Well, I watched the episode after it was out for a little while – but since it takes so long for each episode to air it really does not matter that much.

This was another buildup type episode. This time the bad guys were introduced.

I only really get to call them bad guys because they will soon be killing children and the suits that the grunts wear have the craziest looking eyes I have ever seen.

It can’t possibly be easy to see through those tiny little slits and the constant red glow through those little slits must burn your eyes after a while.

We find out that the thing in the box is called “Monster”.

But that still does not tell us why the box is so important or the nature of the contents inside. I can’t really take this show seriously if it’s not even going to tell us why everyone has their panties in a twist about defending it.

Anyway.

The hot chick is probably going to be the leader of the other three. Everyone knows that the hot chick is always the leader.

She also has more lines than anyone else. But she is honestly not that interesting as a villain. Well, there is not a single character in this show that is interesting.

“WHAT JAPAN? JAPAN YOU SAY? JAPAN?”

The other two evil characters are cool, though. The red haired one seems like a nice guy who has fun even though his job is killing children.

Gabriel has that villain swag that the other two lack. He is relaxed and a badass at the same time. He is a guy who loves his job. Also I like the way he talks, if that counts for anything.

I mean look at all that swag.

So, the next episode will either contain actual fighting or it will be about the tactical information. I have a feeling that they might try to drag it out for a little longer.

 Also, Mushy did a post on this episode – considering how few people care bout this show – that is quite notable.

Our energetic manager Starburst is on a roll, releasing two dance videos in one month! (What exactly IS her secret behind her inexhaustible source of energy?) Once again accompanied by her little sister and her “Mr. Doggie” plush, Star brings you Kokoro no Tamago by Buono! 

As we have concluded form our previous dance video, shooting a video over runner water maybe very aesthetically pleasing, but on a wider platform would bring out Star’s optimum dancing abilities! Her long black hair flairs elegantly in the sunset…her skirt bouncing cheerfully in the wind…her ribbon dancing purely in the air…

…I digress.

-Orange – camerafruit extraordinaire

Ever wondered why Serené was incognito for the past year and a half, not even setting a foot back in the café? Many of you may think it was due to her education or simply her laziness, but it was something deeper – something that led up to this point in Daifuuku’s existence…this exact post and café spring cleaning. Café managers are always keen and hardworking, it’s just a question of on the scenes or behind the scenes.The latter applies to Serené’s work.

Due to the lack of inactivity, and the failure for all employees to fulfill the one post per week minimum for way too long, we’ve decided to release them of their responsibilities here at Daifuuku. We have already replaced with with new bloggers that Serené has long ago scouted out for us. But as a fan of the Hello! Project and in particular, Morning Musume member graduation system, we will have a series of posts commemorating the duration that Orange, Eri, Captain, Arctic, Dai and Relic (Plus Bakuhasu, if it wasn’t obvious enough that he hasn’t been part of the team for the last while) has been with us. The post will be entitled “Daifuuku! Graduation Special~” and, unlike Hello! Project graduations, will not be sold as DVD sets of some sort.

This decision was really tough to make, but it had to be made for the sake of the greater development of Daifuuku. Serené and I were set to make Daifuuku! a huge success from the very beginning, and we will whatever it takes. We will not let our customers down nor let our emotions and bonds hinder this establishment’s greatest responsibility.

Now that we have all of the bad new out of the way, let’s get on to the good news! It’s out with the old and in with the new….

The last post featuring Daifuuku’s 2nd to 7th generation members will be our Spring Previews, scheduled for release later this week. Please take the opportunity to wish them well on all of their future endeavours, and shower them with goodbye gifts.

Thank you for looking after them for the last year or so. Please continue to watch over us.
We are looking forward to presenting to you the new and improved Daifuuku.

The unbeatable duo is back to present a new section – Daifuuku muusiku desu~!!!~~~!!!!

=_______________________________=’

…anyways, moving on. *rolls Star-tan off the stage*

You heard us, Daifuuku is expanding into the world of music! Welcome to the area-behind-the-counter, where our employees do away with their cute facade to expose their inner, evil much cuter selves. Here you will find avant-garde ideas, intense gossiping, (potentially) a whole lot of swearing, and many, many empty bottles of sake.

Obviously our other manager hasn’t been here long enough to know that alcohol is strictly prohibited, but you get her point.

Pffft. The staff all know that anything is allowed behind the scenes as long as Star-tan doesn’t see it.
shhh~! *winknudgewink*

Customer discretion is strongly advised.
By saying we also infer that customer participation is mandatory ♡

Did I say sake? I meant strawberry-flavoured milk tea.

In all seriousness though, Star and I would like to welcome you to Daifuuku’s brand new Music segment. Not unlike the Anime section, this new segment will focus on reviewing material and sharing thoughts and ideas. If you’ve had too much cake (or realized that it was a lie, whichever one comes first) pop over to get a taste of our new line of piquant combo meals! You could even suggest new dish items: simply comment with an artist or act that you would like to see on this page, and our team of talented chefs will do our best.

However, because we have currently (read: about half an hour ago) experienced a massive firing spree, our team of talented chefs (we already know who they will be, don’t worry) will be introduced at a later date as Daifuuku’s (and the Music Segment’s) new bloggers!

Happy April 1st~!
PS: Remember to tip generously with jars of oxygen!

An anime based on a visual novel with adult connotations revolves around, guess it, a highschool student, who needs to run for student president! How thrillingly amazing. But you got me, right? You have seen through my elaborate plan. Today is April’s Fools day, and I am suddenly blogging, about anime. It couldn’t be any less obvious! This anime, picked from Scamp’s Summer 2012 chart because of its most pleasant illustration image, is just a decoy.

My connection to anime has hit the sack, died of starvation and rotted to the bones in the last year. My path begun with Hayao Miyazaki, jogged into seasonal marathoning and “keeping up” with every possibly anime of the season and considering everyone who didn’t do that “uncool”, and now this path ends. On my way, I encountered truly good things. Ghost In The Shell being one of them, or the most sweet Kamisama Kazoku. But as the number of anime I’ve seen grew, the patterns became more and more obvious. It has become boring and dull, because your average new anime show is just an nth copy of an older anime.

Of course every work of art is based on and inspired by a previous work of art. There is no “true originality” per se. But by an odd coincidence, other mediums show a higher effort to shit ratio. That ratio is not high, don’t take me wrong. When I enter a book shop, I fight the urge to leave the book shop, because dozens of Stephanie Meyers, werewolves and dragons stare at me from the book shelves. I probably don’t even have to mention modern Hollywood. But nevertheless, I can think of a very large list of books worth reading and films worth watching. The list of anime in this case, is rather small. Yes, I certainly didn’t watch it all. I don’t claim I did. And you could argue that anime is younger, and did not have the time to accumulate the same ratio. I don’t know. I honestly don’t. But by my subjective perception, this medium is no longer part of my daily life.

…

Godspeed, anime community.

Eugen out.

…

Find me elsewhere:

• Zeon Federated HQ / B(r|l)og
• The Colorless
• Twitter

Rating: 7.5/10

This is my second year taking part in secret santa and this time I was given the choice of watching Giant Killing, Galaxy Angel, or the original Mobile Suite Gundam Movie Trilogy. I decided to go with the Gundam Trilogy, which turned out to be nearly seven hours of mecha action!

My knowledge on the Gundam world is weak. I’ve only ever seen the first season of Gundam 00, and although I enjoyed it, most people seem to think it’s one of the weaker ones in the franchise. I’ve wanted to venture more into Gundam series, so this film trilogy which covers the original series was the perfect place to start! 

The story takes place in a time known as 0079 where both the world and the space outside it where people live is in turmoil. A boy named Amuro ends up piloting a mobile suit only to get caught up in a war to fight a guerilla group from a society of people known as Zenos. As mentioned before, this trilogy is a condensed version of the original series which was 43 episodes long. With that said, even without having seen the series, you can tell the first film was rushed.

The next two have relatively good pacing throughout, but the first film really skims through a lot. In a lot of ways, it was probably for the better. Seeing those beginning scenes with a normal boy who by some weird fluke ends ups in a giant robot is something we can all agree that we’ve seen plenty of times (even if this may have been the original). After the first film, the only real problem you can find with some of the pacing is when they decide to just narrate through several events in the story.

Each film is comprised of about five fight scenes with dialog thrown in between. This was one of the downfalls I felt this trilogy had. As boring as it sounds, I’m not too big fan of the action, and much prefer the scenes reserved for character development. It’s not like many of the fight scenes really stand up all that well to what we see today anyway, so except for in the cases where the battles were really emotionally involved or in the case of the final one, some of them were rather dull.

In my opinion, the battle scenes were not even all that well animated. Okay, being a 1981 production, I’ll give it a lot of credit. For the most part, nothing looked too lazy and it was just the style of the time. My problem had more to do with how often enough an important hit in battle was simply emphasized by zooming in and out of a still frame. I just feel they could have done better.

The area where this film really shines in is its characters. It’s a fantastic cast who are all well fleshed out and have convincing development throughout the three films. To start with, the main character Amuro was really interesting to watch. I’m sure many will think he’s too angsty, but it works well with the content presented in the series. It’s a story about a war that must be fought by the young. One of the most presented themes that can be seen throughout the films is trying to justify murder. Amuro is constantly trying to convince himself that he’s not really killing anyone or it’s for the greater. When his mother first finds out he’s taking part in the war, she practically disowns him because she claims no son of her’s could be hurting anyone.

Not to mention, the progression of Amuro’s skills as a pilot were very well done. At the start of the series, they represent his inexperience by going so far as to have him open an instruction manual in battle! Of course some of his talent has to do with just luck, the rest of his improvement was shown through each battle, and him discovering his drive for piloting the mobile suit.

As for the other characters, they all manage to have at least a bit of time dedicated to them throughout the three films. I ended up really loving this slimy jerk of a character named Kai. Having somehow ended up on the “good side”, he just turned out to be a really entertaining addition to the series. I also was surprised to see the amount of time they allot to flesh out the characters on the opposing sides, the Zeons. Char, the mask wearing “Red Comet” was no doubt one of the highlights in this trilogy. He was awesome, and pretty damn fabulous! Though, he sadly barely made an appearance at all in the second film. Anyway, a good measure to understand how endearing these characters were, is that even the annoying kids added in for comic relief had some charming qualities.

To conclude, I feel this is a trilogy that every anime fan needs to see at least once. It’s a classic to its genre! I may have been a bit disappointed by the battle scenes, which a large part of the film did consist of, but the character and even the political banter really had me intrigued. Watching this has definitely convinced me to further delve myself in the vast Gundam world!

This has been a terrible year for anime. Sure, I’m someone who likes to be entertained above all else, but at the end of the day I still like to find good quality series. With that said, this year has been seriously lacking of just that.

Anyway, this is my attempt to come up with my favourite series from the past year. Although there are a good deal of series I still need to finish watching, I still managed to complete 40, and from those I present to you the few that I actually found to be good. I hope you enjoy the list!

PS: I only count anime that finished in 2012.

10. Inu x Boku SS

At a glance, this seems to be an anime that doesn’t offer much, but it actually manages to deliver a pretty solid series for only having thirteen episodes. It had some good comedy and the romance actually developed to something. The highlight was no doubt Watanuki and Karuta. If only they were the main characters of the show! Anyway, every year there has to be one series on my list that many will disagree with, but it’s there because it just really entertained me, and this year it’s this one!

9. Kuroko no Basket

Seeing as I know nothing about basketball, all the problems I read on how people dislike the lack of realism in this series means nothing to mean. This anime managed to make watching a sport I don’t really care for, totally entertaining. It’s strength lies in its ability to create dynamic characters that are interesting to watch both on and off the court.

8. The Daily Lives of Highschool Boys

I’ll give 2012 some credit for delivering some relatively good comedies that ranged from Acchi Kochhi to even Poyopoyo. Though, without a doubt, Nichibros turned out to be one of the best anime comedies I’ve ever seen! With hilarious characters (literature girl!) and some fantastic sketchs, this is a comedy you cannot pass up!

7. Jinrui wa Suitaishimashita

In most cases, a series like Jintai just shouldn’t work. It’s weird and covers deep philosophical questions with bright colours and creepy fairies. It also spends two episodes just to make one terribly pun. But it somehow actually works! This is an anime that leaves me curious no matter how many half answers I’m giving. It’s weird in all the right ways!

6. Fate/Zero 2nd Season

I never really had expectations for Fate/Zero, so from all I’ve seen, this series just manages to wow me. Although I feel season one was better (not enough Waver and Rider in this one), the sequel was still pretty awesome! There are several moments I can think of that really are very memorable, such as Kiritsugu’s backstory, Saber and Lancer’s battle, as well as Gilgamesh’s “parting”outfit!

5. Nisemonogatari

This sequel actually lived up to my expectations. All I expect from this franchise is some amusing dialogue and unique animation. Ya, it’s safe to say I got both. I also really liked this season’s focus on Shiro, Karen, and Tsukihi. Also, episode eight was both one of the most messed up and best episodes of the year!

4. Tsuritama

This is a series that from what I’ve noticed, some managed to enjoy much more than others. I think a lot of that has to do with whether the show really captured you or not. This was an anime that was unique and seemed to have so much love put into it. It was quirky and bursting with energy!

 3. Hyouka

This series was exactly what KyoAni needed. It some ways, it seemed as though the studio was delivering much of the same generic things, but Hyouka managed to break that trend by delivering a series with compelling characters. It chose the mundane over the extravagant in the case of its mysteries, which turned out to proove that creating realistic storylines can sometimes be much better.

2. Chihayafuru

Who would have guessed that an anime about a card game that is completely native to Japan could be so damn interesting?! Chihayafuru is fantastic for so many reasons, and I honestly loved watching the games as much as I enjoyed the drama that happened between them. It was a series that needed a sequel, and I’m so glad that the new winter season is going to deliver just that!

1. Natsume Yuujinshou Shi

Ever since it first aired, every season of this series has made it onto my top ten list. And you know why? This series is just that good. Every season of Natsume Yuujinchou somehow manages to top the next. The cast is incredible, and the way they still manage to be constantly developed is fantastic. There really wasn’t a weak episode in this season, and so without a doubt I knew it had to take the top spot as my favourite anime of 2012!

I know I complain nearly every season about the lack of good anime, and this one isn’t really an exception, but instead of just being negative, I’ll give it credit for having a couple of series I totally approve of . The sequels are good and if you don’t count the dozens of short anime series released, you get left with a few good things.

For the most part, I can at least say everything seems to be entertaining. Also, in a time in my life where I’m having trouble organizing everything, a smaller anime load is probably for the best. Anyway, before I start to rant, enjoy the list that can be found after the jump!

11.Yama no Susume

Well, it’s not very good, but it at least offers a bit more than the rest of the three minute shorts from this season. Instead of just trying to condense a dozen terrible jokes in a short amount of time, it’s instead trying to genuinely just tell a short story about friends who get re-acquainted and try to enjoy the past time of climbing that they once bonded over. It’s nothing great, but it at least has some substance to it.

10. Amnesia

These series based off an otome game, and this fact is as clear as day. The female lead is beyond dull! Sure, she has amnesia (thus the title! Genius), but it doesn’t mean she has to be emotionless about everything! Also, I don’t even care for the male characters, they’re all a little too over the top. The four represent each suit of cards and they have kaleidoscope eyes, and it’s just too stupid. I’ll watch it for now, but this was even worse than Arcana Famiglia’s first episode.

9. Senyuu

Out of all the short anime series I’ve seen, this one has managed to provide more laughs than most. The animation is abysmal, but it adds to the comedy, and it’s not like I really care if it’s that good for such a short series. Anyway, for what it offers I’m pretty satisfied with watching it.

8. Kotoura-san

The first half of episode one was a bit of a disaster. It went all over the place and created melodrama where it wasn’t necessary. At least it offered something different to what I originally expected to be a show about nothing, but it’s not like I was really asking for such an unnecessary long back story that from here on out doesn’t seem to deliver much to the story besides telling its audience that the lead can read minds and everybody hated her for it.

7. Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru

I don’t know what to think about this one. The animation seems consistent and good, but it looks to be a harem that’s complete even with the childhood friend. I need to see a few more episodes to really form my opinion about it, but at the moment not much of it really interests me.

6. Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibou

This is an anime where you can’t really be sure what it’s actually about. Some kid has powers and can talk to animals while a priest turns into a dog, I don’t really understand it all, but it’s entertaining. The animation is great and the potential is there. I’m just hoping that it’ll flesh out better as it goes on.

5. Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

As I expected, this is a copy of Spice and Wolf with a few differences. I don’t mind that too much though, the political aspects and the characters are actually pretty engaging. Of course there’s some fanservice, but from a studio that would normally abuse censorship laws in a plotless mess, this is definitely a step up. I’m impressed.

4. Sasami-san@Ganbaranai

It’s definitely not Shaft’s best, but it’s definitely one of their most well animated series! This is much of the same stuff you see in their works, and as per usual the dialog at least amuses me, but this series has a lot it needs to do improve. The most important being to create characters that somebody in this world actually cares about!

3. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT

Haganai is one of those series that really managed to surprise me in its first season by actually being good. The sequel looks to be delivering much of the same stuff from the first season, but I’m not bothered at all by that. This is a really entertaining anime. The characters should be annoying, but they actually work, well except for Yozora who is just jerk.

2. Tamako Market

This just hits all the right notes with me. It’s adorable and such an enjoyable watch! This is a story that really shows the power of slice of life because it really brings the extraordinary to the ordinary. The characters are interesting and the plot has a good mix of the weird and the fun. The OP and the ED are fantastic!

1. Chihayafuru 2

Of course this had to take the top spot! I loved season one, but the only problem I had with it was that it needed a sequel, and here it is! Watching the first episode reminded me right away of all the reasons why I loved this series in the first place! I am beyond happy that I get to see more of this series!

I have never really been one to write segments on my blog, but I decided to try one out about a director who I seem to never have enough to say about. As the title suggests, I am referring to Miyazaki. As both a director and individual, Miyazaki is extremely interesting and expresses a lot of important ideas through his films.

In these posts which I have no set date to even be completed, I hope to explore some of the motifs and themes seen in a good deal of his films. And trust me, there are many! To start things off, I’m going to be talking about his repeated motif of water throughout his films.

The importance and use of water throughout Miyazaki’s films is something my sister had pointed out to me on account of her teacher some time ago. At first mention of this, I got instantly hit with the reality of this fact. The most instant explanation one could give to this motif would be Miyazaki’s environmental concerns, but I think it’s clearly much more than that.

To start off with one of this earliest works with one of the most prominent uses of water, we begin by discussing Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. This is one case where environmental concerns clearly are present, but the water also seemed to be expressed as a life force. This idea of water being the source of all living things carries throughout his other films as well.

Most people appropriately view water as the thing that prevents us from dying, but rarely is it seen in the light as the reason life is created. In Nausicaa, areas of the jungle continue to thrive because of an untainted water source. Insects become giant in order to fight back against the humans, while humans continue to decline and head in the direction of their eventual extinction. Water is what should join both the world of humans and nature seeing as it creates life between them both, but it ends up being the cause of what separates the two.

The thought of an inability to coexist between nature and humans (I guess adding in spirits would be appropriate) is what leads us to Princess Mononoke. The story where humans once again try to fight nature. In this case, the water present throughout the film isn’t nearly as present as the last film, but the moment where it is presented, is clearly very significant. It is shown as a small sorta of mote where the spirit of the forest lies. It is a source of water that heals and brings life (or death) to humans and spirits, and also the whole forest. It is the one little area in the whole film that holds the most power to effect every other area presented in the world of Princess Mononoke.

To go back a few years from that film to back in 1988 with My Neighbor Totoro, water also has it’s own spotlight in it too. Of course the most significant use of water in this film is while it is raining at the bus and with a sleeping Mei, Satsuki meets Totoro for the first time. As pretty much all of Miyazaki films present, this scene is dedicated completely to the magic children possess. Satsuki’s only reaction to meeting Totoro, which at first is almost fearful with his big feet being all she sees passed her umbrella at first, turns into a new friend made.

In contrast to the inability for humans to coexist with nature, this is one of the few instances where the exact opposite happens. Satsuki offers an umbrella which Totoro turns out to love. The gift she gives turns out to give her access, along with her sister, to the spirit world with the catbus. This rainy encounter is what connects the two worlds.

The idea of a world connected by both spirits and humans, leads us to Spirited Away. The uses of water throughout are extremely varied, and it no doubt has some strong roots to Japanese cultures and religions, but I’ll try my best to interpret it as I see it personally.

The first scene with water is when Chihiro discovers what was once the path to go home is now just a river that she is unable to pass. In Japanese tradition, there is an equivalent to the River of Styx known as the Sanzu River, which ways out your deeds in life to determine how difficult it will be for you to be able to cross it. I won’t read too much into that since that’s just a guess, but clearly the idea presented in this theme was to show that Chihiro was not ready to cross and couldn’t until she experiences the growth seen throughout the whole film.

The story is one where she is presented with a series of trials that she grows from to reach her ultimate goal. One of them was the one with what was at first thought to be a “stink spirit”. Chihiro was given the task to take care of this customer because nobody wanted to accept such a smelly thing. Although Chihiro is at first repulsed herself, and her old self probably wouldn’t have been able to handle the situation, she soon sympathizes with the spirit and ends up helping him and is rewarded with the “key” that saves NoFace. The water is what engulfs her and allows her to be present with this spirit.

Another instance in the film was when it rained for so long that the world outside became similar to a sea. In the times where it was raining, was when NoFace had swallowed three people and tried to communicate in any way he could to Chihiro. He bought everything and offered everyone around him as much money as they wanted, still, when presented to Chihiro she rejected it. Eventually, he had literally puked all the bad in him and went to cross the river with Chihiro by the train.

In this scene, the area is seen to be vast and wide, and also empty. Greed and desire are gone, and instead it feels much more like a giant breath of fresh air than anything. This water came from rain against a dark side, but managed to become a cleansing ocean. This can be seen as the new rebirth for both Chihiro and NoFace, as well as Yubaba’s henchman and her child. Each of them has at this point reached a new understanding in their life where, and have become “new people”.

The last important instance of water in this film is with Haku, the (spoiler) Kohaku river. He is the one who saved Chihiro back when she was young, The significance in this, I feel, is mostly to show the role reversal now seen between the two. In the other world Chihiro was a girl who was apparently selfish and spoiled. In this instance, much like he did a long time ago, Chihiro manages to save Haku from death. The reuniting between the two brings Chihiro to tears, and although she was once critiqued for being a crybaby, this is to show that not all tears are a sign of weakness, and in this case shows her strength. All this leads her to her final test which she passes and then allows her to cross what was once a river with ease.

Miyazaki often uses water as both a way to bridge two worlds or to create a way to show growth in characters. This was seen throughout his most recent film Ponyo. Also, much like with Nausicaa or Princess Mononoke, it is shown to be life, and not to mention beauty. This is directly implied with Ponyo’s mother, who is literally the mother of the sea. In contrast to the father, she is a giant godlike person which really brings home the message that water is the foundation of life and rebirth.

To conclude, I’m sure there is more that can be said, and if I were to brush up on East Asian Religions, I could probably rewrite this whole post. I’ve come to the end of my first analysis, and I hope you enjoyed reading it, as I have plenty more to say about other themes in Miyazaki’s films!

Kai of Deluscar has decided to ask the classic question to her readers about why we watch anime. I feel like I’ve wondered about this in the past and may have even given a simple answer before, but I figured this may finally be a good opportunity to really get to the route of as to why.

Everyone has their reasons, and probably a good deal of you have a much more concrete explanation than myself. Although I love anime, I still probably watch live action TV series and films almost as much. In fact, at the time when I rediscovered anime back when I was about twelve, I had been obsessively watching films (I’m not kidding. I watched about five a week back then). All the different mediums of entertainment are constantly clashing in my mind, but for some reason anime managed to become the one that overtook all the others. The closest explanation I can come up with is that it may have to do with the imagination and endless possibilities that anime creates.

Perhaps that may sound ignorant, but if you think of an imaginative film like Princess Bride or even Inception, they’re great in their own ways, but even they don’t get anywhere near as wacky as a single episode of Arakawa Under the Bridge or Shirokuma Cafe. Anime is a crazy world where magical girls and moe actually makes sense. How could I not want to be a part of that?!

To further that point, where else outside from anime could you find all the visual themes and creativity found in Mawaru Penguindrum? Heck, even something like One Piece or Naruto wouldn’t/shouldn’t be found outside the world of manga and anime. All this is to say, I watch anime because it offers something that can’t be found elsewhere.

Anime has genres like mecha and slice of life, these two are probably some of the most produced, and the experience of watching series that fall under these categories cannot be found anywhere else. I could name a few other genres that are also only found in anime, but the point here is just that idea that anime is a world like no other. It can create a romance as dramatic and heartwarming as Clannad, and even though it plays out realistically enough, it decides to throw in some fantasy elements near the end and we all just accept it. Characters can be cat hybrids, see ghosts, change on the spot into girly outfits to fight evil, travel back in time, share a cup of tea with their friends, or even pierce the heavens! That’s what anime is, and it something like nothing other!

Story aside, not too surprisingly, anime also offers something unique in the way it is animated. Studios like Shaft, Gainax, and Madhouse are all producing series that are constantly breaking the conventional mold of animation and trying things you don’t see elsewhere. The West is still constantly improving their own ways of creating animation, but often enough its more in a direction towards a realistic look to the backgrounds and movement in characters. That’s not bad of course, but from what I’ve seen in anime, often enough it’s more about being self-reflexive or being as grand as possible. The genius way in which a show like Bakemonogatari makes dialogue shine, is something that others outside of anime have yet to discover on such a level that it can have such a broad appeal.

All this is to say, I watch anime because it offers me an experience that I can’t find elsewhere. As much as I continue to watch films and live action series, anime is going to be something I constantly return to get my fill of a world outside of what I’m used to. For that reason, I feel like as the years go by, anime will be something I have a hard time giving up!

I don’t even know how long it has been since I last posted. I mean, I literally don’t know.

That’s stupid.

This place got too intelligent for my puny little brain. This place shall behold incoherent thoughts once again!

Sometimes things are too long for twitter. Sometimes things aren’t really up to Daifuuku quality.

Sometimes I just want to go off on a tangent.

And sometimes I just need to make excuses for myself to hide what I am really feeling.

And sometimes there just isn’t anything better to do.

For better or for worse…

And for the silence that will inevitably follow after…

New posts incoming.

Welp, Steam did finally release on linux – and along with it, a sale.

During the sale I purchased some games, but now that I stop to think about it I don’t really have time to play these games anyway.

Money is a strange thing. And the psychology behind it is rather terrifying.

Sure you can get something cheaper if it is on sale, but did you really need it in the long run? Sometimes I think I am just a bit spoiled, but I’ll burn that bridge when I am done treading on it.

~~~~~

Also, I didn’t know that Beat Hazard was Linux native, I want to play this game!

Great. Now I want to buy it.

As the title suggests, I’m here to bring my opinion on the series of this season a bit later than usual. The list only includes the series that I’m pretty much caught up on, so on account of that you won’t be seeing my opinion on series such as: Zetsuen no Tempest, Sakarasou, Little Busters, Jojo, and Hunter x Hunter. It’s safe to say I have my work cut out for me in playing catch-up.

Although there are some good series this season, there are still a lot that can simply be described as boring. On account of that, I’ve been spending more of my time trying to catch up with some old series I’ve been wanting to complete (rather successfully may I add). With that said, here’s my late thought on the anime I have seen from the spring season! 

Amnesia

Oh, Amnesia… what to say? The main character is still as boring as ever, but the other characters are at least starting to flesh out. The way in which the story is being told is also a good way to keep the audience’s interest, and it seems things are soon going to finally be revealed. It’s not a terrible show, but some guys were so douchey to our lead girl that it pained me to watch.

Boku Wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT 

This is my guilty pleasure It’s one of those series that manages to have a whole episode take place in a clubroom, and still manages to be interesting. There are only two things that have been bothering me in this season. The first one is that ever since last season they’ve been making a big deal that Yozora and Kodaka used to be friens, and now that it has been revealed to everyone, it just seems to be no big deal at all. It has really only served to make Yozora act even more rude and bratty. My second problem, is the show’s whole concept of “I don’t have many friends”. Having Kodaka say to Sena’s face that he has no friends is just sorta awkward and rude. Point is, when Haganai sticks to random nonsense, all is well.

Chihayafuru 2

I’m so glad to see that this series has not changed! It’s still as fantastic as ever, and I can’t help but eagerly await it every week. I love the episodes all about the actual gameplay, ans we’ve been seeing a lot of that lately, with clearly more on the way. Also, the charcater development and romance seem to be going in good directions too. Each episode just seems to surpass the last! I cannot get enough of this anime!

Kotoura-san

Ever since day one I’ve gotten the impression that this anime seems to have no idea what it wants to do. On some days it’s happy go lucky slice of life, and on others its a melodramatic. When this series decides to go that dramatic route, it just plain fails. It’s so over the top that it makes me wonder if they’re doing it on purpose, like it is actually a parody in disguise or something. They just always go that extra mile to make sure the drama is bad. It may not make all that much sense to me, but what I do know is that this series needs to stick with simplicity.

Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun

I actually quite like this series. It doesn’t really stand out in any aspect, but it’s extremely entertaining. Sure, most of the characters fall under the cateory of bishie (nothing wrong with that, right?), and it becomes more and more apparent as it goes on that this was written by Miyuki Abe, but it works for me! This series just needs to keep up exactly what it’s doing considering that seems to be enough to keep me amused, which is all that really matters at times.

Magi

I just don’t understand why this series is so popular! It’s not terrible, but it doesn’t seem to have much going for it. The conflicts are all pretty much the same thing where people are fighting against slavery or the mistreatment of someone or another. Is that all they’ve got? I don’t hate it, I just expect a little more than what I’m getting. At least I can agree that the animation is fantastic?

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

In all, this anime is just boring. The only reason why we all gave it a chance at the beginning was because of its economic aspect, but not too surprsingly, a story about medieval economy could only hold the audience’s attention for so long. Luckily, they’ve since tried to work around that problem by making the romance a more prominent feature. It works at times, but I still don’t really have too strong an interest in this series anymore.

Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru

 Bland. That is all that really needs to be said. The story has been done, and has been done better. The characters are…probably the worse part. None of them are interestin to watch at all. They’re as generic as every other aspect of this show is. The only good parts in this series is when they talk about Jojo.

Psycho Pass

I’ve liked psycho pass from the beginning, but I never came to love it as much as others seem to have. The characters, and their backstories, always seem to disappoint me. Also, although the animation is at times fantastic, at other times it just looks stiff. I get they have an excuse for that, but it still needs to be said.  On the plus side, I’ve really loved where they’ve gone with the story. It’s reached a point where everything’s starting to unravel.Episode 16 and 17 were definitely some of the best!

Robotic;Notes

In the first cours of this series, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. It seemed as though this series was building up for its second half. Now that we’ve reached that point, it just feels lacking in its plot. I think a lot of the problem has to do with the fact that this series has terrible pacing. There’s only three episodes left, and I have no idea how this series will manage to wrap everything up and makes sense of it all. In the least, the story has no doubt picked up the pace and the character have definitely grown on me. I’m surprised by how much I actually like Kaito now, but the anime just has so many problems with its story.

Sasami-san@Ganbararai

This anime feels uninspired to me. I know it has a bit of an outrageous story, but Ive already seen a format similar to this one in other Shaft series, mainly Denpa Onna. In both series, the structure is that the first three episodes tell a complete story, and then the rest just drags along. It still isn’t a complete bore, but its in a state where it has no idea what to do with its story. It has a lot of style, but all other apsects of it seem to fall flat.

Senyuu

Senyuu is stupid, but still surprisngly funny. It’s downfall is its inability to switch up the format in which it tells its joke. Nonetheless, it’s still pretty good and worth five minutes of my time.

Shinsekai Yori

What an amazing series! There was a point where it seemed to have lost some steam, but it quickly proved me wrong by brining new twists and dark themes that I could have never seen coming. It’s incredible, and if you aren’t watching it, you are really missing out! It’s creepy, psychological, sad, and dark. Amazing.

Tamako Market

This is just a really wonderful anime. It’s filled with whismy and adorableness. It also knows how to keep the audience interested. The characters work well, and unlike with chuunibyou (a bit of an unfair comparision), these characters are consistent and true to themselves. As long as Tamako Market keeps up its energy and doesn’t decide to get melodramatic, I’ll be satisfied. At the moment, I’m really loving every minute of this series!!

Yama to Sume

Yama to Sume is a series that definitely needs its episode to be a bit longer than three minutes. A full length may be too much, but if it was ten minutes long, I think we may have had a cute series on our hands that had some actual substance to it. There’s not enough development that can actually be accomplished in this short a series.

Song: Gin-iro Hikousen
Artist: supercell
Album: Gin-iro Hikousen
Other: Opening Song for the anime movie Nerawareta Gakuen

kono michi noborikireba
anata ni ha itsumo
akubi wo shinagara
soko de matteta

When I finish climbing this hill,
you are always
yawning there
waiting for me.

shiokaze niou machi de
anata mo atashi mo
otona ni nattekunda tte
sou omotteita

I thought
you and I
would grow up to be adults
in this sea breeze filled town.

umodori ga naiteita
ano natsu anata to futari kaetta michi
oikakete oikakete

The sea birds sung.
That summer we always went home together.
I chased and chased after it…

gin-iro hikousen kagayaku
umi dake ga kawaranaide
anata ga waratta kono oka
mou ichido anata ni aitai

The silver airship shines.
The sea is the only thing that doesn’t change.
This is the hill you always smiled on,
I want to meet you here one more time.

jitensha kago ni kaban
futaribun nosete
monku wo iinagara
sakamichi oshita

We used to put our bags
in the bicycle’s basket,
and while complaining,
pushed ahead over the hill.

kono michi ha massugu de
machigau hazu nanka nai to omotteta
doko made mo ikeru tte

This path should be straight,
it shouldn’t be different… I thought.
It can go anywhere…

gin-iro hikousen tondeta
ano sora wo mitsuketakute
hoho wo naderu kaze kono oka
mou koko ni ha dare mo inai
dare mo inai

A silver airship flew.
I wanted to find that sky.
But with the wind blowing on my cheeks,
there’s no one else on this hill…
no one’s here…

hi ga ochite nobita kage boushi
atashi ha anta wo oikaketa
zutto anata no koto ga suki de
dakedo atashi ha ienakatta

As the sun went down, our shadows grew
and I chased after you.
I always loved you,
but I never said it…

gin-iro hikousen kagayaku
umi dake ga kawaranaide
anata ga waratta kono oka
mou ichido anata ni aitai

The silver airship shines.
The sea is the only thing that doesn’t change.
This is the hill you always smiled on,
I want to meet you here one more time.

gin-iro ikousen tondeta
te wo futte miokutta ano hi
ano michi nobotte kondo ha
kono oka de saki ni matteru

A silver airship flew.
That day… I waved good-bye to you.
But this time, I’ll climb that hill
and wait for you.

kono oka de saki ni matteru

I’ll wait for you on this hill…

Song: LOVE ME GIMME
Artist: Tia produced by ryo (supercell)
Album: LOVE ME GIMME
Other: Ending Song for the anime Wooser no Sono Higurashi

kimi wo hitorijime shitemitai no desu

I want to have you all to myself!

ima kore kara atashi ga kimi ni anji wo kakeru
ii? ja ne karaku me wo tojitemite
atashi ga ii yo tte iu made sono mama da yo

I’m going to try and hypnotize you.
Ready? Okay, gently close your eyes
and don’t open them until I say so.

yokeina MONO ha mienakute ii
datte datte tsugou ga warui koto datte arushi
kuchi ni shicha ikenai koto kurai
atashi datte chanto mottetari surundesu

You don’t have to get distracted by unnecessary emotions.
Well… because there are thing I can’t deal well with!
Even I have things
I can’t say to anyone.

kimi wo hitorijime shitemo ii kana
chotto no aida dake yurushite hoshii
maji maji mitsumete shimatteiru nau
ana ga aichau kurai miteirundesu

Can I have you all to myself?
Just for a little while…
I’m looking at you so intently
that I might burn a hole through you…

to iu wake de ima kimi ha
atashi no me no mae ni imasu
… suki kakunin
shita nori kemuri nochi hare
neratte tsutaeru kara
kakugo shitoite

Anyway, right now
you’re in front of me.
… Love… I make sure…
but afterwards I feel dull… then bright.
I have my sights on you and I’m going to tell you…
so prepare yourself!

“ima ienai no ha makeoshimi?”
datte datte tsugou ga wari hi datte arushi
kyou ha akumade renshuu nandesu
kitto chanto umaku ieru youni narundesu

“Are you making excuses so you won’t have to say it?”
Well… because there are times when it’s just not my day!
I persistently practiced all day today,
so I’m sure I’ll be able to say it properly!

kimi wo hitorijime shitemo ii kana
joushiki no han’i de sumaseru kara
masu masu mitsumete shimatteiru nau
ana ga aichattara gomennasai

Can I have you all to myself?
It will all be in good sense.
I stare at you more and more,
if I burn a hole through you… I’m sorry.

mada me akecha DAME da yo
riyuu nante kikanaide
datte atashi etto umaku ienai…

Don’t open your eyes yet…
and don’t ask me why.
Because you see… I… umm… can’t properly say…

kimi wo hitorijime shitemo ii kana
chotto no aida dake yurushite hoshii
itsumo miteiru noni kidzukanai kara
ana ga aichau kurai miteyarundesu

Can I have you all to myself?
Just for a little while…
I’m always looking at you but you don’t even notice me…
I stare so much I might burn a hole through you!

kimi wo hitorijime shitemo ii kana
chotto no aida dake yurushite hoshii
maji maji mitsumeru no usume kinshi
ii desho ima kurai yumemisasete

Can I have you all to myself?
Just for a little while…
I’m looking at you with serious intent… no half baked glances allowed!
Got it? At least… let me dream right now!

I ran an update ($ yaourt -Syyu) the other day and a new version of Cinnamon came down.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that the development team puts a lot of effort into their releases and gets them out fast – but I just want to tear out my hair every time it updates.

The biggest reason is that I have to go through the javascript files and reapply all the quirky little changes I want to the code.

The other reason is simply that things move around.

Cinnamon allows for a hot-corner to be assigned to either bring up an expo mode or a scale mode. Expo is the default, and I wanted to change it to scale mode. When I opened up the system settings I was met with this…

Well, there are some things missing here! After a bit of google searching someone pointed out that there was a little tiny gear in the top right corner.

There it is!

Click on that, and then click on “Advanced Settings” and you finally find this…

Ah! That’s where the hot corner settings went! It’s funny how none of these settings are not even particularly advanced (except for Login Screen, but that one warns you and then prompts you for a password.)

This idea that you should hide functionality behind extra windows in order to make something more user friendly irritates me to no end, but then again, I guess that’s what computers systems are designed for anyway. After all, would you use computers if you had to browse the web by entering machine code in a terminal or something?

Computers are simple and attractive interfaces built on top of a sea of powerful and intricate systems.

Song: The Bravery
Artist: supercell
Album: The Bravery
Other: Ending Song for the anime Magi

dareka no iu koto nante ate ni naranakute
kono me de tashikametakunattanda
ame ha doshaburi de
shikai ha SAIAKU dakedo
“kimi ni ha yuuki ga aru”
sono hitogoto wo shinji tobidashita
mawari ha kare wo waratte
“douse nani hitotsu aitsu ni ha dekinai sa”
iwaseteoke

I no longer rely on what other people say,
I begun to want to make sure with my own two eyes.
There’s a downpour
and I can’t see well, but with the phrase
“You’re brave.”
I start to believe and dash out!
Everyone around laughs at him saying
he won’t do or amount to anything.
Let them talk…

KIMI ha kesshite yowaku nanka nai
dare ni mo hatasenakatta yume wo negae tsuyoku
kanarazu kanaetemiseru tte

You are definitely not weak.
You earnestly said you would definitely
make the dream nobody could fulfill come true.

saa mizukara no hata kakage
susume mae ni
nijimu namida ha
KIMI no akashi
chikara ni naru
mayou toki ha kono boku ga soba ni iru
dakara ikou
sekai no subete wo mi ni

Come, raise your own flag with your own hands!
And before setting off
let’s make those tears
your proof of being here
and your strength.
If you’re ever lost, I’ll be here beside you.
So let’s go
take a look at the world!

dare mo ga onaji ningen de
inochi ha byoutou de
sukuenai hito nanka iyashinai tte
risou ha genjitsu ni tayasuku makasareru
kao wo agete

Everyone is human,
life is fair,
anybody can and will be saved.
Our ideals easily lose to reality,
but raise your head.

ano hi anata ha tasuketanda
watashi ha dakara ima waraeru

You saved me that day,
that’s why I can keep smiling even now.

sou da yo hito ha nando mo asu wo negaeru
nigeru no ni ha mada hayai
kuyashikute nagasu namida ha
mirai he no RU-TO
tsuketteku kara
shinjitemiru ano kotoba
mou ichido
kono ashi de sa tadoritsuitemiseru yo

That’s right, people wish for many futures.
It’s too early to runaway.
Those tears shed out of torment
are the process leading
to the future.
So try believing in those words
once more.
I’ll show you we can arrive there together.

sekaijuu tabi shitemawatta
toki ni warai toki ni kenka wo shite
kedo mou dame datte toki ni ha
nan ni mo iwazau soba ni itekureta

We traveled around the world.
We sometimes laughed and sometimes fought,
but when all hope was lost,
you stayed beside me.

nee shitteru yo
omae ga HONTO ni ii yatsu datte koto
dakara mou tayoraai
hitori datte mou daijoubu

Hey, I know
that you’re truly a good person.
But that’s why I won’t rely on you anymore.
I’ll be fine on my own.

gyakuten funouna keisei ni
kare no karada ha mou haya kizu darake
sore demo yowai mono no tame ni
kono mi ga dou narou ga kamai ha shinai

With his sudden inability
his body was already full of wounds.
But even so I won’t care what becomes
of my body if it’s to protect those weaker than me.

nee KIMI ha naze
soko made dekirundai?
ano toki datte ima datte sousa
boku ha dakara
chikara ni naru
kono boku ga soba ni iru
dakara ikou
ikeru tokoro subete
boku-tachi no kono me nara
tashikana mono wo mitsukerareru

Hey, why
can you do so much and go so far?
Even then, and even now…
I’m here
so I’ll become your strength.
I’m right besides you
so let’s go
anywhere we can.
Our eyes will definitely
find something true.