievable they-live-together-without-their-parents-style, and 90% of the time, they are not blood-related. Then there comes some exchange student / outsider person / some fiancee, a girl who will suddenly sneak into the guy’s life. Most of the time I tend to like the “outsider girl”, because the main guy in the anime is usually lousy, lazy, indecisive and irresponsible. 90% of harem male leads are this way. They always rely on their imouto/ane for food and house work while they idle around the house watching TV or bitching about their latest adventures with the other bishoujo girls. An outsider girl’s mission always seems to be to take the guy out of this norm. she will be an inspiration for change and an aspiration for the guy to try to be a better person. All the while the sister looks like she approves for some girls and relationships, while hiding her slowly changing feelings. After all, if you live together for some years, then some new thing comes barging in, there will be some distance slowly opening between you and your sibling. Changes. This is where the drama kicks in, because the years-old foundation will start to crumble. What will the guy choose… change? Or more of the same? (oof not election-related I hope)

Another problem with male leads like this is that they’re “too kind”. I guess kindness is what’s left after all the negative traits I mentioned earlier. That even if this guy has already established a relationship with one girl, he still acts as if he has a harem. Why not focus on your new relationship? This just gives the other girls, and most especially the sister, the wrong idea. Gah, even anime and eroge puts this error in dialogue. Many-a-bishoujo will say “You’re too kind” to the guy. The guy still looks indecisive EVEN with the decision already there. The sister gives in to the pressure, that slight light of hope that she can still “steal back” her beloved brother. And then, the limit will be reached, and so the emotions will flow…

…BAM! So I have summarized the sister viewpoint for 90% of all the bishoujo or harem anime out there. I’m starting to wear out of this. The siscon genre (genre?) needs some bright new angle soon, or else I shall cast them all to [choke sakura petals->da-capo].

Side note: bluemist has an imouto.

12 Days of Catchup… oof 10 days left. (about bishoujo anime)

Let me start the ball rolling again, even if it’s late. The key to restarting a blog is to start talking. I’m fairly noisy over on my Twitter, so I hope it could translate into something here.

I’m trying to shift focus this time. Because honestly, the bishoujo side of things isn’t up to snuff lately. Sure, Clannad is still as good as ever… but do you remember [AIR->air-tv]?

I don’t think even KyoAni topped their own previous creation. AIR was arguably the greatest-looking TV anime ever made, and I think (hope) many would agree. It had the stuff you’ll jizz your pants with even if you only have a 720p rip of the not-even-true-1080p Blu-ray version. But it’s not only about visuals, the story (though compressed) had a perfect pace episode-after-episode. The music was completely based on the game (and therefore faithful to the original), and the overall package is just superb. The legend of KyoAni didn’t start in Haruhi IMO, it started with this one.

Aside from the yearly almost-consistent quality bishoujo anime from Kyoto Animation (AIR, Kanon, Clannad), the quality of the “side-dishes” (I may be harsh) of this genre has somewhat degraded over the years. Well, it is a relatively recent category (it just exploded in 2003) so I’d give it more breathing space. Who knows, it may have some kind of influence that we aniblogger gaijin may not notice. Ever wonder if it (Shuffle overexposure) ever made an impact when [Densha Otoko->densha-otoko-bishoujo-tracker] aired? Hey, those may be picture cameos, but with 20% of Japan watching that show, someone must have noticed. Right? Right? If Densha Otoko started some maid cafe boom, did it start some buying-eroge boom?

I used to make a [yearly poll->http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=59973] of the best bishoujo game/visual novel/eroge-based anime over at AnimeSuki Forums. This year, I’m not so sure if anyone’s interested. I myself have praised nothing but Clannad, and I expect the overflooding of votes for that anime since I don’t think anything else matters this year. [Kimikiss->] was IMO great, but not for everyone. [Da Capo II->dc2] was really great, it was faithful to the game, but only in the latter half did it commit to its promise.

After those two anime… er… I had to check anime lists to see what else aired during the year. H2O? Anything good about that? How about Koihime Musou (wasn’t it an ero anime too?) How about Akaneiro and Chaos:Head? I think the reportedly decent ones this year are true tears (but that’s not based on the game) and ef (haven’t watched yet because I’m lame).

So that’s my bishoujo catchup. Up next… hopefully… the shoujo catchup.

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