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Manga Spotlight Archive

-Video Versions-
YouTube:
1] Future Diary in general
2] Penguin Brothers entire series
Teh Bookworm:

9] Love Monster chpt. 1-16
10] Bitter Virgin v.1 
11] Desire Climax entire series

-Text Versions-
13] AOT Before the Fall

12] Nana to Kaoru in general
3] Butterflies, Flowers vol 1-3
4] Chobits (Dark Horse trans.)
5] Gate 7
6] Kodoc
7] March Story
8] Pita-ten

DOW Archive

Current DOW- 1 Liter of Tears

Koizora
Ouran Host Club
Q10

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

Thank You

Densha Otoko

Death Note

Yankee-kun to Megane-chan

Aquarian Age

Liar Game

Keitai Sousakan 7

Bonus Picks:

September- Himitsu no Hanazono

November- Hana Yori Dango

AOW/AOTM archive

[Current AOW]- 128] Violet Evergarden (2/18-24/2018)

AOW= anime of the week
AOTM= anime of the moment
sometimes there will be both, sometimes only one.
If I'm too busy to post weekly, most likely an AOTM will be posted.

[Special]
125] Spring/Summer 2016 Special
123] Dennou Coil
115] Shinmai Maou no Testament [why'd I bother #7]
114] Super Sonico the Animation [Why'd I bother #6] (2/8-14/2015)
111] DearS [why'd I bother #5]
109] Love Stage! (9/21-27/2014)
100] #100 special (Bartender, Bento, Garden of Sinners)
1] Another [why'd I bother 1]
2] winter line-up special, Bartender
3] School Days, Aoi Bungaku, Kimi ni Todoke [Why'd I Bother]
4] Paradise Kiss, Saikano 
5] Adaptations of American stuffz
46] Papa [why'd I bother 2] (11/21-27/2010)
90] Genocyber [why'd I bother 3] (9/8-14/2013)

[#]
6] 5cm Per Second (7/15-21/2012)

[A]
118] AOT: Kuinaki Sentaku
112] Assassination Classroom (1/25-31/2015)

103] Akame ga Kill! (8/10-16/2014)
79] Angel Beats (3/24-30/2013)
71] Amnesia (1/13-19/2013)
7] Aquarion EVOL (1/22-28/2012)

[B]
105] Bladedance of the Elementalers
88] Binbougami ga! (6/30-7/6/2013)
77] Ben-to (3/10-16/2013)
74] Basquash! (2/17-23/2013)
8] Bakuman! (1/16-22/2011)
9] Baka to Test (2/7-13/2010)
10] Battle Doll Angelic Layer (1/15-21/2011)
11] Big O (6/19-25/2011)
12] Bubblegum Crisis (12/20-26/2010)
13] Black Jack (6/21-7/3/2010)
14] Blue Exorcist (5/29-6/4/2011)

[C]
126] Cyborg 009: Call of Justice
95] Cardfight Vanguard (11/10-16/2013)
15] Cromartie High School (11/27-12/3/2011)
65] Claymore (10/14-20/2012)

[D]
113] Death Parade (2/1-7/2015)
110] Dana ga Ken (10/5-11/2014)
102] Dragonar Academy 
16] Demon King Daimou (7/24-30/2011)
17] Durarara! (12/12-18/2010)
18] DOGs (11/30-12/5/2009)
19] Denno Coil (9/6-12/09)

[E]
20] Elfen Lied (5/1-7/2011)
21] Eve no Jikan (4/17-23/2011)
22] Earth Maiden Arjuna (11/14-20/2010)

[F]
84] Fate/Stay Night (4/28-5/4/2013)
23] FLCL (2/13-19/2011)
24] Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (8/8-14/2010)
64] FMA: Brotherhood, Star of Milos (10/7-13/2012)
89] FREE! (8/4-10/2013)

[G]
127] Gakuen Babysitters (1/21-27-2018)
108] GTO (9/14-20/2014)
97] Garden of Words (12/8-14/2013)
91] Genshiken Nidaime (9/15-21/2013)
25] GYO (2/26-3/3/2012)
26] Gunbuster; Diebuster (3/20-26/2011)
27] Gankutsuou (8/16-22/2009)
67] Genshiken (10/28-11/3/2012)

[H]
28] .hack//QUANTUM (3/18-24/2012)
29] High School of the Dead (9/16-10/2/2010)
30] .hack//Beyond the World (8/19-25/2012)

[I]
116] ISUCA (3/8-14/2015)
78] Ichigo Mashimaru (3/17-23/2013)
76] Inu x Boku SS (3/3-9/2013)

[J]
31] Jungle de Ikou [Why'd I Bother 3] (6/13-19/2010)

[K]
120] K
96] Kill la Kill (12/1-7/2013)
93] Kyoukai no Kanata (10/27-11/2/2013)
92] Kokoro Connect (9/22-28/2013)
32] Kore wa Zombie Desu-ka!? [bonus 1] (3/20-26/2011)
33] Kimi ni Todoke [Why'd I Bother 4] (2/6-12/2010)
34] Koe de Oshigoto (11/21-27/2010)
35] Kemonozume (9/19-25/2010)
36] Koi Kaze (8/1-7/2010)

[L]
75] Love Live! School Idol Project (2/24-3/2/2013)
72] Little Busters! (1/27-2/2/2013)
37] Lucky Star (3/6-12/2011)

[M]
98] Marmalade Boy (12/22-28/2013)
87] Malice@Doll (6/23-29/2013)
85] My Sister Can't be this Cute s.2 (6/2-8/2013)
38] Mezzo DSA (5/20-26/2012)
39] Mawaru Penguindrum (7/31-8/6/2011)
40] My Sister Can't be This Cute (10/31-11/6/2010)
41] Mushi-uta (8/21-9/4/2010)

[N]
86] Naruto: Shippuden (6/16-22/2013)
42] Nichijou (4/24-30/2011)
43] Nanoha (12/26/10-1/1/2011)
44] Nyan Koi! (11/22-28/2009)
45] NT, HT (8/2-8/2009)
66] Negima!? (10/21-17/2012)

[O]
119] Oh! My Goddess
104] Ouran High School Host Club (8/17-23/2014)
94) Outbreak Company (11/3-9/2013)

[P]
121] Prison School
106] P4: The Golden (8/31-9/6/2014)
81] Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream (4/7-13/2013)
47] Papa no Ikukoto (2/12-18/2012)

[Q]
48] Qwaser of the Stigmata (4/1-7/2012)

[R]
99] Rainbow (1/12-18/2013)
82] Rebuild of Eva (3/14-20/2013)
80] RDG: Red Data Girl (3/31-4/6/2013)
49] re:Cutie Honey (6/26-7/2/2011)
63] Rune Soldier (9/30-10/6/2012)

[S]
122] Silver Spoon
73] Sasami-san@Ganbaranai (2/10-16/2013)
50] Shinesman (7/11-17/2010)
51] Solty Rei (12/6-12/2009)
52] Sword Art Online (8/26-9/1/2012)
62] Steins;GATE (9/23-29/2012)

[T]
107] Tokyo ESP (9/7-13/2014)
69] Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (11/11-17/2012)
53] Tokko (1/9-15/2010)
54] Trigun (7/4-10/2010)
55] Texhnolyze (10/4-10/2009)

[U]
56] UN GO (2/19-25/2012)

[V]
 83] Victorian Romance Emma (4/21-27/2013)
57] Variable Geo [Why'd I Bother 5] (2/20-26/2011)

[W]
116] Working (3/1-7/2015)

58] The World God Only Knows (2/27-3/5/2011)
68] TWGOK II (11/4-10/2012)

[X]
70] X-Men (1/6-12/2013)
59] xxxHolic (3/27-4/2/2011)

[Y]
124] Young Black Jack
117] Your Lie in April (3/22-28/2015)

60] Yumeria (1/2-8/2010)

[Z]
61] Zaion (2/21-27/2010)

episode(s) [review archive] {incomplete atm}

These reviews [which are more like commentary if I'm being honest] are either in a single post or grouped together with others. I used to really want to review anime by the episode, but I found this to be really hard and haven't really stuck with this kind of format but I still sometimes review this way, so here is an archive of past and current reviews, in ABC order:
(note, anime with * are reviews of the English dub)
(note, some of these are movies >.> )

as of 2/25/2010, I'm letting you know this is currently not the complete list. this is only for the commentary I posted up to the first post in October 2009. I had no idea i posted so many of these tiny reviews >.> and i need to get to sleep because it's 7am and I have work at 2:30pm and I've had zip sleep soooo BED TIME *crashes* I'll finish after work today which is like 2:30-11pm so yay =D

07-Ghost [#21][#22-25]

Asura Cryin' [#1]

Bakemonogatari [1-3]
Basquash! [1&2]
Birdy the Mighty Decode [#1]

chaos;HEAD [1&2]
Clannad ~after story~ [1-3]

Darker than BLACK [1&2][3-6]
Dead Leaves [1]

Eden of the East [#1]
Ef: A Tale of Melodies [#1]

Genshiken [1&2]

Hanasakeru Seishounen [#1]

KNK The Garden of Sinners [#1]
K-ON! [#1]
Kujibiki Unbalanced [1-3]
Kemeko DX [#1]
Kuro Kami * [1-4]
Kurozuka [1-3]

Mushi-uta [#1]

Natsu no Arashi [#1]
Needless [1&2]

Princess Lover [1-4]

Rin ~daughters of darkness~ [#1-6]

Sgt. Frog * [1&2]

Tayutama ~kiss on my deity~ [#1]
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 [1&2]

Umi Monogatari [1&2]
Umineko no Naku koro ni [#1]

Vexille [1]

Awake [2007]

***

"You have to live, Clay." -Clay's mother

Back in 2007 I was not the movie buff that I am today for one main reason- there were a lot of movies my parents wouldn't let me watch due to that oh so interesting R rating (I was only 15/16 that year). Well, Awake was a movie I really wanted to see back then but alas I was not allowed. Today I got the chance to finally watch this movie that I have wanted to for the past 3 years!
________________________________
The movie's main character is played by Hayden Christensen who is of Star Wars and Jumper fame while his love interest is played by Jessica Alba of Fantastic 4 fame. There is also Terrance Howard of Iron Man fame that played the heart surgeon. This movie, in other words, had quite the star cast considering this movie was the first for the screen writer/ director behind it.
_______________________________
~Synopsis~
The twenty-two year old Clay Beresford is a genius of finance secretly in love of his mother's secretary Sam Lockwood. Clay has a complex, expecting recognition from his mother Lilith Beresford that he is as capable as his father was, and he needs heart transplantation. When Clay finds a donor compatible with his rare blood, he requests his friend Dr. Jack Harper operate him under the protest of his mother that wants the famous Dr. Jonathan Neyer responsible for the procedure. On the eve of his heart surgery, Clay marries Sam and during the surgery, he experiences an "anesthetic awareness" that leaves his conscious but paralyzed. Clay witnesses the dialogs in the room and discovers dark secrets about his surgery.
_________________________________
~Characters/Casting~
Clay (Christensen): Clay, the main character, was a very interesting one. At first in the movie he seemed way to submissive to his mother (in fact ditching his love interest when his mother is near, and going as far as hiding their engagement), but the reason to this is revealed later on in the movie and this made me realize that Christensen was able to portray the character very well. As far as being an 'awake' patient, I found his portrayal to be very believable- though this is considering my far from extensive knowledge of being awake while under anesthesia.
Sam (Alba): I'm not used to seeing Miss Alba playing such a manipulative character! Oh my gosh, you have to see this movie simply to see the way Alba plays the Sam character. She is able to.... ah snap! I can't really say anything about her character without ruining the movie :(
I feel like this movie was well casted, especially when it came to the mother and surgeon characters. The others were good as well, but the ones casted for Clay, Sam and the Mom were really good choices.
_________________________________
~Overall Impression~
While this movie is listed as a physiological thriller, it really isn't all that much of a thriller as it is a story about how a character's situation from child hood can really screw him over in the long run.
Not much is revealed about how Clay got his wealth, but it is very apparent from the start as to why he still has the wealth; and it is even more apparent why he was chosen for.... -AH SNAP. Like this is about to be a serious spoiler so do not read it if you're planning on watching this movie because it's a movie where not knowing what's going to happen 'till it does is what makes this a good movie- ... being the patient to kill.
The way this movie was executed was tre perfecto. The story was amazing and the casting was top notch. There's really nothing I can complaine about with this movie. There is really no soundtrack to comment on and I can say the medical practices in this movie were not dead on which is the main reason why this movie gets a 3 stars rather than 5. The medical staff was dangerously short, and I'm pretty sure if the staff was that short an realistic replacement would have been found rather than some last minute one.

Victorian Romance Emma (anime review)

****

_______________________________
# of Episodes: 24 (12 per season) + recap ep
Rating: early Teen
Genre(s): Romance/Drama/Slice of Life
________________________________
My friend Elijah (who is an anime geek to the extreme) is a genius for giving me this anime to watch! I finished both seasons in a matter of days because I just could not stop watching except to eat and let my eyes take a break because I get bad headaches if I don't. Ha ha *sweet drop*
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
~Synopsis~
William Jones’s trip to visit his governess Kelly Stowner yields more than just an opportunity to reminisce on old times; he also ends up falling in love with her maid, Emma. However, trouble arises from this relationship because William is a member of the gentry and with his father looking to raise his family’s status by marrying into the nobility, this relationship meets with some major resistance. It also does not help that Eleanor Campbell, the daughter of a viscount has fallen in love with William and seeks to gain his affection. [The Nihon Review]
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
~Initial Impressions~
When I first started watching this series, I was a little surprised by how it captivated me. Normally a series that is this slow would make me want to stop watching... ok, that's a lie BUT STILL I did consider dropping this series after a few episodes simply because of the premise but episode one just would not let me do that.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
~The Music/ Dub~
This is the type of series that a Japanese dub just doesn't really work, so when I tried to hunt down an English version to no avail I was pretty sad. The reason why I just can not give this anime a perfect score is because of the lack of a fitting English dub, not to say that the Japanese one wasn't good... it just wasn't fitting!
The music on the other hand was sweet and very Victorian sounding :D
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
~The Visuals~
If I lived in the Victorian era, I'm pretty sure it would look like this anime does. The animation was very calming, and really help with setting the happy and sad and dramatic moods in this anime. I adore the color pallet!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
~The Story~
Slow romances usually don't go as well as this one did! Especially the ones where a master falls in love with a maid. AH, usually they are too funny or too fan service filled for me to care but this one.... was really well done! It's not your typical maid series.

Valentine's Day [2010]

You would think a movie with this much "star power" would have WOWED the audience.... well, I was part of an audience viewing this movie on some random Thursday and it was extremely disappointing! First off, having so many starts in one movie was a failure in itself... because of all these stars, the different stories were rushed rather that developed to the point where I could attach myself to the characters. Second, Taylor Swifts' character made me want to barf. She was so annoying and I felt sorry for Taylor Lautner :( Anne Hathaway's character was a hoot- she played an adult phone entertainer.
What really got me about this movie was how almost every couple broke up (except the high school couples who were just too lovey dovey)- all except the one George Lopez was apart of T_T Overall, this movie was just ok. There were no extremely heart wrenching moments and I didn't feel the need to cry at all. BUT the little boy who tried to give flowers to his teacher was an awe worthy moment. You're better off waiting to rent this one.

Darker than BLACK (anime review)

****

[watch legally for free on FUNimation's DTB Youtube]

I'm surprised it took me this long to watch the first season of Darker than BLACK, but the second season (Gemini of the Meteor) started this Fall 2009... usually when something really good gets a second season, my anime friends like to chat up a storm about the first season and this means spoilers galore! It took me little over a month to watch all 25 episodes and the 1 ova episode, but this is because I tend to watch 15+ anime at the same time (more recently more because I've been watching some old anime I never saw such as Speed Grapher).
_________________________________
Darker than BLACK is an original anime (meaning it is not based on an anime, manga, game, etc but is an original creation by the company that made it) produced by studio BONES. It has two manga adaptations. Season 1 (Kuro no Keiyakusha) ran for 25 episodes and had one ova (it's known as episode 26, but takes place in between episodes so is not actually the end of the series but more of an extra episode). The second season premiered during the Fall 2009 season of anime and has 1 ova episode planned, but this ova is set to tell more so Hei's story from before season 1 started. FUNimation entertainment has the license for an English dub and season 1 has already been released completed in English.
_________________________________
In Tokyo, an impenetrable field known as "Hell's Gate" appeared ten years ago. At the same time, psychics who wield paranormal powers at the cost of their conscience also emerged. Hei is one of the most powerful of these psychic agents, and along with his blind associate, Yin, works for one of the many rival agencies vying to unlock the mysteries of Hell's Gate. [ann]
_________________________________
I was expecting this anime to let me down mainly because when people overly fan boy/girl over a series, it ends up being extremely cliched or something I've just got no interest in seeing (there are a few cases where a really popular anime was one I liked). I found it to be brilliant to add a payment for these 'powers' used in the anime, which without would have made this over used "we haz powahs!" concept even more over used and I probably would have been bored within a few episodes, but add the amazing character relations and this mysterious grim reaper type character BA BOOM you got a winning series :]

Jennifer's Body [2009]/ Surrogates [2009]

***

The premise for this movie was that popular girl Jennifer (Megan Fox) can get any boy she wants and all girls want to be her. Well... one day at a concert miss Jennifer is used as a virgin sacrifice, only she is not a virgin. Instead of just being killed, a demon is transferred into her body for all of eternity. This demon has to feed on flesh in order to sustain itself. The only way to rid earth of this demon is to kill Jennifer via her heart...
I'm not one who chooses readily to go to this type of teenage horror flick but my friends wanted to go and my vote to go see Fame had become out numbered. BUT I actually enjoyed the movie. The background music was really good, and the story was not half bad. If only there would be a sequel :)

***1/2

The movie is about how individuals can live their daily life's via surrogate robots. The best part is that if your surrogate self gets 'murdered' or 'harmed' that the you in a stem chair should not sustain any damage. One day people start dieing in their stem chairs after encountering a hooded man with a very deadly weapon.
This movie had a concept that could have worked out very well, but the movie had been too short which also resulted in it seeming rushed. If I had the choice to watch it again, I would because it was a good start of a movie but I wouldn't pay to see it in a theatre.

Baby Mama [2008] [dvd rental] (mini-movie review)

***

The premise for the movie itself was not what made me want to watch this- it was the leading ladies. The movie did it's best not to drag, and the over the top comedy that Saturday Night Live (of which Faye and Poehler are pretty big parts of) is known for was not too present in this movie. Big plus! This was a hearwarming movie that was actually able to teach a small lesson in the end. Go watch this when you need a decent movie to watch =D

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince [2009][movie theatre] (movie review)

***

~Summary~

Emboldened by the return of Lord Voldemort, the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that new dangers may lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. He needs Harry to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort's defenses, critical information known only to Hogwarts' former Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn. With that in mind, Dumbledore manipulates his old colleague into returning to his previous post with promises of more money, a bigger office, and the chance to teach the famous Harry Potter. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry's long friendship with Ginny Weasley is growing into something deeper, but standing in the way is Ginny's boyfriend, Dean Thomas, not to mention her big brother Ron. But Ron's got romantic entanglements of his own to worry about, with Lavender Brown lavishing her affections on him, leaving Hermione simmering with jealousy yet determined not to show her feelings. And then a box of love potion-laced chocolates ends up in the wrong hands and changes everything. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof with far more important matters on his mind. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again. [official website]

~Impressions~

This movie is most definatly one for the fans of Harry Potter (more specifically the ones who have read the books) because there are many moments that non-readers will be confused on. Several of the actors did a superb job with playing their characters while others just didn't cut it. I have to point out Tom Felton's portrayal of Draco Malfoy in this film because in past films I found his acting to be too over the top while in this one he played the distressed 'chossen one' that the character in the book version was suppose to be. What I am saying is that Mr. Felton has finally become the Draco I've read about.Daniel Radcliff continues to be a very annoing Harry, but he did hit the mark when having to force Dumbledor to drink.... oh crap. That would be a spoiler, so you'll just have to go see the movie to know what Akia is talking about :]~Film~

This film in the Harry Potter series has the same feel as the previous one. If you're looking for the magical feel the first few films had, well, you will be dissapointed. This film is much darker than others, but it is also a little too light hearted. I bet this is the reason HP 6 got it's PG rating when, if the book was followed, the movie should have at least been rated PG-13.

Bakemonogatari [ep.1&2]

Bakemonogatari is the product of SHAFT.

~Episode 1~ [screencaps]

Episode 1 of Bakemonogatari definantly made me want to continue on with the series not only because of the interesting story of a girl who had her weight stolen by a crab (which is later revealed to be a "god"), but also because of the animation approach which reminds me of the Ef series! The episode ended on a note that made me want to watch the second one ASAP.

~Episode 2~

The second episode solved the problem the first one presented, and also made it look like the anime was over with only two episodes. If it was not for the next episode preview, I probably would have mistake this series for an OVA anime (it's actually scheduled for 12 episodes). I warn people who plan to watch this that episode 2 deals with the topic of rape; it gets pretty deep.

[3/50] Chasing Yesterday #1: Awakening (review)

[book 3 out of the 50 books in a year challenge 2009/2010]

[this book was checked out from a library]

***

"At first, there was nothing but the pain. It began as a low rumble, background noise. It was almost soothing, the way it folded around her like a blanket. It made her mind dull, gave her a place to hide. It throbbed. It hummed. It came in waves, tossing her up, dragging her under, washing over her, carrying her away from herself, from everything." Awakening; pg. 1

Awakening opens up with a girl laying on the ground in the aftermath of major explosion. She is without memories... yet she knows how to move her eyes, how to speak, how to function. Once the girl is found and taken to the hospital, her story is show on the news and she is now known as "little girl lost." This girl does not like being called this, nor the name she has been given by the media- Jane Doe. She, instead, wishes to be called J.D. J.D. is soon shipped to a home for kids no one wants any longer. Here she meets a boy named David. At first the two don't hit it off, but eventually she ends up telling her the few days worth of a life story she has....

I ended up reading this 207 page book in a few hours. It is a book for those 8 years of age and older, but I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the second book (which I checked out from the library when checked this one out). Overall, the book had a story that kept me interested- made me want to read untill I finished.

50 bk Challenge [2009/2010]

I originally started this challenge back in Febuary but never really got around to reading books as I had planned... so I've decided to restart the challenge this month (july) and go to next year, this month (july 2010). The rules are simple. I can't read how-to books, non-chapter books for this challenge. The book has to be AT LEAST 250 PAGES IN LENGTH. That is all. If you're going to participate in this, let me know :]

I'll do my best to review most of the books I complete.

I'm counting books I read last month as ones towards the challenge... yep.

Completed books in the challenge (in order of being completed):
1- Skinned [review]
2- Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Darkside
3- Chasing Yesteray #1: Awakening [review]

Gattaca [1997] [dvd rental] (mini-movie review)

****

My anatomy teacher had her students (the ones who weren't seniors or seniors who had finished checking out of high school) start to watch Gattaca. I was still checking out that day, so I missed the first part of the movie. The chunk I did get to see made me want to run off and rent the movie. I did the same day (after school of course) and really enjoyed this movie. What surprised me the most was that Gattaca was realeased in 1997. If you're looking for a different kind of science movie, then this is a really good watch.

Cyborg She [2008] [download] (Japanese movie)

****

-Summary-

On November 22, 2007 Jirou Kitamura spends his birthday alone with no girlfriend to even speak of. This has been the occuarnce for quite a few of his birthdays. He goes to a department store to by him self a present. As he is doing this, Kitamura notices a 'cute' girl following him.
After buying himself a present, Kitamura goes to a resturant to eat his birthday meal. Before he is able to finish eating, the girl appears before him only to say it is her birthday as well. The two eat together, but Kitamura realizes he can't pay for both meals. The girl, in responce, drags him out of the resturant. The two end up runing around town only to end up at Kiramura's house. Soon after, Kitamura ends up realizing this girl knows him somehow but before he can ask, she tells him that she is a time travelr before dissapering for a year.
On his 21st birthday, the girl comes back- or so it seems... turns out this time the girl is a cyborg sent to prevent Kitamura from dieing in a tragic earthquake!
-Initial Impressions-
If you've known me long enough, you'd know I adore anime and movies of this type- ones involving cyborgs. The first part of the movie really got me excited, but did not work on my emotions as much as when the cyborg version of the girl came. It was most definantly a thrill ride and one that worked on my emotions. I can't really say 89% of what I want to say on this movie because it'll be spoiler-rific!!
-The Music-
I don't really remember the music very well... thusly leaving me unable to review the music!
-Film-
The way this movie was shot is impressive (but I do have to admit that the graphics during the earth quake were a bit cheesy). There is something about the way Japanese shoot their movies that really make me feel like I'm experiencing the movie first hand. I do have to say that the fiture shots are abnormal feeling, which is probably the way it should feel because the future is not something I'm used to or have experienced.

Henry Poole is Here [2008] [dvd rental] (movie mini-review)

****

[Movie Information]

After watching Race to Witch Mountain earlier in the day, I was ready for a movie that does not rely on effects to make it a watchable movie. Henry Poole is Here was the movie I was looking for, to an extent. While watching the movie, I could pretty much predict what would happen but I wasn't too upset by this because the story was what the movie relied on rather then effects (this is in no way an effects movie! In fact, it's more of an independent film because there were many creative shots rather than computer effects). This movie is well worth the watch =)

H2O: Footprints in the Sand [2008] [download] (anime review)

*** Image copyright goes out to Zexcs.

I’m actually typing this at around 12:15am on March 14 2009- right after I finished the last episode of H2O: Footprints in the Sand. I was watching this mainly to pass the time while waiting for someone to log on to Yahoo IM (but due to a two hour time difference and their friend visiting before a major event later this morning, this person I was waiting to log back on probably ended up crashing before they remembered to logg back on to Yahoo) but ended up continuing not because the anime was “interesting” but because I honestly had nothing better to do because ToraDora is on the computer at the moment which my sister is using. Oh, and the reason this is being typed before posted is because my hand me down laptop sometimes doesn’t connect to the internet. *le sighhhh*

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H2O: Footprints in the Sand is based on a Japanese adult visual novel by Makura that was released on June 23 2006. The anime was released from January 4 2008 through March 21 2008 spanning a total of 12 episodes. Even though there is a sequel to the visual novel called Root After and Another, there is currently no second season scheduled. There was a manga adaptation released before the anime adaptation. The anime is licensed for an English language release by Kodokawa Shoten.

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The anime opens with the male lead, Takuma Hirose a blind middle school student, reciting part of an adaptation of the poem Footprints (a Christian faith based poem where a human is asking God why there is only one set of footprints in the sand if God said he would always be there). At one point in the anime, towards the beginning, he meets a girl who calls herself Otoha. Otoha tells Hirose that she is a spirit and he is the fabled Chosen One. In order to prove she is a spirit, Otoha takes Hirose’s blindness away. This, in turn, opens up a lot of new possibilities for Hirose’s life and also opens up old wounds.

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I’ll warn you right here, this is a very cruel anime as well as very perverted (I know, it’s an odd combination). One of the female leads, Hayami Kohinata, is constantly picked on an beat up. Other female leads end up tripping onto Hirose’s face to the point where he gets to see their underwear but he always says he saw nothing (this is, of course, after he is given the ability to see). Yui Tabata, another one of the female leads, is the leader of the cruel insults aimed at Kohinata. As the anime goes on, things go from bad to worse to good to magical girl to even worse to time-to-throw-up-from-all-the-drama. Usually I do not mind drama, but this anime did get a tad too far on the drama meter. The first episode had a girl getting beat up and she didn’t put up any sort of fight. Everyone knows this does not happen to such an extent in real life.

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That being said, this anime did have really good moments. I especially loved episode 8, the magical Otoha episode! This and some interesting plot twists did save this anime from getting a two star rating rather than a three. I would have given the anime another half star, but the animation was not that good- especially for a visual novel based anime. Usually, visual novel based anime have excellent animation, but H2O’s was a little below average especially for an anime released in 2008. Also, another saving quality of this anime, was the lack of every girl chasing the male lead. Even though most of the girls seemed interested in Hirose, this was not what controlled the anime’s plot. A really nice breather!

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I’m not jumping up the pick up the OST because, in all honesty, the background music was a bit overused. I found myself tired of the same track being used but the ending theme was very nice while the opening was annoying.

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All in all, H2O: Footprints in the Sand was not too long nor too short of an anime (even though the first few episodes did seem to drag on). The 12 episode length was very suitable for a story of this magnitude. I recommend this anime to fans of visual novel based anime and fans of drama, especially the cheesy kind =)

Yakuza Girl [2008/09] [read online] (Mini-manga review)

**

[link to read online]

... at yesterdays I-studios meeting Shadow brought up a good point- this manga is aimed at mature shounens (boys). I'm a shoujo (girl) but I like shounen series' such as Bleach, Naruto, One Piece and more recently Letter B. Apparently, this manga does follow the typical shounen style... but with a much darker and mature way of doing things. I personally did not like this approach because such an approach makes a manga seem like it's only real point is to please the sexual desires of the Japanese male. Of course, there is nothing really wrong with that (ok, there is, but in Japan some manga artists draw to sell to this type of audiance). I'm not a Japanese male, nor am I a pervy girl (ok, I take that back. I am, but I don't really like overtly perverted manga *sigh*). Yakuza Girl could have been really good, but it was rushed and the story was too perverted (on mainly one females part, but you can find that out by reading this manga when you have nothing else to read). I do not reccomend this manga at all... hardly an "if you're bored read" at that. You're better off reading something else. GO READ SOMETHING ELSE!!

NOTE: A "mini-manga review" is a review where I just give my opinions rather than a full fleged review of a series. I hope you are ok with this but if you would like me to make a full review, let me know and I will.