Tokyo meets Paris

After watching NODAME CANTABILE: Paris for several time. I am really captivated by the ending theme. This is actually Miyamoto Emiri's song which is sang by a French singer, Solita. Miyamoto is a young Japanese violinist and she is truly brilliant. Just listen to this track! This is truly 'east meets west'. The song is entitled TOKYO ET PARIS or Tokyo and Paris.

Check the video and enjoy the song!



Miyamoto's violin is so amazing and it complements Solita's 'delicate' vocal...

Do you like the track? Here's the L.I.N.K of you are interested in downloading the song.

Lonely in Gorgeous (Vid & mp3)

Since I love the song so much, here are the opening clip and the mp3. Enjoy!

[Note]
The singer of this song, Kawase Tomoko, is also known as Tommy February6...

KISS me... I'm in PARADISE

PARADISE KISS or abbreviated as Parakiss by fans, is first produced as a 5 volumes manga series by a popular mangaka Ai Yazawa (the very same mangaka who creates Nana). Then it is produced into 12 episodes anime by Aniplex. The same production that produces Bleach, Blood+, Kamichu and many more.

Personally, I find that this anime is very 'international' as the idea is very fresh and universal. It deals with world of fashion, glamor, dazzle and runways. IMHO, this anime is daring as it portrays idea of bisexuality and cross-dressing blatantly. Even though, I don't really fancy the notion, I applaud this gallantry!

I also adore the portrayal of the characters like the tall and lanky Hayasaka Yukari a.k.a Caroline; the 'ambiguous' Koizumi "George" Jouji; the pink-haired Sakurada Miwako; the rocker Nagase Arashi and not forgetting the cross-dresser Isabella Yamamoto a.k.a Yamamoto Daisuke.

Apart from the colorful characters, I also adore the opening theme: Lonely in Gorgeous by Kawase Tomoko. The ending is also superb as it is sang by Franz Ferdinand entitled Do you want to.

In the final analysis, I believe that this anime is worth watching. The animation is so realistic and the artwork is artistically done. However, this anime is not recommended to be watched for the whole family. Some values shown are a bit too 'contemporary' for some viewers.

Only the strongest will survive...

When I watched the first 2 episodes of JYU OH SEI a.k.a The Planet of the Beast King, I thought that this anime would be kind of intriguing. The twins Thor and Rai seemed to be such interesting characters. And the murder of their parents is really good for the development of the plot.

Personality wise, I really enjoyed the fact that Thor and Rai were different from each other despites that they were twins. And I thought the twins would end up as the main protagonists of this anime. But, my expectation was crumbled into smithereens when I learned that Rai was dead in the earlier episode and his character was totally obliterated from the series!

Then, entered characters like Tiz, Third, Zagi and many more. By this time my interest of this anime has gone down...

The whole plot is kind of 'squeezed in' and the development is somewhat minimal since there are only 11 episodes altogether. And before you even know it, you are at the final episode. However, that's actually intentional. This anime is action-oriented. The plot specializes in events or scenes that are quick and 'painless'. You will highly unlikely encounter any scenes that are dragged and stretched.

Theme-wise, this anime exhibits the survival of the strongest and in doing so, humanity is sacrificed. This anime gravely reminds me of a great classic novel by William Golding -Lord of the Flies, which, sadly enough, I despise so much!

In a nutshell, if you are an action-anime junkie, this anime fits the bill perfectly. As for me (I much prefer a romantic and comedy anime) I think I'll take a rain check... NEXT!

Falling in love, Paris style...

Wow! how long has it been? I guess it's kind of late to wish everybody a happy new year, but what the heck.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

To usher in the new year, the very first entry is gonna be about our beloved stalker and her object of obsession - NODAME CANTABILE : Paris Arc.

What's new? The whole issue is a bit similar but the setting is different. This time around the main setting is in Paris. In this arc you can see the beautiful and renown landmarks and spots like L'Arc De Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower and the list goes on... Here, Chiaki's true love for arts and music is heightened.

But then again, to my disappointment, this arc's plot is rather somber and predictable. Noda Megumi a.k.a. Nodame is still fumbling around in finding her own sound and style. Her affection for Chiaki Shinichi is somewhat (it's really complicated...) unrequited. However, gradually, Chiaki-senpai succumbs to Nodame's child-like charm. Oh, yes... they kissed! On the whole I still think the first arc is much better and funnier...

Well, frankly speaking I wouldn't categorize this series as a must-watch. But, if you have watched the first arc, give it a go! Here is the LINK for you to download the whole arc. Have a blast!

Better than GOOD!

DARKER THAN BLACK (DTB hereafter) is one helluva anime. It is certainly one of its kind. What I like most about this anime is the details and the terminology used. This anime is packed with action - from episode 1 till 26. Moreover, if you fancy animes of neo-noir and supernatural genre, this is definitely the one!

It began ten years ago before the plot, an area of anomaly known as Hell's Gate appeared mysteriously in Japan - Tokyo, to be exact. This phenomenon has altered the sky and triggered disorder on earth. The stars diminished and they were replaced by the false ones. During this time, people with special abilities emerged (mutant-ish). Nevertheless, these people were concealed from the knowledge of the public. They were known as The Contractors and apparently these so-called Contractors were able to assassinate in coldblooded manner, without any tinge of sympathy and remorse. Hence, several nations around the globe use these Contractors as spies and assassins.

On the whole, this anime deals with internal as well as external conflicts of the protagonist Hei a.k.a Li Shen Shung. Obviously he is actually an elite Contractor coded BK201. He has the ability to manipulate electricity and he is also known as The Black Reaper. He is kinda 'special' since he has human-like emotions and he kills based on acceptable cause and logic. Other than that, he also has a group of comrades : Mau, Yin and Huang. These friends of his are very co-operative and each of them has his/her own knack in different areas. Well, except Huang, because he is just a human being. Huang acts as moderator between The Syndicate and Hei. Yin, on the other hand, is not really a contractor. She is Hei's informer known as the doll. Mau is a Contractor who has the ability to transfer his soul into animals' bodies and apparently he has lost his human body during the process.

DTB is produced by BONES Studio. The same production that produces famous and highly-acclaimed animes like Full Metal Alchemist, Jyu Oh Sei, Eureka 7, Ouran School Host Club and many more.

You gotta watch this series and I vouch that you will constantly at the edge of your seat. Try this LINK!

'O the pain...

When I bought dvd VIOLINIST OF HAMELIN, I was hoping this anime is going to a great anime since it is dubbed as 'classic'. FYI, I don't really read reviews of any animes prior to watching them, so I was unprepared for the ultimate surprise! Oh, it's a SURPRISE, all right!

Oh, my GAWD! This is the lousiest and the lamest anime ever. I never expected that it's gonna be as suck as this. Fine, maybe the plot is just o.k but we DO need to consider other more important elements like the ANIMATION and the SEIYUU... which apparently the creator failed to take into consideration!

This anime is filled with endless panning stills, and stills. Even for some of the supposed action-packed scenes. They are way too frequent as to hamper the animation altogether. The action scenes are mellowed and 'mangled' beyond repair. It's more like reading a manga on dvd than watcing an anime. To make things even worse, the seiyuus are not up to par. IMHO, they are so lifeless hence they fail to enliven the characters...

To rub it in, the portrayal of the characters are so lame (with big capitol L) and somewhat 'ludicrous' too. The main protagonist Harmel uses a gigantic violin to fight the enemy (seriously, I thought it was a cello!) and Raiel uses a piano as his weapon (what is up with that?). He carries the humongous piano along the journey... Now, is that ridiculous? or is that RIDICULOUS?! In addition, the names of other characters are kind of let down too... -Flute, Oboe, Drum, Demon King Chestra (In Japanese king is pronounced 'Ou' so, Ou CHESTRA), Sizer...(maybe it's taken from synthesizer?) YUCK!

The only plus point of this anime that I can think of is the use of classical numbers like Tchaikovsky' Nutcracker Suite and Mozart's Requiem.

All in all, this anime is totally a let down... sigh... Anyway, if you want a solid proof, try downloading the series HERE and mark my word!




[Note]
The anime was suffering from the lack of fund hence the extensive use of stills and lengthy loops.