moe – Page 2 – bluemist anime blog

bluemist anime blog pirated edition

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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Dear Kagami

Dear Kagami,

I know you’re probably there, reading my whole alternate life. I know you can be so smart sometimes. That was one of the things I liked about you.

I’m not sure either why I’m writing this, you are probably not reading this anyway after the initial shock of realizing my alter-ego. Yes, this may be a weird hobby, especially to you, a well-bred, well-educated person mindful of things that really matter in life. But this is how I deal with the circumstances. My self-preservation. My fallback. When I met you, I was almost about to quit this, because I have found new inspiration. Of course, the odds were close to none and I knew that all along. It was all me, this one-sided, unrequited feeling.

You may not know but I was happy, even if I was rejected. But I should ask, why did you change after that? Why did I suddenly feel like I lost a friend? You promised, you ‘swore’ to be normal. You were not. I was trying my best here, to the point I closed my heart completely just to keep hush on the situations, leaving it like it never happened. You saw me smile, laugh, and talk to you just like before. But I saw your eyes never wander towards me anymore. You wouldn’t even talk to me unless situations demand. Tell me who was wrong. Was it me who just wanted to say how I felt… and nothing more? I wasn’t wrong, or I don’t know where I was wrong.

But I can’t blame you, I can’t say you were wrong, I can’t be angry at you, I can’t even know your real side. In fact, I shouldn’t care anymore. By the end of this writing, any feelings I have left for you would have gone. I think that should leave you satisfied right? We go our separate ways, as it may have always been. My sails have been cast in a different direction. People might say I am a weakling, a wuss, a loser for expressing this indirectly through this writing, but if they only knew how hard I tried to make things normal. If you only knew how hard I tried to make things normal. I should consider that my shining moment.

Whatever things I can be sorry about… I apologize for that. But I won’t apologize for my feelings. Those were real. Nothing moe~ can ever replace it.

Hidamari Sketch

Hidamari Sketch

Everyday nothings

Slice-of-life, one of the more difficult genres of anime in my opinion. In this genre, it is important to have not only great characters, but great chemistries of characters. Because your story will remain in the sidelines for the most part, the characters must be interesting enough, and not only that, the characters must interact well with the other characters. Series like Azumanga Daioh and [Ichigo Mashimaro->] fit this bill quite perfectly, and now I would like to add Hidamari Sketch on the list.

Four girls… four apartment rooms… four seasons… THE END. That’s the basic plot. Now we should go to the characters. The series centers around Yuno, a seemingly normal, but sometimes clumsy, girl. A very natural and happy character. Yuno is paired with Miyako, the clown of the series. If I may so compare, she is the more mature version of Ichigo Mashimaro’s Miu… same weirdness, but still sensible when situations demand her to be. The third character is Hiro, a very softspoken and kind girl. She is particularly obsessive-impulsive when it comes to her body weight, and yet she likes sweets so she is hard-pressed to cut down on her fat. Hiro is paired with Sae, the short-haired meganekko which could serve as the onee-san of the group. Very mature but slightly emo at times, she is also a writer. These four girls go to a sort of art-inclined high school, and go home in their own apartments at the complex called Hidamari-sou.

The tendency of slice-of-life shows is to capitalize on each characters quirks in personality. For example, Hiro’s food and weight problem is always a running joke. What’s hard in slice-of-life though is how to use these quirks without getting repetitive, and I think Hidamari Sketch succeeds in that department. For one, you can call this [Apartment Living 101->] anime series. As some of you know, there are more apartments than homes in Japan cities, and it is basically the way to live here. Hidamari Sketch reflects life in the apartment, and life in Japan in general. They talk about apartment maintenance, season changes, and tons of stuff about Japanese food. Also, (non)events like buying in nearby convenience stores, going to karaoke, visiting temples, public baths, etc. That is aside from the usual school themes we normally see in anime series. Like Ichigo Mashimaro, Hidamari Sketch is more focused on home.

Director Shinbo Akiyuki spearheads this production. Compared to his previous works of Tsukiyomi and Pani Poni Dash though, this is IMO the weakest in the technical quality department. Some episodes have radically different character designs, and others seem completely unfinished. Such a shame really, because the voice work and music is really well done. If anything, Hidamari Sketch can pass as a good audio drama during those low-budget episodes. Nevertheless, Hidamari Sketch puts the ‘cute’ in ‘very very cute’, and that’s not only because of the drawings and voice, but because of the well-established characters and the chemistry within them.

If you can stomach a few boring episodes you can find some real entertaining gems in this series. Here I am already ready for a second viewing immediately after (because there is a widescreen version available, but I was watching the 4:3 version all along). Hidamari Sketch can bring you a few laughs and moe~ feelings, something only few slice-of-life series can provide.

Motteke! Sailor Fuku

[MEDIA=3]
This OP is total parody bait.

Therefore I will lay this space for all the ‘otaku and beyond’ people who dare wear a seifuku/sailor fuku and/or cheerleader dress and dance to the newest… and someday the craziest… dance sensation since Hare Hare Yukai.

This post will probably be updated with all the amateur vids that I can find. If you have some, please do comment your finds as well.

Gambatte! Harikitte! My Darling Darling Please~!
Hare Hare Yukai song in Lucky Star OP – Some timings are off but nevertheless good mix. One of the most basic things to do with the dancing OP.
Motteke! Sailor Fuku Stepmania – The moment I’m waiting for. DDR WINS!
Reverse Play Soramimi – oo ratS ykcuL in backmasking. Someone needs to sub this. The best part is near the end, almost like a reference to Haruhi.
Motteke! Pocky! – This is awesome! A mix of the Lucky Star OP and the extremely catchy viral Pocky CM song by Orange Range!
Death! Sailor Fuku – Weird mix of Death Note song and Lucky Star OP. It fits in the start but not so much near the end, but still okay.
Moar Pocky CM – Better versions!
Beatmania Version – Not so much a fan of Beatmania, but here it is.
Unknown Song – Dunno where this came from but it is a very good video edit of the dance. EDIT: Thanks to Demian for the heads-up.
Beatmania IIDX GOLD RUSH – Make it make money!
Adding bass to the music – Mad guitar skillz.
Papapapapam! – Haruhi doing a Konata!
OMG – I dunno if this is supposed to be disturbing or funny.
The Melancholy of Magiranger + Motteke! Haruhi Magiranger? – Two sections, first is Magiranger to the tune of Hare Hare Yukai, and Haruhi + Magiranger to the tune of Motteke. Excellent edits.
Lucky Star Baby – Old Lucky Star image song (from the DS game?) and the OP video.
Lucky Star + King Gainer – Nuff said.
Lucky Material! – I miss that Negima OP, one of the best.
Baka Star – Someone drew sketches.
Tennis Star – Prince of Tennis Live version.
CONTESTANT # 1! – Ooh am I seeing things? The very first contender! Not half bad at that!
Motteke! Pichi Pichi Pitch! – Mermaid Melody Sailor Fuku.
Motteke! Michael Jackson! – AWESOME! King of POP plus queens of MOE combine!
AI M@I MASTER! – Idolm@ster is always win, therefore this video is win.
Someone drew sketches again – Nicer and wackier.
Matrimelee – What a weird game it should be…
CONTESTANT #2 – More awesome video editing here.
More guitar – More bass.
GUNPLA EDITION! – From the maker of Hare Hare Yukai gunpla edition? In any case, this is madness! This is GUNPLAAAAA!
Gundam SEED Lucky – The Gundam we all know and love (but I hate Destiny)… moefied.
Invisible Version – Where’d all my lolis go?
Gundams Lucky Star – Gundam stop-animation recreation of one scene from the anime!
Xenopittan – Cute song. It’s Futari no Xenopittan.
Radical Lucky Star Burst! – A VIDEO remix!
Battlefield 2 version – Fair enough job but I can imagine better, machinima makers please!
Break Down – As I recall, this song was also featured on DDR. Nice video edit too.
Gochiya Star 0.4 – Work in progress. This one’s the EPIC… it has, like, moe chara spoof heaven!
CONTESTANT: Two Guys – Good job… er… yeah.
CONTESTANT: Three girls – Cute. They even made original dance moves.
Touhou version – Very nice sketches!
CONTESTANT: Moar girls – Fix that camera! And… are you drunk?
MY HUMPS – This kept me in laughter for the entire duration! AWESOME mix! This is what viral video is supposed to be!
Precure 5 – Pretty Lucky Cure!
Oh noes, the samurai! – Cute song plus samurai action… strangely interesting!
CONTESTANT: Three guys – Nekkid!?!
CONTESTANT: Four guys – Silver mask guys… I wantz your pillows.
Lucky Star + Nursery Rhyme – Made me imagine a Lucky Star bishoujo game…
Let me show you my Rockmans – This is the gold standard! Lucky Star 8-bit version! Complete with 8-bit sound and sprites! Must watch!
Billy Star – Flex your muscles! Yea like the lolis do!

A Little Tribute to Danbooru

http://danbooru.donmai.us/

Thank you too.

(bluemist wants the archive lol j/k)

The Hitotsudake Project: Episode 00 – Domain Name Fun

Let’s do “loli”!!
Loli-loli-poponi banana-pana popo-ni fi-fie mo-moni, loli!
Continue reading The Hitotsudake Project: Episode 00 – Domain Name Fun

Haruhiism Tracker

This was probably an inevitability on this time plane, but it seems like I am not as hyped with this anime, as compared to all the other new recruits of the SOS-dan… or should I say, the new religious converts of Haruhiism. Granted, really, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu is a freaking good show, no doubt. But I think we (or some of us) may be getting too overboard with all this.

I ate my words.

I was initially going to be a bit skeptic about it (the original title was Haruhiism Atheist), but by episode 4 (or episode 7, or whatever), I immediately became a convert. On the other hand, saying stuff like “Haruhiism rocks!” or “Haruhi rulz!” or something like that would make me a mere fanboy. Doing long posts of episode-by-episode summaries and analysis would also be better left to the anime blogging experts. So I decided to just observe from the sidelines.

This post is about The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, as seen from an observer like me. In this page, you may see lots of links, lots of useless chat from me, and other points of interest in and around the Suzumiya Haruhi phenomenon. This post may be updated as time goes by, so please do come back for more. Newer updates are posted on top.

Well, if you live in a cave (or only know about ninjas and shinigamis), let me tell you that Suzumiya Haruhi is a “phenomenon in progress”. Time to change your religion.
(that was a half-meant joke, haha)
Continue reading Haruhiism Tracker

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

Ichigo Mashimaro

Ichigo Mashimaro

Azumanga Daioh seems oh too influential an anime nowadays. It seems like a main reference whenever a new slice-of-life comedy anime comes along. And then whenever that anime doesn’t live up to expectations, labels of “Azumanga Daioh ripoff” are placed. Many slice-of-life comedy animes have come and go since then, and only a few stand out not to be another anime’s ripoff. One of them is Ichigo Mashimaro.

With the original manga currently running in the moe~filled magazine called Dengeki Daioh (where Azumanga Daioh also ran), Ichigo Mashimaro is a ~~story~~ non-story of four cute young girls and a slightly older female teenager… Period. That’s it folks… bye!

Er…

Basically there is no main plot to talk about. Ichigo Mashimaro is about five girls doing the usual stuff in life. What stands out here though is in the basis of characterization. The five girls all have their own unique traits that make them cute not only physically. Nobue, the eldest of the five, acts as the nee-san of the group… but smokes cigars and has a penchant for anything cute (like cosplay, and also the four girls themselves). Chika, Nobue’s sister, seemingly has nothing special, but she acts as the sarcastic girl whenever everyone does something weird. Ana, the foreigner, has more Japanese speech and cultural knowledge than even her Japanese friends, but her English is surprisingly poor. Matsuri, the meganekko, is a soft-spoken girl who is slow in so many things but actually speaks better English than Ana. And Miu, the main troublemaker of the group, is… Miu. Nobody can completely describe Miu and the inner workings of her mind, but at least enjoy her [punchlines here->miu-chan-punch].

As you can see, their characteristics look bland on paper, but you have to see the anime to appreciate it. When they are mixed up, seemingly simple stories and events in life will be interesting, and very, very hilarious! Nobue usually commands the order of things, but sometimes gives in whenever it is rather “cute”. Chika acts almost the same except that she focuses on stopping her best friend Miu on doing crazy antics, because she’s the only one who can. Ana, being an extremely unique foreigner, gets center of attention especially when she talks about specific Japanese stuff even most Japanese don’t know. Matsuri always falls victim to the clutches of Nobue’s fancy for kawaii and Miu’s round of weirdness. And Miu is the center of all things weird in this anime series.

It’s 12 episodes of pure fun. The character design is of a unique style that actually succeeds in being cute (and loli). Animation is constant all throughout. The pacing of this anime, while intricately slice-of-life, never gets boring even when it goes slow. A unique thing about this anime is that there are only a select few parts where background music is played. Most of the time, it’s completely silent, which allows a viewer to focus more on the visuals and dialogue exchange of the characters. It’s very effective in bringing out that original flavor from the manga. And when the background music kicks in, it is quite memorable too.

For a character-based anime like Ichigo Mashimaro, it is important to have excellent voices to flesh out the characters. The anime succeeds by a longshot. This is for me one of the best voice work in any anime series of 2005! It is not just because all these five seiyuu are big superstars in the anime industry, but their voice fits the character with extreme precision. I was one who initially thought Ana’s was miscast but it turned out more than fine afterwards. They were able to portray each character in ways that one could not think of any other alternative.

Kawasumi Ayako (Matsuri)
Orikasa Fumiko (Miu)
Nabatame Hitomi (Nobue)
Noto Mamiko (Ana)
[Chiba Saeko->] (Chika)

As it now stands, Ichigo Mashimaro is one great treat. Fun and funny on so many levels, not to mention loli-cute. Ichigo Mashimaro should be laid into the same pedestal along with Azumanga Daioh, as an anime that redefines the slice-of-life comedy genre.