thoughts: D.Gray-man (anime) -- unexpected ending

Episode 103: It Echoes in the Long Morning

I was utterly panicked when after episode 102 I watched the preview for episode 103 and it was stated as the last episode. I thought to myself, "This can't be. The manga is still going with a lot of new plot and details." Even though I haven't followed the manga, I know that a new story arc is starting to approach. There was so much more that needed to be animated and broadcasted to the fans.


But then I went and discovered that upon acquiring episode 103 from my sources, it was indeed the very last episode.

The series wraps up rather snuggly with episode 103, and like any other anime, it boasts the possibility without promise of a continuation. The war of D.Gray-man continues on, new evolutions of Innocense have been revealed, and the Millenium Earl feels as if he's only just getting started.

I've found no evidence of a continuation anywhere, and by this point in time a possible sequel is more or less out the window considering the length of this anime in its original form.

Indeed, this may more than likely be the end of the entire anime altogether, and the main reason could most plausibly have to do with popularity and ratings.

As of present, I know only that the most popular ongoing shounen demographic anime series are three: One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. With this in mind, we presume they are popular because of their target audience-- young children, mostly male, all with the penchant for violence and becoming the world's greatest pirate/ninja/samurai (have your pick). They're mostly kids, they have nothing to do-- and these anime also appeal internationally.

Good luck finding girls in the western area who will openly admit to watching anime or indulging in shoujo manga.

In essence, the three mentioned above have one very common factor: they were all anime that resemble the first and longest shounen demographic anime to hit it off internationally, Dragonball. My speculations are my own and will be saved for a later post, but for right now, take it as it is.

D.Gray-man, I assume, never really had that same appeal that One Piece, Naruto, or Bleach have. That, and I assume having a very, very dark themed storyline couldn't really be appropriate for young viewers (never minding that I know nothing of Naruto or that Bleach consists of very bloody fight scenes).

There's a lot of anguish that goes into the pacing and development of D.Gray-man's plot and characters. The anime itself centers around a war against machines created using people who have died who then go on to killing the person who called for that weapon termed "Akuma".

The recipe for an "Akuma":

- One part sadness and sorrow
- One part anguish
- One part longing
- One machine created courtesy of the Millenium Earl
- Two deaths of humankind
- Add an enormous side of suffering

Death may occur regularly in Bleach or Dragonball... but unlike D.Gray-man, it doesn't occur in practically every episode. After all, when you see one "Akuma" you know that at least two lives have been expended for its creation. Not only that, but where there is an Akuma, there certainly will follow more deaths since Akuma were biologically created to kill without reason.


D.Gray-man really began to grow on me after a couple episodes. The storyline is extremely unrealistic, and sometimes even if suspending disbelief, the actions of many of the characters are a little unrealistic as well. Some actions contradict others, and some actions warrant confusion and inquiry.

But as a whole, I was able to do what I couldn't do with Bleach. I watched the entire series of D.Gray-man. And this has nothing to do with the fact that one is now finished and the other is still ongoing. I gave up on Bleach long before I could make it into the third story arc-- when the rescue team saved Rukia and settled the little shinigami debacle, the entire series lost it's appeal to me.

D.Gray-man, however, I can safely say, was able to hold my attention for seventy-episodes straight until I ran out of episodes to watch and could only sit in wait for the next available release.

It's very safe to say that I'm going to miss those weekly releases of D.Gray-man now that it's over.


The ending episode of D.Gray-man does two things:

Firstly, it allows us to watch one last fight between exorcists and akuma by finishing off the battle between Lenalee, Allen, and Level Four-kun... as well as incorporating the late-comer generals. This was quite the fun battle, but it really should have ended when Allen's left-arm sword was pierced into the Level Four Akuma's torso.

Allen-kun and Lenalee do make a pretty good combo. I'm going to miss seeing the kickass Lenalee now that she's finally recovered and gotten stronger.
Any reasons that Cross Marian has can NEVER be good. So don't ask... Really. Don't. O.o
Things aren't that easy huh?

The second half of the episode wraps up the series with the idea that the war between the Dark Order and the Millenium Earl will continue to rage on even as the anime ends. Lenalee's Innocense displayed an evolution from equip-type to what Komui terms crystal-type, and Allen has been able to fully use 100+ percent synch of his own anti-akuma weapon.

Cross Marian is returning to the Order's head honcho base for further discussion, and the Bookman duet are expecting more history to be recorded of this time period.

The headquarters on top of scary black mountain is now going through a process of moving after being completely and utterly demolished by Level Four-kun, and I have a feeling that the head honcho guy, Lvellie is still not satisfied with how things are run at headquarters by Komui. Krory is finally awake since his almost demise in the ark after the Noah twins pretty much puree him.


Everything at the Order will be heading back into a normal direction. But deaths have occured and friends and family were lost to the cause. This is what happens in war, but one cannot help but feel a little aghast at how fragile all of these people we watched throughout the storyline are.

There is a lot of tension between the Order, the exorcists, and the Lvellie but none of this will ever be settled unless one continues to follow the manga, or the producers decide that fans deserve a second chance at bringing the ratings up.

All in all, I'm quite disappointed at the sudden ending even if it was a good wrap-up. Lenalee has just become her kickass self all over again, Allen is getting stronger and stronger, and my precious Lavi and Yu are no longer going to grace me with their uber-bishie presences. I'm going to miss it all seriously.



It's interesting that they get their third change in uniform at the very end of the anime series. They look pretty good though. And Lenalee is even growing her hair back out-- so pretty.
But I guess everything has to come to an end at some point in time. I just hadn't imagined it would have come so quickly when all of those other ongoing shounen anime are still progressing in the 200+ or 300+ episodes.


***

In upcoming news, I intend to return to the "old anime" area and maybe pick up another popular shounen anime in the form of Rurouni Kenshin. And along with this shounen anime, there's no reason why I can't pick up a shoujo anime either-- the shoujo of all shoujo and the originator of all reverse harems, Fushigi Yugi. There has to be something good about these two or else they wouldn't have been so popular. I'm ready to brave them and see just what was so great about them.

As for any other anime, I may pick up Gintama as a replace ment for D.Gray-man in order to fulfill my Suzuken-sama quota. Boy am I going to miss the uber-bishie adorableness that is Lavi at his cheerful best. Suzuken did wonderful and I'll miss being able to hear his voice as Lavi.


Now to look forward to whatever else Suzuken will become a part of in the future, and maybe he'll be able to work with his friend Takahiro-san as well as associate Kobayashi Sanae (Allen-kun).

first impression: Michiko to Hana (anime)

From the studio that created Samurai Champloo (which was created by the same guy who did Cowboy Bebop), I've long awaited another anime with similar style and adventure. Both were intensely action packed with unlikely bonds and friendships between strangers, both had hilarity and both had heart.

Michiko to Hatchin thus far, is about a woman named Michiko Malandra who broke out of prison and a young girl named Hana who was taken in by a priests' family but treated poorly on a regular basis. It's a hard way of knowing how these two girls tie together in the long run, but the premise, I assume contains a bit of adventuring between Michiko and Hana.

This first episode of the series begins with the Michiko prison break as well as her wandering around to "make" some money via bank robbery. We cut to Hana and the Berembowser Yamada family where Hana is basically our little Cinderella who wakes up early in the morning to cook and clean and take care of her "family." There's no other way to say it except for, her "family" is no better than a bunch of slave driving sadists.

While Hana usually keeps her mouth shut, plays the submissive adopted daughter who is no better than a slave in the house, her family receives funding for her daily necessities and build up their "good" reputation as a priests' family. Poor Hana is under the impression that since every day in her life thus far has been this cruel and fake, she will continue to live in this situation for the res tof eternity. And so she fantasizes that one day, someone will come for her and take her away from the cruel fate of living with such horrible people.

There is truly no other way to deal with people like the Berembowsers. You could beat them to a bloody pulp and they would still believe they are better than you and will make up excuses to make you look like the devil when it was them who had initiated a fight. Whatever it is they can get away with being horrible people for, they will do so.

And so what do you do? You either A) endure it, B) run away from it, or C) make sure that you can make their lives much more sufferable, much more horrifying, and much much worse than your own, and making them fear you for all eternity and grovel at your feet by doing something so drastic it will scar them for the rest of their lives.

Hana takes the second approach. She runs away.

Her plea for help seems to have been answered when Michiko Malandra calls up the Berembowsers and announces that she is Hana's mother who will be coming to pick her up later on. As far as the series and the situation goes, there is a 90% chance that Michiko is not Hana's mother, and maybe a slight 10% chance that she is. But if that's the case, then how did Michiko hear about Hana and why is she so adamant about taking Hana away with her?

There are so many possiblities to look forward to in this series as it seems that Michiko will be on the run from the authorities for a while, and Hana has absolutely no idea where she is going with this woman. So many questions arise already and I think the main ones would mostly like be, who are these two girls?

Michiko, as we've established after her prison break, is no ordinary woman. She went looking for Hana specifically-- she had a number, a baby picture... etc. Hana was abandoned and then adopted by her current false family and so her past is as much an enigma as Michiko's.

And thus this is what we look for in certain anime. This is something to look forward to, because not only is the storyline quite interesting, but it holds onto you at just the right places. While I haven't felt the comedic hilarity that made Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo, I look forward to seeing it soon. The style and the mood and the music fit wonderfully and I just know that I'm going to enjoy this series.

And so while awaiting other anime eagerly, I may end up enjoying this one the most for this fall season.

Michiko to Hatchin seems interesting since the beginning. The storyline takes place in some hispanic area as Spanish keeps popping up in the form of names, places, and even the date and location of each scene. This will be fun series to dive into.

first impression: Tales of the Abyss (anime)

Another RPG turned anime is born with Tales of the Abyss. This is purportedly a part of the "Tales of..." franchise which would include such titles as Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Eternia... and then some. All of these are taken from role-playing games, and accordingly, the Tales of franchise is really not too bad as both of the above mentioned have gotten praise and Tales of the Abyss is causing lots of hype among fans.

The story starts out with the introduciton of Luke, a red-haired, hot-headed young spoiled prince who hates that he's being locked away in his own mansion. When he was a child he'd been kidnapped and returned with memories lost of his previous years before the kidnapping. He is friends with a servant named Guy, engaged to Princess Natalia, and is being trained in the art of the sword by his Van Sensei.

While practicing out in the court, Tear, a sorceress type girl enters the mansion and proclaims vengeance against Vandesdelca, Luke's Van Sensei, as she puts the rest of the people of the court into a sleep with her powers. Upon attacking Van, Luke intervenes and somehow a 7th Fonon reacts and the two are transported away from the mansion. From then, though having tried to take his Van Sensei's life, Tear turns out to be quite a generous and kind young girl who makes herself responsible for making sure Luke returns to his home safely.

The episode actually starts off with some form of prophecy which more than likely involves Luke and his being a 7th Fonon. The storyline sounds kind of complicated what with Yulia the creator who had learned the 7th Fonon arts, the planet called Outerlands which was made from the 7 Fonons which ended up divided, and the two factions divided Kimlasca and Malkuth. There is also the Lorelei religion which protects the Fonons and Yulia the creator.

The central theme of this series, I can surmise, is about the score created by Yulia and how our heroes will adventure in relation to it.

The first episode was a very mashed up debacle of events occuring one right after another. While I understand that sometimes jumping right into the point is good, I don't like it when too many things are narrated within five minutes and expected of the viewer to know what is going on. Of course, for others, maybe you already know what's happening in the storyline since your a fan of the Tales of franchise and have played every single game to death.

Me, I'm not too certain I can grasp the storyline since I haven't played the game. After all, it took me quite some time to understand what was going on with Final Fantasy VII's storyline. And I'm a proud squealing fangirl who worships Cloud-sama. Advent Children is thus far my favorite RPG turned animation adaptation. Even World Destruction has lost it's appeal for me, but I will devote myself to finishing it.

Back to Tales of the Abyss, I think I'll give it a shot. After all, I like action, adventure, and fantasy, and the Tales of franchise often boasts good adventure and fantasy with a slice of romance. We'll just see how this works out.

Except I know for a fact that I already don't like Luke, the spoiled brat from the Kingdom of Kimlasca who's supposedly part of the prophecy at the beginning and is the main protagonist of the series. He sounds like a spoiled brat and acts like one too. I don't know it that's to do with the character or the seiyuu of which I'm unfamiliar. I look foward to seeing more of Tear who seems like the cool and collected woman warrior-- she almost reminds me Morute except a lot nicer and a lot more competent, less hot-headed; she would make quite the nice foil for Luke as his counter personality.

If at all possible, I've come to like Yukana, the seiyuu of Tear who has also done the likes of Meiling Li from Cardcaptor Sakura, and Tenko-sama from Wagaya no Oinari-sama.

All-in-all, there is always the possibility that I will drop this series before it's over. It is scheduled for 26 episodes, much longer than any of the other Tales of series out in animation. This may be a long and bumpy ride.

first impression: Chocolate Underground (anime)

I have to laugh. I really have to laugh.

The premise of this online broadcasted anime is based on the children's novel Bootleg by the British author Alex Shearer.
- credit to crunchyroll

Basically the world has been turned into some sort of health revolution era. The "Good For You" party is an organization designed and created to make sure that people eat only foods that are, well, good for you. Sadly, these foods despite being good for the health are horrible for the taste buds. This gives a new twist on traditional thinking that anything that's good for you tastes like crap.

You know, I think parents and leaders of the world alike have gone through a lot of hardships already to convince kids that not all health foods have the same texture as cardboard.

And then this anime/story comes along and ruins it all.

Of course, I have to admit, the idea of having chocolate and sweets prohibited from society is an interesting detail. The first episode even boasts two innocent yet guilty people just trying to enjoy a nice bar of chocolate during their evening when their house gets torn down by an army of mecha troopers. And then the leader of this army claims that "Chocolate is evil" or something like that.

I think my heart stopped when he crushed the bar of chocolate. I think I laughed when the house got torn down though for something as petty as a chocolate bar. hehe

I've already seen the first five episodes available to me so this isn't so much a first impression as it is a first thoughts post. The anime in itself is short, lasting only about five minutes average per episode. There is no opening theme and there is a very short and sweet ending theme with preview spoilers for the next episode.

The characters are rather blunt and flat, except for Louise whom you meet first hand trying to tackle a television because it won't stop those silly "Good For You" infomercials that are both tacky and boring and probably annoying when you've seen them for the hundredth time in a day. It also doesn't help that Louise used to run a sweets shop and now has to run a health food shop.

As for Huntly and Smudger, our two little boy protagonists, they are quite typical of little boys except that they are also very curious little boys. They go as far as landing themselves in a secret chocolate production underground cave type of place and then enjoying themselves. More friends are made along the way and the story is supposed to veer into the actual bootlegging of chocolate so there is much more to look forward to.

Otherwise, it's just a cute little story to watch during free time and I'm quite interested in reading the book it's based off of now.

thoughts: Hatenkou Yugi (anime)

I'm taking on a different format for reviewing anime now. Not that I even really had a specified format to begin with, but the more I think about things, the more I feel like I should just try and be a little less formal about my blogging. After all, blogging is blogging and it's not like I get money to pretend that I'm a professional.


I love teddy bears and all, but this has got to be the best invention in the world. I think Rahzel could carry her entire life in it.
So I know I mentioned that I would try and digest my current anime diet first before moving along. But Hatenkou Yugi was calling on me and somehow, I just couldn't resist and got a little gluttonous.

I spent about two days watching Hatenkou Yugi, also known as Dazzle. The first day I only watched the very first episode, which is something that I do to decide whether or not I will continue to watch a specific anime. If it's good, it'll entice me to continue. If it doesn't draw my attention, then lingering thoughts of watching the rest of it will slowly be left in the dust. And then I forget I even saw the first episode.

Not long after watching the first episode of Hatenkou Yugi, I easily began to watch the rest of it. As it is quite short, being merely ten episodes of fun-filled adventure, I quickly finished it off in one sitting. The title on my sidebar of current anime playlist hasn't even sat there long enough to be significant and I'm a little embarrassed. Though I guess it gives me something to do on this blog every once and a while -- heaven knows I've been slacking on my blogging not even one month into it.

I know little about the original manga, nor of the "strong manga support" that some say this series has behind it. What I do know is that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series from beginning to end. The pacing was fast and upbeat, the storyline was interesting, and most importantly, I believe that this series plays on its characterizations more than anything. Our three protagonists exhibit a number of diologue, actions, and emotions that could probably tell the story better than the story itself.

I've found so far that I rather like the one girl two guy combination of adventuring trio a lot. Samurai Champloo is another very good example.
For as long as I've watched anime, there have only been a select few with the same type of uniqueness in character creation, witty dialogue, and comedic timing. The telling of Hatenkou Yugi doesn't drag on nor does it present anything unecessarily, weaving each scene smoothly into the contents of the rest of the series. Drama is cut into comedy is cut into the emotional build-up of tragedy like a collage of different colors. Although I must add that the series gives little time to dwell on the injustices that occur in life, even when it gives you time to realize the entirety of the situation.

This is the adventure story I've been waiting for since Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop made their impressions in my otaku-developing heart nearly two or three years ago during my first anime viewing experience. For the series itself, there is no need to explain anything uncessary and it leaves further conclusions to be drawn by the viewer alone. The interaction between the three main characters gives priceless moments of endearment through insult and teasing, and draws the viewer closer to their emotional moments of heartfelt words. It's simply witty and unique. It makes you wish that it wasn't so short.

Everything has to be loud and commanding with this girl. I guess that's why she's so lovable.
I've got to hand it to the creator of Rahzel. She's a new surprise to me every episode. Even with her tragic past and her sudden dismissal by her father to "see the world" after being unceremoniously booted onto the streets, she still holds up quite well for a fourteen year old girl. Instead of sobbing in wait for her father to change his mind and retract his statement, she instead wishes that she could have a companion on her journey, easily accepting that this is what she needs to do now. After all, life needs to be lived right, and there's no point in moping around.

I sort of admire her knack for never really panicking in any situation. Being thrown out of her home onto her a** included.
To top it off, once she finds her new and mysterious companion oh-so-conveniently, she sets up her own stage for creating a fun-filled adventure together. "I'll make this damned boring life more interesting and mysterious for you," she proclaims to the pigment-lacking Alzeid as she is held at gunpoint. After all, even though he'd just been trying to steal money from some unsuspecting fool as part of his "part-time job", he looks bored and like he could use a good adventure, right?

Again with the no sight of panicking... just cause she's got magic powers and all...
Bang!
And so the adventurous little trio is born, although during these first few minutes of the first episode, we know little about Rahzel and her magical powers, Alzeid and his personality, as well as the third companion Baroqueheat and his own role in this storyline. There is no direct destination for these three and Rahzel never announces where she wants to go exactly, but her proclamation of making Alzeid's life much more interesting proves to be quite a feat as we wonder if anything excites the albino gunman at all.

Throughout the rest of the series, we begin to learn about Rahzel, Alzeid, and Baroqueheat -- much less of the latter than the two former -- we begin to relate with them as they travel. Alzeid from the beginning is only looking to seek revenge against a woman with long black hair and blue eyes -- not so much unlike Rahzel's own physical appearance.

Hehe... Alzeid finally couldn't resist. I wonder how long he's been holding that trump joke up his sleeve.
And yet the question remains to be unanswered by Alzeid of what he would actually do if he finally found this woman. Will he kill her? Will he let the idea of vengeance go? After all, our poor little heroine is adamant about keeping Alzeid's thirst for revenge settled at the last part of their adventuring to-do list. Her thoughts on revenge, after all, may reflect a little bit of the tragic incident that incurred when she was just a child -- the loss of her mother, followed by the subsequent loss of her old childhood life when she abaondoned by her birth father.


I often wondered, though they interact very little in terms of their beliefs, whether or not Alzeid took to heart Rahzel's thoughts on the concept of revenge and killing. Killing is killing no matter how one looks at it. Someone will be affected by someone's death and someone will in turn feel sadness or anger, thus leading to the desire for revenge. The cycle continues to repeat itself which is a truth in life itself. As Rahzel holds an innocent boy at gunpoint, she imparts these words to him when he is about to take the life of a person which may in turn cause her to lose her traveling companions. Thus she tells him that she will seek revenge as well and when that happens someone else will come find her.

"This is what it means to kill someone. Do you have the courage to endure ever-greater eternal sadness? Are you prepared to force your sorrow on others?"

As for the person who does the killing, no matter who you are, good or bad, the feeling of having taken a fellow human's life can't be a comforting one. To think that your one action was the one that had decided someone's life or death. Just thinking about it can give a person the chills.

Significant words from someone who knows best.
Baroqueheat's involvement with the other two is not really revealed until closer towards the end, but his various attempts to romance the leader of the trio makes for good entertainment. Even near the end when he choses to leave the trio, a mere slight of Rahzel-approved verbal lashing drives him back into the trio in his role as "the one who loves Rahzel-chan to the death."

He also appears consistently as "the one who is separated from the trio or shows up late giving albino boy and the loud one much needed alone screen time to build their budding (non?) relationship." It's pretty much a given that Alzeid and Rahzel were meant to be our main male and female protagonists and Baroqueheat is really just a tag-a-long, but his presence is still ever welcome.

From beginning to end, I've enjoyed the various interactions between these three characters. Alzeid, though immediately cold and uncaring towards everyone else slowly grows to naturally care for the welfare of Rahzel regularly. His rare and inconsistent quirky moments and sarcastic remarks, and even his even rarer moments of "don't leave me out of the loop" tantrums makes one want to grin and give him a hug. For a cold-hearted killer, he's somewhat of a softy when it comes to Rahzel. The end scene where he's looking for the most suitable birthday present makes one giggle with utmost otaku-ism.

The jokes that they play on each other serve for some cutesy amusement, and when Baroqueheat spontaneously kisses Rahzel, you're just itching to see the subsequent slap-in-the-face scene; but upon seeing the look on his face, it makes you really think. When it seems that Alzeid is about to deliver the same treatment as a means to teach Rahzel a lesson in life, you're holding your breath in eager anticipation. Then you realize that Alzeid was just trying to teach Rahzel a very important lesson about being able to take care of herself and being too overconfident. In this scene alone, you finally grasp just how much Alzeid really cares about Rahzel despite his clipping words and cold demeanor towards her.

With each episode comes a new event for the three to encounter, and with each event comes yet more of the same philosophical life lessons imparted to others and the viewers, all packaged nicely in dazzling colors -- lameass pun intended. Or even the much less strongly believable half-baked philosophies that the characters can come up with by themelves.


There are just some things that they can say with so much meaning and it makes you wonder. At the same time, they show off a part of their personality that makes you understand them even more.

And now, a neat little life lesson-- because every life situation involving a trio must always come across the "who's more important to you" question. Right? O.o
Oh, that's an easy one to answer.
Honestly, who didn't see this response coming?

Oh, I see Alzeid didn't much like that answer. So let's try again.
It makes me wonder what kind of twisted logic Rahzel goes by sometimes. Does it really work that way? Really?

Our heroes help people in need and along with it present to the audience and each other another little part of themselves that can be new and suprising and revelating. Often times these adventures involve poorly animated fights and lots of colorful magic sparkles by our three invincible heroes: Rahzel with her cleverly utilized magic and wits, Alzeid with his level-headed tact and his gun, and Baroqueheat with... well, with his charm and his strength, I guess-- it also helps that the third of the trio has a nice little hand turns into sword weapon.

As this is a fantasy and adventure from the get-go, we don't find ourselves questioning anything about these three. Where did Rahzel get her powers? Does everyone else have them as well? And how come no one gets over exaggeratedly surprised or scared that she has such powers? And then there's Baroqueheat's arm... why does it turn into a sword? Not only that, but how does one young fourteen year old girl go about traveling with two men, much older than herself without getting scrutinized by the public?

I'm glad someone finally voiced this questions. Isn't it a little weird and... well, inappropriate? Even for fantasy genre anime? Not that I'm complaining really...
You don't say.
Makes you wonder how many times they've gotten away without having to answer this question in the past.
Okay, so maybe some uncessary questions can be asked. And others more will come such as that of the mysterious pasts of the three heroes. But by the time these questions have come to surface, the storyline has already moved forward and you disgard these questions for later as somehow, you know they will be answered at some time within the rest of the anime. As far as the presentation of the storyline goes, it seems that jumping back and forth from flashback to present is a common device; utilizing sudden surprising twists without explanation goes along with it as well. After all, if you learn about everything from the beginning, then what's the fun in experiencing an adventure?

Even though I already knew the premise of this manga, I was still a little surprised to notice how Alzeid suddenly uses his magic in order to save Rahzel's life in the nineth episode. How come he'd never used it before? And if he did, why was it never made clear to the viewer? The manga, as I've learned, boasts Alzeid's extraordinary use of powerful magic, much more powerful than Rahzel's which she relies on in practically every episode but the last three. Maybe Alzeid's sudden use is just a way of convey how much more awesome he is now than he was before he revealed his magic. After all, he'd only been using a gun and hand-to-hand combat to get out of situations and the magic was used to save Rahzel when it seemed no other way would work.

Within these ten little episodes alone, the interaction between Rahzel and her two male companions grows lovelier and closer. It is a shame that the series ends so abruptly. There is yet much more to learn about our three heroes, and even the idea of a sequel is left hanging in the air since other characters introduced in the last episode have yet to reveal much more about their own purposes.

This is one of the most memorable scenes of the last episode when Rahzel jumps off of the moving train without even an ounce of hesitation and onto Alzeid. It's so sweet and uber.
Hatenkou Yugi is amazingly fun to follow along with, and the little bits of comedy thrown into it casually make for a few good laughs. On the off-side, had this series been longer than ten episodes, I feel that it might have had room for more and better development. After all, even though I liked the fast paced story telling of Hatenkou Yugi, I didn't much like that so many things were glossed over like a background picture, even though they surely have some significant role in the bigger scheme of things.

Since this is the case then I will absolutely look forward to a sequel to this series. Ten is just quite short for me, and honestly, I don't think I've actually made myself sit through an anime series that was shorter than twenty-four episodes anyway. I tend to like the long, extended form of storytelling, because then you know that you still have a ways to go until the end rolls around.

On a side note, I firstly began watching Hatenkou Yugi for a few various reasons. First of all, I've read a good review of it somewhere, though I can't remember where. Secondly, THAT Anime Blog managed to blog all ten episodes of Hatenkou Yugi even if I haven't read them yet-- I tend to find certain reviewers and bloggers out there in the web world very insightful and will hold their opinions to some crazy high standard until I find somewhere to disagree with them. Lastly, I'm familiar with two of the seiyu who star in this series: Sakurai Takahiro and Kobayashi Sanae.

Takahiro has been a favorite of mine ever since the days of Final Fantasy VII and his portrayal of Cloud-sama in Advent Children. Kobayashi-san has become a familiar name to me ever since I became obsessed with watching D.Gray-man as this female seiyu is quite proficient in voicing young male roles a la Allen Walker. And just as I suspected, while listening to Rahzel's speech, I often caught a little bit of that voice known for Allen Walker in certain intonations and the laughing of her voice. It was enjoyable to think that way. I wouldn't mind finding Kobayashi-san's voice in another spunky, free-spirited young girl, nor as another young boy with a strong will and a gentle demeanor.


On an end note, while the artwork wasn't the best, the characters and the storyline made up for the most of it. Rahzel is your rarely seen strong female protagonist what with her kickass magical powers and her "don't cry if you can fix things by yourself" attitude. She's far from a damsel in distress as she easily overcomes all her troubles even without the help of magic, and attempts to help fix everyone and everything troubling that comes across her line of vision. She might be rash and quick to act, but she is also not all brawns without brains-- she's clever enough to get herself out of situations without having to rely on other people.

Similarly, her male counterparts do well to balance out her loud, justice and adventure seeking personality. Alzeid is cooler and calmer and keeps her from doing stupid things or dwelling on too emotional matters. Baroqueheat is like a bodyguard who will show up to protect her on the off chance that she really can't save herself-- he's also her little whipping boy to do all the messenger running oddball tasks as well as be the medium between her and Alzeid.

The music was well chosen and the themesongs were very catchy and meaningful. Hatenkou Yugi is an anime series that I would bet is one to live purely off of its characters and fast paced storytelling and still live dazzlingly -- pun not intended this time.

Bang!
Echoing her claim from episode one, this is a nice way to wrap up these ten episodes.
Again, if a sequel were to be born soon, I wouldn't mind anticipating each and every part of it.

first impression: World Destruction (anime)

The idea behind World Destruction: Sekai Bokumetsu no Rokunin is a Final Fantasy-like RPG turned anime series. What drew me to consider this series in the first place was actually a very superficial reason: Maaya Sakamoto. I'm a fan of hers and I'm the type of person who will check out a specific series because of certain people. As the voice for the main protagonist of World Destruction, I couldn't help watching the trailers and then anticipating the series' release.

The gist of World Destruction seems pretty straight forward.

This is a world where there are humans and then there are beastmen. Humans are enslaved by beastmen at this time and have learned to fear them. Because of this, our protagonist, Morute comes into play as the heroine with a mission to "destroy the world." Due to this, Morute is continuously chased by the beastmen of the "World Savior Committie" who have conveniently dubbed Morute as the "World Destruction Committie." And she likes this name.

In her possession, after all, is an orb known as "Destruct Code" which Morute claims is an old human secret weapon that has the power to destroy the world.

Along comes Kirie in the first five minutes of the first episode, disguised as a beastman for the sake of survival, and then is abruptly revealed to be human when Morute tries to take him hostage. The two make their escape from the "World Savior Committie" and find themselves in yet another debacle when they take refuge in a small human village. Here, because the beastmen Boundary God has been angered, a human must be sacrificed, but the village doesn't want to give up one of their own and so attempt to replace their little girl with Morute. At this time, Morute has already left the village and so the humans have no choice but to use Kirie who is already drugged and very unconscious. Morute learns of this and returns to save her fellow human.

Enter Toppi, a beastman in the form of a teddy bear who claims to be a hero from a hero's guild. He had been hired at the behest of a boy from the village to save his big sister who had been the original human sacrifice. The "World Savior Committie" joins the scene and a whole big fight sequence takes its toll. Morute threatens to use "Destruct Code", trips and loses the orb which in turn rolls its way over to Kirie who picks it up innocently, thus somehow activating it bringing on a massive quake to the area.

By the end of the first episode, the official "World Destruction Committie" has been reluctantly established. Of the three, Morute seems to be the only one passionate about destroying the world with her power and Kirie wonders why they don't just try to be heroes and save people. Poor Toppi is stuck being mistaken as part of the "World Destruction Committie" and thus has nowhere else to go. And it seems that Kirie just might have something to do with being able to trigger "Destruct Code's" power.

My impression of this first episode is rather weak, to be honest. Maaya Sakamoto can prove to be a strong voice actor... or sometimes the wrong one. For some reason, I'm not feeling her as a hero -- not quite yet. Of course, I'm also not quite sure what Morute's whole business with destroying the world is yet either. Sakamoto holds her own very well, however because she has one of those versatile voices. She can either be extremely monotonous and manly, be cool and calm... and manly, or she can be really girly and cute. In here, it seems that she's going for a semi-manly and half-girlish tone. It's sort of working.

In contrast, her co-seiyu Miyano Mamoru -- who voiced Suou Tamaki of Ouran High School Host Club fame alongside Sakamoto -- did very well in conveying the almost ditzy, carefree, eccentric attitude of Kirie. He brings out the shine that is Kirie and tops it off nicely with his boyish attractive voice. He's almost like Tamaki without the princely smugness.

The characters are in the progress of being developed through the story and will probably continue to develop more as the adventure moves along. Morute holds a deeper, hidden mystery of her past; there are reasons why she feel so strongly about destroying the world and why she carries with her the one item that can do such a thing.

Kirie is kind of flighty and spastic; I assume he's alone and surviving alone. Right now he's a bit of a pansy and I hope he'll toughen up as the journey continues and doesn't end up hiding behind a rock everytime Morute fights, as the opening sequence suggests.

There he goes.
There he is.
Toppi is supposedly a hero even though he's tiny; I've seen very little of his abilities as of this first episode, but he'll probably grow on me. He's also really preachy.

Overall, the first episode is quite good. Imagery is good, graphics are good, the artwork is worthy of any RPG turned anime, and the storyline feels a little wacky what with the cats worshipping the Boundary God, and some of the funny looking beastmen. The character design is beautiful and sharp and the clothing is a good fit with each character. The theme music is catchy and I really enjoy the ending theme.

I will continue to give World Destruction a good viewing as it comes out, because I have a feeling it'll live up to my expectations.