Ao No Exorcist: My first impression

Finally I got the chance to watch the very first epi of AO NO EXORCIST (trans: The Blue Exorcist) and I adore it. This anime is worth watching and I am going to follow this series till the end.

In 1st episode: Demons Dwell in the Hearts of Human, we are introduced to the main protagonist Rin Okumura. He has a twin, Yukio who is the exact opposite of him. Yukio is bookish, mild-mannered and intelligent while Rin is rowdy, rough delinquent and a tad cantankerous. Both of them live in a old church together with their guardian named Shiro Fujimoto.

It seems that, Rin is a loser and always runs into trouble whenever he goes. Nevertheless, unbeknown to him, he possesses a special power as a result of his 'special' lineage....

I really love the portrayal of the protagonist and his characteristic. The graphic and animation are excellent and the best of all, I really adore the ED theme. The title is Take Off by a South Korean boy band 2PM.




I can't wait for the ext episode... Finally a good anime series that is worth watching!

I THINK might like it...

Lately, I found that anime series are not like they used to be. Or is it me who has changed? I notice that the themes and the subject matters of most anime series last season are not my cuppa tea. Age factor, I reckon. Or I would like to rephrase it as: I am getting older. I am HUNGRY for good series like Inuyasha, or Jigoku Shoujo or Paradise Kiss or my favorite Honey and Clover. Anyway while browsing for a new anime series to watch I stumbled upon HANASAKU IROHA... I tried watching the first episode and I think I MIGHT like it....

Hanasaku Iroha centers around Ohana Matsumae, a 16-year-old teenager living in Tokyo, who is left in the care of her estranged grandmother, following her mother's elopement with her boyfriend. Ohana arrives at her grandmother's country estate to realize she is the owner of a Taishō period hot spring inn called, Kissuisō. She begins working at Kissuisō, at her grandmother's request, but finds herself at ends with many employees and customers at the inn. Initially feeling discouraged, she decides to use her circumstances as an opportunity to change herself for the better and to make amends with her deteriorating relationship with the Kissuisō staff for a more prominent future.

(Taken from: Wikipedia)

[Note]

I am TOO lazy to even rite a review for the first epi...

Level E: A keeper!

When I first watched the very first epi of Level E, I was instantaneously hooked! This is definitely important as I am not a big fan of sci-fi anime. This series is funny and somewhat quirky. The best thing about this series is the portrayal of Prince Baka Ki El Dogra a.k.a Baka Ouji, the alien prince. His name absolutely justifies everything about him: STUPID!

Another reason why I think this series is a keeper is because of the portrayal of the roommate, Yukitaka Tsutsui. He is supposed to lead a peaceful life as a student who majors in sports. However, his dream is shattered into smithereens when he meets with the stupid prince. The combi of two equals explosive humour!

Yukitaka: Ok, listen here Blondie... I AM the lead in this series, got it!

Baka : Hell, no!

I am not familiar with the manga, though, since each week we are introduced to a different mini-sode. At the moment, I am at epi 5 and it is the funniest epi ever.

It's a must-watch anime series of this season! Mark my word!

Kimi Ni Todoke Season 2: Love triangle alert!

There something mysterious about Kimi Ni Todoke serialization... In my humble and honest opinion, there is nothing great about this series. The plot is way too slow for my taste and the characterization is just mediocre. But I keep coming back for more!

The 2nd season took off where it used to be... No development whatsoever! Sigh.... I was hoping that Kazehaya would own up to his feeling since the last episode of Kimi Ni Todoke season 1 had somehow ignited a so-called spark between the two. But then again, Kuronuma Sawako a.k.a Sadako and Kazehaya Shouta are not moving forward. To my dismay, they are still fumbling in the dark despites the ample hints and giveaways. For goodness sake, Kazehaya! Be a man and confess... You can't lose what you never had!

Kazehaya, meet Kento. I believe, he is going to be your rival...

And then comes Kento Miura and hence the plot thickens! Yeay! Finally, a development! Warning: love triangle ahead! Anyway, I would love to congratulate Kento for his bravado in his effort to get into Sawako's good book. Atta boy!

Whoaaa..... too close!

Otome Yokai Zakuro ep. 8: A synopsis and review

This week's epi of Otome Yokai Zakuro is really interesting...

Agemaki and Susukihotaru were kidnapped on their way to Orikata's shop. Apparently they were kidnapped by some twins hooded villains. The motive is to make them as bait to lure Zakuro into their traps... Well it worked!

You b#%#%^s! You've pissed me off and now I am pissed!

When they (Riken and Zakuro)managed to track down Agemaki and Susukihotaru, both of them were ambushed by the twins who finally revealed themselves as another half-demons (han-yo). It seemed that they had something unsettled against Zakuro. They fought and Zakuro managed to overwhelmed them... But in the nick of time the twin han-yo were saved Lady Rangui a.k.a the Black widow Demon (remember her?).

Say hello to the twins for me... LOL

After the three of them vanished into thin air Riken and Zakuro went for the rescue and Agemaki and Susukihotaru were saved!

What I want to highlight here is the development of Zakuro and Agemaki relationship. Zakuro is becoming more fragile in each epi. She begins to display her true emotions whenever she's with Agemaki.

A typical Japanese display of affection... pfffffft!

Same thing happens for Agemaki. I bet he started to appreciate Zakuro more than just merely a partner.

But what is with the twin han-yo, Daidai and Byakuroku? What are their issues? And what's with the vengeance they seem to have against Zakuro? Most importantly who is Lady Rangui who claims to know Zakuro's mother?

Face value...

Kuragehime ep. 5 opens my eyes to the reality.... Men are downright DENSE! The thought that Shu had 'overlooked' Tsukimi, simply supports my premise. Men are too shallow to realize that women are 'magical' little beings. Our outward appearances can change with even just a teeny dab of some make-up on our faces... What's important is the inside which Shu fails to acknowledge.

In this episode, we are exposed to the woman who was at the altar marrying Kuranosuke in the OP... Remember? Allow me to refresh your memory.

Remember her in the OP?

In this epi, it is apparent that the main plot of this series is the up-coming destruction of the Amamizu-kan. And with the appearance of Shoko Inari, it is possible that the secondary conflict in this series is her. Shoko Inari is the EXACT opposite of our female protagonist. She is an attractive manipulative career woman who uses her beauty and sex appeal to get what she wants from men. Apparently, she is up to no good when she is marrying Kuranosuke and that's why Shu was opposing it... Other than learning the shallowness of men's brains, I also learned that villain can be pretty as well... I have a strong feeling that this lady is going to be one of the antagonists in this series.

The moral of the story is, beauty is NOT just a skin deep. It helps you to achieve your goal (and what is wrong with that?) and it helps people to hear and see you. I applaud Kuranosuke as he accepts that the normal Tsukimi, but he believes if she wants to improve herself, or fight for a cause, as was shown in this episode.

Mayaya before...

And this is Mayaya after!

Can you believe this is MAYAYA???LOL Good job Kura!!!

Shiki ep. 15: The BLOOD thickens! (geddit?)

Shocked!

After watching Shiki ep. 15, it made me wonder.... what will be the end of the people of Sotoba? And what's more important, what will happen to Sotoba itself, if ALL the citizen become the Okiagaris?

All of them are vampires!!! Gasp!

Can you see Natsuno in this pic?

What really happened to Natsuno (the supposed protagonist)? Is he cremated? However, in this episode he had made a comeback twice. I reckon he had become one of the vampires but something is amiss here... So, he is a vampire with a mind of his own, meaning, he is not affected by Tatsumi and the Shikis...

Blood everywhere! But I thought vampires don't bleed....

The plot is interesting but it's way too slow....

Ninth Coffin: Setsuko's last night...

In the midst of grading exam papers, I should be thankful I managed to download and watch SHIKI episode 9. Well, let's get on to our business...

I am a tad disappointed with this epi, though. I was hoping to see what really happens to the Yuukis and Natsuno. But anyway,this week's epi did not let me down at all.

In this epi, we're finally introduced to the family of Dr. Okazaki: his wife and mother. I always thought he is single since he spent much of his time in the clinic surrounded by young and pretty nurse... Maybe not all are young and pretty.LOL

What's with her hair?!

In the previous epi, Toshio was trying his best to save the dying Setsuko by keeping her in the clinic. Based on his previous experience with the dead patients he believed the okiagari could not drink up the victims' blood in one shot hence keeping her in the clinic is the best action. After 3 (or was it 2) days, her condition was improving thus proved that the Okiagari need 4 day to drain their victims' blood. This was actually agreed by Muroi Seishin.

However, that night -while staying vigil- Muroi and Toshio were startled by a strange screeching sound coming from the window. Realizing that the room was actually on the second floor and and there was no foothold at the window, both of them decided to unshed the blind. To their surprise it was Nao (who had died few weeks ago) floating outside the room! Fortunately, she couldn't enter and claim Setsuko since she was not invited (remember the previous epi?). Meanwhile, Setsuko was thrashing in her sleep as if she was having a nightmare...

Sheeeesh! This is so freakin' crazy! I would faint if I were there...

Nonetheless, on the 4th night, the clinic was suddenly ambushed by the okiagaris and Setsuko was kidnapped by the guy with the weird hairdo... (which I can't seem to remember his name).

Inuyasha???? I dunno you are in this series?

Since the rest of the okiagari could not enter the clinic, this guy snuck into the clinic and attacked Toshio from behind. As Toshio was overwhelmed by the Inuyasha look-alike, Setsuko was kidnapped and brought outside among the okiagari. She was killed that night by Nao (her daughter) and then her blood was voraciously drained by the rest of the okiagari. According to Toshio, it seemed that the ambushed was planned so that Setsuko's blood could be drained in one shot. Question: Since Setsuko was killed by the okiagari will she become one of them?

After all the hard work done by Toshio... Everything seemed futile...

What I really like about this epi is Toshio's deduction on how the okiagari killed their victims was proven. Even though he failed to save Setsuko, at least he had found the truth behind the mysterious deaths in Sotoba. And from here he will try his best to find their weaknesses. I can't wait for the next epi. What will happen to Natsuno and his family? This is so tormenting!

Is this all you got?!

KWMS epi 22 had left me unsatisfied... For heaven sake, there will be another 4 epis more to go and by the looks of it, this series will NOT resolve well. I hope there will be the second season for this series. Miyabigaoka's boys especially Igarashi Tora NEED to have MORE air time!

In this epi, the appearance of Shintani Hinata doesn't really pack a punch to the whole plot. I was hoping more from him as he was supposed to be Usui's rival. However, from what I watched in this week's epi, Usui should no worry that much... Even though it did spark Usui's jealousy the impact was not what I expected.

In this epi as well, it is revealed that Shintani was the total opposite of Usui. He is candid, childlike and also frank. When both Ayuzawa and Shintani were inadvertently trapped in a storeroom, he even revealed his feeling for Ayuzawa but I am not very sure whether it was reciprocated. He wanted Ayuzawa to see him as a man instead of a boy. However, before Ayuzawa even managed to say anything, she was 'swept' away by the jealous Usui.

The part where I adore the most in this epi is when Usui asked Ayuzawa whether Shintani is special to her. This is simply priceless!!!!

Since this was the final 5 episodes before the finale, I am hoping something good and memorable as a resolution...

WARNING: Poltergeist ahead!

OCCULT ACADEMY episode 9 (AKARI of snow) is quite interesting. This epi is about a restless spirit and the Maya and the rest of the gang were trying to help out.

It started after the class was having a lesson on spirit summoning. At first, Kawashima sensei was trying to summon the late principle Kumashiro but somehow something went awry. Instead the principle, a little girl appeared. Her named was Okamoto Akari. What so mysterious about this spirit is, always left a trail of snow whenever she apeared. Hmmm... a glimpse into her previous life, I reckon.

After the class, while Maya, Kozue and Ami were having lunch Smile came with Akari. For some mysterious reason JK couldn't see her but he could sense her presence using his dowsing sticks. It seemed that the girl was looking for her home.

Fast forward to Akari's home. Suddenly, mysteriously, the gentle and docile spirit had turned into a hostile poltergeist. And it almost killed Kozue!

After some investigation -talking to the land-lady, it seemed that Akari-chan had died of freezing because of her dad - it looks like she was waiting for her dad to come home from somewhere. That explains the trail of snow! The story isn't resolved yet as it is going to be continued next week.

BTW, do I sense some jealousy here? It seemed that Maya was not really fancy with Bunmei's adoration towards Mikage....

Pffffft!

My two cent, I believe this epi is much more interesting than the previous. Maybe because I always have my eyes on poltergeists and apparitions as compared to UFOs and Chupacabras. Another interesting point about this epi is the 'development' of Maya's feeling towards Bunmei. Somehow, I can sense that she is going to be another tsundere any time sooner.. Will Bunmei realize the feeling she has for him? Or he will be so intoxicated for Mikage that he will be too blind to realize. We'll just have to wait in the next epi.

Quite disappointed, though...this week there was no Smile's oversize wrench... I mean it!

Ready Go!

After watching OOKAMI-SAN TO SHICHININ NO NAKAMATACHI week after week, I think I have fallen in love with the opening theme. It is sang by the one and only Anime songstress extraordinaire, MAY'N. The song is entitled READY GO! and the music is quite catchy. What I really love about this song is May'n's vocal and her energy. Below is the vid! Check it out and enjoy the song!

The freakiest episode ever!

Shiki episode 8 really freaks me out! Seriously! This is the creepiest and freakiest anime to date!

In the previous epi, Akira and Kaori felt something was amiss with the those who were dead. Natsuno believed them and he suggested to dig out Megumi's grave in order to ensure his assumption. After discovering that Megumi's grave is empty, Natsuno believed that Megumi had become The Risen a.k.a Okiagari. This was agreed by Kaori and Akira. Suddenly, Kaori was dragged into darkness by a pair of cold hand. She was almost bitten but thanks to Natsuno, she was saved just in the nick of time.

This has certainly given me a nightmare!

As cold as ice!

Natsuno managed to whack the 'person' with his shovel and he realized that the 'person' wasn't breathing. At first he thought he had killed him but he ruled that out after he realized that the 'person's' body was so cold as if he had died long time even before he had hit him with the shovel. Hence, Natsuno realized that the 'person' was actually one the Okiagaris.

The creepiest part was towards the end of the epi. It seemed that Natsuno's family was visited by a mysterious creepy little girl who was actually using a traditional Japanese puppet Bunraku. Who was she actually? Why was she so eager to see Natsuno? I really can't wait for next week's epi.

WTF!!!!

One of the essential keys of survival against The Risen is NEVER to invite them into your home. However, since the Yuukis were harassed by the girl's tantrum, they finally let her in. Something was totally off with this girl. The question is, will Natsuno be able to save his family members in time? And when she mentioned her 'brother' will be coming soon, who was this 'brother' of hers? My sense is telling me that, these okiagaris were out for Natsuno and his whole family because he managed to dig out the truth behind the mysterious deaths in Sotoba... It's payback time!

BTW, even if you refused to let these okiagaris in, they can always hypnotize you in letting them in. Remember what happen to Masao in the previous epi?

K-ON!! 20 & 21: The end is near...

K-ON!! episodes 20 and 21 have marked the beginning of the end of the series.
In epi 20, HTT did their final performance before the senpais – Yui, Ricchan, Mio and Mugi- parted and left Azunyan. What will become of HTT after the departure of the senpais? I really wish Azunyan could find replacements before the end of the series. In this epi also HTT had performed first time on stage their new song entitled U & I. As we all know, the song was actually dedicated to Ui and it was written by her one-chan Yui. Sawa-chan took care of their t-shirts and unbeknown to the girls, everybody in the hall was wearing the same t-shirt as well. Sawa-chan was definitely a good manager! Omedeto, Sawa-chan sensei!

The groupies!

The best part in this epi is when all the girls were chilling in the clubroom and they all cried realizing that this concert was actually their last. To me, this was actually a very heart-wrenching moment since this is the last concert that they will have together with Azunyan...

Chillin'

Cryin'

In epi 21, Yui was so obsessed of having new hairstyle for the yearbook photo. She kept on complaining to have same hairstyle for all her yearbook since elementary. The only thing that differed is the length of her bangs. Because of that, she accidentally snipped her bangs way too short thus made her look somewhat weird. At the beginning, she was upset with it but since the rest of the gang supported her, she finally owned her new hairstyle!

Before...

After...

In this epi also, Yui and Ricchan finally made up their minds on which college they would go. They chose the same college Mugi was planning to enrol. Upon hearing to this, Mio finally decided to follow suit. Her decision was actually approved by Sawa-chan and this means that the four of them would be together in college as well. Yeay!

Itsumo issho!