thoughts: Skip Beat! (anime) -- the audition and the significant failure

Hehe, I like this picture of her.

Episode 2: Banquet of Shivering
Episode 3: Missing Feelings; An Emotion She Lacks

I'm not fond of blogging anime by episode just because I'm a lazy person. I like reading others blog about anime by episode, but only after I've already seen that particular episode because blogs always give away a basic summary of the episode's direction. That, and I like to be able to have my own first hand impressions from watching the anime itself rather than reading a rough summary about it and then being ready for possible surprises, sad scenes, comedic scenes, and stuff like that.

Here right now, however, I wanted to mention my thoughts on these two episodes of Skip Beat!, though more notably episode 3 because of how symbolic it is for the rest of the storyline. In truth, episode 2 was nothing special because it felt more like a transition stage where Kyoko goes from ordinary girl to "some girl doing what she can to get into showbiz for the sake of revenge."

SA-WA-RA-san... don't look directly into her eyes...
Episode 2 was really just a place for dear Kyoko-sama to display her demonic side to the fullest. Yea, this is the one where she literally haunts poor Sawara-san and his family until he gives her a chance in the entertainment industry. It's an episode full of lolz and one must give props to Sawara-san for enduring as long as he did and for caving in and letting Kyoko do as she pleased rather than calling the cops and having her arrested for disturbing the peace-- in which case the girl would probably still find a way to come back and haunt him.

Ready for action!
Probably not the best impression to be giving... or demonic aura.
Episode 3 begins with the infamous newcomer auditions wherein Kyoko will try to hit it off in the entertainment world and where Kyoko gains a good impression towards the president of LME. As many of us who read the Skip Beat! manga already know, Kyoko's talent presentation is out of the ordinary and her shortcomings earn her no spot in the further audition as she is booted out almost too quickly.

It is because of this audition, however, that Kyoko finally finds herself realizing that she is pathetic for revolving so much around Shotaro, and yet even then she cannot help it. Kyoko had spent her entire life living for the sake of Shotaro to the point where no matter what she did, it was always for Shotaro and no one else, not even herself or for others who might care.

To make a long point shorter, Kyoko realizes that because of her past with Shotaro as well as her history with her mother, she has lost the will and the ability to love-- period. It isn't a romantic love that she has lost because of Shotaro, but it is the ability to care for or let other care for her at all.

Because of her mother leaving her when she was young, Kyoko has placed all of her time and energy in Shotaro because she whole-heartedly believed that Sho would be her prince for life and lover her forever. And then not long ago (refer to episode one) Shotaro broke her heart without remorse. And to this day, even though he is not around her, he still manages to taunt her in her reveries.

It's a sad, sad situation to realize something so depressing and so pathetic about oneself.

Kyoko failed the auditions because she lacked the ability to love. And because she lacked the ability to love, she feels as if she's lost the ability to do anything else anymore. And thus she's given up on her pursuit of the entertainment industry, which would mean that she's given up on her revenge for Sho, no matter how much she still resents the bastard.


I'm happy to learn that I'm not the only person who was moved by Kyoko's scene in which she realizes how pathetic she is, how she had lost her important human feeling of love, and how she'd wasted her entire life being Shotaro's slave girl. While in the manga I hadn't been too moved as I was this time seeing the scene in animation and hearing the devestating sobs coming from Kyoko, I still recognized it as a significant turning point in Kyoko's journey.

This was an extremely effecting scene and while not moved to cry right alongside Kyoko, I could almost feel her sadness even by simply watching her cry like that.
Because now that she's realized what is wrong with her, Kyoko, with enough willpower and determination, which she has, will be able to pinpoint it over and over again and learn how to overcome this hurdle.

In following episodes, assuming they continue to follow closely to the manga as they have done so far, we get to see this new and revived Kyoko breaking down all those walls one after another. Each time a situation presents itself to brutally assault her and her emotions, she will fall, but she will also rise back to the occasion and take on the challenge once again without fail.

This is what makes Mogami Kyoko such an idealistic girl and such a counter heroine for all those weepy romance shoujo manga heroine who's lives depend on whether or not their designated hero will fall in love with them too. Don't get me wrong; I like a good cheesy romance oneshot as well as the next shoujo manga fangirl. I just also like to read or view some stories with depth and substance sometimes as well.

Skip Beat! is definitely a unique manga in the class of shoujo demographic. While I too feel like the romance in the manga is devloping rather slowly like others, I also feel like I wouldn't change the pacing and the storyline for any reason.

Getting back on topic, episode 3 was a rather significant plot device which will later on be emphasized due to Kyoko's undying determination for the things that she does. What makes Kyoko such a unique person is her ability to continue standing right back up everytime she happens to fall, and no matter how hard and how far she falls. That and her innocent, yet tainted nature-- a unlikely combination in one person, but not impossible as seen by Kyoko's existence in the fictional world.

Anyway, as per usual, I look forward to seeing more of the anime adaptation. I look forward to continuing to read the manga. These first three episodes have so far covered the entirety of Volume One of the manga and so at this rate I hope that my favorite parts of the manga will be able to reach the animation.

thoughts: PxP (manga)

Creator: Yoshizumi Wataru
Genre: romance, shoujo, school life, mystery
Volumes/Chapters: 1 Volume (3 chapters);
also includes the oneshot story Baby It's You



And so it goes, this is the second Yoshizumi Wataru manga I'll be posting about. As I'd mentioned before, I've become a fan, I've read a few of her works and there are two others that I want to read although they are quite unavailable to me.

PxP is a short, but interesting and exciting story about a thief by the name of "P" who steals trivial things for the price of 300,000 yen. Nothing that "P" steals is ever expensive and only ever valuable to the person who wants it. "P" is so named because of the calling card left behind in place of everything that has been stolen.

Because of "P" the student council is bringing up the issue of stopping the infamous thief. Included in this student council are the President Tomotoshi Daiki and the Vice President Himeno Ruri. The suspected student who could be "P", the president claims, has to be none other than Suki Yuuma, a special student within the school who not only has his own lab, but is introverted and very strange. Also his nickname is "Professor" so the thief's name "P" corresponds with the first letter of "Professor."

What we learn early on in the manga, however, is that President Tomotoshi is only half correct.

"P" turns out to be the "P" from "Princess" which is English for "Hime" or Himeno Ruri's nickname. So while the student council is trying to investigate the matter of "P", Himeno Ruri is secretly creating more havoc behind their backs. Suki Yuuma, of course, is her most precious partner in crime as he uses his brains and networking to help Ruri with her "work."

This manga was quite interesting as it was fast paced with a small helping of light mystery added onto the side. Three significant items are asked to be stolen by "P" throughout the three chapters and it is interesting to have three significant back stories to each item.

The first was a teddy bear from the infirmary, the second a Junk Jungle concert ticket stub, and the last was *gasp* a Norman Rockwell Museum pen that only Suki Yuuma owns.

The non-mystery portions of the story were very lovely to follow as well. While Ruri and Yuuma work together, Ruri openly expresses her love for him, but Yuuma seems rather reluctant to admit his own feelings to her. The reasoning for this is readily revealed after she finally confronts him about his ex-girlfriend from back in his middle school years.

PxP is a fun story to follow and I really wouldn't mind if Yoshizumi-sensei continued on with more interesting plot devices for our infamous "P" to partake in. I also wouldn't mind seeing how the relationshpi between Ruri and Yuuma turn out and whether they continue to go about this line of "work." But alas, when I really think about it, PxP was really made to be a short three chapter story anyway and I like it the way it is.

That aside, I also point out that as far as bishounen are concerned, Suki Yuuma has been added onto my list of Very Good Looking Glasses Characters-- My Beloved Megane-bishie Guys. As is typical of Yoshizumi-sensei's characters, he is quite good looking. Slap on a pair of glasses and he is absolutely irresistable.

I'm moe for him. This could be bad.

thoughts: Natsume Yuujinchou (anime)

Since the very beginning, I know that I've been drawn to the majestic beauty of Natsume Yuujinchou. From the artwork to the animation, and most importantly to the characters and the storyline, everything about Natsume Yuujinchou has held my attention long enough for me to feel awestruck by just how gorgeous this anime can be.



As stated in my first impression post of Natsume Yuujinchou, I was drawn to the anime via the poster. It was a very pretty poster. The summary did nothing for me, really but let me know what was going on.

In essence, what actually kept me watching the entire series from beginning to end would have to be the feeling I get from viewing Natsume Yuujinchou as a whole. It's almost like reading about a majestic legend, or some form of old folklore. The mood is relaxing, the music and artwork help with that, and altogether, without being over exaggerated or flashy, Natsume Yuujinchou delivers a very fascinating, amazing story for the viewers.

This may be a horrible comparison, but I get a slight feel for Hayao Miyazaki when I see the stories of each episode unfolding and hear the music playing softly in the background.

Like works by Hayao Miyazaki, Natsume Yuujinchou sort of plays on images and feelings more than the actual action of each storyline of each episode. And also more so than words.

The storyline is cliched, but the way it's executed is simple and soothing for a supernatural anime. The characters, though limited, are interesting to follow. Natusme Takashi and Nyanko-sensei are really the only two that we get to follow throughout the series and we learn a lot about the two as the thirteen episodes progress. Natsume Reiko, Takashi's grandmother with the same ability as Takashi, is mentioned infrequently, and a plethora of ayakashi are presented each episode along with their sentimental stories.


With this anime, I hate that I can't seem to relay the exact feeling I have of each and every episode. But I can still try to describe how I feel...

It's almost like watching the sun rising-- something phenomenal, yet at the same time so natural is taking place. The scenery is wonderful, but at the same time it's not loud or flashy. It is simply one simple event. But it's wonderful nonetheless.

This is Natsume Yuujinchou in a nutshell.

Many would not be drawn to it because it is so quiet and simple as an anime filed under fantasy. But in essence, this anime is more so a slice of life drama hidden within all the beautiful supernatural phenomena it boasts as it's central theme.

Up to the ending of the thirteen episodes, the only conflicts we encounter are very realistic and everyday normal, even for a storyline that plays on a boy being able to interact with supernatural beings where no one else can.

As others have stated before, Natsume Yuujinchou delivers its central theme much differently than many would expect. Natsume Takashi is living in a life where he is the only person who can see youkai, ayakashi, ghosts, spirits, and the like. No one believes him because of what he can see and instead he is shunned by his family and tossed around until he is finally taken in by Touko-san wherein he does what he can to keep others from suspecting what he can do.

For Takashi-kun, it is hard for him to explain his strange behavior, and at the same time, his personality does what can be done to remain a good person, which is what Natsume Takashi is from beginning to end. Even though he may refuse to help certain youkai, he cannot help but to butt his nose into their business when he feels he needs to help.

After all, as he reasons, he can see them after all. There's no reason for him to pretend that they don't exist.

Overall, Natsume Takashi is a very kind person.

But going through life seeing youkai does not mean a walk in the park. Others who don't see these spirits and demons have nothing to fear because of such. Because as the saying goes, when you look at someone or something, there is always the possibility that he, she, or it will look right back at you. In Takashi-kun's case, because he can see youkai and youkai can see all humans, when it is known that he can see youkai, they don't simply just look right back at him. They also act, as is revealed by all the dangerous youkai who make a habit of chasing Takashi around.


Up to this point, I've made no mention of the second central theme in this series. The Book of Friends is the item that brings Takashi and Nyanko-sensei together, as well as propels the series' beginning. The Book of Friends is a small pamphlet of papers recording the names of various youkai, big and small, calm and dangerous. This book was passed onto Natsume Takashi by his grandmother, Reiko who had made a habit of collecting these contracted names assumingly because she was lonely and wanted friends.

But as the anime progresses, less is mentioned about Reiko and her Book of Friends. Instead, the producers seem to have forgotten about the book altogether and decided to focus more on other issues of Takashi surrounding his ability to interact with youkai... as well as his long, lonely childhood past.

Can you only imagine...?
The anime itself seems adamant on featuring Takashi-kun's morbid life from day one of being able to see youkai and being shunned from his family because of the "strange things" he keeps saying. A lot of the latter episodes of this series pays strict attention to the worries and the emotional turmoil that kind and caring Natsume Takashi has had to endure from past to present.

His most important worry being whether or not he can continue to remain with Touko-san in his current home, and whether or not he will ever find a place he can feel like he belongs in.

Takashi was lonely and abandoned since childhood, as was his grandmother. His grandmother created a Book of Friends for her own sake, and from the beginning of the series, Takashi is dead set on scrapping his grandmother's Book of Friends by returning all the names contracted. His only few human friends are merely background noise, and when he meets others who know of his plight, nothing seems to be as he had expected.

This was probably not the kind of "I can see them too" friendship that Takashi-kun was looking for.
Tanuma is a boy who is curious about Takashi because he can see the shadows of youkai, though not the actual youkai itself. Natori-san is an older man who can see and interact with youkai, had the same horrible and lonely childhood as Takashi, but who takes action against youkai in a way Takashi would have never even dared do.

Gee, I wonder why Takashi's not scared.
Yea... that would be why.
The only true close friend Takashi could probably boast would be his fat cat, Nyanko-sensei (also known as Madara in his true form) who gets a beating from Takashi regularly. The relationship between this youkai and Takashi is hard to consume in that how they act towards each other seems rather unbelievable... at least until you realize that the cat is always going to be on Takashi's side.

And the persistence of Nyanko/Madara...
What? Gave up already? It was only a left knuckle to the head.
After all, when transformed into his true body as Madara, I really doubt that it would be extremely hard for him to simply pluck Takashi off the ground and eat him. Had Nyanko-sensei been a little less caring for Takashi, there would probably be no story to tell.

What youkai as powerful as Madara would allow some mere human to beat him over the head all the time?

I think that's relative to how much the fat cat actually wants the book. But this scene is so sweet and beautiful.
Everything that is part of the true episodic adventure of Natsume Yuujinchou comes around to develop the character of Natsume Takashi and his relationship with both the youkai world and the human world. And as his own story is told from childhood, you feel with him and you feel for him.

To be able to be such a kind and calm young boy after all that's happened to him... it's a little hard for a viewer to grasp. But in the end, I am personally glad that Takashi-kun is the way that he is. He brings much needed optimism to such a morbid fate and at the same time he conveys the reality of his own fate.

Natsume Yuujinchou is a success because of the way in which it ties together the theme with the main protagonist. The series itself is a distinct and grade-A expample of, "So you can see youkai? Well this is the reality of what your situation would be like if this were a possible occurence." And it has little to do with action or comedy-- this series is pure slice of life drama.

The drama, the angst, the action, and even the comedy is all natural rather than artistically timed for best effect. This is real life at its best concerning a boy who can see things that others cannot. This is not a horror or thriller, and this is not forced comedic timing nor is it forced action and adventure just because supernatural beings are a part of the scenario.

As I already stated, Natsume Yuujinchou plays on the emotions of the viewer and relates to us everything that is Natsume Takashi.

An eager, joyful childish hope.
It wasn't until episode three when we see a flashback of Takashi as a child that I realized just how emotionally damaged Takashi could have become. Realizing that he is the only one who sees strange things, realizing that no one believes him, and realizing just how lonely he is becomes a tremendous, sad stone sitting on his shoulders. When he meets a nice onee-san who claims that she "can see them too," little Takashi is thrilled because he no longer has to be alone anymore. But then the reality struck when he was asked what he was doing all by himself at the park.

Realization.
I could feel my own breath catching at the realization of what Takashi's friendly onee-san really is. At that point in time, with the color of the setting sun showing in animation as well as the expressive look on little Takashi's face, I probably couldn't feel what the child was feeling, but I knew just how surprising and saddening the situation had become.

Sense of loss and betrayal.
Once again, Natsume Takashi was all alone. It was absolutely a wonder that Takashi grew up to be the kind and caring kid he is.


A very endearing friendship between youkai and human. Tsubame thanks Takashi-kun for his efforts in making her wish come true.
This could have turned out into some other type of series if Takashi-kun had some sense of romanticism in him. But no, we remain pure and innocent.
There are a lot of very touching moments in all of Natsume Yuujinchou, many of which involve the simple guest appearances of many youkai per episode.

Some other unfortunate soul falls victim to a forbidden romance. This was one of the saddest scenes in the entire anime. To have fallen for someone and then never be able to see her again. And for Hotaru to be able to see, but not let him know that she was always there and shares his feelings as well...
No matter how, each story interrelates with Takashi's own feelings of self-worth, of loneliness, of understanding, and of his relationship towards the youkai and his human friends and family. Aside from that, we also get to see a slight bridge in the similarities and differences between youkai and humans, which is yet another insight of Natsume Yuujinchou that is rarely brought up in more action/adventure-packed supernatural series.

We are brought to the attention of various questions that have always plagued Takashi since the beginning of time, and one by one, the questions are asked, but the answer is so vague that there's no way that even Takashi himself could answer no matter how thoroughly he's thought them over.

How does he view the youkai in his life? Who else in this world has the same ability as himself? Is there really that big of a difference between youkai and human? Will he see youkai for the rest of his life, or will he lose that ability at some point in time? Why is it that only he can see these youkai?

So many questions and no answers are given. Instead, the viewers are indirectly given the chance to think over these issues. Because as far as I can tell, Natsume Yuujinchou focuses on the here and now, taking from the past in slight, and only speculating about the future that is to come.

A good way to wrap up the first season with fireworks. Sadly, Takashi-kun sees none of it...
There are always setbacks for being able to see things other people cannot.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series as I had predicted in my first impressions post. I pegged it as a Wagaya no Oinari-sama, but much better. I don't know how to comment on that assumption, because both series are on completely different levels of supernatural awe. While I believe that Natsume Yuujinchou is indeed better than Wagaya-- and better than a lot of other anime I've seen recently-- there is no way to compare.

Natsume Yuujinchou is in a league of it's own.

The ending wraps up quite well by bringing back a few of previous episode guest youkai and human, but somehow, it definitely is missing something. It feels as if it's just another episode and that it hasn't really ended yet. Like others have mentioned, it's like a recap or an intermission curtain call for all the viewers to reminisce in the reappearances of some of the series' cameo youkai and human.

And then what's this, Natori-san and some secret gathering? A scene that is shown only briefly but left to the wonderings of the viewers.

Takashi and his friend Tanuma spend a good portion of the ending episode searching for Takashi's "fat cat" who is held hostage by Takashi's classmate Sasada in an attempt to keep him around her for her amusement. But overall, the ending had the same soothing feel as the rest of the series.

*

Season two of Natsume has been announced to begin broadcast in January of 2009, and so we know for a fact that the series has yet to reach its end. I'm glad, because although there is very little to keep you hanging at the edge of your seat to look forward to, Natsume is a good enough anime series to keep you hooked as each episode rolls out slowly.

Though without action or adventure or over the top comedy or exaggerated storytelling, Natsume Yuujinchou is definitely a must see anime. Not bad are the visual affects, the background music, the theme music, and even the seiyuu of each character.

Natsume Takashi's seiyuu Kamiya Hiroshi is not familiar to me, but he does an excellent job portraying Natsume's calmness and his kind demeanor. Included in the voice cast role call are Inoue Kazuhiko as Nyanko-sensei and his youkai form Madara, and Kobayashi Sanae in her few appearances as Reiko.

If I were to describe Natsume Yuujinchou to someone, I don't think I would ever be able to fully give an appreciable account of the anime as a whole. Maybe one of these days I'll just go through and give more thoughts about various parts of Natsume Yuujinchou that are notable, but then, that'll be quite a lot of different posts.

first impression: Skip Beat! (anime)

Oh, Kyoko-sama how I had yearned for thee...

I honestly thought that someone out there was horribly pissed at me and wanted to make me miserable. It took a good long while for me to find my beloved first episode of the Skip Beat anime adaptation of which I'd been looking forwad to since I first heard about there being an adaptation. When everyone else was blogging about the first and second episodes, I was still clinging to the edge of my seat in wait.

But, all of my waiting has come to a good result. I finally got my hands on the first episode and thoroughly enjoyed the heck out of watching Kyoko lose her sanity and unleash her silently brewing Kyoko-demons when Sho finally unveils his scheming, moronic, asshole of a personality of which could have only held Kyoko at his beck and call. Any other girl would have already dumped the jerk a long time ago rather than waiting for him to openly admit that he only really asked Kyoko to be with him so that she could do the cooking, cleaning, and worshipping and working her butt off to make sure he had a place to stay while he rose to stardom.

As any other person known to follow the Skip Beat manga religiously, I hate Shotaro's spoiled brat ass.

But anyway, it seems that the first episode of Skip Beat does well to cover the first act of the manga. We get to see how Kyoko slaves away to make her Sho-chan happy and be able to live royally. We get to see how anything and everything she does is for Shotaro (that bastard) and as much as I hate to admit it, the manga shows this aspect a little better than the anime does. We get to see everything that had to do with the old Kyoko and how she was such a kind, sweet, and caring person.


And then Pandora's box -- as the first episode title implies -- is opened and all hell is unleashed in the fury that is Kyoko's grudge demons. When Kyoko finds Sho telling his manager how he isn't the least bit happy with Kyoko's praises, how he only asked her to come with him to Tokyo to support as a live-in maid and not as a girlfriend, and how he was more interested in women such as his manager Shoko-san, Kyoko snaps.


For those who have digest the manga again and again, we all know that Kyoko doesn't cry and plead with Sho like a weak little girl. Instead, she rages with anger and declares that she wants revenge for everything that Sho has said and done to her. She's through with being a little underappreciated slave girl and she vows to make Shotaro grovel at her feet for forgiveness by beating him down at his own game. And when Sho invites her to join the industry so that she can do such a thing, as far as the manga goes, Kyoko takes up his offer with open arms.

But up to now we are only shown Kyoko's spirit and determination. After all, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," and Kyoko has had a horribly hard life even as a child -- all of this revealed in the manga and hopefully soon to be revealed in coming episodes. For those of you who haven't even glanced at the Skip Beat manga, Kyoko-sama has a long road ahead of her to travel if she wants to reach a height much further than that ass of a man Shotaro.

Kyoko-sama has probably always been quite creepy... she's just a lot cooler when she realizes her "demonic" potential.

As far as the anime goes, it is very fast paced and very accurate compared to the manga. I have a feeling that the anime will continue to follow exactly as the manga, but hopefully it won't loiter around privy details so that we can make it up to the filming of Dark Moon (or maybe that will be part of a sequel to Skip Beat's anime which would be fine by me as well).

I can't seem to grasp the voice that is Tsuruga Ren. Konishi Katsuyuki is a good strong male voice. But somehow, it doesn't seem to give off that same vibe that Ren has always given me. But due to the very few scenes that Ren appears in for this first episode, I may be jumping the gun by commenting on him.

As for Miyano Mamoru, he is doing exemplary excellent as Sho. I like it. He can pull off the moody, coolness that is Sho as well as the moronic secretive character that only Kyoko has ever seen. He sounds good as an asshole and I praise him well. Knowing that he can sing is a good thing too as Sho is supposedly a rising star in the singing industry and extremely popular and talented as well.

Inoue Marina is doing fine as Kyoko. Although I think I'll appreciate her more when she retains her "evil Kyoko" tone which she will have to have for a good few episodes to appease Kyoko's anger until her innocent and naive side comes back out.


All in all, the anime adaptation was not what I had been expecting. The animation isn't all that great and the character designs are carbon copies of the manga. The music is passably good, and as the anime is sticking with the original storyline, there is little to question about it.


I look forward to seeing the rest of the cast soon. As far as spoilers go, the next episode will be the infamous casting auditions and Kyoko meets Kotonami Kanae for the first time. I can't wait to see the interaction between Kyoko and her good friend Moko-san, and I definitely can't wait until Kyoko meets with Maria.

As a fan of shoujo manga, romances, and fun anime such as Skip Beat, even if the results are not what I expected, I know I will sure continue to watch it. After all, I followed Special A all the way to the end, there is no reason to pass up Skip Beat at all -- ugh... bad comparison, but you get the point.

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.

thoughts: Random Walk (manga)

Okay, so I took a few more days off from blogging than I intended to. But have no fear, Ani is back and she's got quite a few posts up her sleeve. Not only that, but I may even start writing those features I've promised as well as finally posting that Amatsuki thoughts post I've been holding since the creation of anicabyss.

But anyway...




Creator: Yoshizumi Wataru
Genre: romance, shoujo, slice of life, school life, drama
Volumes/Chapters: 3 volumes (15 chapters with extra ending)


Ever since reading PxP, I ended up becoming a fan of Yoshizumi-sensei's work. Her character designs are very pretty and very cute, her stories are usually quite laxed with a made for drama feel, and her female protagonists are typically pretty strong-headed types. Her artwork is great, in my opinion, as there isn't too much noise in the background and a good amount of attention to detail.


Random Walk is a cute little story that centers around a girl named Yuka who goes through several relationships which end up in heartbreak for her each time. But because her father had told her to "experience good love so that you can be a good person" Yuka-chan seems quite ready to brave the topsy-turvy storms of having a love relationship with boys. Throughout the three volumes, she falls in love quite readily with some of the guys who walk into her life including an old boyfriend who had been caught cheating on her before as well as a boy who already has a five year relationship with another girl.

All-in-all, the manga is just another cute story to pass the time. The only thing that would keep one hooked to Random Walk is the idea that Yuka-chan needs to find a boyfriend at the end, at the very least. I felt very sorry for her throughout and only hoped that she would finally find someone.

I have to say that Yuka's choice in boys are quite... bad.

The first candidate was the son of a friend of her father's. Shiki Nozomu is a second year at her high school whom she meets for the first time when she and her friend Touko go to a karaoke. Touko had planned on playing the meet, play and ditch card on Nozomu and his friend so that they wouldn't have to pay for anything, but end up getting caught. Yuka later learns that Nozomu goes to her school and is the son of her father's friend who wants her to meet and date his son. And so when she reveals this as well as showing Nozomu the letter of recommendation that his father wrote, they agree to try dating. When they finally become serious, it appears that Nozomu is not only not serious about Yuka-chan, but he also ends up falling for another girl he meets at the library.

And thus ends the first love story in Yuka-chan's high school career.

As she is crying over her break-up with Nozomu, the second love story walks passed her in the form of Furuya Kaito, a third year in her high school. She meets him the second time outside when she's photographing a ladybug, and then the third time she meets him is at her step-mother, Youko-mama's studio where he makes his first move, kissing her and telling her that he thought she was cute. The relationship would have progressed quite nicely except for the fact that we learn that Kaito already has a girlfriend and this girlfriend is the head of the photography club Yuka just joined, a girl named Saori who is very nice and very kind to Yuka. Thus, even as Yuka knows this, she begins to date Kaito while feeling extremely guilty as Saori and Kaito have been together for a couple years.

As this relationship was doomed to end in the beginning, I was pretty shocked that Yuka actually went through with it. While it was true that Kaito really expressed genuinely that he was in love with Yuka, that still didnt' change the face that he already has a girlfriend whom he is also in love with. That said, he was quite pushy and I think that that was what got Yuka interested in him as she's the type to give in to someone as pushy as him.

The last of Yuka-chan's heartbreaks had also been the first. In the second year of junior high, she met a boy named Tsutsui Hikaru who fell for her and came on strong. Because of this, she ended up falling for him as well since his pushy personality won her over. But later on, she found him cheating on her with a tutor and so the two broke up. At present day, Hikaru is back and he wants to do things over with Yuka. But lo and behold, of course, this relationship does not play out the way Yuka wants and so she is left broken hearted again. In the end, Hikaru ended up choosing another girl over her.

To be honest, I'm all for giving second chances and all, but this relationship was kind of short and ridiculous considering how much time Hikaru spent trying to get Yuka to go out with him again. And then he just turns around and breaks her heart all over again.

By this time in the storyline, I pretty much predicted the ending very easily.

Throughout, we are introduced to all of Yuka's friends including an older ex-stepbrother of hers from her father's second marriage. Even after the divorce, Yuka still keeps in contact with her second stepmother, Sachie-mama, and her father had kept in contact with Touwa, the stepbrother. Upon seeing how Yuka easily spouts off her relationships to him, it wasn't hard to guess who the main couple in the end would be.

I would have to say, even though it was highly predictable, it was also quite sudden as Yuka had always mentioned that she and Touwa never got along with each other in the past. Although we do learn that Touwa had been opposed to the marriage between his mother and Yuka's father because he already had a crush on Yuka.

Very cute story, very cute characters. There's little else to say about this manga, and I think I've already said too much.

The manga also boasts the side stories concerning the love lives of Yuka's friends, Negishi Touko and her on again off again boyfriend, Chiba Hirotaka and his relationships, as well as Ishimara Katsura and her little endearing love story with a student teacher.

Overall, the manga was fun to read and I enjoyed watching Yuka go through her high school so dazzlingly. I don't approve of some of her boyfriends, but that's really something I can't really criticize. It's not a must read as far as the story goes, but if you're a fan of Yoshizumi-sensei or a fan of cute shoujo manga, I would highly recommend this one to anyone.

At least for the fangirls out there, there is a good select amount of bishounen goodness in the entire story altogether. lol

news: Skip Beat! anticipation overload!!!

As per The Scrumptious Anime Blog the first episode of Skip Beat! has broadcasted. I will not be the first or only blogger of Skip Beat! as I know that there are a multitude of fans out there just clawing at their desks waiting (not so) patiently for the first available release of this manga turned anime online.

I for one am about to jump into cyberspace to find out why the subbing is taking so long. BUT... I keep reminding myself to remain patient and kind and try not to pester the lovely subbers out there for they are doing their best after all. If I could understand Japanese and translate it, there is no doubt I would be on that first episode like a leech.

I cannot wait as Skip Beat! had aired yesterday in Japan and subbing will take at least a good amount of days to do.

Up to this point, I refuse to read anything that has to do with the first episode via blogs and summaries and whatnot so as not to ruin my firsthand experience of watching the anime for myself.

Be patient, ani... you can do it.

Oh how I crave my Kyoko-sama and her crazy evil antics...

Eagerly awaiting and waiting and waiting. *sigh*

news: rolling in October

Despite the fact that business is picking up at my part-time thus forcing me to become full-time, and despite all the slacking off I've been doing thus forcing me to cram-study for my upcoming test, I feel the need continue planning my posts for anicabyss.

My blogging has been a lot more scattered than I'd intended it to be since the beginning, but I kind of don't mind the direction that I'm taking. After all, if I set myself to an unchangeable schedule, I may end up rampaging. Secondly, no one reads this blog save for myself, so really, who cares how I blog anyway, right?


My intention is to finish up some posts that I've already started such as the thoughts on Aishiteru ze Baby, Special A, Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (Perfect Girl Evolution/The Wallflower), and Tokyo Marble Chocolate. I may or may not do all of them, but Special A is a must and The Wallflower would make a great Halloween Holiday time post.

My upcoming manga thoughts posts havn't been started yet, but they will be. I plan on writing one for Random Walk, of which I recently finished, and PxP, of which I have taken a liking. Both manga are by Yoshizumi Wataru, so there's the probability that I may pick two more of her manga to write about and just make it a little Yoshizumi-sensei marathon.

I really, really lack the motivation (or probably the ability) to create feature posts even though I've come up with so many ideas already. My biggest necessity to the feature items include the "Top Bishounen" and the "Why I've fallen in love with Megane-bishie-kun in shoujo manga" as well as the "Wonder Women of manga and anime: Kiri-ti and Tama-chan" posts. I so, so, so want to share these three, but I've yet to even begin somewhere besides making a list of my favorite Megane-kun from all sources anime and manga.

Aside from that, the spotlight post for October has yet to be chosen yet, and the previous list of all possible spotlight posts has been declined. Another part of the featurettes is the featured song of which I've already chosen the ending theme to Hatenkou Yugi.


Onto other more merry news, Skip Beat! will be airing within the week and so there will definitely be a new first impressions post for it. My only conflict is whether I want to break down and do a by episode posting of Skip Beat to see how it goes, or if I just want to watch the anime and comment on it like I do all the others. What may end up happening is that I'll just comment on my thoughts of Skip Beat! as I watch without any sense of episode-by-episode. I'm too lazy for that.

But who knows, I may change my mind.

Other new anime will also be airing soon as a lot of the ones I'm watching are coming to a close. Natsume Yuujinchou has reached it final episode that I will be able to view soon, and there has been an announcement that a second season is on its way. I will look forward to it and the anicabyss readers (population: 1; yea that's me) can look forward to the ending series thoughts of Natsume Yuujinchou.

Wagaya no Oinari-sama should be drawing to a close soon as well, and I've yet to continue on with World Destruction which is probably nowhere near end yet. While D.Gray-man feels like it's still ongoing, the most recent episode I watched boasted a "last episode" as the preview and so I'm a little worried since there is still so much more going on in the storyline. Subbing error, maybe?

Naisho no Tsubomi has yet to release it's second OVA sub and Chocolate Underground seems to have come to a standstill. I don't mind, as they aren't really too significant to my viewing diet as of present, but it would be nice to be able to finish what I start. I'd hate to have another Amatsuki and Allison to Lillia laying around my harddrive where I just can't seem to finish them.


Finally, onto manga news is my sudden interest in adventure, shoujo, and romance in the same manga story. I've set my sights on the likes of Immortal Rain, Kanata Kara, Kakan no Madonna, Tsuki no Shippo, and so on, so forth. Unfortunately, very few of these are even completely translated and so I feel like I need to wait it out a little.

Otherwise, I'm still waiting patiently for Lovely Complex, Beauty Pop, Ouran High School Host Club, etc, etc, etc that are all listed on my manga diet list to the right.

If anyone has ever wondered (population: 0) the lists are formed in the fashion of which anime/manga I will jump onto first thing when I can get the newest chapter/episode within my grasp. Basically it's a rough "top ten" list of the anime and manga I'm currently obsessed with starting with number one. And the list isn't static so it may change daily.

And with this, hopefully I'll be able to go along a little more of a planned month than the last two. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with that October spotlight. And hopefully I'll finally be able to finish watching Amatsuki, though I may just drop it altogether.

news: Skip Beat! an interview with the cast

- from The Scrumptious Anime Blog In Lieu of the Fall Preview #3: Skip Beat Seiyuu Cast (and Director) Interview
With Skip Beat! coming close to it's broadcast in less than a week, here's a nice little interview of the cast and director that I found off of The Scrumptious Anime Blog (who's website link can be found about as well as in my blogroll). This particular interview can also be found in it's Japanese transliterated glory --> here <-- because the title of the site is in Japanese and I don't know what it means anyway. Basically, as far as I've read, thanks to usagijen from the Scrumptious Anime Blog's post is that this interview takes place after the second voice recording. Two episodes have come to pass and the seiyuu are talking about their experiences and how they like Skip Beat! thus far.

Much of the work is already done by usagijen so I won't repeat the translated interview and will simply direct anyone to visit the link above. Then again, no one really comes to my blog anyway, so...

In reading the interview, I found that I must agree with the seiyuu themselves on what parts they are looking forward to seeing. Especially Konishi-san who points out that he would love to watch the part where Kyoko and Moko-san are doing the commercial auditions. That will be so much fun to see in action (or rather in animation)!

After having read through the manga itself to a certain point, there is so much about the anime I am looking forward to. And after today, there will be five days left until the official broadcast date.

As I have been specifically using The Scrumptious Anime Blog as my source for Skip Beat! news, I would like to take this time to thank the bloggers of the site for having all this information available. It's nice to be able to know so backstage info about a specific anime as well as get to see a cute little interview of seiyuu where they kid around in the beginning. lol