Featured in this post: Natsume Yuujin-chou, Ryoko’s Case File, and Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu.

Natsume Yuujin-chou

OP: Issei no Koe by Shuhei Kita. Show ▼

D.J I don’t know anything about Shuhei Kita but I know I like this song. It’s very peaceful and laid back; it just makes me feel good. In a nutshell, I feel its something you could relax to and given the soft style of coloring for the animation, it fits perfectly. Just like the anime itself, it won’t knock your socks off, but it has a certain je nais sais quois you’ll find you like.

Riex This song fits this show perfectly. Just like the show, it doesn’t leave a bad impression, or a great one. It’s just kind of there…I’ll download it, but there’s nothing outstanding here.

ED: Natsu Yuzora by Kosuke Atari. Show ▼

D.J This isn’t quite as catchy as the opening, it feels a little more serious in tone, but still very laid back and understated. It uses some nice gentle guitar with soothing vocals that really set the mood. It’s apt that the animation to go along with it, pretty much consists of watching clouds, because the song really makes you feel like sitting still and just doing nothing but soaking everything in. If you’re in the mood for reflecting upon things, then this is the tune for you. Atari also did the 13th ED for Bleach - Tane Wo Maku Hibe.

Riex First off, I’ve heard Tane Wo Maku Hibe and I keep expecting the guy to pick up his vocals a break into something similar to that song. He never does though, and while I love the chilled out acoustic guitar sounds and everything, I’m not writing home about this one. It’s pretty good for an ED though…not the usual kind of song that puts me to sleep.

Ryoko’s Case File

OP: Theme Principal by Katsu (Angela). Show ▼

D.J Hardly any vocals here, it’s pretty much purely instrumental and I LOVE IT. Ryoko is put across in the animation as sexy and the swing style music really sets that mood and really has some flair to it. I love detective shows and this is a classic detective style theme. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like a bit of old school stuff, check it out! Katsu is one member of the band Angela, who have provided themes for shows such as Stellvia of the Universe and Fafner of the Azure.

Riex You know what this song reminds me of? 101 Dalmatians. Damn right, that mixed with The Great Mouse Detective maybe? Either way, I fucking love this song…takes me back to nostalgia land…and it’s got some skat in it that’s not obnoxious. Hell yeah. Oh, and Ryoko is hawt.

ED: A Demain Sur La Lune (To Tomorrow on the moon) by Katsu (Angela). Show ▼

D.J Again, I really dig this, it’s pleasant, got a good beat and it’s a nice change of pace from the usual j-pop/rock type of fare.  Occasionally it’s nice to hear something different from the usual crap. I don’t think its everyone’s kind of thing, but give something out of the norm for an anime related tune a go eh?

Riex Listen. Keep listening. Tell me if you get a coffee shop poetry reading vibe from this song. That saxophone (or whatever it is) is sexy, but…fuck the rest of it. Gilligan’s Island soundtrack anyone? That’s last twang from the guitar at the end is where the episode fades in…

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu

OP: Tomadoi Bitter Tune by Miran Himemiya and Chocolate Rocker. Show ▼

D.J Whom I know absolutely nothing about and don’t care enough to look, since I basically found this to be pretty meh. Its generic, poppy crappu and even the vocals weren’t really all that outstanding. To be honest it isn’t until about 3 quarters of the way in that it sounded like the singer even gave a crap. Maybe it’s because unlike the two previous animes, I know next to nothing about this show and haven’t even watched an episode of it. But really, it just doesn’t seem to click, give it a listen, but seriously, I don’t think that you’ll be missing out on much by skipping it.

Riex The first couple of lines sung are in quite an interesting key. And that chorus is damn catchy. I just get addicted to repetitive syllables I guess. Whether it’s “furururu” from this song or “akaku akaku akaku” from The Vampire Knight OP, I just can’t help myself. Aside from that though, this song blows.

ED: Hitosashiyubi Quiet! Quiet by N’s : Kana Ueda, Rina Satou, Kaori Shimizu, Mamiko Noto. Show ▼

D.J Well all I can say is I like it better than the opening, it’s a little bit cuter and the vocalists put more of an effort in. From the animation at least, it looks like its trying to channel Hare Hare Yukai, the ending theme for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. But it’s just not quite as catchy, or as cute, or sung quite as well as that song was. Its not entirely craptastic, it’s just not fantastic, in summation I’d say its okay.

Riex It sounds like this song is going to be interesting, it really does. But then they start singing and I’m like “oh gawd, PLZ get it away!”. Fuck. Typical eight year old female vocals that I hate. UGH.

The Adventurous, The Cautious, and every problem starts with a woman.

I’m gonna relate this shit to TTGL, so if you hate it or haven’t seen it, maybe you won’t get it. Chances are you can still relate anyway. Also, for those who can’t read my blurb on the side there —>> my site does contain spoilers. Fair warning.

It begins simple enough…

“What happened to your spirit of adventure?” She chimed in as I continued to stare at the floor, waiting for my shift to be over.
“I guessed it died somewhere a while back” I replied. “Too many bad experiences”.

As I walked out to my car I started asking myself: where did my spirit of adventure go? Did I even have one to begin with? By the time I’d finished my drive home, I was in a state of confusion rivaling some of the best I’ve ever had to date.

The same shit, day after day, stuck in this goddamn village.

Remember when TTGL first started? Simon was an everyday kid, not necessarily the ridicule of the town, but not the most outgoing or coolest cat either. He spends his days digging holes/tunnels with his drill so his village can expand. It’s not a bad life: it’s stable, he stays fed, hangs out with his pals…and he feels safe.

Then one day something happens that totally fucks up his world: his village gets invaded by giant head-robots. His ordered, safe existence is suddenly destroyed and he gets thrust out into the world above where the rules are different, choices make life changes, and there are a million things to discover.

And yet, Simon remains relatively the same. He’s still the same feeble, cautious village kid riding on the coattails of Kamina’s courage.

Keep me safe, keep me happy.

I’ve spent about 19 years in a similar world. I don’t dig holes or carry around drills, but I have worked the 9-5. Full time jobs and part time fun. A simple, predictable, safe life where every decision is weighted in risk…and risks aren’t taken. My only goals are to expand my “village”: to acquire my own place, fill it with stuff, waste my days away sitting on the beach staring at the waves. There’s no shame in that.

I guess that’s the problem. When there’s no shame in the goals you have, what happens when your world gets fucked up by other possibilities? What happens if you want to see the world above but there’s no catalyst to thrust you up there? I mean, you’re sitting on a good thing…why ruin it for something that may be a hell of a lot worse than what’s in store for you on the path you’re on?

And so I too remain relatively the same, counting on steady jobs, constant friends, and an unshakable faith to guide me into and through the world above.

The one thing I can count on, gone.

So Simon makes his way throughout the surface world, gathering friends, making enemies, and experiencing some pretty intense shit. In all of the chaos around him, he always has Kamina there to encourage him, spur him on, give him hope. And then suddenly, Kamina is gone.

The loss of his greatest friend sends Simon into a downward spiral of confusion, doubt, depression, and possible insanity. He doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know who he his is or who he should be and can’t figure out how to fill this enormous void in his life.

Simon’s life changes, but instead of stepping forward in his own direction, he just breaks down into a static shell of indecisiveness and confusion.

The unshakable, shaken…lost.

Much like Simon I had one thing that encouraged me, guided me, gave me hope and motivation: faith. I used to be a by-the-book, church going, Christ-mirroring Christian kid. You may find that hard to believe, but it’s true. It wasn’t because my parents made me or because I’d been brainwashed since I was 2 or anything like that either.

But as life went on and I explored the world above, all that was suddenly taken away from me. I probably can’t recover it and I don’t want to either. Regardless of that fact, like Kamina made a huge impact on Simon’s life, my faith had already made a huge impact on mine. It had helped to shape who I was and what I wanted/did.

The loss of that one constant guiding resource in my life threw me into confusion. I couldn’t figure out who I wanted to be. What are my goals now? What do I do/not do? Before, everything was about trusting time and magic in the sky to set my life up for me. Girls? Taken care of. Job? Taken care of. Entertainment? Taken care of.

My life changed, but I made no progress and instead have been stuck in an endless cycle of not being able to make up my fucking mind about anything.

*sigh* Along comes a woman…

I think most men will admit that we have two primary motivations for just about everything: food and women. I can stay blissfully happy (or depressed) and spend months, even years that way until some vagina-bearing thoughtbox comes along and catches my attention. Then all hell breaks lose.

For Simon, it was Nia…for me, several females have added their contributions to my madness.

Simon stumbles upon Nia curled up in a box and brings her home where she then motivates him to become a “new” Simon. To take his friend’s boldness and courage and set out to make his own mark on the world. It’s not all flowers and fairies the whole way, but Simon paves his own way to happiness. He drops his cautious nature and says “Fuck it, I’m taking chances, I’m taking risks, and heaven help you if you get in my way”.

I stumble upon women as old friends, fellow employees, chance meetings at various stores and restaurants. Every encounter, dayto, and pseudo-dayto brings up the same questions of who I am and what I want. And for the first time in my life I’ve said to myself “Damn, you’re fucking boring”. I stay safe in my own house, expanding my “village”, no desire to see the world above…I’ve gone back to being underground Simon, except this time I don’t have any hopes or dreams. No Kamina screaming “pierce the heavens!”.

“What happened to your spirit of adventure?”

Adventure vs. Caution, the fate of my life rests in the answer.

“Who the fuck do you think I am!!!????”

Who the fuck do I think I am. Who do I want to be? Life doesn’t necessarily play out like an anime. Do I choose to heed that adventurous part of me that wants to take risks…to gain everything I could ever want or lose everything I’ve built until now? Or do I stick with my cautious nature that wants to feel secure knowing that while nothing miraculous is going to happen, it’s going to take an gigantic earthquake or an invasion of head-robots to destroy my contented happiness?

The only thing I know for certain is that this video makes my blood run hot and sends chills down my spine: Show ▼

Note: This post will be updated with more pictures later.

Featured in this post: Natsu no Sora, Antique Bakery, and Birdy the Mighty DECODE.

Natsu no Sora

Show ▼

OP: Delicious. That’s the easiest way for me to describe the relatively new (to me) band THYME. The first time I listened to this song, I though it was alright…but much like THYME’s other recent OP, Forever We Can Make It! (To Love-Ru), a second listen turn into a third, a third into a fourth, and so on and so on. This song immediately gives me the image of hopping out of my car at the beach, glancing at the sky, turning to my friends and saying “Let’s fucking do this!” And going out an having a blast. Can’t ask for a lot more.

Show ▼

ED: I loved the beginning to this song. Never heard anything by micc before (to my knowledge), but she has a pretty soothing voice. After a while Kawaita Hana degenerates into a repetitiveness that isn’t terrible by any means, but neither is it all that interesting. A solid ending but nothing to write home about.

(By the way, where have I been? This anime looks gorgeous!)

Antique Bakery

Show ▼

OP: I almost skipped this anime, but I decided to at least see what the OP sounded like…holy shit was I shocked. Seriously, Life Goes On (side k) by Chemistry has to be one of the most interesting, compelling songs I’ve heard in an anime in a long time. I’m not really raving about it being super awesome, but just listen to all of the neat sounds/effects in it. It reminds me of Eiffel 65 if Eiffel 65 didn’t suck ass.

Show ▼

ED: For a show I have no interest in and almost skipped completely, it sure does have some decent music. Yet another song by Chemistry, also tittled Life Goes On (this time ’side d’), finishes the show with a very pleasant, vocal oriented number. Although I’m not overly amazed by the song, I like the vocals enough to check out some of Chemistry’s other stuff, which includes an OP for Gundam Seed Destiny and an OP for Astro Boy, amongst others.

Birdy the Mighty DECODE

Show ▼

OP: I love any pop-punkish, high pitched guitar squealing number out there, and Sora by Hearts Grow fits the bill perfectly. It reminds me a ton of the Nabari no Ou OP Crawl by VELTPUNCH. The animation makes me think of the newest Bleach OP as well. Both positive comparisons in my book. I’m wondering whether the vocalist knows how to take a breath though…

Show ▼

ED: You ever heard of this anime called Gurren Lagann? Well, see, it had this song in it called Minna no Peace by a band called Afromania. That song basically stated one thing: Afromania is the shit. Hands down. A boy do I love their latest offering, Let’s go Together. I’ve been contradicted several times when saying that the latter is greater than the former but…your opinon doesn’t matter otou-san!

“If the fanservice stays down, my expectations will stay up.”

BtM:D was, to be concise: beyond my expectations.

Summary

Why should you read my summary? Show ▼

Birdy chases after some space piratey type guy named Geega, who manages to evade Birdy’s clutches and escape to Earth. While trying to scope out Geega’s whereabouts, Birdy spends six months on Earth posing as Arita Shion, a popular idol/model known for her alien character shots. Eventually, Birdy finds out that her piratey target is hiding in an abandoned building owned by Empire Television and she heads out on her sparkle-skates to confront him.

Meanwhile, a high schooler named Senkawa Tsutomu is busy making his way into the same abandoned structure to satisfy his dying building fetish. And thus a fated encounter begins.

In his panicked flight from Birdy, Geega runs into Tsutomu and flings him through a cloud of smoke towards his pursuer. Unable to see clearly, Birdy mistakes fetish-boy for creepy lizard-man and smacks the living shit out of him. Geega gets away, fetish-boy dies, and next thing we know Tsutomu has uber-clear vision (ala Spiderman) and he’s sharing his body with a hawt alien space chick.

Thoughts

The OP (Sora by Hearts Grow) was pretty enjoyable and one of the better ones out at the moment. The ED? Off the damn chain. Offffff theeeeeee chainnnnnnnn! I’ll have to agree with Omni in saying that Afromania’s Let’s go Together pwns Minna no Peace (which was an addictive song in it’s own right).

I love how Birdy is a huge, overpowered goofball. One second she’s throwing down massive punches, the next she’s like “Huh? Where’d he go?”. I think we can all agree that she doesn’t come across as the most intelligent or observant Federation Investigator. Tute is obviously the brains of their odd duo.

Speaking of Tute…wtf is he anyway? Besides a strange floating octopus alien who also acts as Birdy’s space helmet. Or Leeron (ala Gurren Lagann) reincarnated.

So far, the show has been free of over the top fanservice. Obviously a good thing in my book. Sure, I don’t mind the scenes of “Shion” modeling, but if they start throwing panty shots and zero-gravity boob physics into the mix the show is going to lose some of the respect it’s earned from me.

I don’t know why, but even before I knew Tsutomu lost his glasses the show was giving me weird Spiderman vibes. It was mostly the night shots of the city and perhaps Tsutomu’s uncanny Peter Parker-ish physique.

I’m already addicted to the fight scenes. They look a little bit odd, but in an age where fights dwindle down to motion blurs and still shots, having a show fully animate a fight scene is bound to come of as something a little different. When Birdy spins, she spins. She doesn’t turn into some weird tornado of speed before still-kicking the baddies in the face.

And last, I’d love it if they left all forms of retarded “ZOMG I have boobs now” gags alone and focused on how odd it would be to be stuck in a back and forth gender switch. I think it could make for some interesting insights and still create humorous situations without resorting to *cough* Kanokon style humor.

What others are saying:

Kaibitzin thinks Birdy’s sparkle-skates are pretty too.
The word over at Tenka Seiha is Birdy’s pretty awesome and can summon her own hair-blowing wind, while Tsutomu is a boring slab of stereotype.
Darry’s with me when it comes to raving about the “new” Shion aspect of the show (just see my lead in pic for proof).
psgels wants to know what’s wrong with titling your anime “Birdy the Mighty”. Honestly…nothing.
thenullset gave Birdy an 11/12 A+ and gets J.C. Staff vibes from the animation. (me too!)
Brack digs the ED, biological weaponry, and the fact that Birdy is being handling by the team behind Noein.

Feedback Please!

Should I use more images, or is just the title one fine for brief posts like this?

Does my personal Jesus wear an orange jumpsuit?

Epic post is epic. The now infamous itsubun and myself have been wanting to team/duo blog something for quite a while now. So we’ve started a series entitled “Waffle Shovels” (a spoof of her new blog title created by my zaniness) that offers differing perspectives in character analysis.

It sounds epic and technical, but it’s really just lots of bickering and bitching with a smattering of tasty intellectual morsels. The bickering and bitching is mine, tasty morsels come courtesy of itsubun’s…buns?

So dive in and enjoy our first attempt at this as we tackle a well known figure in the world of anime: Naruto.

<+ Start +>

Riex
Aight. By the way, I don’t feel like making this super elegant or whatever.
Fuck that, it doesn’t work for us.

itsubun
Yeah, me neither. I’m just going to be straight forward and say what I want.

Riex
Sweet, this will be a first in the history of women!

itsubun
YOU’RE GOING DOWN!!!

Riex
Lezz rumble!
*takes boxer’s stance*

itsubun
Heh, why don’t you start? Throw the first punch~
I’m not coming up with anything anything.

Riex
Because Naruto is gay. And there’s too much lameness to pick just one thing
But here we go…
WTF
Seriously, wtf…
is up with his jumpsuit?
No fucking ninja wears a bright orange jumpsuit.

itsubun
It’s supposed to clue us in to his connection with the Kyuubi. And he likes to stand out because no one really bothers paying any attention to the poor kid. Go figure right?
TOO BAD HE’S NOT SUPER EMO LIKE SASUKE WITH HIS BLACK AND BLUES.

Riex
Well, I’d say that when you’re trying to be a NINJA and you’re blowing your cover with a bright orange jumpsuit, you deserve to be treated like a retard. Unless, unless he’s trying to blend in with an orange tree…or a brightly light section of the grand canyon. Or something…an RSS feed icon!

itsubun
Hey, Sakura wears pink and red, Ino wears purple, and the Akatsuki members aren’t exactly too inconspicuous with their tramp coats and rain-of-blood-clouds either.

Riex
You make a good point. They’re all retarded.
*sigh*

itsubun
I AGREE.
Besides, they use their jutsu techniques to camouflage, not their actual outfits.
Anything else you wanna throw at Naruto!

Riex
Besides a rock? Or a pair of balls?

itsubun
Oh ho ho, he has more balls than anyone else in the series.

Riex
That’s not saying much (though he’s got more balls than Sai).

itsubun
Yeah, you got me there. Srsly, our main villains all look like trannies.

Riex
Except for that one medical dude, he looks pretty straight.

itsubun
Kabuto!? But in actuality, he’s Orochimaru’s bitch. And they’ve “FUSED”.

Riex
Ew, wtf? Leave the doujins out of this.

itsubun
TRUSTORY
I’m 4rizzle.
He’s hosting Orochimaru’s consciousness or some freaky deaky shit… or maybe Orochimaru has taken over his body, either way they are ONE.

Riex
Well, at least they don’t bitch and whine about unmanly things like “friendship” and cuddle-hugs like a certain individual. They keep that shit in the closet.

itsubun
That’s because Naruto is comfortable enough with himself to be able to do that. And the others appreciate his openness and affection because they’re all sexually repressed, emotionally stunted boppers. He helps them to reconcile whatever it is that’s lacking in themselves.

Riex
I’m gonna have to disagree and just say that, in the world of men, Naruto is just socially inept.

itsubun
Yeah, he is. But only in the sense that he doesn’t fit into their social order. He acts on his own instincts and emotions without seeing the need to sublimate himself. And while he is lacking in “proper” self-discipline by ninja standards, his lack of reservations actually becomes a strength rather than a weakness because he’s able to rally people around him and foster a sense of community. By the end of the Chunin exam, he gets really close to the other genins after facing off with them in the rounds.

Riex
So he’s the King Retard, capable of rallying all other emotionally/sexually repressed individuals around him in a ninja fighting orgy of love?

itsubun
XD YOU KNOW YOU WANT IN!

Riex
Oh, of course.
<.<

itsubun
What I like most about Naruto is his lack of reservations. He doesn’t hesitant to stand up for his own beliefs, even if he is a bit misguided at times. He has good intentions, but he doesn’t try to impose his standards onto others. He keeps his values close to him and fights for the things that mean the most to him.

Other people admire his spirit or “way of the ninja” [usually after he beats them into the ground with it] so they strive to adopt his idealism and attitude and incorporate them into their own perspectives and outlooks. Like Hinata, Neji, and Gaara.

Riex
Which I suppose is all well and good, but I’m part of that group of people that believe in efficiency. The group that says that when your opponent is down and you think he’s dead, shoot him in the head a couple of times just to make sure.

The group that says “why waste extra chakra on basic camouflage when you can just wear something besides an orange jumpsuit”?

itsubun
Heh, yeah, that’s also a point that I’m ambivalent about myself. I don’t like the fact that Naruto still has yet to directly kill an opponent. I understand that they’re trying to retain his image of innocence and purity. But I think they need to scrap that and let him grow into his potential as a multifaceted character who has to cope with his own guilt and darkness derived from the act of murdering another human being. That would be an interesting direction to take the character development.

Riex
Or my favorite one…get to where you can defeat an opponent without relying on some demon fox.

itsubun
Hey, hey, hey, I disagree. That’s a tricky point to argue because what about the characters who have their bloodline limits? They have a definite advantage over the average ninja. And I see Naruto’s fox demon as an inheritance from his father, the 4th, considering the context and circumstances. So I’d say, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”

Riex
That’s all well and good, but take their shit away too…who do you think would win? Look at Rock Lee. He ain’t got shit ‘cept that gate unlocking nonsense, and even without that he could whip Naruto’s ass.

itsubun
That’s because he’s trained in taijutsu, which technically still counts as an advantage. Whereas Naruto is good with ninjutsu because of his excess chakra. If you’re talking about completely stripping them of all their jutsus, then I’d say the odds are even on all sides.

Riex
I didn’t say take away Naruto’s ninjutsu, just his fox. It all comes down to the demon fox.

itsubun
Even without his fox, I’d still say that Naruto is kickass.

Riex
In general, yeah…comparatively speaking, not so much.

itsubun
It’s not solely because of the demon fox that Naruto has been able to make it thus far in his journey. It’s because Naruto IS a natural genius of his own kind. Heh, you know, everyone’s always raving about how Sasuke’s a genius. Genius boy, born into a genius family, everything he does is calculated out to be INGENIOUS. But look at Naruto and all of the things that he has managed to accomplish, even without the legacy of his heritage to validate his achievements.

Riex
Yeah, I don’t cheer for that bastard either. If I had to pick anyone it’d be Rock Lee and Shikimaru.

itsubun
Naruto is my #1. I’d walk the line for that guy. Because sometimes I get that feeling that the audience doesn’t actually appreciate how bad that kid has it. It’s probably because of his comical demeanor and his sunny attitude towards everything, but all things considered he is pretty fucked up. Not in a superficial emo way either. But he’s a ticking time bomb. He lives his life with the perpetual threat of being consumed by the fox demon hanging over his head at all times. His glossed over tragedy is what makes me love that kid.
He doesn’t spend his time dwelling on the shit that’s happened to him in the past, which is why he doesn’t resent the village for its harsh treatment of him during his childhood. He just moves forward, always saving one friend or another, always looking for the best in others.

Riex
That’s probably the most valid point you’ve made yet, but at the end of the day I still won’t be a fan of him. See, with Naruto it’s all a determination/power battle…”keep on truckin’” is a good phrase to describe how he works. Maybe that just reminds me too much of Dragonball Z, or maybe I just realize that it takes more than that to get places in life. So I’ll always be cheering for brain combined with brawn, power and intelligence. And if there’s some heart thrown in there at the end, then that’s alright.

Naruto fights to save, whereas I like to see people who fight to win…with salvation as an afterthought, something not given to those who have shown themselves undeserving.

itsubun
I wouldn’t say that Naruto is brainless. Because what you said about emphasis on determination/power battle implies that Naruto doesn’t fully acknowledge the odds against him. He does. And then he decides that he can’t afford to lose because the cost is too much and he cannot afford to lose a love one. So he opts to win and he goes for it. Fighting to save and fighting to win doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. See, the special thing about Naruto is that the has this surety in him, this seemingly groundless but irrepressible belief that he’s going to pull through and everything is going to turn out alright. And yeah, it’s naive and blind and stupid and whatever. But it keeps him going without slowing down to feel bad for himself. And it makes him productive as a ninja and a human being.

I think Naruto is incredibly inspirational. Not because he lectures down to other people and makes them feel bad about themselves and their own circumstances. That’s more along the lines of Orochimaru and Madara and their “manifest destiny” spiels. It’s because he keeps pushing forward, keeps getting hurt and getting back up again, keeps fighting against his sad fate… And you never hear Naruto complaining about his lack of family or bitching about other people’s mistreatment of him. He treasures the things that he does have and he tries to keep them close and protect them with his own strength and love. It’s because of his words and actions and the way he lives his life that other people are able to witness his personal struggles. He gives them hope and they strive to take in some of his warm and overwhelming goodness in order to surpass their own limitations and become better than they are.

I’d argue that he doesn’t acknowledge his odds in the same way that other people might. Because let’s be honest here, sometimes the odds are insurmountable, and if he were to try and rationalize all of the scary, horrible shit set up against him, he could lose hope and fall to despair. He has everything to lose if he fails. So he pushes past all of that and keeps fighting against the fears and insecurities and impossibilities.

Riex
And he always seems to pull through. Which, to me, is bullshit.

itsubun
LOL, he’s the titular character of the series.

Riex
Yep, and that’s probably what kills me about him. I mean…him and Rock Lee are quite similar
but Rock Lee gets his ass kicked sometimes and loses. Then he gets back up again…probably why I like him better. Even if he is fucking gay as hell.

itsubun
And it’s a series aimed at a demographic that glorifies hope and the human spirit. If Naruto loses, that’s gonna do damage to audience reception of the series. Naruto, as a character, has to bear the expectations of the series itself. And to be fair, that winning streak can be found in almost any other shounen adventure series.

Riex
Which is probably the source of all the beef we’ve got with him. But there’s a difference in Naruto though.
No one fucking dies ever, ‘cept for that old granny lady and no one cared about her anyway.

itsubun
Shikumaru’s jounin teacher died. Orochimaru is dead. Jiraiya is dead. The series started off with the death of the 4th.

Riex
You got me on the 4th, but I only watch the anime…you spoiling bastard!

itsubun
LOLOLOL TOO BAD!
And the lack of death is probably due to the tight character dynamic that the mangaka has labored to create. Think about it, if one of the secondary character, like Neji, died, then how is Kishimoto going to fill in that gap for the team formation? Because of the intricate network that Kishimoto has set up, if one of the main characters die it’s going to be hard to tie up the loose ends without damaging the fabric as a whole.

Riex
Go watch Berserk, then we’ll talk about death and why I think Naruto’s lack of it is BS.

itsubun
Well, Berserk’s whole set up has a much darker tone and depth than Naruto. Different themes and philosophies at work make for different treatment of death.

Riex
Yeah…now we’re getting off topic and I think we’ve both made our points.

itsubun
nods ndos

Riex
ndos!

itsubun
Constructive criticism is constructive!
Don’t mock me, you!

<+ END +>

To me, he’s just another super-powered kid trying to get by. Hero? Not today.

And there you have it. What do you think about Naruto? Is he your savior or hero, or just another chump who doesn’t know when enough is enough?

To me he’s a good kid, with a good heart…but he’s clueless. If somehow he manages to toughen up and face some growing experiences, maybe I can give him a bit of respect. But until then…he’s just another kid with super powers.

Featured in this post: Telepathy Girl Ran, Sekirei, and Slayers REVOLUTION.

Telepathy Girl Ran

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OP: One of the best I’ve heard in a while. Slowly but surely any affinity I have for uppity Jpop songs is dying. My ears must be getting old or something…or maybe reality is killing my tolerance for fun. In any case, the song is Aoi Kakera by Chara. I couldn’t dig up any other anime related stuff done by Chara (anyone got a link to their wiki?) and that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me because Aoi Kakera is thoroughly enjoyable. A pleasant tune that reminds me of Clumsy by Our Lady Peace (probably because of the monotone-ish vocals more than anything else). I get some [happier] Smashing Pumpkins vibes as well.

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ED: Meh. The song is Polaris no Namida by onso9line, and despite both an interesting song and band title, it remains unremarkable. I couldn’t find any other anime related stuff by onso9line either. The closest thing I got was some obscure reference to a song in Mega Man ZX Advent. I checked out a couple of their other songs and…meh.

Sekirei

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OP: So as a whole, the song isn’t super awesome or anything. Nor is it terrible. But, if we take in the fact that Sekirei is sung by the show’s vocal cast (ala the shitty Special A songs) it’s quite spectacular. Really, look at the majority of other OP/EDs sung by Seiyuus other than Aya Hirano and you’ll see what I mean. At first I wasn’t impressed, and I remember saying “WTF is up with that random little girl voice?”, but after I found out who was behind the vocals I’m giving the song my respect. But I still don’t really like it.

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ED: I’m a sucker for a rolling drumbeat. After the unimpressive OP I was expecting anything from the ED. I got what I expected I guess. I like the song better than the one for the OP, but the only real saving grace for Dear Sweet Heart lies not in Saori Hayami’s vocals, but in that rolllllllllling drumbeat and ripping bassline. Anyone else think the first 10 seconds sound a lot like the Lucky Star OP? Hayami also sings the ED for Touka Gettan and Wagaya no Oinarisama, the latter being the better of the two in my opinion.

Slayers REVOLUTION

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OP: Oh shit. The beginning to Plenty of Grit by Megumi Hayashibara (what an intense name!) is full of hawtness. Epic techno? Oh I’m so game. Unfortunately, by the end of the song it had gotten a little old due to the lack of good vocal dynamics. Still, one of the better OPs so far. By the way this is kind of an uppity Jpop song, but Megumi doesn’t have the voice of a 12 year old so she gets less hate.

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ED: I like the little guitar chord progression in the beginning. I was feeling the little piano melody and background vocal echoes as well. Not exactly the kind of song I’d throw in my car and jam out, but not a bad song either. Did I mention that Revolution is also sung by Megumi Hayashibara? Or that she sings the theme songs for every anime in existence? No really…

If you always wanted more boobs on your Pokemon, then Sekirei is the anime for you! Get ready for non-stop action full of *bounce* and *nose-bleed* as Minato Sahashi takes on the world in the quest to be the ultimate Pokemaster Ashikabi!

The Story

*yawn* Minato Sahashi fills in the role of typical loser whose life gets changed when a well-endowed girl falls into his lap. He’s failed college entrance exams twice (due to cracking under pressure), can’t hold a job, and [no way!] the women don’t seem to dig him. So I’m sure that when Musubi fell out of the sky and into his lap akwardness, nudity, and buckets of blood were quick to follow.

Loli is in shock.

Musubi is a Sekirei, an A.I. powered fighting machine designed to battle it out with 107 other Sekirei because “there can be only one!”. As it turns out, Minato is an Ashikabi, someone who can “wing” a Sekirei. Winging a Sekirei is basically bonding with it and making it capable of releasing all of it’s powers in battle. As time goes on, Minato finds other Sekirei and wings them as well, as they all strive to be the last Sekirei standing!

Now if that doesn’t get you excited wait until you hear about the real plot: …okay, that actually was all of it.

Watch the trailer! (or CM/PV/Whatever…don’t get technical.)

What’s hot and what’s not.

I hate fanservice shows. I hate wimpy ass male leads in harems that obviously have no balls and serve no significant purpose. I HATE NOSEBLEEDS!!

Get rid of the midget and you’ve got yourself a party.

And yet I loved Rosario + Vampire (wtf, right?).

There’s a lot about Sekirei that doesn’t impress me and it can all be summed up in one word: “typical”. Nothing about it makes it stand out amongst all the other shows that will be airing. It’s got boobs, + fighting + dumb male lead + harem + loli + boobs + nosebleeds + everythingelseeveryotherfanserviceyshowhas.

There’s just something about those eyes…

Left at that I obviously wouldn’t be watching this show, but the tricky bastards had to go and add my biggest weakness, fighting! Not only that, the show looks very well animated, and the small glimpses of “fights” that we see (mostly the parts involving moving and not just watching fancy energy sparkle) are enough to have me chomping at the bit in anticipation. That, and Musubi is pretty hawt.

Predictions

Sleeper hit of the season? No. Popular amongst fanservice fanboys? Yes.

I’m thinking bottom-left gets my vote.

If the fight scenes manage to last more than 5 seconds then I’ll probably get hooked. If they pull a Nabari, then this show can go fsck itself. I’m putting Sekirei under “not watching for the plot” and hoping for the best. Oh, and this show has “Fye_DX” written all over it.

Is your anime filled with blades and people who are immortal? Then it’s probably Blade of the Immortal! I’m writing this first to get it out of the way, and because I don’t want “OMG Blade of the Immortal!” in the comment section of every preview post this summer. Get it out of your system…NOW!

The Story

At a glance, Blade of the Immortal (BotI) appears to be running itself through the standard hack ‘n’ slash routine. Manji, a ronin (rogue samurai) used to be the badass on the block until the day he got one-upped by an old lady. She lays the smack down on him and he becomes “cursed” with immortality. His only weakness lies in a certain strong poison that I bet not many people know about. After getting tired of…you know, living…Manji vows to amend his wrongs by killing 1,000 evil men. Along the way he meets Asano Rin, a girl out to avenge her murdered parents.

I like the manga art better.

So, in the absence of a real plot we make up some bullcrap excuse for a guy to go around killing people. Ok.

Dig a little deeper than that though, and BotI starts to reveal a few intriguing details. Apparently, Manji is kept alive by “sacred bloodworms” (kessen-chu) that are practically “human” without being human. Wha…? My guess is that physically they are close to humans (DNA and such) while they posses no heart/soul/whatever you want to call it. The worms sacrifice themselves to repair wounds and reattach severed limbs, etc. Yeah, it’s pretty gross.

He’s full of worms!

As an added bonus, there’s a guy named Anotsu Kagehisa who’s running around the country stirring up trouble as the leader of the Itto-ryu. The Itto-ryu is a dojo-in-progress that bases its teachings off of using any technique that wins (be it dirty, underhanded, or just all out cheating). Sounds like my kind of place, ’cause when your balls are on the line and you’ve still got stuff to do, survival kicks in and honor goes out the window. Oh, this Anotsu guy is also the one who killed Asano’s parents.

Watch the trailer! (or CM/PV/Whatever…don’t get technical.)

What’s hot and what’s not.

So I’ll go ahead and say it: I don’t like the style of BotI. It looks weird, and I can’t stop thinking that Manji should have his arm around Pocahontas at some point in the video.

I’m convinced that he’s a Native American.

I also think that the basic premise behind BotI is dumb. Kill 1,000 people to lift the curse of immortality. It’s an excuse to show fight scene after fight scene of gratuitous violence. There will be blood, severed limbs, brain damage, probably some wangs chopped off, etc…and all for what? The sake of one guy being able to die.

All that aside, it’s going to have fight scene after fight scene of gratuitous violence. Which means I’m going to watch it. And probably enjoy it. Unless someone gets their wang chopped off.

The Question

With a concept like the one behind BotI, one would expect my foremost question to be focused on the value of life or watching those around you disappear. However, the question the haunts me every time I think about this anime has an entirely different focus.

The face of evil? Or it’s enemy?

How do you define evil? What makes an evil man? To dig up 1,000 evil souls, I feel like there would have to be times when your judgment would go astray. And aside from all that, at what point does an “evil” man become evil to the point of deserving death?

Notes: Paraphrased summary from the BotI wiki and random stuff I read around the web.

It’s early and there’s hardly any information out, but here’s a short trailer, some screens/artwork, and everything I know about Studio BONES’ upcoming production.

The Sparse Details:
The story follows a boy named Akiyuki who is heading to school with two friends when an explosion occurs. In the mysterious light from the explosion, Akiyuki transforms into a creature called Xamdou. Xamdou goes on a rampage which is only stopped when a red-haired foreign girl appears.

I’ve enjoyed just about every show I’ve watched by BONES, and quite a few of them have made my top ten (Full Metal Alchemist, Ouran Highschool Host Club), but while I’m excited about a new BONES production, I’m a bit apprehensive about this one. Primarily because I don’t like the mecha/Xamdou designs all that much.

Other than that, the character designs look to be done in the typical BONES style, and the animation is of the top-notch quality I’ve come to expect from them.

Notes: Information/Media was collected from ANN, AnimeSuki forums, and the official Xamdou website. We may be looking at a Fall 2008 release.

REQUESTED FEEDBACK: If you liked this sort of quick, informative preview post (with a few images and a pv/trailer/video of some kind) let me know and I’ll probably hit all the upcoming Summmer 2008 shows with something similar. (You could also rate this post as feedback! It’s there for a reason! Hehe)

It’s the first edition of the Old School Showdown, and you’re not going to want to miss it. The war of first episodes begins and I get all the impressions and fluff out of the way. Find out all about the OSS on the features page.

All three of these shows are ones that I’ve attempted to watch or been wanting to watch for ages now. For whatever reason, I haven’t gotten around to it until now. Listed below is a quick summary for each show, as well as my initial impressions…consider this the introduction before the showdown begins.

Noir

Series Summary:
The series follows the story of two young female assassins who embark together on a personal journey to seek answers about mysteries from their past. While at first they seem to be only vaguely related to each other, there are clues and hints given throughout the series that they are more than meet their eye. During the course of the series, they are lured into more and more traps by a secret organization named Les Soldats (”The Soldiers” in French).

Impressions:
Noir is by far the oldest of the three animes I’m watching, and it had already been out in the US by the time I figured out fansubs and developed a taste for anime. Thus, though it had always intrigued me with it’s prestigious reviews and gorgeous cover art, it got overlooked because I was poor and held a high disdain for English dubs.

I managed to get a hold of the series (in English dub, but by now I don’t care), and after the first episode I’m already looking forward to watching it. It’s got assassin chicks, a mysterious plot, and sick sound effects. I’d rant more, but there’s a lot to cover in this post and I want to save the juicy details for later on.

Samurai Champloo

Series Summary:
Samurai Champloo is about the journey of a girl named Fuu and her two bodyguards / traveling companions, Mugen and Jin, as they travel across Edo era Japan in search, at the girl’s behest, of a particular samurai who smells of sunflowers.

Impressions:
I must have watched the first episode of this like four times already, but some twist of fate continues to prevent me from getting any further than episode 3-4. Well no longer I say, no longer! I will finish this series, and the OSS will help me focus and get it done.

That said, how do I continue to put this on the back burner? It’s samurais + funk! That’s like…Riex heaven or something. Needless to say, I’m impressed by this show…it’s odd, full of style, great fight scenes, and characters I already list as “PIMP“. Let’s see where it takes me…

Romeo x Juliet

Series Summary:
Romeo×Juliet is loosely based on William Shakespeare’s classic play, Romeo and Juliet along with numerous references and characters from other Shakespearian plays. Though the premise of the adaption differs greatly from the original, several of the play’s themes are still present in the anime.

Impressions:
I love Shakespeare, but I’m not really sure why. Regardless, I got excited after watching a couple trailers for Romeo x Juliet back before it aired. I picked it up right off the bat and mysteriously ended up only watching the first episode. I checked out pictures and such on RandomC, but never delved into the plot or watched any more episodes. It’s time to change that.

As I stated before, I love the craziness that = Shakespeare, and even though the characters in the anime don’t go around conversing in “Shakespearian”, I can already feel an immense, epic undertone that seems present in all of his plays (that I’ve read). A sense that the plot is going to grab a hold of your heart and rip it to shreds…all while a full sized orchestra plays in the background. The animation is great, the art style completely draws me in, the brief fight scenes were adventurous, and I can’t wait for more. ♦

Notes: Summaries are pulled from the Anime News Network. As of right now, I’m not entirely sure which show I’m rooting for as they all seem pretty kickass at the moment. Let’s see if that lasts through the next 3-4 episodes! I think I’m getting better at the highlighting thing…

The Forecast: I’ve still got to get that review for Sword of the Stranger done. Part 2 of Disenchanted and the ED Champs post are also in the works.

Updates: Added Shin’s “Atarashii Prelude” and itsubun’s “itsubun” (lol) to the blogroll. Go check it out! I added the pictures back to the Riex Interviews Naruto! post…now with bonus hover captions.