Bishoujo – Page 4 – bluemist anime blog

Project Japan

Since this is more or less confirmed already, might as well say it.

I’m going to Japan.

I’m going to Japan for training in my work, and I am going to be stuck there for about a year. While this may be no big deal to others, to me it is. In a way, this will radically change the way I live, and in effect, this anime blog of mine might render a lot of changes in the near future.

First and foremost, I really do hope that I will not stop blogging anime and related stuff. But getting nearer my points of interest does not necessarily mean that I’ll experience more. It is rather obvious that any kind of otaku behavior in Japan would be looked down upon by other people. While I don’t consider myself one, I am ‘dangerously’ close, particularly my certain likehood for bishoujo games. I shouldn’t put my real-life work in jeopardy, although reportedly my company there is rather open-minded when it comes to these things. The fact that I was allowed to work in Japan is already even too kind for them. If they don’t care that I’m a foreigner, the more they don’t care what my hobbies are.

I also have lots of things to consider. Would I be able to watch those late-night anime? Would I muster courage to buy stuff since I don’t know 95% of the language? Japan is the dream of many-an anime fan, but facing reality is a nightmare. Especially the ‘price’ of entertainment. I would break-even with my allowance using it for food alone. No moyism for me.

Am I thinking so negatively about this? Well heck I’ll look at the bright side now… I’M IN FREAKING JAPAN! Entertainment heaven! Technology! Sights! Sounds! Hot springs! Mountains! Amusement parks! Shopping! (Girls!) WOW! Let me tell this from a 3rd world perspective. To go to a 1st world country is nothing short of AWESOME. I’ll stop now before this becomes mere bragging.

So what’s the future of this blog? Well, since I will leave my entire fansub collection back home, I only have the space to carry [Da Capo II->summer-of-bishoujo] and [Ojamajo Doremi->] along with me. Those projects should remain active. Hopefully I will have internet in my apartment so I can build some new collection to enjoy. First I need a laptop…

And so that’s it, life goes on. Apologies for holding it in for so long, since I wasn’t sure of this a few weeks back. I’ve been preparing for this recently and that’s why I took a break. Plus my birthday is drawing near and all. I would certainly love to be back in the scene again, so please come back for more. I’ll be back when I get things settled.

Thanks for your continued support.

July Anime Season (Summer 2006)

That time once again?

I’m keeping my new anime watching at a minimum again. It’s quite a hectic time for me these days. I’m still catching up to [many-a-spring->April Anime Season (Spring 2006)] anime. Add my current penchant for anything Da Capo, I’m sure to give lots more time for gaming than anime.

Speaking of anime though, I wonder if anyone of you noticed this too. It was some anime I anticipated in spring, but all of the sudden it was out of the limelight, and it never aired. My very first case of missing anime:

Where in the world is Finalist?

As for the upcoming summer season, thankfully there are only a few anime that spurred my interest this time, very unlike the massively awesome lineup of spring. And so behold my huge lineup:

Binbou Shimai Monogatari – Anime about poor people = win (remember NieA_7?), because I = poor people.

Tsuyokiss – Tsundere you say? Instant buy! Cool and sweet!

NHK ni Youkoso! – Yet another approach to otakuism just like [Genshiken->] and [Comic Party->] before it. This time, with the topic I like most: bishoujo games.

Chokotto Sister – Something about this intrigues me, so I’ll put it on watch.

I still don’t blog anime episodes, so for more information on these and other anime, please visit our friendly neighborhood anime bloggers and aggregators. That’s it for now.

Nana

Nana (movie)
Nana 2 (movie)
Nana (anime)
Nana (manga)

No matter how many bishoujos you see in this blog, this fact remains. Shoujo is my all-time favorite genre in anime, manga, and everything else. Shoujo characters, despite some not being as beautifully drawn as their counterparts in other genres of Japanese fiction, are the most colorful when it comes to attitudes and characterization. More importantly though, their stories are some of the very best in mirroring the entire array of human life and emotion. With this, I introduce Nana, one of the biggest hit series in Japan today. It is a #1 manga, a #1 movie, and now an anime series as well. The author must be very happy right now.
Continue reading Nana

REC

REC

9 episodes, 12 minutes, impossibly short. Packs a lot of punch though.

Based on a manga of the same name, REC is a story about a guy and a girl who gets to live in one roof because of some circumstances. Fumihiko, 26, is a worker at a local sweets company, brainstorming ideas for promotion of goods. Aka, 20, is a newbie seiyuu (voice actress), loves Audrey Hepburn movies and likes to quote movie dialogue all the time. They get to live in one roof, but still confused as to what is exactly their relationship, they aren’t a couple after all. They get to work together for a snacks promotion in need of a seiyuu. Eventually they get closer, but reality kicks in, as their own respective careers either sway up or down. How will they handle the ups and downs of work, and the ups and downs of their own romance?

An anime about a budding seiyuu! I’ve seen anime about j-idols, singers and stuff like that, but never about a seiyuu until now. REC totally landed my interest, and the red-haired cutie Aka is a plus! While I can’t relate to her obsession for the late great Audrey Hepburn’s works, the way she modulates her voice when making a movie quote gets a 10 out of 10 in originality. We also see a bit of focus on the seiyuu scene, which is somewhat the same thing we see in the j-idol or music scene. Of course, voice acting is not just about anime, it’s as comprehensive as dubbing gets. From movies to commercials to even bishoujo games, seiyuu are there to lend their voices and spice things up. Er… I was rather surprised that they’d even deal with the bishoujo game seiyuu topic, quite boldly I must say (heck, a mosaic of a p****! and a sample dialogue of an H anime even!!).

Anyway, not even inconsistent animation can cover-up the cuteness of Aka. Must be due to her seiyuu… I mean, the real-life seiyuu who voices Aka. She is Kanako Sakai, and I must say, she’s rather cute herself too. She seems to be a budding seiyuu and actress too, having only REC and Magikano in her anime belt, along with made-for-DVD dramas, TV and radio programs, and a PS2 game. I wish her luck.

All in all, short but totally sweet. It’s an interesting story about careers and relationships. While short, REC delivers at a steady pace, no dull moment at all. I really wished it could be longer though. Oh well, a new OVA episode would be underway quite soon. Need more anime like this. Anime about seiyuu, that is.

April Anime Season (Spring 2006)

Time to cry again.

This is probably the season with the best lineup of potentially good anime I have ever encountered so far… and it came at the worst possible time… when I’m busy.

It has everything. Bishoujo? Check. Shoujo? Check. Sequels? Check check check. There’s something for everyone in this new season. Prepare to smoke your computer/TV/portable screens.

For the comprehensive list, go here and here.

Ah! My Goddess 2nd season – Oh my gawdness… I barely finished the first yet.

Ergo Proxy – Probably the front runner of this season’s action anime genre.

Finalist – From a Princess Soft game. More girls.

Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu! – The cutest twin magical princesses in anime-dom returns for yet another year. I know who’s most happy with this.

.hack//Roots – Those .hacks were nice time wasters back when I had only a few anime to watch. If this turns out to be the same slow-poke, I’d drop it.

Higurashi no Naku koro ni – I’ve been hearing about how this is the second most popular doujin game ever made ([Tsukihime->type-moon] is the champ). It’d be nice to see why.

Inukami! – Probably a cliche, but nevertheless, cute animation design.

Joshikousei GIRLS-HIGH – If it’s about joshikousei, it must be good. Popular seiyuu are here.

NANA – If 2005 was the year of [Hanadan->hana-yori-dango], 2006 is the year of NANA. This is one of the biggest shoujo series of recent memory, and I am already excited since I am thirsty for shoujo already (too much bishoujo).

School Rumble 2nd Semester – Make way for the funniest school anime without Osaka-san! A definite watch!

Soul Link – NAVEL’s older game before their popular one [Shuffle->].

Strawberry Panic – I seemed to have learned not to skip a Dengeki G’s series, even if it turns out horribly average. There’s something in the way they draw bishoujo.

Suzumiya Haruhi – Late update… what the heck was I thinking? Leaving out the potential School Rumble counter-programming of the season? By Kyoto Animation no less!

Tsubasa Chronicle 2nd season – Must… not… miss… Sakura-chan.

Tokko – From the author of GTO. I miss that anime. I hope Tokko is as crazy/cool as that.

Utawarerumono – A classic game from [Leaf->leaf-aquaplus]. Please don’t let it be a [disaster->to-heart-remember-my-memories] on [rails->toheart2-review] again.

XXXHOLiC – Seems to be a two-punch for CLAMP this season. Nice. Hope to see more crossovers.

Yume Tsukai – Looks nice. I’ll give it a whirl.

To Heart 2

I was thinking all the while that To Heart 2 will be really good, considering that [Comic Party Revolution->], the other anime franchise of [Aquaplus->leaf-aquaplus], turned out rather well. But then the IMO horror that is [~Remember my Memories~->to-heart-remember-my-memories] still looms. That series not only had inconsistent animation, but a pace and story that I didn’t enjoy too much. This time, To Heart 2 more or less had the same problems, but not enough to call it a bad anime… or maybe… I’m biased?

I played the [game->toheart2], and featured it rather heavily, so there may be some personal biases of mine that will lead to the anime counterpart getting a more positive review from me. For one, I really love the mix of the all-new characters this time. The energetic [childhood friend->To Heart 2: Episode 1], the mature [onee-sama->To Heart 2: Episode 2], the soft-spoken [iincho->To Heart 2: Episode 3], the annoying [challenge girl->To Heart 2: Episode 4], the scheming [club president->To Heart 2: Episode 5], the weird [girl from outer space->To Heart 2: Episode 6], twins with [different->To Heart 2: Episode 8] [personalities->To Heart 2: Episode 9], and the ever-required [maid robot->To Heart 2: Episode 10]. While this cast sounds extremely cliche, the difference is in the moe~ factor. The To Heart 2 characters have the same cuteness vibe that made the original [To Heart->] so popular. The lead male character is also an improvement over other similar series. Takaaki is neither a Bakayuki or a Junichi, but if you ask me… he acts kinda gayish.

Now I’m gonna try to remove my bias. Technically, To Heart 2 the anime is created for existing and upcoming fans of the original game. Its premiere in the fall season of 2005 would coincide with the much-anticipated PC version of the game (it was originally on Playstation 2), [To Heart 2: XRATED->]. That said, and because you, my primary audience, is of the english-speaking anime community, many of you guys may be alienated when watching this anime. It is as if it pits you immediately into the events assuming you already know the game, or know of the first To Heart. Unfortunately, many of us can’t play the game because of the language barrier, and so some may not be able to enjoy it too much. Add up the fact that there are 9 featured girls in mere 13 episodes, and that makes them even less memorable.

Aside from the dilemma from non-fans of the To Heart 2 game, even the fans themselves are complaining. What they saw in the anime were very diluted, modified and condensed versions of each girl’s story. What took them about 5-10 hours to complete in the game, the anime finished in 1 or 2 episodes. The conversion quality left so much pain, as it wasn’t to the level that they expected. The most significant alteration to the original was the watering-down of the drama. The original To Heart 2 stories were heartwarming tearjerkers. Compared to that, the To Heart 2 anime stories seemed lifeless.

Couple that with inconsistent animation, incomplete stories, and confusing [timeline->toheart2-timeline], the anime is disaster on rails. Thankfully it had some nice bits here and there. For the fans, they have seen the To Heart 2 girls [interact->To Heart 2: Episode 7] with [each other->To Heart 2: Episode 11] like never before, because in the game they barely even know each other. Also, having all the original seiyuu in check for the anime makes it pleasant-sounding. Music is forgettable but not annoying, and the OP/ED is quite good.

Overall though, maybe it will be just the fans who will enjoy an anime like To Heart 2. Anyway, the best episode to watch is the [12th one->To Heart 2: Episode 12], and I can say you could even see it standalone (not watching the other eps). Continue it with the [last one->To Heart 2: Episode 13 (Final)] for the open-ended conclusion, and you have the 2-episode Konomi OVA. That’s my recommendation if you don’t want to waste time. There are many other bishoujo-game based anime better than this (Stripey has a nice top 20 list). My other recommendation is to play the game somehow. You’ll feel the moe~ factor better over there.

Da Capo Second Season

It’s always hard to have a sophomore outing. It always gets compared to the first. The entire Da Capo game franchise seemed to escape itself away from this dilemma, by bombarding the audience with all things Da Capo. With the possibly annoying array of versions, revisions, sidestories, and fandisks of the [Da Capo games->Circus] alone, coupled with multiple manga and anime serializations, comparing each is no use. Just enjoy the Da Capo mythos. But in case of the anime versions, we need to look at the [first season->da-capo] as reference to Da Capo Second Season, because it is not a version or revision of the original, it is a sequel.

With DCPS ending, the Da Capo anime has now become the longest running anime franchise of the bishoujo game genre. 52 episodes of fun with rainbow-colored hair and cute girls. Each season had its own unique share of positive and negative traits, but overall a worthy watch, especially if you had been looking through your mountain pile of Da Capo games. And the heat rises further, as Da Capo Second Season adds more girls into the already crowded fray of multiple hair colors and different personalities. You’re really bound to like at least one of them. The main guy actually has a literal change of character art in the new season, but who cares about the guy anyway?

Ironically, one new main character didn’t actually come from the games. Aisia, a new girl with mysterious powers, was derived from a manga serialization called Da Capo Second Graduation. The other new characters came from the Da Capo Plus Situation game. Some DCPS characters actually didn’t make the cut, one is really missing, one remains a cameo, and another one… hmm… let’s just say that ~~she~~ is there but not really.

The story carries over from the first season, two years later. The mysterious power within the cherry blossoms are gone, main girls Nemu and Sakura are abroad, and all seems certain that [Kotori->da-capo-kotori-shirakawa] (arguably one of the most favorable Da Capo girls) will take the limelight and shine. One problem though, Aisia steals the limelight more often than not, plus with (ooh spoiler) Nemu and Sakura returning once again, it is now a whole new battle for the love of this one boring male lead.

I hope to fully put the entire season in perspective, but really, everything that happens in Da Capo Second Season involves Aisia. I hope I was correct in saying that. Even when there were episodes that feature the other new characters, Aisia plays a vital part in each of their stories. This I think is where the second season is weak as compared to the first. There is little room for character development or focus for all the other girls. While you may argue that some have already developed (because of the first season), for an anime of the bishoujo genre, characters are more important than plot. I would have preferred more Mako episodes myself. Along with character development, Aisia was granted the key to open the door of the main plot of the second season. What convenience, Aisia gets all the attention. As I said, viewers may think that this season is all about Aisia AND Kotori (as implied in the OP sequence), but it turns out that Kotori stays to be coincidential rather than central to the plot.

In any case, Da Capo Second Season as a story is an excellent follow-up to the first Da Capo. It raises a lot of questions to the conclusion of the first season, and answers them one-by-one. The first season’s ending did have some logical and moral faults, and I was glad that DCSS transcended beyond the original content toward a more “true” conclusion this time around. But with Aisia getting more screentime, I figured that they never needed a entire length of 26 episodes in order to explain the point. If anything, I really hoped that more focus should have been dealt on the new DCPS girls and Kotori herself. It doesn’t need to be this focused on Aisia alone. I admit, Aisia rocks, but alienating fans of all the other Da Capo girls… a no-no.

Despite this, I really enjoyed the run. Character animation looks more consistent, the background music again memorable, and excellent songs again coming from no other than [Yui Horie->horie-yui] (Kotori) and yozuca* and rino/CooRie.

If anything, this may be the real time to close the huge Da Capo franchise. Onwards to DC II perhaps? I think it has already proven its point, each character strong enough to remain a bishoujo anime icon. If you can stomach the barrage of Aisia-only goodness, Da Capo Second Season is a worthy watch.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Project Hiatus 2: Cardcaptor Sakura

Before bluemist anime blog @ animeblogger.net, and before the old bluemist anime blog (gone now), my very first web project was a relatively unpopular Cardcaptor Sakura fansite, called the bluemist cardcaptor sakura anime reference. As you can see, it’s also gone now and incomplete. After having this anime blog, I never got to finish that site.

Maybe it was boredom or a change of hype, since I was more into [ToHeart2->], [bishoujo games->summer-of-bishoujo] and [live-action->live] stuff last year. Nevertheless, Cardcaptor Sakura remains and still is the very root of all the anime evil that I’ve been writing about up until now. Yes, being my personal best anime EVER, I blame Cardcaptor Sakura for my anime fandom, and I realized that it is somewhat a necessity for me to finish what I have started, that old site itself.

I decided to do this now since I am not quite active in the latest anime season anyway, because of lack of interest for certain new anime. I also decided to finish that CCS unfinished business, in order to move on to some… er… bigger, [MORE IMPOSSIBLE->doremi] stuff very soon. I’m also predicting that real life obligations will take more pieces of time away from me yet again.

And so in line with this, I will be putting this blog on a certain semi-hiatus state. Updates may be few and far between again, just like [last time->project-hiatus], whenever I just feel like it. I’ll be doing the CCS site and this blog in a more casual manner, in the hopes of fitting into my busy schedule.

Actually, I’m still debating on whether to incorporate my CCS site into this anime blog as a project as well. It may be too much work, but it should be perfect for my [Retro->] status isn’t it?

In any case, that’s it. I’m still here, but I’ll be less active… as if I am active at all. Bye for now.

Ns’ Aoi

Ns’ Aoi

Usually I follow only the highest-rating jdorama, but since this season’s #1 jdorama doesn’t seem too interesting to me (it’s the overworked story of Saiyuuki), I’m gonna pick some less popular series that may have potential. Pretty girls are a plus.

How about a pretty nurse?

Ns’ Aoi seems to be based on a manga, which I don’t think has been licensed nor translated. If anything, I can say that this is an equivalent of your usual “great teachers” (GTO’s Onizuka and Gokusen’s Yankumi), except that she’s a nurse in a hospital. Misora Aoi is a newbie nurse at this hospital. All seems fine, until she realizes she has some problems with many of the staff there. As an institution, this hospital has some interestingly weird “politics” going on. And that sometimes saving lives doesn’t seem top priority. As our idealistic main character, Aoi-chan goes to great heights and performs duties beyond what a nurse is set out to do, all for her patients.

Nurse me too! Ehem… err…

Ishihara Satomi topbills this drama, and is one hawt girl indeed. Nothing else seems to be special, so I’m not expecting big things.

AOI-CHAN OF THE WEEK
Ep 1:

Ep 2:

Ep 3:

Ep 4:

Ep 5:

Ns’ Aoi Bishoujo Tracker?
Hmm… never thought I could see some remnants of [Densha Otoko->densha-otoko-bishoujo-tracker] in this series… remember this guy?

Nurse and other figurines… an otaku in a hospital

Is that a magazine front page of the horrifying Amenaideyo anime?

Showing off his kawaii Nurse-chan again

Ojamajo Doremi Naisho!

Ojamajo Doremi Naisho!

Ahh… Ojamajo Doremi. Of all the anime in the world, this is for me the most elusive anime that I may never, ever completely enjoy. With no less than 200 episodes, most of it already lost in time, someone like me living in the remotest of areas would consider getting an episode of this a monumental effort. Since this kind of anime is rarely a fansubbing favorite, only a few subs of Ojamajo Doremi exist (thanks to those fansubbers btw). And since this series is quite old already, I cannot find anything else, not even raws. But no, nothing is gonna stop me from continually searching for my most elusive anime ever. Unknown to many, Ojamajo Doremi is one of (if not) the longest mahou shoujo (magical girl) anime series ever. And despite its seemingly unpopular status outside of Japan, I can consider this one of the best anime ever made… even with the limited number of episodes I watched.

An excellent example of this would be the latest season, called Ojamajo Doremi Naisho. For a little background info, there are five seasons of Ojamajo Doremi. The first four seasons ran for almost a year each (50+ episodes), and the latest season ran for 13 episodes. While it is the latest season, Naisho’s timeline actually runs between the third and fourth seasons. Not that it matters though, because what Ojamajo Doremi offers is not a big plot… but a “big heart”.

Oh my, where do I start? For first-time watchers, they may be skeptical on picking this up because it runs in the middle of a series, but Ojamajo Doremi as a whole excels in full-fledged characterization. Watch one episode of Ojamajo Doremi Naisho, and you more or less get to know about each main character already. Watch another, and you see one of the characters being fleshed out further. Watch yet another, and you enjoy so much of Ojamajo Doremi overall because of its appealing characters. Character development is an immense factor in the success of this anime. And not only those main characters (the pretty witches) get their development, but various supporting characters as well.

The strongest part of Naisho (and any other Ojamajo Doremi season for that matter) is how endearingly heartwarming each episode is. Even if each episode you watch has a different story and features different characters, they make it oh so memorable. Each story, no matter how frantic or comedic or depressing, is very very good. Ojamajo Doremi Naisho has a specific theme, in which they delve on some characters’ “secrets” (hence Naisho). Well I wouldn’t say some should really be considered big secrets, but these stories feature many events from the past, and how they learn from those events.

Remember that this is a mahou shoujo series, and yet it veers away often from magic being central to a story. It extends its moral values to more than just using magic to do something special. Sometimes I imagine that this anime can veer away from magic completely, because it is all about our life. All the happiness, sadness, complications, and simplicity of life, being channeled through various heartwarming stories.

This series particularly has a interestingly dramatic theme to it despite the relative fun. Some stories even end up with some of the characters crying. Moreover, seemingly mature themes like the life’s complexities, and even death, is being dealt with. It is something you really won’t expect from a mahou shoujo series, plus considering this is an anime aimed for kids. It is rare that an anime of this kind can be this moving. It’s easy to make viewers laugh and awe, but it is hard to make them cry. And yet Ojamajo Doremi can do that, and more. Because it mirrors our lives, viewers can relate, reflect, and learn. Entertainment that transcends beyond entertainment.

I won’t talk about the cute characters and animation, the memorable music and songs, or how the voice acting fared. It is enough for me to say that Ojamajo Doremi Naisho entertained me to the brim, sky is beyond the limit. It is enough for you to know that I highly recommend this anime, whether dubbed, subbed, or otherwise. It will be remembered forever in my heart. I’d love to watch it all over again (I don’t usually repeat anime I already watched, so this is a rare exception). Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going treasure hunting for more Ojamajo Doremi.