Sekirei ~pure engagement~ episode four

One thing I happen to really hate about anime and manga series is fillers.  For those of you who don’t know what a filler is, it’s an episode or chapter that completely detracts from the plot and does something completely random that has no correlation to the story.  Naruto has been known for its fillers between arcs and so has One Piece, but those are big series so it’s okay.  However, when a thirteen-episode show has a filler between arcs, it starts to get pretty annoying.

I have to admit I thought we were heading towards a filler episode – I mean, we just winged Kazehana, everyone is partying, Musubi is giving words of wisdom, and Uzume is prancing off to be a slave again.  In short, nothing out of the norm.  Even Homura had a bit of a scene but I thought nothing of it until the bath and the text that changed it all.  Thank you Gamemaster for making this episode a bit more interesting that it began with.

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ = doomed to failure

Looking at all the hype that continues to build before the second season of Sekirei, aptly named Sekirei ~pure engagement~, airs (when it does… take your time), I can’t help to wonder why the second season will be so great?  I mean, we’ve all been expecting something out of it and the top Google search for ‘sekirei season 2’ always leads to Bokutachi no Blog… and sadly, it’s been in the top five posts daily for every single day that it’s been out.  Why are people looking so forward to it, and why will it be something to look forward to?

Up to Date with: Kaza

Ok, so before I start I just wanted to let you all know that I watch all of my streaming on watchanimeon.com, and recently they’ve added an Asian Drama section to it. So they have movies from all these Asian countries including Japan, but what I set my eyes on first was the Death Note movie. Yet, keep in mind that I have never seen any anime episodes of Death Note because it’s just not my style. But I guess this time I got a little interested with how Japanese movies look like with real people. *deep sigh* All I can say is, that I was deeply disappointed with the movie. They actually have like 3 Death Note movies, but after watching the first, I will NEVER even waste my time watching the next. I’m sorry, but how could they make the main character some ruthless, merciless, coward, who sacrificed his own loved on! I just can’t enjoy something like that, sorry.

By the way, I definitely want to recommend the streaming website I mentioned earlier, only because scamp seems to have been going crazy over some rip-off Craproll he got, XD.

Summer anime 2008 first impressions

So you find yourself sitting in front of the computer wondering what anime you should start watching when you suddenly remember that a new season has begun, but you don’t have time to go check out the first episode of all the anime shows that are out. Well I, 5camp, have watched some of the new series for you (I know but someone has to do it). Natsume Yuujinchou, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, Sekirei, Chocolate Underground, Birdy the Mighty Decode and Blade of the Immortal have all been dutifully inspected. So here is my short but highly useful Summer anime first impressions!

Sekirei Episode 1

Hullo there! I’m 5camp, the brand new member of this blog. I was wondering whether Brian would say something about me joining. You know the way they do that in shows, where the teacher says ‘there’s a new pupil who I want to introduce to you all today’ and in she walks, upon which the main character leaps out of his chair and exclaims ‘HEY! You’re that person from earlier’. Ok, very cliche, but relevant since that was the main thing I noticed about Sekirei. That, and the eternally bouncing breasts

I’m sure I’ve seen this before in several anime. Eureka Seven springs to mind 

   

Sekirei had a fair amount of advertising on japenese tv (or at least so I heard. I live way off in Ireland where Japan is that country with lots of earthquakes and kung fu), so I was expecting something fairly decent, paticurly when it came to the animation and to be fair, the animation is fairly good. Nothing that will blow you away or anything, but commendable.But as for the plot…Our hero is a loser who failed the collage entry exam twice (cliche #1) and is feeling pretty down. So what better way to cheer him up then drop a teenage girl on his head (cliché #2), who lands on him in an erotic position (cliché #3). She happens to be chased by two women with astonishingly large, bouncy breasts in very little clothing with the ability to shoot electricity from their fingers. Since out hero is a water type, off he runs with the girl.The girl reveals that her name is Musubi, then has to stay at our heroes flat as she has nowhere to stay (cliché #4). So after she eats the rest of his money, not literally, they bump into the two bouncy breasted fighters again who attack him again. Suddenly Musubi starts making orgasm noises, kisses our hero and gains super powers (cliché #5). She says that she is Sekirei, a girl with magical powers, kinda like a HiME (cliché #6), and that he is a Ashikabi, a person who can partner a Sekirei and the Sekirei will fight on his behalf (cliché #7)

Ok, so it’s obvious here why you would be watching this. Clothes get damaged during fights, breasts are bouncing and panties are being flashed. Yes, this is a fan-service fighting show. If you don’t like fan-service then don’t bother. Beyond the fan-service, it’s not great. The fights were unimpressive, although they will probably get better later on in the series. The plot is ridiculous and did I mention cliché?

Mind you, I’m a person who heartily dislikes bouncing breasts. If you do like that sort of stuff then dig in. It eventually goes into standard harem style anime. You may choose from a wide range of girls (including a loli; there’s always a fecking loli) who will all fight over our hero to get him to choose them to be their Sekirei, or something like that. But yeah, I won’t be watching this.

He must be evil. All white-haired anime characters are evil

It finished off with a multi-billionaire claiming that all the Sekirei have to fight off Battle Royale style to determine who will be the winner and ascend into heaven. What number cliché am I on?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer 2008 anime preview

It took me quite awhile to look out for the anime titles with good prospects. Well, there are a few, only because those are sequels to a couple of influential anime series. Other than that, the summer anime season looks very dire. I think it’s okay, considering that we have a huge load of good stuff in the following season of Fall 2008. Gundam 00, Nodame Cantabile: Pari-hen, and Vampire Knight 2, just to name a few. Nevertheless, I give you my top 5 picks for Summer 2008 anime season.

Slayers Revolution
Premiere: 2 July 2008
Network: TV Tokyo, AT-X
Studio: J.C. Staff

After more than 10 years since its last anime title, Slayers Try, Lina Inverse and her companion of mages are back. Even its most recent animation work was the anime movie, Slayers Premium. And that was in the year 2001. Despite being a legend, I only know Lina being the hero character from DotA and not the anime character. Honestly, only today that I found out that Lina Inverse is indeed a tribute to the real Lina Inverse of Slayers. Obviously I have never watched this anime, despite all the credits to its name. Anyway, the staff behind this project do not change, very much to the pleasing of fans to this series. Directed by none other than Watanabe Takashi himself, even the original seiyuu for Lina Inverse, Hayashibara Megumi, is retained. along with the rest of the cast. Fans would definitely not going to miss this and as for noobs like myself, it’s never too late to start now.

Zero no Tsukaima: Princess no Rondo
Premiere: 6 July 2008
Network: Chiba TV, TV Kanagawa
Studio: J.C. Staff

Louise and Saito are back. The same goes for the rest of the staff from the previous title, Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi. The usual cast includes Kugimiya Rie, Hino Satoshi, Kawasumi Ayako, and now a new addition of Noto Mamiko who will cast for Tiffania Westwood who appeared in the final episode of the second season. This season will pick off where the second season has left off, whereby they faced off against the Albion army as planned by Sheffield, the leader of Reconquistadors. To be frank, I have no idea what is going on with Zero no Tsukaima simply because I never watch this anime before. But this sequel is definitely a must-watch to fans to this series, and also those who love all things moe.

World Destruction: Sekai Bokumetsu no Rokunin
Premiere: 7 July 2008
Network: TV Tokyo, AT-X
Studio: Production I.G.

World Destruction is a SEGA undertaking, originally created for the Nintendo DS game of the same title. The plot is about a boy named Irunisu Kirie (Miyano Mamoru) who possesses the power to destroy the world, though he could not comprehend the reasons of him to have such a power. However because of this, he is forced to join a terrorist group that plots to destroy the world in hopes of renewing it in that way. There, he meets Ashera Morte (Sakamoto Mayaa) and Ri A (Kobayashi Yu). This already great lineup of cast for this production is further added with more greats and among them, Ono Daisuke, Yoshino Hiroyuki, and Furuya Toru. Matsumoto Keita debuts his character design role in this anime, after taking on key animations for xxxHOLiC and Blood+ and Tada Shunsuke takes on the directing. Music is by Ike Yoshihiro, famous for his works on Ergo Proxy and Kamichu! So far, the odds are good for World Destruction.

Sekirei
Premiere: 2 July 2008
Network: Tokyo MX TV
Studio: Seven Arcs

If you like something ecchi for your viewing, then this is the anime you should look out for. This harem anime would fit perfectly to the possible sexual related jokes and probably fantasies. This anime is based on an ongoing manga with the same title published by Square Enix. The story is about the big loser ever known – Sahashi Minato. A college dropout, unemployed, and foremost importantly, no luck with women. Then he meets Musubi, a Sekirei – a human-like life form whose purpose is to fight off another Sekirei in a competition by the mysterious MBI corporation. What Minato doesn’t know is that he is an Ashikabi, a designated master of a Sekirei. Now, it is up to him to find other Ashikabi masters and defeat their Sekirei. That does sounded very familiar. In a way, it reminds me of Fate/Stay Night a bit. As for the production crew, the lead casts are Tachibana Shinnosuke for Minato and Hayami Saori for Musubi. Both names are relatively new and unheard of. But then, you cannot judge the story by production quality alone. At the end of the day, the story matter. Get set for good humour though satisfaction is not necessary guaranteed.

Natsume Yuujin Chou
Premiere: 7 July 2008
Network: TV Tokyo
Studio: Brain’s Base

Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, just like his grandmother, Reiko could. Since Reiko’s passing, he now inherits a book entitled, The Book of Friends. The problem is that the book is bound with trapped spirits caught by his grandmother, which is why all these spirits are always around him. Now he is ought to free the spirits from the book with the help of a spirit cat named Nyanko-chan. Little does he know that this cat has his own agenda. The supernatural theme of the story immediately grasps my attention and a little bit of a slice of life would make this anime a must-watch. Also a good reason to watch is the lead casts, Kamiya Hiroshi who voices Takashi and Inoue Kazuhiko for Nyanko-chan. Directed by Omori Takahiro, best known for his works in Jigoku Shoujo and Gakuen Alice, Natsume Yuujin Chou sets for a promising start.