“No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular”…

…or in its Japanese title, “Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!” or just WataMote for short. Here’s an anime featuring a girl attempting to become popular and maybe get a boyfriend along the way but does not quite succeed. Or does she?

Tomoko Kuroki decides it’s time to change her social status before it’s too late. High school year is approaching and she doesn’t want to be the unsociable loner that everybody seems to think she is. (Actually , she is). Everybody is just too blind or ignorant to see what a ‘popular’ person she is. (Actually, she’s the blind and ignorant one). 

In each episode, she takes certain measures. This is when it will dawn on viewers that there’s probably not going to be a happy ending for this kid. God help her. Not to be mean, it’s just so hilarious to watch. She gets A+ for staying positive, having high self-esteem and the courage to better herself.

The sad thing is, she really could do it…if she didn’t take it too overboard or misses the important points. For example, puckering your lips with alluring eyes doesn’t mean looking like something the cat dragged in…Also, take the weird behavior out of the equation would do nicely. But she doesn’t have a clue much to her brother’s bewilderment.

Her mother worries over her daughter’s strange behavior but pretty much leaves her alone instead of giving much needed advice. Her younger brother, Tomoki, is often embarrassed by her strange ideas of improving herself and just doesn’t want anything to do with her. However, he finds himself witnessing her attempts whether he wants to or not and feeling a little sorry for her.

This anime is still ongoing at episode 6 and so is the manga, written by Nico Tanigawa. Not only should one watch this anime because of its hilarious main character, but one should also watch this anime because of how it relates to all of us in some way.

Summer Anime to watch?

It’s been a while since I’ve watched any anime…shocking. I’m amazed that I managed to stay away for so long. But I’m probably going to renew my anime obsession now that the summer anime is in.

Of all the anime I checked out, these are the three anime I’m thinking of following.

1. Blood Lad (Trailer)

I couldn’t help but be pulled in by this one. A vampire that has no interest in biting a human? Is a fan of all things Japanese? Just so happens to be the leader of a demon territory despite his young and sloppy appearance. Thrilled to finally meet a human that somehow strayed into the demon world. Human girl gets killed and becomes a ghost. Vampire loses interest but is determined to bring her back to life again so that she, once again as human (if that’s even possible), can fulfill his long time fantasy of befriending (?) a human. For now, her bones will have a place on his gaming console (…).

Hilarious. Supernatural. Has a hint of romance and adventure. What’s not to love?

2. Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun 2 (Trailer)

I should have realized that this was a second season and not jump right in on the first episode. A lot of things didn’t really make a lot of sense to me. But I will rectify that shortly until the 2nd episode is released. So far, I like the premise of having a group of guys that have a certain bond and have hidden ‘demonic’ powers they could tap into to fight demons. The youngest character albeit a little immature, seems to be the most interesting. I guess it’s because I have yet to see what he is capable of. I can’t really say much about this first episode as I did not watch the 1st season to be able to connect the dots but the story seems interesting enough.

3. Uchouten Kazoku (Trailer)

Yet another supernatural anime. I think you’re beginning to see a trend here, right? Lol. This time this anime is about a shape-shifting tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) and his relationship with the crow tengus (goblin but in this case “heaven dog”) and a psychic human that can fly. The tanuki or Shimogamo Yasaburou as he is commonly known in the demon world, is a mischievious character. He loves to shape-shift and mimic humans. But interestingly enough, he loves to shape-shift into a human girl. lol. This is where the humor comes up I suppose. But a part of this anime seems to hint on a bit of drama involving the other characters, which I’m sure they will later reveal. How is it possible that she can fly when she’s human? What sort of relationship exist between the old bird and the human girl? Does Shimogamo play a bigger role in this whole anime? I sure hope as the story progresses, it does not fail to answer my questions…

Latest anime spring release: Suisei No Gargantia!

Amy, Red and Chamber.

Suisei No Gargantia or Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is without a doubt the best mecha anime I’ve ever seen in a long time. Not since Evangelion and Eureka Seven. Its vibrant colors, smooth animation and the interesting albeit predictable story plot had me craving for the third episode already.

The story begins with a space battle between a plant-like alien species called the Hideauze and the Galactic Alliance of Humankind set in the distant future. Just when the humans thought they had the upper hand, the enemy regenerates and they were forced to flee.

Piloting one of the space battle machines was 16 year old Ensign Ledo (or actually his name kinda sounds like Red but pronounced as Ledo). As ‘Red’ enters the wormhole with his retreating fleet, he was attacked by one of the flying aliens causing him to be thrown off course and losing consciousness. When he came to, 6 months have gone by while he was in cold sleep. The world he crash landed into was filled with water with no land in sight. The humans on this planet lived on fleets of ships, diving to the bottom of the ocean to salvage the remains of past civilization for valuables to trade and surviving pirates that seek to steal from the weak. This, his AI unit revealed, is planet Earth, the birth-place of humanity that his people believed to be a myth.

At this point, my brain was shouting Waterworld, the movie that Kevin Costner was starring in. The one where Earth has been enveloped by the oceans and how humanity have gone on survival mode where the fittest survived and piracy ensues. Despite the similarities though, I was so impressed by this future kid with the vivid purple eyes and what his AI unit, Chamber could do, that I soon pushed aside any thoughts of comparing the two. Besides, this is about Red trying to coexist with the primitive humans of planet Earth while he searches for a way to contact his missing Gargantia fleet.

Battle hardened Red appears to be more mature than his age implies. But I suppose any sort of war does that to a person especially for one that was trained from an early age. In this future, chances of visiting their home planet is rare and only awarded to the worthiest of fighters. And while fighting in space, a person has no control over his own sleep patterns (this is only my assumption though judging from the episode I just saw). His AI unit has the capability to induce sleep on its human pilot and awaken them when it’s time for battle.

The first human that Red makes contact with is Amy. Due to the unprecedented language barrier, Red was forced to take her hostage while buying some time for Chamber to process the language. Amy’s curious mind and friendly manner allowed her to overlook the incident and to communicate with Red with Chamber being the translator.

The plot so far is predictable. But it’s a plot that’s likeable nevertheless. Battle scenes involving Chamber is awe-inspiring. Graphic detail in this animation is imaginative and colorful right from the turqoise green of the oceans up to the infinite space above. There has yet to be any character development to determine the dynamics between the female and male protagonist, but I get the feeling that it’s still going to be awesome.

Produced by Producation I.G. that brought Patlabor and the infamous Ghost in the Shell series and directed by Kazuya Murata that has worked on anime like Code Geass, Eureka Seven and Mobile Suit Gundam, you definitely don’t want to miss this latest spring release!

Senjou No Valkyria: Gallian Chronicles…

The first thing that caught my eye was the lovely drawn characters. It’s always one of the things I look for in an anime to be able to determine how enjoyable it’s going to be. And I must say, the main guy Welkin Gunther is quite a looker. Each of the character is handsome and pretty, graceful and proportionately drawn.

Based on a roleplaying game for playstation 3, the story takes place in Europe with war raging on between the Empire and the Federation often times over Ragnite, an important material resource to fuel weapons of war. Other anime that come to mind when I see this was Full Metal Alchemist although the magical element comes in much later in the episodes and it doesn’t have the serious drama that can be found in Full Metal Alchemist. There are moments where humor and light romance appear to lighten the mood.

 

The main characters are Welkin and Alicia Melchiott (the girl with the red cloth around her head) and both fight for the Gallian militia group, squad 7 with Welkin as the commander. The commander of squad 7 is an oddball. He is absentminded and difficult to understand…well, according to Alicia at least. Welkin always appear carefree and have been known to have his priorities all over the place causing his subordinates to question his authority on numerous occassions. However, his calm leadership skills and charisma shows through in battle and each victory earns him grudging respect. But this is to be expected since he is none other than the son of a famous General back in the early wars. His strategies though rely on his extensive knowledge in biology. But of course, a commander is also nothing without his squad members.

One particular person shines through and is none other than Alicia, his second in command. Despite being a baker in her former profession, her courage in the face of danger inspires everyone and her sharp mind and agility during battle makes her a reliable asset. I’ve not progressed that far in this anime just yet, but from the opening sequence you can tell that you can expect more from her in the later episodes, particularly a certain kind of magic that’s bestowed upon her. It is also hinted that a romantic relationship forms between Alicia and Welkin and possibly a love triangle involving a good friend of Welkin’s.

This anime has other oddities as well. For example, you’ve heard the expression “when pigs fly”, right? Well, they’ve got one in here. Yep, a pig with wings. So I guess anything is possible…lol. And that’s just the start of the fantasy here. I’m not entirely sure the significance of that pig though. If it does nothing but oink, I’m going to be a little upset with that piece of bacon…

Well, putting that aside, this anime doesn’t just have regular tanks and weapons of war. There are some unique weaponry involved like a bazooka shaped like a lance. Also, the squad uses a tank that’s a few classes above normal tanks with faster speed, stronger shield that deflects other tank’s attacks and greater firepower. This tank just so happens to be maintained by Welkin’s adopted sister, Isara a Darcsen. How these weapons come about or the history surrounding this Darcsen race isn’t too clear to me yet but it certainly makes squad 7 a military force to contend with and seem to play a key part to the war. So, I’m not complaining.

One thing is for certain. The anime is interesting enough for me to continue watching and perking my curiosity over the game it was adapted from. Maybe I should start playing these Japanese games…is there a PC version? At the end of each anime episode, there are some excerpts from the game like profiles of characters. Why, I’m not too sure ;D…could be marketing.

Valkyria Chronicles game

Kuroko’s Basketball (Kuroko No Basuke)

Ever since the London Summer Olympics 2012 started, I haven’t been watching any anime lately until today. I decided to give Kuroko No Basuke a try and was pleasantly surprised by it. I’m a huge fan of Slam Dunk, the anime-manga on basketball written by Takehiko Inoue. When I spotted this basketball anime I was instantly curious and after the first episode, I think I’m hooked!

This anime however is not to be mistaken as just a copy cat of Slam Dunk. The girl isn’t in love with the main character, she is in fact the team coach, the hot head and best basketball player may seem like Sakuragi Hanamichi but he starts off as a definite pro unlike Sakuragi’s untrained raw talent. The main character and star of this anime is in fact the weakest of the team players, the blue haired boy named Kuroko. And what’s more, some team player in all of the schools seem to have a sense of humor and not altogether an obvious bad person.

 

You may think that perhaps he is like Kaede Rukawa, the cool and ultra talented guy. You couldn’t be more wrong. He is actually the weakest of the team players, barely noticeable among his peers, seems pleasant enough and the only thing going for him is his boyish blue haired looks. Just kidding. He is however, much to people’s dismay, part of the legendary “Generation of Miracles” back in middle school competitions and is known as the ‘Shadow’.

His special set of skills is using his ‘Shadow’ presence that opponents do not pay attention to  to pass the ball to his team players in strategic positions. A passive ability but effective nonetheless. And being Kuroko, who just loves basketball and understands that he is neither weak nor strong in it, decides to use his unique skill to make Kagami, a naturally talented player, to be the best basketball player in Japan.

Kagami does not know what to make of Kuroko and finds his weakness in basketball annoying but tolerates Kuroko because his ‘Shadow’ skills did in fact proved useful. Is this the start of a beautiful relationship? I have noticed a few ‘yaoi’ photos of these two lol but going to reserve judgement until I’ve progressed further ahead into the episodes. One has got to admire Kagami’s enthusiasm in basketball. When he is faced with a strong opponent, he gets fired up and looks forward to improve his skills.

As for the coach, it’s interesting to see she has a sadistic side to her style of training the team. As part of the initiation, she required each of the new members to announce to the whole school their reason for playing basketball and if they fail to achieve their goal they would declare their love to the girl that they like butt naked. An odd motivation but that got the guys sweating at least at the possibility of failure. Another odd thing about this coach is that when she analyzes the players, she sees numbers…literally. And from those numbers she determines the strength and weaknesses of the player.

Will they win and achieve the #1 top spot in the competition (somehow I have a feeling they will…of course)? Stay tuned…

Kyou koi wo Hajimemasu (Today, our love begins)…

 

This is absolutely one of my favorite mangas to read and it’s still ongoing! Currently at chapter 77 (vol 12) ^_^ If you’re looking for some school life romance with all the dramas involved in a typical relationship, then this is one of the best that gives you that tingly feeling.

Tsubaki Hibino’s first meeting with Kyouta Tsubaki (hey, they are both Tsubaki!) was one of mutual dislike. She takes a pair of scissors to his long hair and he in turns decides to play with her feelings. Although she knows that he is just punishing her for the audacity but over time she could not help but fall for him. Kyouta is not an easy guy to fall in love with. Due to his troubled childhood of women betraying him, he has a problem trusting women. And so, he continues to reject Tsubaki until suddenly, her last-ditch effort to reach his heart finally pulled through. Ever since then, the experienced Kyouta in toying with a girl’s feelings decides to trust Tsubaki the inexperienced girl in love…

Minami Kanan, the author and artist of this manga, really drew the characters beautifully and proportionately. The faces are very expressive with the right display of emotions during romantic scenes and Kyouta is always so handsome! ^_^ The story plot, although typical in this sort of genre, still makes one want to continue reading because it addresses all the issues that arise in relationships. Does one do the things they feel uncomfortable with just so that the person they love can be happy? Do you hide your feelings over a small issue so as not to appear childish and insecure or do you communicate them to your partner and risk losing them? Things like that always makes for a good read in school life romance mangas.

There’s a bit of good news if you do like this manga. There is a 2 (or is it 3) episodes OAV directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi back in 2010(a person that had a part in making a couple of Dragon Ball Z, Digimon anime…hmm, probably not the best examples lol…and one of my favorites, Chihayafuru anime). It’s sort of a recap of what happens in the manga focusing only on the important scenes. It can be somewhat annoying at times when you just get still pictures when they are speeding through the story and the recording of the voice for Kyouta at some parts seemed a little distant. However, the soundtrack seems decent and to be able to see my favorite characters in motion still  made my day.

Sailor Moon lives again!!!

Thanks to a really good friend of mine back in 1996 (and she’s still my good friend now after 17 years) I was introduced to Sailor Moon and it changed my life forever. The story of an ordinary school girl having super powers to fight evil accompanied by friends with similar powers was so captivating that I quickly devoured that first manga volume within the hour. And her romantic interest being a prince from her past life further drew me into this world of yokai (monsters) and mahou (magic) and sailor senshis (crime fighters in sailor suits).

Since Sailor Moon has been talked, reviewed and quite possibly known by all otakus out there by now, I’ll just briefly state what a Sailor Moon wannabe fan can lay their hands on:

18 volumes of manga written by Naoko Takeuchi (1991-1997 and quite recently taken up by Kodansha Comics USA in 2011 – only available up to vol. 6 currently)

TV anime series:

– Sailor Moon (46 episodes)

– Sailor Moon R (43 episodes)

– Sailor Moon S (38 episodes)

– Sailor Moon Super S (39 episodes)

– Sailor Moon Sailor Stars (34 episodes)

Sailor Moon R movie

Sailor Moon S movie

Sailor Moon Super S movie

Recently, there’s been news about a new anime adaptation being released in Summer 2013! Go here for more details about it: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-07-06/sailor-moon-manga-gets-new-anime-in-summer-2013

As a result, many Sailor Moon fans young and old have been gearing up, meeting up to watch reruns of Sailor Moon episodes just to revisit the magic and celebrate the news. I myself dug out my Sailor Moon box sets to start the marathon.

One question that I’m sure is on everybody’s mind is how would this new adaptation turn out compared to its predecessor? Well, we’ll see wouldn’t we? In the mean time, “Tsuki ni kawatte oshioki yo!”