mahou shoujo – bluemist anime blog

The Forgotten

I am looking through my own blog archives now and then, and reading them as well. I have quite a case of amnesia when it comes to old anime series after all. Interestingly enough, I had touched upon a few anime/manga series that I have actually forgotten or dropped. So I went on a little trip down memory lane and see what’s up with those old stuff.
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Cool and Spicy vs. Just Plain Spice

Shugo Chara 43 was awesome. So awesome, I don’t know how they can top this afterwards. With the season ender fast approaching, the anime almost reaching the latest manga stories, and the announcement for yet another year, who knows what kind of Shugo Chara we’ll see next. Some rumblings around the blogosphere about how this will ruin Shugo Chara because of filler, or about how happy they are that there will be more anime, or about how happy they are that there are more fillers, or maybe even about how happy they are that it will be ruined because there will be more anime and fillers, or maybe even about how happy they are that some people are catfighting about it, etc. Sometimes fangirls are scary, but then again I am too… I’m a “non-girl” fangirl.

So just a short snippet at this. If Cardcaptor Sakura managed to have awesome fillers, why not Shugo Chara? Full Moon wo Sagashite anime totally strayed from the manga plot, and that’s still an awesome anime right? Heck, argue that Ojamajo Doremi is 95% filler, but that’s the best (IMO) mahou shoujo around. So let’s give those filler anime producers a shot at it before bashing around. But then again, I got reminded about how I stopped watching Pretty Cure after a string of non-interesting episodes, and I have a similar experience with Mermaid Melody. And we do already have examples of a string of average fillers within Shugo Chara itself.

What keeps me entertained about shoujo anime are primarily the characters first. The stories mostly become secondary to me. This is where most filler anime makers get it wrong. In fillers, they always invent new and original characters that just disappear after 1 freaking episode. Almost every shoujo anime has that kind of inclination, whether it’s based on a manga or not. For a show mostly for kids, that seems to produce unnecessary clutter. You are made to care about new characters, only to realize you’ll probably never hear about them again. What about doing the CCS way, make a entirely filler character (Meilin) that’s ALWAYS THERE? Almost integral to the story (Shaoran’s fiance and cousin), and many episodes related to her? Or why not build upon existing characters? Ojamajo Doremi succeeded in that arena.

So, with 50 or so episodes more for the next season, why not take advantage of already-established characters, filler or otherwise? I’m sure they’ll find more stories about Rima’s ongoing family problem. More antics of that Indian Prince whose name escapes me. Kukai’s childhood friend returns? Or maybe a sub-arc with Utau getting pitted against that beautiful celebrity who got married to Amu’s cousin? Remember the ballerina? The love rival? And how the heck did Nikaidou became just a mere happy smily teacher after his super-dark chara arc? I was half-expecting him to pop up being the cool pillar of sleazy looks when he may come face-to-face with Easter. Finally, I noticed Yaya is still under-established. How did she get her chara-nari without much backstory aside from her relationship with her baby brother?

And as a kicker, I thought the whole point of Shugo Chara is finding your naritai jibun/would-be selves? Reaching your dreams and aspirations? “Character Development” is the point, and somehow it shines whenever the manga story is in full gear, and dims when it comes to fillers. It looks like I’m still divided over the topic, so I’ll end this with Utau and Amu-chan’s awesomeness.

If you ask me, Utau WINS over Amu-chan in this one. Seraphic Charm is the awesomest chara-nari, and none of Amu-chan’s 6 crazy variations can top that. Amu-chan can only muster to carry a helicopter, while Utau cleanses a thousand X Charas. I may not approve of the siscon (or maybe I do?), but if Amu is Cool and Spicy, Utau is… er… I can’t think of any, so let’s just go with:

SHUGOI!

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS

“Still not lyrical, and they are not lolis anymore”

Initial reaction. What else can I say? This is one of the rare sequels in anime where they fast-forward about 10 years and make all characters older, taller, and sexier. That alone would alienate thousands of fans of the two original [Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha->] series. That, along with the change of theme from innocent magic to… well let’s just say “corporate and political magic”, this would sure be a controversial piece to review. And indeed it may be, because this is the longest review I would write so far. If you can stomach all my rants and raves, please sit tight, we have a lot of ground to cover.
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BREAKING: Shugo Chara Episode 10 Subbed… made by me!

Whoa!

SHUGO CHARA EPISODE 10 SUBS
http://bluemist.animeblogger.net/subs/bluemist-sc10.zip

Arienai! Impossible! My first fansub ever!

Well I happened to find this subtitle file… but it turns out to be a improper one. So i borrowed (stole?) his timings and re-translated it myself! It took 3 hours of crazy effort apparently, but I feel it was worth it. Granted this anime is aimed for kids, the dialogue is obviously simple (to Japanese kids), but it was definitely still a chore.

I didn’t bother to copy the OP/ED because it has been refined to death by obvious subbers like [Formula]â€‹. They will definitely release the fansubbed episode and so this is rather more self-serving than self-boasting. In any case, please do fire up your raws and load this sub, because I need comments! Have I done well? Which lines were completely wrong, and can you give corrections? I ‘did’ improvise some of those lines… just like ‘that’ other sub, but at least it’s not ‘that’ bad. Sorry ‘whoever you are’…

Enjoy!

Animax-Asiaâ€¦ Dubbed in English – Episode 8: More Pain

April 3, 2006

It’s probably final. Animax-Asia is now completely out of my system.

Practically, Animax-Asia is still here, on Channel 46 of my cable TV… but I don’t tune in anymore. This, despite a rather excellent lineup yet again. Also it seems like they tweaked a bit of their programming schedules. What was knows as Kids Hour is now named Girl Power (shoujo anime lineup), followed by Shonen Walker (shounen anime), Animania (probably mainstream), Megazone (semi-hardcore), and finally Super Maniac (hardcore). Oh, some animes in Super Maniac still is in English dub, so I wouldn’t call that as hardcore too much.

Some current anime highlights include the ever-popular Detective Conan, shounen classics Yu Yu Hakusho and Flame of Recca, shoujo classic Fushigi Yuugi, and a whole bunch of very recent anime, some of which other anime bloggers have been featuring for the past years:
– Emma
– Gakuen Alice
– Kino no Tabi
– Mahou Shoujo Tai
– Onegai Teacher
– Otogizoshi
– Twin Spica
– Windy Tales
– Zettai Shounen

Amazing lineup yet again… disappointing English dubbing yet again. This month we also have the CLAMP-crossover anime Tsubasa Chronicle, aptly translated by the channel as Chronicle of the Wings. Classy name, but I guess it’s a clear indication of English dubbing. You can’t escape English dubs. Oh, and next month we have the current king of shounen anime, Fullmetal Alchemist on queue. Still not sure if the English dub will be from inhouse Animax-Asia dubbers, or from Funimation in the US.

Take note, some English dubs come from official US dub releases from TV or DVD, but the vast majority of them come from Animax-Asia’s own in-house dubbing. Because of this, you hear the same voices in almost all anime! The whole channel sounds so freaking redundant. No, this is not the same as hearing [Yui Horie->horie-yui] in so many anime, this is a negative thing. You hear the same voice intonation, no modifications at all. Picture this: Sakura of CCS and Sakura of Ultra Maniac. They share the same English dub voice actress in Animax-Asia. While you can argue that they are both energetic mahou shoujo characters, you also believe that they shouldn’t sound the same (age, accent, etc.) Alas, they do in the Animax-Asia dubs. Multiply that with so many other characters sharing that same voice actress (that girl must be rich by now, starring in so many anime dubs), and you have a generic sounding anime channel.

Come to think of it, I’ve been complaining about it since day one! You must be tired of hearing me bash Animax-Asia for the entire duration of this series, so I’ll be giving more of its good points. First up, they added GameMax, a video game feature show. Very nice considering there ain’t much shows of that type out here. Animax Musix (jpop music video features) now has its own 30-minute slot, aside from the random ones in other slots. They finish the music video sometimes, and now even has a ‘fact bar’ at the bottom citing news, history, and other stuff about the artist featured. Great for discovering nice info about jpop, which I sorely lack nowadays.

Lastly, I had to tell my most important recommendation for this channel, and I hope that Animax-Asia hears this somehow (I’m a mere blogger though and my opinions are close to nil in terms of influence.) If they really want to follow their motto of “Anime for everyone”, and if they want to avoid rabid bashing from anime fans (include me in that partially), it’s very simple… show “both” a subbed and dubbed version of an anime. Okay, so you have a dubbed Cardcaptor Sakura at 4:00PM, why not show a ‘subbed’ Cardcaptor Sakura, at even an obscure time like 2AM or something like that? I’m sure all those kids who only want their anime in English/Taglish are already asleep by that time. Remember, Japanese otakus stay up in that time of night to watch their hardcore anime. If done that way, it may give a bit of positive rapport for the channel without hurting their… er… profit. You have a 24-hour anime channel. Know your audience, and use your programming effectively. You can profit more.

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-Asiaâ€¦ Dubbed in English – Episode 7: Dubbed in Filipino?!?->]
[Animax-Asiaâ€¦ Dubbed in English – Episode 7.5: Initial D Filipino Stage->]
[Animax-Asiaâ€¦ 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->]

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s

Still nothing lyrical about it, but it was a nice ride.

This series which was a spinoff to a Triangle Heart game has just started to live a life all its own. With all new character additions, and a plot that is just as exciting, Nanoha’s world is getting more vibrant. This new season begins some time after the first ([Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha->]). Nanoha and Fate have since become very close friends, and with the backing of the Asura crew, we see more focus on the workings of the Time-Space Administration, rather on delving on just Nanoha.

This makes it seem as if the first series was an introduction to our main character, and then the second series expands on the idea by making it more of a team effort. Yup, Nanoha has her new friends and allies join her. Or rather, Nanoha joins the crew in yet another mission. Well, they need lots of magic firepower after all, because the new enemies are quite plentiful too. A certain book called the Book of Darkness is bound to cause havoc around the magical dimensions again, and it needs to be stopped. The knights who protect the book is composed of three hawt girls and a familiar. The master who is supposed to control the book is actually this frail but cute girl named Hayate. Despite Hayate being the master of an evil book, she is this kind and sweet girl who tends to the knights, and even consider them as “friends” instead of slaves.

See a pattern again? Yup, in almost the same story setup, the enemies in Nanoha A’s are given more than enough backstory to make it seem that they will also be powerful allies in the end. In the first series, some enemies become friends, and so this will not be a big surprise the second time around. We know that cute Hayate and the gang would eventually be on Nanoha’s side, so all the viewers need to do is enjoy the ride on how they get there.

It does have its usual share of plot twists and stuff like that, but the best thing about this new season are the fight scenes. Yup, this is an age in which even young witches use brute force ([moetan->] quote). The Nanoha series have lots of surprisingly awesome action scenes. Nanoha A’s has tons more of them, but eventually it withers off as the plot starts to thicken. Near the end of the series, it becomes some boring firepower festival, in which all the characters show off their uber-magical powers. Heck, it even becomes videogame RPG style, with magic spells being blown to the enemy one after the other (there’s even a healing spell lol). Well that’s just a nitpick, as Nanoha A’s boasts awesome animation in some of the other fight scenes.

Animation runs quite consistent, which is a great plus. Fanservice becomes a minimum for this second series, which is good considering I was quite annoyed with it in the first series.. The OP is quite laughable to me, because it reminded me of certain Gundam Seed opening sequences. Heck, I can even replace the Nanoha A’s OP song for a Gundam OP (try it on Invoke, it fits too well) and laugh out loud. The other music are quite nice too.

The very end of the anime came as a disappointment, not because of anything bad, but because it may have closed the possibility of yet another season to come. Of course, it’s not final, but I really hope the Nanoha series continue. This is one sequel that is up on par with its original counterpart, and it’s kinda rare to see that kind of consistency. Yup, it still has me screaming ‘sequel!’ at the end. Cheers for more Nanoha!

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.

2005 Personal Statistics

2005 WATCHED
Aah, look at this pathetic list. While it pales in comparison with everyone else, it’s already a huge number considering my busy schedule. If I include all the other (backlogged) anime I watched from previous years, I think I average 2 episodes a day in 2005. Not too much, but if you think about it (over 700 episodes!), it is rather too many. What more with others?

I will do more reviews as time goes by. Watch out for them.

Carry-over to 2005
Gundam Seed Destiny – backlogged (figured it’s a total waste of time)
[Mai-HiME->]
Naruto – backlogged (stopped after the chase Sasuke arc, not because Sasuke is [gay->sasuke-girl] though)
[School Rumble->]

Winter 2005
[AIR->air-tv]
[Mahoraba->mahoraba-heartful-days]
[Mahou Sensei Negima->]

Spring 2005
[Comic Party Revolution->]
[Futakoi Alternative->]
[Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime->]
[Gokujou Seitokai->] – backlogged (due to subs)
[He is My Master->]
[Tsubasa Chronicle->]

Summer 2005
[Da Capo Second Season->]
Ichigo Mashimaro
[Kamichu!->]
[Paniponi Dash!->] – backlogged (due to subs)
[Petopeto-san->]
[Shuffle!->shuffle] – backlogged (waiting to marathon)
[Suzuka->]

Fall 2005
[Animal Yokocho->]
[Canvas 2->]
[Mai Otome->]
[Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s->]
To Heart 2

OVA AND OTHER
[Air Movie->]
[Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru->]
[Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan->]
[Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children->]
[Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu->]
Itsudatte My Santa
[Kujibiki Unbalance->]
School Rumble OVA
[Uta-Kata OVA->uta-kata]

JDORAMA
Gokusen 2
Densha Otoko
Hana Yori Dango

October Anime Season (Fall 2005)

Okay, I promised myself that I will have a minimum of anime come October, because my board exams are coming up. But resistance is futile, and so yet another huge number of anime series interest me this fall. But then again, I will keep my watching to an absolute minimum. I’ll just download… and watch later when I’m free. Call this my ‘eventual anime backlog’.

This site lists all the anime that will premiere this season, and the possible fansubbers or licensors.

I seem to have a perfect theme for the anime I’ll watch this season… it’s my bishoujo sequel season.

Bishoujo Sequel Season
Canvas 2 – The first one was a semi-H OAV. I don’t watch H so I didn’t watch it. This is based on a game from F&C, which also made the Pia Carrot multitude of games.

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s – [Nanoha->] is a character from a Triangle Heart game. She had her own spinoff anime series last year. This seems like a direct sequel. Considering that the first was quite enjoyable, I’ll definitely catch this one.

Mai Otome – Mai-HiME was one of my favorites from last year. This time it’s an alternative world with new characters and some rehashes. If the first was “bishoujo gakuen action romance”, I think this one is “henshin bishoujo otome action”… whoa, magical girls? Looks like another hit.

To Heart 2 – It has never been more obvious. This will be my anime of the season, and considering all the effort I put into [playing the game->toheart2], I will blog this one episode-by-episode! Yes, something rare from me for a change. Watch out for that.

So that’s it. No more [deliberations->july-anime-season] this time, because I won’t care about all the other animes until my exams end come halfway through November. I’m sure that fellow bloggers will pick up the other good stuff. So have a nice watch, and continue to enjoy anime.

TYPE-MOON

Games
Fate/stay Night
Kagetsu Tohya
Tsukihime
Fate/hollow ataraxia

Related
Melty Blood
TONS of doujinshi

Anime
Shingetsutan Tsukihime
Fate/stay Night (upcoming)

Generic Disclaimer: Of course I wouldn’t know how the bishoujo games industry truly works, so some info below may be wrong or misinterpreted. This feature is from an outsider’s point of view, namely, my point of view.

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