Anime blog that focuses on Yuri and School Girl Slice of Life Anime and Editorials
As the Fall 2010 heads to its midpoint, its time to take a look of some Anime Music I decided to try out. Besides the MM! opening single I reviewed at Anime Instrumentality Blog, the other singles I tried out was pretty good. This is why I would like to share my brief thoughts about them. [1. Original Image]
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In the last episode, Ayase ran into Kirino when the crew heads home from the Summer Comiket. Unfortunately, Ayase feels a bit concerned about Kirino from a feeling that Kirino was hiding something from her. It ultimately opens the Pandora’s box of trouble that causes their friendship to break apart temporarily.
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It has been awhile since I watched Amagami SS. The reason I fell behind because I was busy with the fall anime. This is why I did not focus on writing about Nanasaki Ai’s arc in great detail, as I originally wanted to. Since I have some free time today, I took the time to finish it. After I finished the remaining two episodes in her arc, I was very disappointed for reasons I am going to explain. [1. Original Image]
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Since I have dropped Yosuga no Sora because it was too provocative for my tastes, I was able to pick up another show to fill the emptiness. Aorii from Major Arcana suggested that I should watch Otome Youkai Zakuro, which is a fantasy and alternative history kind of show. To be frank, I have read her editorial on it and I found the show rather interesting, so I decided to try it out myself…
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I rarely drop anime that I am currently watching since the flaws are usually insignificant to warrant a drop. Unfortunately, I have to drop it because I could not take the Yosuga no Sora seriously since it feels so trashy.
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After I watched the third episode, the show gave me some thoughts about the acceptance of eroge games in general. Even though Kyousuke’s father was right about the questionable content in eroge and that minors shouldn’t play it, I support Kyousuke’s argument since it’s unfair to shun eroge while accepting violent video games like Halo 3. I believe the double standard in western society is highly hypocritical since they accept violent games while shunning eroge. Regardless of content, both Eroge and Violent Games could become a bad influence on someone for the questionable content it has. I think this double standard exists as a result of the cultural differences between Eastern Asia (in this instance, Japan) and the West. [1. Image Source]
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Bullying and Abusive Relationships has been a hot topic because of the recent suicides that resulted from prolonged bullying. In the last two episodes, Yunno, a soft-spoken girl developed a fear for men as a result of an abusive relationship she had in the past. In the third episode, she ran into her former boyfriend, Yoshioka and things got a bit nasty.
The last two episodes gave me some thoughts about the recent bullying cases that resulted in the victim to commit suicide. Also, I felt that the experiences Yunno gone through with her abusive boyfriend could actually happen in real life.
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With the taste testing of Anime coming to a close, I want to share my overall thoughts about all the Fall 2010 Anime I have tried out. Compared to last year, I tried out a total of 5 series, which is up from three shows from last year. Most of the shows mainly consisted of comedy slice of life shows, which is not shocking at all considering it’s my preference for Anime after all. [1. Original Image Source]
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After I watched the second episode of Ore No Imouto Ga Konna Ni Kawaii Wake Ga Nai, it seems to be a very realistic representation of Otakus in real life. In a way, it relates to some of the aspects presented in the first real life female Otaku meeting. Even though I do not consider myself as an Otaku, there are plenty of issues and experiences I can relate to the show. [1. Image Source]
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Well, this is probably one of the strangest visual novel adaptations I ever saw so far. Yosuga no Sora is simply crazy on what they throw at the viewers in the first episode… We have this pretty white hair guy, a sister of the same age, an already made harem and of course the risque scenes[3. Because of the nature of the content, I couldn’t place that many snapshots since the blog is PG-13] of some girl doing you know what and some twin incest. Because of the rather mature content, It makes me feel so guilty when I watch this show that it could even be considered a guilty pleasure [1. A bit of an understatement], more so than Kampfer ever will be.
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Air is one of the most memorable shows I seen besides Kanon, Clannad or even 5 Centimeters Per Second since it was Kyoto Animation’s first Key Adaptation that was faithful to the Visual Novel. As a result of how well Air done in terms of animation and story, it gained a fandom and hatedom.
In spite of this, Air still remains a masterpiece for several reasons; it conveyed the summer theme rather well. Also, it had a historical backdrop and scenes with emotional impact the viewer receives. [1. Original Picture Source]
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The final episode was heartbreaking and heartwarming…
The last scene where Misuzu reaches her goal and hugs Haruko was so emotional that I almost started crying. At the same time, it was heartwarming since Misuzu could stay strong because of her mother’s (Haruko) love. When she passes away in Haruko’s arm, it was very heartbreaking for Haruko and the audience to bear.
Nevertheless, what people say about Air being a snobbish Anime is simply not true in my opinion. It shown a beautiful life that was cut short by something unfortinate. Tragic and sad events is what makes people stronger and make us value our lives as a beautiful thing. This is what makes Air so emotionally powerful compared to the other stories.
Goodbye Misuzu… I will miss you forever! ;-;
9.5/10, A, Masterpiece
Overall Review is coming shortly!
Life seems to cause all the drama in high school and college that causes hardship and pain. If you heard about the tragedy with Tyler Clementi, its hardships like this that shows the ugly side of life as a result of the two college students broadcasting of the victim‘s a sexual encounter. My mentioning of this is things that people, not just Anime Fans go through with.[3. Orig Picture Source.]
Furthermore, I am pretty sure that you have gone through some tragic events that affected your life such as a relationship that did not work out, loss of a family member or people bullying you because you are a minority. After reading Aorii’s first anniversary post on her blog that relates her difficulties to ones that the characters in an Anime goes through, it give me some thought on how Anime could relate to the hardships I have gone through in my life.
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Since the girls in K-ON!! finally graduated from their high school, I decided it would be fun to review the most popular girls’ character sing, Hirasawa Yui sung by Toyosaki Aki.
This review was a bit different experience compared to my previous reviews. Reviewing music singles are not easy as it looks since you have to convey what you heard into words. Even though I have a musical background, it took me some time to get it right. So, if you are interested, you can read the review by following the link below.
Read it at Anime Instrumentality > (Discussion about this single is done in this post only)
For those who are wondering, I will be contributing more reviews in the future (as in the coming months). These may include:
I will not review any more Girls Dead Monster singles/albums since they really suck and I don’t want my ears bleed more.
Note: Fanart used in this post is made by ぽにし。
I have to admit, it was a pretty emotional episode as the four girls are finally graduate and leaves their school behind for college. In addition, it was quite funny for Yui to hide the gift from Sawako to give for appreciation. This pretty much makes her worry about Yui a lot during the graduation ceremony. In the end, it seems that she loves the gift she receives from her students a lot.
As for Azusa, she has not gotten over the graduation anxiety and she broke down towards the end. Yui gives her some mementos (the four girls freshman picture and a five petal flower) to her. Afterwards, the four girls played a “thank you” song to Azusa with the four girls singing. It was one of the best songs in addition to U&I. It was emotional and a happy song that pretty much marks the happy continuation of the friendship even though Azusa still has a year left in high school. After they played the song, they do an encore and it sends happily ever after.
I have to admit; K-ON is probably the most emotionally happy comedy slice of life ever. Forget the haters, I enjoyed and liked it since it brought nostalgia when I was having fun with my friends in high school. It even surpasses Lucky Star over its random comedy. K-ON in my opinion shows the good and simplest things in life, friendship and living life to the fullest. It’s also fully evident in another familiar slice of life show. I’ll keep that a secret. :p
Next Episode: Time for Azusa to get some new recruits… Final Review will be written after I watched the second Extra Episode.
10/10
9.45/10, A, Masterpiece.
Well, this was perhaps the most enjoyable arc out of the series that tried to differentiate itself from the earlier arcs. It was filled with so much cuteness, moe and perverseness that it could not compare.
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As we all know, the fandom is not all about watching anime, but the related activities that goes along with it. After reading the post, I have commented on what I actually do in the fandom. However, telling every exact detail on what I do in the fandom will just leave it in a style that it would be too long to read. That is why I decided to explore even further and in detail on what I actually do besides watching Anime and it could draw some similarities to the activities you participate in the fandom.
I would also like to note that if you just watch and like Anime and not participate in anything else, you are still a fan of Anime. This was something that I haven’t cleared up previously.
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Even though the four girls seems to be a bit nervous about leaving the school behind and entering society by going to the same college, there is a reason to feel like that. The fun memories they had together in the Light Music Club bonded the friendship together. That friendship allowed the girls to decide on going to the same college to learn, play, and socialize together in their eternal and happy friendship.
After I looked at this episode, it reminded me of my senior year. I had fun with my friends when I went on a field trip with the bands or the time I socialized in the lunchroom. When graduation came, I know that the real world is going to be different and my friends would be going separate paths. Three years later, I am still surviving college rather well with a good outlook in my life.
For the girls, I think they will have an even brighter feature considering that they are together. It makes me wonder if they going to continue having a band right into college. They most likely will since they enjoy making music along with drinking tea and eating cake. As for Azusa, there is no doubt that she is going to miss them. Nevertheless, I think she will survive considering she still has Ui and Jun as her friends. Later on, she can apply to the same college once she graduates and reuite with her other friends.
The tape recording of all their music is very significant at the end of the journey as a memento. This allows them to treasure the fun memories through their songs and give inspiration to the newcomers who want to carry on their legacy.
In the end, these kinds of moments is what caused whole perception of K-ON being just a moe comedy change into something of a life lesson. Strong and good friendships is what makes life a beautiful thing and the girls are living proof of it. They are ambitious with their studies while having a fun time. In my opinion, this is what friendship is all about and there is no doubt that the last episode will leave us with an emotional and joyous impact once they graduate and start their new chapter in their life.
If you wondering about the title… That is how fast a cherry blossom petal falls.
Several people in the blogosphere, namely Flak and Kimaguresan have suggested me to watch this slice of life/romance/drama movie called 5 Centimeters Per Second. Considering that I have not watched a movie from Makoto Shinkai, which is a well-known director who directed movies that are bittersweet and appealing to the eye, I had high expectations. After watching the whole movie, I was pretty impressed even though the story did not a happy ending.
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It has been nearly two months since Angel Beats have ended and after listening to the whole Angel Beats OST, I was impressed by how surprisingly well ANANT-GARDE EYES and Jun Maeda songs sounded. I mentioned this since there was a discussion about the composition of the soundtrack a while back on Twitter between me, zzeroparticle and Aorii that happened last week over how long it took to compose the music for Angel Beats, which was rumored to be 3 days. Because of the discussion, I brought up the fictional school band, Girls Dead Monster since it could explain why the songs sounded so lackluster because of the composition and the vocals. The responses I got is that the songs would sound better in the Anime opposed to just listening it as a lone track and that Jun Maeda isn’t exactly cut out to make pop songs that involves guitars.
After watching the last performance of HO-KAGO TEA TIME at the School Festival in Episode 20, it have gave me some thoughts about Angel Beats’s Girls Dead Monster and if they really can compare to K-ON’s HO-KAGO TEA TIME in regards to vocals, composition and its message, which will be discussed in this opinion piece.
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Continuing with the analyzing of the arcs I played in Kanon, the next girl’s arc I am going to focus on is Mai Kawasumi. She is viewed by everyone as an anti-social, quiet girl who seems to have this urge to go to the school at night with a long, sharp sword. There could be a reason why she is like this because of the events that happened in her childhood she couldn’t get over.
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Back in 2009, I wrote an informal post about Shiori’s Arc after I had finished it. I was disappointed that I haven’t gone deep enough in analyzing and adding my thoughts about her arc, so I decided to go through and redo the review as I attended. No, I’m not going to cover what was different in the Anime adaptation, but analyze the story and give my own thoughts along with it.
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Anime Blogging may have a fun aspect given that you are sharing your thoughts to the world, but in reality it takes a lot of time and dedication. The blogosphere is so vast that you might find thousands of Anime Blogs out there to read. However, it’s the blogs that stands out the most get the most attention.
You may ask, why are you writing an editorial about reading other people’s Anime blogs in the blogosphere? You asked a good question. I’m writing about it because I read a blog post on it. Additionally, I had an idea that reading other people’s blogs gives a blogger an idea on how to improve their own blogs. After all, everyone wants to be successful Anime bloggers and get as many readers out there as possible.
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Friendship is one of the most desirable aspects of life since it allows us to interact with people that share the same interests and have a fun time. Without friendship, people would not be enjoying life and be setting in a corner with a feeling of boredom. In addition, having many friends can increase the chances of getting a job depending on how good your friends are.
K-ON is probably one of those shows that most people wouldn’t know about the friendship theme because of its reputation of being a girls doing cute things kind of show. If you look deeper in the activities and the songs they do, you realize that they are enjoying themselves because of their strong relationship between them. That feeling of friendship is what brought some of the nostalgia explained more in the last editorial when I looked back in my high school years.
Fanart used in this post is made by n@tu
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