Wednesday, August 31, 2005

   Wow, a little happy face thingy. When was the last time you saw one of those?! ^_^
Soooooo. I had yet another icky day. What is it with August? It's gotta have something against me this year. Thankfully its over. >< In about two hours that is. Hopefully September will be a bit better.

(Currently Playing: Greenday - Wake Me Up When September Ends)

What I'm going to do for this entry is make a top ten list (or whatever it happens to reach) of the hottest semi-new animes out there. Keep in mind this will be based upon my tastes, so if you buy something and don't like it, don't blam it on me. :x A friend of mine asked though, so I decided hey, why not. So here goes.


1. Spiral - Considered: Suspense, Mystery - Rating: 4 3/4 out of 5.
I actually just finished the anime last night. See, I can't give anything about the ending away, but I will tell you to watch the commentary on the last episode. I want to meet those people. <3 But how'd I get off on that leaf? The anime was different from many you see today. In some episodes it was like I was watching CSI or Law and Order, but with that japanese twist and several times more exciting. It amazed me the intelligence displayed in that anime. You'll actually be learning while you watch. It's an interesting display of wits with constant challenges of the mind. And if you like explosions and bombs, there's a lot of that too. x3
The story is about the younger brother of this uber-sucessful guy. One day the brother (Ayumu) gets a call from his elder sibling (Kiyotaka) saying that he's going to pursue the mystery of the blade children, and the call ends. Little did Ayumu know, when a girl is almost murdered in his own school and he's framed as the prime suspect, he was following directly in his brother's footsteps. Before long Ayumu finds himself wrapped tightly in the same mystery which caused his brother's disappearance. With help from a nosey school mate who always happens to have the right information at the right time, can he suceed his brother and gain confidence in himself? And what about these blade children, will the mystery unfold as time carries? Only one way to find out. =D

2. Fruits Basket - Considered: Cutsey with a twist! - Rating: It doesn't even compare to the manga, but still very good. 4/5.
Okay, this is definately a shojo targeted anime. The Sohma family has been placed under a curse for as long as any of the members can remember. When their bodies are placed under extreme stress, or they are hugged by a member of the oposite sex, they turn in to one of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and a thirteenth as the cat who has a bit extra under the tough exterior. I'd recommend it to anyone of any age, male or female. ^_^ Though the girls are more likely to enjoy it.
Anyway, the voices fit each and every character to perfection, the characteristics to each is very rounded and individual. While the anime takes on a lot of a comedic scene, there are some very serious twists and turns on the rollercoaster of Furuba. Discover things about the Zodiac members and be puzzled by the mysterious ambiance given off by Akito along with Tohru as she is suddenly thrust in to a situation unimaginable. And then when you are left in the dust with no answers at the end of the anime, turn to the manga. x)

3. Kodacha - Considered: Cutsey to the max, but utterly hillarious. - Rating: I'll have to hold off. I've only seen one DVD, but so far it's great. x3 I love it!
Meet eleven year old Sana. She plays in a popular TV sitcom know as "Child's Play" and has recently entered the sixth grade. Stuck up movie star in average situations type thing? Not quite. Her school isn't exactly ordinary, or at least not her classroom. The boys are completely out of control, being lead like a pack of dogs (or monkeys, as they put it in the anime) by the head honcho around that place; Akito. Their poor teacher is put under tortures from smoke bombs to paint guns, and not even her trusty Mr. (Crap I forget his name) can help her. Why? Akito has something on the teachers. Blackmail. Such a dirty trick.
The group hates anyone who opposes them, going to extreme levels to keep their pride in tact. But when a member of the band thinks its gone too far, he helps Sana get a bit of blackmail of her own of the one and only Akito! The Monkey King! (don't ask) Though while doing so, she finds out life for Akito isn't as fruitiful as one would have guessed. With poor Akito at Sana's every command, the boys rallying against their former leader, and Sana's habbit to spontaneously burst in to song, get swept away by the hillarious comedy for all ages: KODACHA!
Might I add the voices are very well picked, aside from Akito. Jerry Jewel (also the voice of Kyo Sohma) is a bit too mature sounding for an eleven year old, but you'll grow to love him in spite of it. And for all you female anime fans out there, Sana's got an awfully hot agent with an awfully smooth voice. xP (Yay for Rei!) But considering how I haven't seem more than four episodes myself, I can't really say much more. ^_^ I'm expecting it to get very interesting between Sana's wavering emotions toward Akito as well as his family problems... We'll just have to find out together this time. ^^

4. The Place Promised in Our Early Days - Considered: Love story meets the SciFi Channel - Raiting: 4 1/2 out of 5.
This is the story about three friends, and spands over several years of their lives. It's about relationships between friends, between first loves, and how those relationships carry in to their futures. It's a very dramatic movie, certainly something I would suggest for an older audience, and without doubt not a thing to watch while you're multi-tasking. I can't give much away, so you'll just have to see for yourself.

5. Ai Yori Aoshi - Considered: Emotional Love Story, by far - Rating: Depends on which series you're talking about. The first, totally awsome. Couldn't have loved it more. The second, eh, so-so. It would have been much better if they'd have actually gotten somewhere. Unfortunately, I have to drag down the rating because of this. It's a shame, but still. It's made it to my recommendation list. That's gotta be something, huh? 3 1/2 out of 5.

This anime revolves around your every day college student, Kaoru Hanabishi. Nothing unusual about him, aside from the fact that he's got a number of attractive young women after his heart, living in the same mansion with all of them, carrying on a relationship with his "landlord" that no one can know about for the sake of the most important kimono making factory in all of Tokyo, and probably all of Japan, AND all of this is placed with the magnitude of a shady and painful past. It left more than emotional scars over Kaoru's heart, but he has quite a few physical suveniors as well.
It begin when he an his childhood sweetheart (from an arranged marriage which was later cut off when Kaoru left the Hanabishi House) have a chance encounter on a bus. Aoi is in search of the only man she's had feelings for her entire life, and after a discouraging revelation and a kind invite into his home, she discovers a picture revealing the identities of the two. She is thrilled, and very persistant upon becomign his wife. But Kaoru is no more than a mere commoner, barely making it by in a small apartment, living alone with nothing to offer her. Of course, Daddy cannot allow his only daughter to move in to such a low social stature, but cannot overlook the happiness of her either. With a bit of encouragement and a watchful eye, Kaoru and Aoi are permitted to live together and provided a fancy Western -That would be us Amaericans x3- style mansion. (Though note, not under the same roof. More like the same yard.) Along the way they pick up some straglers, and this is where the love triangles begin.
Understand, I can't even begin to explain this. Imagine the raw emotion from your first love, the tenderness of each moment, and the uncertainties of every move. Then mix it in to a secret relationship, doused with many complex obstacles in the path ahead. But don't stop there. Keep in mind the two have had past experinces with eachother, and were once engaged in an arrangement for marriage. ( Thoguh they were both rather young) The intensity of their love is just completely beyond words.
Perhaps I'm getting a bit over my head here. At the time, I could very much relate to the events in the anime, but that's a chapter of my own past I'd rather not get involved with. So perhaps I enjoyed it much more than you would, but like everything else, there's only one way to find out.


Okay, so we only made it to five. But still, those are some awsome animes up there, even though the last one isn't exactly new. You gotta check 'em out though, don't just take my word for it. Note, none of these are presented on television. You'll have to go out and buy them. I'm a proud supporter of Media Play. Why? Because the people who work there know me by name. ;)

But that's all for now. I had fun writing it. ^_^ Maybe again sometime.


-Myste


P.S. I want my Newtype Magazine! Walden Books (now Boarders) might have stopped carrying it. ;_;
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