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).

thoughts: Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning (anime)

I have to say, if there is something that I like about this guy, it's his very handsome glasses wearing look.
Creator: Shirodaira Kyou
Genre: mystery, drama, comedy
Episodes: 25

The premise of Spiral is based around Narumi Ayumu's search for his older brother Kiyotaka through those known as the Blade Children. Narumi Kiyotaka disappears without a trace two years ago and left only "Blade Children" as a clue to his little brother over the phone. Just as well, Kiyotaka also left behind his newly wed wife Madoka who ends up taking on the role of older sister to Ayumu.

In the present, murders occur that surround both Ayumu wherein he learns the first clues he's had about the Blade Children since his last contact with Kiyotaka. Because of this, Ayumu reluctantly walks into the schemes of these Blade Children time and time again, whether to help his newest partner in crime, Yuizaki Hiyono, or because of sheer interest in finding his brother's whereabouts through these Blade Children.

Cryptic much...

- credits to Spiral @ wikipedia

He's not the best looking bishie, but he gets brownie points for having a good sense of fashion and nice hair.
Narumi Ayumu -- voiced by Suzumura Kenichi
As the main protagonist of Spiral, Ayumu is a highly intelligent, though fairly uncaring high school boy in his first year. His daily routine involves skipping classes to sleep on the roof, then going home to cook dinner for his sister-in-law turned elder sister, Madoka.


Ayumu shows very little care for anything going on around him, but his interest is always piqued when anything that may have to do with his elder brother is mentioned. For two years, both he and Madoka have struggled in the search for Kiyotaka and with the appearance of the Blade Children, both become obsessed with searching for the truth behind the murders involved.

As a person, I feel like I can overpower Ayumu simply by punching him in the face, which is what I am tempted to do a lot throughout the series. Ayumu is not, by any means, a horrible person, nor is he an arrogant ass either, but the extent of his wallowing can get very annoying after a while. After all, this boy is highly intelligent, can solve all the murder cases in the blink of an eye, and can figure out problems without sweating. He's a great cook, apparently, and everyone else around him has the utmost faith that he can do anything he puts his mind to doing.

Men who can cook get +10 points in my book. Anime males voiced by Suzuken-sama get +100 more. And bishies with the cool look get another +10. Sadly, it's also -50 for unnecessary melancholy...
But in practically every episode, he is constantly comparing himself to Kiyotaka and claiming that he just can't do what everyone expects of him. What he doesn't seem to be able to grasp is the fact that, for an average human being, he has already surpassed normal expectation and needs to learn how to believe in himself every so often. But instead, he just compares himself to his older brother and then sulks.

It's fairly annoying. And then the way he treats Hiyono is also unforgivable, even if he has his redeeming moments where he actually considers her a friend.

In the end, however, I actually like this guy quite a bit. Poor kid simply has an overwhelming brother complex and was probably constantly compared to Kiyotaka during their childhood. Even if one were to tell him not to aim for Kiyotaka's level and simply aim as high as he can, he wouldn't be able to do it. In short, the way he can warm up to Hiyono finally and accept his potential and at least try and do what he can is commendable.

Ayumu, no matter what the situation, will come around eventually and come through for us and solve the problems without a sweat.

Being voiced by my favorite seiyu, Suzuken gives him bonus points for personality. Kenichi Suzumura does excellently in these calm, cool guy roles and it shows. He portray's Ayumu's boredom, his struggle, and his heck-care attitude smoothly.


In the end, Ayumu, I believe, just needs that little pick-me-up (though consistently) to realize that he isn't a loser. Which is where his partner, the infamous school journalist comes into play.


Splash screens make for good Hiyono-chin introductory scenes.
Yuizaki Hiyono -- voiced by Asano Masumi
Hiyono is probably one of the most lovable female characters in anime history. Though her antics and actions may come off as annoying and over the top for anyone else, she manages to pull them off wonderfully because of her cheery personality and her redeeming optimistic views on life. As the school journalist, Hiyono's network of information is extremely expanse which proves very useful in helping Ayumu with his investigations. Hiyono herself is very admirable for the way in which she is able to obtain information that any average high school student wouldn't be able to get.

Throughout the series, Hiyono is a very happy-go-lucky, intelligent, and optimistic girl. Her faith in Ayumu's ability is her winning trait, and ever since she meets him from episode one, her loyalty and faith in him is unwavering, not even for a second. When near the end it seems she has lost faith in him, she unexpectedly turns around and says to him, "Seems like the Narumi-san I once knew is gone. It can't be helped. I will wait until he comes back. If you meet Narumi-san somewhere, please tell him... 'Have the fighting spirit!'" And then she walks off with all the confidence that she has woken Ayumu back up and that he will return to doing what he can to help the Blade Children rather than brooding.
Fight-o! Fight-o!
Yay!
Another day in the life of Hiyono-chin meets Narumi-tan... wait, isn't this a mystery and drama anime?
Hiyono's character is very cute, by anime standards. Her cheerfulness is addicting and annoying at the same time, and some may want to know where to find the off switch for some peace and quiet. But when she's not jumping around and singing her strange song, you tend to miss her presence.

I would never want to see a sad Hiyono, because then would be proof that the world has come to an end.

The seiyu of Hiyono is unfamiliar to me, and so I can't judge the performance as compared to others, but she does quite the job bringing out the cheery attitude of Hiyono without fault. Her voice acting remains consistent throughout the series and never goes over the top, even for Hiyono's over-zealous personality.


Other characters in this series of significance include the Blade Children, who each have their own mysteriousness about them. As mentioned in the series, the Blade Children are seen as a blemish on human life, and those who will, see them as creatures born to die because they are evil and cursed.

Takeuchi Rio is a small girl with the intelligence of a physicist as she is the first to openly challenge Ayumu in the battle of wits. Though small, she displays immense courage and will-power, sacrificing her own life for the sake of the Blade Children's plans. She is straight-forward and still tends to act like a child outside of being part of the Blade Children.

Eyes Rutherford is the first of the Blade Children to challenge Ayumu with a bomb. He is supposedly cold-hearted, but he cares dearly for his friends, especially Rio. His belief in Kiyotaka's promise that Ayumu would be able to save the Blade Children is at first unwavering, but seems to falter towards the end. Nonetheless, he has hope and feels that one day the Blade Children will no longer have to hide from their hunters.

Asazuki Kousuke is an arrogant part of the Blade Children who is also hot-headed and not hesitant to carry out any immoral act necessary to protect his friends. He doesn't really trust anyone, but takes on the role of guarding Rio when she is in the hospital, and is the closest in relationship to Ryoko.

Takamachi Ryoko is the most down-to-earth member of the Blade Children. Clever and athletic, she is able to keep Kousuke in line whenever he goes overboard with his threats and his actions. She despises killing and when first introduced, wants nothing to do with the Blade Children now that she has been living a rather peaceful, normal life.

Kanone Hilbert is a older friend of the Blade Children, also a Blade Children himself. He is revealed to have grown up with Eyes, but their friendship had fallen apart due to conflict of interests. He is also known as the one who had helped the aforementioned Blade Children learn how to survive.

Other Blade Children have also been proven to exist, but few have actually been mentioned in the series.



Overall, the storyline is very intriguing and manages to grasp your attention at every turn. Ayumu's intelligence and wit is tested time and time again, and each time he manages to overcome all of the life-threatening obstacles placed before him. The series ends in a very open-ended way, because despite Ayumu becoming more confident of himself, the issue surrounding Kiyotaka's disappearance and the Blade Children's problems haven't exactly been resolved.

The art is very well done, and the characters are created clear and beautifully. The music composition of piano playing is good and I really enjoyed Hiyono's strange song. The opening theme is a little annoying and doesn't seem to fit the image of the series very well, but the ending theme is quite enjoyable to listen to.

Be mellow and lax for now... your life is about to get more interesting.

The Many (Anime) Faces of Kenichi Suzumura

When I began to religiously watch anime like it was a part of my everyday diet, I also began to become accustomed to recognizing certain voices among certain anime roles. This character's voice probably sounded like another character's voice from another anime, this cat sounds awfully familiar to the rat from there, this guy sounds like such and such... and so on. Among the large sea of anime voice roles, I'm not surprised that that of the one and only Kenichi Suzumura-sama stood out against them all. I can undoubtedly say that I had been drawn exclusively to it like first love. I began to extensively "research" the many possible characters wherein this particular male seiyu had lent his talents.

Yea, I'm a bit of a fangirl, you could say. I find, I love, I obsess, I cling...

Often referred to as "Suzuken" by many (myself included), Kenichi Suzumura is a very well known male voice actor from the Osaka Prefecture. Currently, according to Anime News Network (ANN), Suzuken has 102 voice roles credited to his name and had won the "Best Radio Personality" in 2008 (per wikipedia).

Other info on Suzumura-sama includes birthdate, affiliation, friends, team members, etc, etc, etc...
But I won't mention too much of it here, lest I sound like a creepy stalker.

I was also very excited to learn that Suzuken participated in many anime theme songs, most recently the Bus Gamer first episode ending theme, Train. Other songs include the image/character songs for some of his roles such as Bokura no Love Style with Yoshinori Fujita for the Hitachiin twins of Ouran Host Club fame, and Primal Innocense per Shinn Asuka of Gundam Seed Destiny.

- credit Kenichi Suzumura @ wikipedia
- credit Kenichi Suzumura @ Anime News Network

Literally, as professional voice actors, it isn't wrong to say that they can be associated with many, many different faces in the anime world. Today I'm a psycho killer, tomorrow I'm a king. They're like live action actors, but they get to change appearances in more ways than just putting on make-up and getting a face-lift.

I could list all the Suzuken roles if I wanted to:

- Shinn Asuka from Gundam Seed Destiny
- Hikaru Hitachiin from Ouran High School Host Club
- Kamui Shiro from X
- Chika Akatsuki from Zombie-Loan

These are only few of his more well-known ones as a main character. But of course, wiki and ANN have already done an excellent job detailing each, big and small, and so I won't repeat their work. Yeah, this post is already long enough as is...

As Part 1 of my "Worship Suzuken-sama (Really Now Fangirl Much?)" feature, however, I will share a few of the roles that I have already seen and that I found to be some of my favorite ones.

***


Rakushun -- Twelve Kingdoms

To begin with, I have a very, very soft spot in my heart for this furry little hanjyuu who is half-rat and half-human. Although by no means a bishounen or even a very popular role, Rakushun had easily become one of my favorite characters from Twelve Kingdoms, even before I realized who the seiyu for him was. Though in watching Twelve Kingdoms, I quickly discovered that the wisdom entranced, caring voice of Rakushun belonged to Kenichi Suzumura. And through knowing this, I slowly began to learn the other various anime roles Suzuken has been involved in.

One could say that Rakushun was the catalyst to my "Suzuken-sama Worship," among all things anime.

Besides being a wonderfully created character amidst all the complexities and chaos of Twelve Kingdoms, Rakushun's personality, niceties, and friendship-love for the main protagonist, Youko, was magnificently brought to life by the voice behind the character. Suzuken has a talent for portraying a very wide array of different characters.

Rakushun allowed for a much calmer, more level-headed, kind-hearted, wisdom-infused, extra hyphenated double-good description of a Suzuken voice than many of his other roles. Granted Rakushun hit the preaching meter quite consistently, he didn't go overboard and make me go spit barbeque on the poor rat. Otherwise, we wouldn't be seeing this post, period... though I've no doubt that Suzuken-sama may indeed find another way into my heart. (Ahh... I think I've hit the pentacle of otaku-ness.)

Overall, Rakushun is an all-around lovely role and I'm glad that it was through him that I discovered the greatness of Suzuken-san. One of the greatest things about watching anime, I found, is hearing one of your favorite voices all over the place in every way, shape, and form. It's like being on a natural high... or the like.



Hikaru Hitachiin -- Ouran High School Host Club

Of all the Suzuken roles I've seen thus far, this has to be one of his most celebrated. No matter where I go that Kenichi Suzumura is mentioned, not far behind will I also see the words "Love Hikaru!" or "Kyaa! Hikaru!" or "Hikaru is my favorite twin!" and the like. Though I do not deny that Hikaru is a very good-looking bishounen in the world of shoujo manga and anime, I really think that his fans love him more due to his devilish personality than his looks (otherwise, they'd probably love his younger twin, Kaoru just as much).

In reality, I also think this has much to do with Suzuken.

Having Suzuken voice the playful, "wild type," teasing young Hikaru Hitachiin makes the elder twin even more enticing than he already is. Sure, he has to share fifty percent of his lines with Yoshinori Fujita, the seiyu of younger twin Kaoru, but somehow, because of development, character, and simple individual charm, Hikaru tends to stand out more than Kaoru. There could also be an older brother complex floating around since those are popular nowadays.

Then again, who am I kidding? Between one twin or the other, no matter how many times I've seen the darned anime, I still can't tell them apart when they're wearing the exact same uniform. The voices I distinguish well, but aside from that, those two really do live in the same world of evil of whence they came and act like the same entity when called for. Even if Haruhi does claim that Hikaru is one level meaner than Kaoru, the question is really, how much is one level and how mean is Kaoru as compared to the average normal high school boy?

Moving along... Hikaru, of course, cannot be without Kaoru, and the two seiyu collaborate as if they'd always been twin brothers rather than just doing their duty as a voice actor. This turns the twins into a very lovable single unit and as a whole are very hard to resist in terms of their "type" of host.



Truth be told, Ouran was probably the very first place that I heard Suzuken's voice. But at the time, I had just gotten into anime and really didn't give a hoot about the voices. In fact, the only voice I was familiar with in this series was that of Maaya Sakamoto (who took on the role of Haruhi quite wonderfully), because I'm a fan of her music.

Hikaru is by no means my favorite Ouran character. In fact, I never really liked the cheeky little bastard.

In fact, I'm a Kyouya Ootori fangirl all the way and every time he schemes or smiles or talks or pushes his glasses up or looks at the fourth wall or schemes or does something surprisingly non-egoist or... well no matter what he does, I sigh like an obsessed otaku (which I am). He's hot and he's intelligent and he can make any girl swoon... but this isn't the place for his worshipping since he's not voiced by Suzuken.

Call it bias or call it favoritism, but Hikaru is my favorite of the twins and my third favorite Host Club man. As opposed to many traditional fangirls out there, I'm not too drawn towards ditzy blondes with a heart of gold, taciturn good guys with loyal to best friend and master tendencies, nor even the sacrificing and more insightful younger twin brother with a good heart type. I'm also kind of turned off by loli-shotas, but really, who doesn't like Honey-senpai?

Suzuken's participation has a great deal to do with why I like Hikaru. BUT, I admit wholeheartedly that in recent chapters of the Ouran manga, I've grown to love Hikaru and respect him more. Completely unrelated to Suzuken, Hikaru is starting to grow on me because of his newly found sense of maturity. His heartwarming speech to Kaoru about the two of them being twins was absolutely lovely.

"Kaoru, we are twins. Isn't it an incredible gift? Normal people can only face their future alone... You and I can fact it together. We aren't depending on each other. From now on, we'll influence each other... it would be good if we could stimulate each other. If we don't forget this, then for sure, a future twice as fun than normal people's awaits us!! That's why we'll always stay together even after this. Because we can't do otherwise. You didn't know that this is why twins are born, right?"

Hikaru actually said these words. I'm so proud of him, and extremely impressed. And also kind of wondering what kind of hair-dye he bought and whether it was laced. Of course, I do not refute Hikaru's tendencies to glomp or pamper his little brother. It's very sincere, very beautiful and this is why I'm loving Hikaru so much now.
Sadly with no tie to Suzuken-sama... I'm feeling a little traitorous.



Lavi -- D.Gray-man

My love for Lavi is a very special case. As a character, he isn't outstandingly unique and he isn't even really that popular. Lavi is a supporting character in this adventure anime and places maybe second or third in popularity following Allen Walker or even Kanda. But nothing at all will change the fact that it was because of Lavi that I even considered watching D.Gray-man at all.

I wasn't very aware of the story of D.Gray-man and I could really care less about the too-nice Allen Walker and his tragic past and his curse and his "wah-wah, Shishou is an ass but he taught me how to use my weapon" sob story. Okay, so he's never really sobbing and instead just radiates a very evil, akuma worthy aura; but I paraphrase.

Anyway, for the first thirteen episodes of D.Gray-man, I crunched until the beloved voice of my Suzuken-sama could be heard -- for the first time in episode twelve at the very, very end. I was a very happy fangirl.

(I would like to emphasize at this time that after watching twenty episodes of this series, I grew to love it and all the other characters. D.Gray-man, for me, is no longer only about Kenichi Suzumura's voice. Oh yeah and Allen-kun has grown quite well and somehow I feel that after his little transition, he's a bit more mature and a bit... hotter? Makes me almost wanna pull a Road Camelot on him... almost, but not quite there. -_- Again with those traitorous feelings.)

But I digress... Lavi's character design and character biography was very agreeable in terms of my likes and dislikes. I knew that I would fall for Lavi before he even showed up in the series, and when he finally did... well, I swooned.

As far as character goes, Lavi is a pretty ideal hero. He's highly intelligent, has an outstanding memory like a recorder, and he's a strong warrior as an exorcist. Although his involvement with the Bookman clan calls for complete detachment from personal emotions, his tendencies to cherish his friends of the Dark Order can be very endearing, especially the extra care and kindness he sets into watching over the welfare of Allen, Lenalee, and even Krory. His somewhat one-sided closeness to Kanda is adorable, always addressing the latter as though they've always been best friends even though Kanda seems quite indifferent.

Voiced by Suzuken, Lavi's character is brought about with all the playfulness, wisdom, optimism, experience, and distress and caring that makes Lavi so likeable as he develops throughout the series. Through Lavi, I've discovered that Suzuken has some of the most adorable vocal gestures in his laughing, his snickering, his scoffing, his teasing voice, and even his sighs and breaths of relief.

And now as a new climax of the storyline is taking place, Lavi's character is revealed to have a darker personality in the past that I have yet to see for myself. This detail in itself turns Lavi from a simple sidekick supporting character into one with more depth than expected. I look forward to seeing this new development even if it's a small one; although even without an intriguing past, Lavi has always proven to be a very well-rounded character. After all, as Renge-sama of Ouran fame has mentioned, women can be suckers for the traumas of men. Having a shadowy past can make such a likable character even more irresistable.



Zack Fair -- Final Fantasy VII

I'm actually an avid Cloud Strife fan (he who is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai who has partnered with Suzuken on many occasions in other anime). Cloud is especially hot in Advent Children. And who wouldn't love Cloud Strife? He's very hot, he's very reluctantly heroic, he's very mysterious, he's very aloof, and he is extremely meloncholic. I'm not being sarcastic at all. Each and every one of these qualities, while annoying and aggravating for most men, are absolutely attractive for Cloud Strife. He's wonderful! I'm in love with him. Having a tousled head of blonde hair and an outstanding cape/jacket-completely black outfit makes him even more delectable.

BUT... I digress. This post is about Kenichi Suzumura and not Cloud Strife.

Suzuken's role in the Final Fantasy VII franchise is none other than the great Zack Fair, who had absolutely little to no screen time in the excellently produced CG movie Advent Children. Imagine my fangirl surprise and excitement when I realized that Suzuken was actually featured in one of my all-time favorite animated movies -- I had no idea that he even participated in it until one day when I was browsing his info page on wikipedia (probably for the thirtieth time... and here I redeem myself as a Suzuken fangirl).

And then imagine my ecstasy when I found Last Order to be exclusively a retelling of certain parts of the FFVII game when Zack Fair was the hero and poor Cloud was merely a catatonic blur.

Somehow, I never really pictured Zack Fair with the boyish, cool, smooth voice of Kenichi Suzumura. His looks and his background as a SOLDIER gave off a rougher appearance than the voice of Suzuken would suggest. And yet, while watching Last Order, I somehow became able to grasp the connection between voice and person. Suzuken was able to make it happen, getting rid of that playfulness, preachiness, and boyishness that some of his other characters have. With Zack Fair, he presented a voice with coolness, smugness, authority, and quite the manliness as well. He brought Zack Fair to life like no one else could. It was wonderful and I found myself wishing that he hadn't died so early on in the storyline.

Zack Fair is somewhat of a tough guy and I had a great time watching an OVA dedicated solely to him. It was great how he had so easily taken on the duty of watching over cloud, saving Tifa's life, and sacrificing himself to save Cloud.

Though a small role, I believe that this is one of Suzuken's best. In full, he was able to bring out the entirety of Zack Fair's person within the few seconds of his screen time in Advent Children coupled with the twenty-minute time frame of Last Order.

***

While these aren't the only Suzuken roles I've been exposed to, these are the particular ones that I actually liked. Others I've seen include Kairi Okayasu from Peach Girl, Ayumu Narumi from Spiral, and Ginshu from Amatsuki. Others I've caught snippets of, but haven't exactly seen the entirety of the series to judge the character. But none of them have been able to stand out like the aforementioned four roles I've talked about.

In the near future, my goal is to completely review each and every one of the Suzuken roles (yes, this is how much I like this guy) and decide for myself which of his voice roles I like the most. Some of his roles, I have some reservations about watching because of negative reviews (about the character alone and not of Suzuken's participation, thankfully).

Shinn Asuka is known as the worst possible main protagonist in Gundam history and the most disliked Suzuken role mainly because the character is highly detestable as a person.

On the other hand, I've read good news about Isumi Shinichiro from Hikaru no Go and have already taken a liking to him. I've been exposed to Mikiya Kokuto of the Kara no Kyoukai storyline and found him to be rather likable, though since he was pretty much unconscious during the majority of the first movie, I have little to say about him.



Kenichi Suzumura is undoubtedly an amazing seiyu, bringing a wide variety of characters to each of his voice roles. He is capable of playfulness, charm, coolness, wisdom, and can voice immensely realistic emotion in his characters. Aside from that, his voice is absolutely attractive and sexy. There's this IT factor that make for well-liked actors, singers, and all sorts of performers. As a seiyu, Suzuken definitely has that very IT factor that makes him so charming with just a simple voice role.

And so with this, the mere Part 1, of my "Suzuken-sama Worship" concludes with the promise of a follow-up post when I feel I have more new knowledge and opinions to share.

Fangirl-ing Suzuken-sama is indeed fun. Even though some of his roles aren't my absolute favorite within the anime/movie/storyline itself, there is no doubt that he is my absolute favorite male seiyu.