Sneaky Ninja Animation - Preview Images

I am so behind on watching anime (blame work and the current U.S. Elections). I've only managed to keep up with three series this season. And so on my day off from work, what do I do? Animate stuff in Flash, of course! This is my first time working on a serious animation, and it's a lot of fun but slow going so far. Since it does have an anime-esque style to it, I assume you won't mind seeing a few preview images.

Dude in a barrel.

SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Shika Ayu. She has an eyepatch.

--Ou-bento

Skip Beat! Ep. 04 - Please Love Me!

Kyoko has a new job at a gas station, and she's moving on with her life after her failed LME audition. A commercial on the TV starring Shou makes her angry, but she tries to move past it. Unfortunately for her, Shou and his manager drive up to that very gas station. One of the other attendants asks Shou for an autograph and talks about what a fan she is. Shou treats her very kindly, and the girl points out that Kyoko is a fan too. Shou smiles at Kyoko kindly, saying he's glad to have more fans. She asks if he even remembers her, and he apologizes, saying it's impossible for him to remember every fan he's ever met. This hits Kyoko hard, and she feels her thirst for revenge burning again. After a lot of inner turmoil, Kyoko finally decides to try to get into LME again. This time she sneaks into the back, but runs into a woman who is a well known actress. The woman yells at her for knocking her over, but then asks if she's with the "new section." She loads up her luggage on Kyoko and tells her to go with her. They run into Ren, Yashiro, and Sawara, and Ren insists on carrying some of the luggage, saying that he is the man after all. Kyoko thinks maybe he's not such a bad guy after all (he's not!). As they walk, Ren explains the new LME section to Kyoko. It's called "Love Me." Kyoko can't help but think the name sounds ridiculous, but she's dragged into despair when Ren tells her she's currently the only member. Members of Love Me have to do odd jobs and earn satisfaction points from the people they serve, always striving to get people to "love me." A job well done earns a stamp in the stamp book of 100 points. There are also stamps with negative points as well for poor work. Kyoko is so lost in her despair she drops the woman's cosmetic bag and winds up spilling her stuff everywhere. The woman stamps negative points on Kyoko's face before gathering her stuff and dragging Ren off.

Kinda a slow episode without many "cool" moments, but there's more Ren so I can't complain. Katsu is really doing well in this role, which is pleasing. Marina did an excellent job this time around during Kyoko's "lost in her mind," sequence and when she was imagining all the "Love Me" angels. Ren's trademark super sparkly smile is out in full force, and working its magic. Kyoko might actually think he's not too terrible. : ) Also, that woman is waaay too old to be flirting with Ren. Really. -_- Seeing Shou act so kind to random girls was pretty sickening, especially when he didn't even recognize Kyoko. Sure, she looks really different, but they're childhood friends. What a jerk. >( I liked Kyoko's imagination of chibi Shou worshipping her greatness. When he goes all orz like that, he totally sounds like Death the Kid though. XD This episode stuck to the manga pretty well with only a few deviations like Shou's beautiful skin commercial (which is fine since it does come into play later on). Kinda a slow patch of work here, but it'll pick up soon enough. Kyoko's job as a Love Me member starts up in earnest next week with her less than subtle uniform. Plus, Ren and Shou have a little confrontation. Guess who wins. owo

--Ou-bento

Skip Beat! Ch. 130 - KYOKOWNED!!!

Kaori suggests that Kyoko can't find her tie because she just wasn't trying hard enough. Kyoko says she'll return to look for it, but before she leaves, she tears Kaori's tie off, saying that since they're friends it would be okay if their look matched as well. Everyone is shocked, and the director is impressed with Kyoko's ability to act as the cold leader to the others. He notes that now that Kyoko has found her character, Chiori sticks out like a sore thumb, looking more dejected than part of Natsu's group. He decides to leave the group of bullying girls all without ties because it has a cooler look, and he asks Chiori to find a way to change her character so that she can match with Kyoko's Natsu. Away from the rest, Kaori asks Kyoko why she didn't just tell everyone the tie was stolen. Kyoko says that it's because they're friends, and she wants to mend their relationship. Meanwhile, Chiori is angry because she expected the director to crush Kyoko for creating her own Natsu. However, the director says that the character that works well is the best choice and he likes Kyoko's Natsu. Chiori swears that she'll never forgive him or Kyoko.

What a relief, the director really is a professional! When he previously swore to crush Kyoko's pride, I was hoping he wouldn't let his own pride get in the way. But he knows a good thing when he sees it, and as a good director he was willing to go with it. ::thumbs up:: Good job, director man! Kyoko's Natsu is chilling but cool all at once, and I think the way she handled the situation will go a long way in mending her relationship with her castmates (sans Chiori). Kyoko is such a good girl. It's also really adorable that she turned Princess Rosa into a necklace. Ren's a good guy, giving her such a romantic gift. From the panel or so showing filming, it looks like things are getting along a lot better than they were before. The director's comment to Chiori that she should be able to create a new character in a day if the newbie Kyoko could was really burning (although I don't think he meant it that way at all). She's definitely on the war path now, but with the director on Kyoko's side and the other cast members warming up to her, she's running out of allies. I get the feeling she's going to try something really desperate. I just hope she doesn't ruin everything. Maybe she and Kyoko can be good friends (Kyoko somehow has that ability...). No Ren in the chapter which is sadness. But hopefully we'll get Kyoko telling Ren how well everything went and he'll give her a 'good job' and a pat on the head and maybe some hugs and kisses (wishful thinking there...). Either way, looks like things are going well for Kyoko, but Chiori has yet to unleash her full wrath.

--Ou-bento

Shugo Chara Doki Ep. 55 - Amulet Spade Power Up!

The Easter crew is planning their next step. Lulu will find another target, the idiots will measure some sort of data, and Ikuto will chase after the Embryo when it shows up. Amu runs into a girl named Hitomi who idolizes Utau and loves singing. Upon discovering that Amu knows Utau personally, Hitomi begs Amu into letting them meet. Not knowing what else to do, Amu agrees. At Lulu's house, we meet her overly energetic French parents (reminiscent of Amu's parents). Lulu's mother was a famous actress, but these days she shows up on variety shows rather than big name movies, and Lulu doesn't like it. Amu pays a visit to Yukari to ask for permission to let Hitomi meet Utau, but Yukari isn't thrilled about the idea. Su cleans the office, and Yukari asks Su to be her chara and stay with her. Su refuses saying she prefers Amu because she's cute and she doesn't want to be a chara for an old lady. With that, Yukari boots them out of the office, but they run into Utau outside. Lulu approaches Hitomi and offers to make her dreams come true. Hitomi is put under the spell of Lulu's pendant and begins singing "Heartful Song," mesmerizing everyone in the area. Utau in the meantime is telling Amu she doesn't have any obligation to meet with anyone when Miki notices something wrong. El tells everyone she hears someone singing Utau's song and they guess that something happened to Hitomi. They arrive on the scene and Miki tells the other charas to plug their ears so they won't be put in a trance. Unfortunately, her warning falls on deaf ears, as the other charas are already entranced. Only El stays awake, too indignant that someone is using Utau's song for evil. The riddle egg swallows Hitomi and she transforms into Singer Dream. Amu transforms into Amulet Spade, but Hitomi sings Heartful Song, driving Amu back. The Humpty Lock powers up and Amu gets a treble clef wand which she uses to hold Hitomi back. Utau transforms with El and uses her Angelic Cradle to overpower Hitomi's song long enough for Amu to purify the riddle egg. The Embryo appears again, but Ikuto has already left the scene. The Easter gang leaves for the day. Utau tells Hitomi that she should look into her own heart and find her true song rather than use someone else's. A song only has meaning if it comes from the heart. Energized, Hitomi agrees. Ikuto returns to his home to see a car driving away. He runs into his room and discovers that his violin is gone.

I'm so happy to see Utau again. She makes me so happy. We got to hear more of Heartful Song this episode, although it was Hitomi who sang it. Does anyone know when the release date for this song is? I need the instrumental so I can sing it poorly and annoy hundreds of people on YouTube. That aside, this episode was actually pretty bearable. Amulet Spade got an upgrade, which is really cool. We find out a little more about Lulu, which makes her at least slightly more interesting. Hitomi is an interesting girl. She has a passion for singing and for tennis, so it seems like she might be capable of having two charas. The ending with Ikuto's violin being stolen is such a cliffhanger. But EVEN BETTER...next episode preview promises a new Jack showing up. And his name starts with "Na!" I can't wait for the return of Trap-kun, although the monster of the week looks like a boy with rockets. O_o But that's not important. What's really important is NAGIHIKO IS COMING BACK.

--Ou-bento

Chaos;HEAd Ep. 03 - These eyes...whose eyes are they?

The phrase "Sono me...dare no me?" ("These eyes...whose eyes are they?") has been the tagline for the preview of each episode. And with episode three, the question finally comes to life. Takumi recalls as a child, he drew a picture of a bus crash and tore it in two, just as his mother received a telephone call informing her of a bus crash in which the bus was broken into two parts. He didn't think much of it at the time, but since Yua suggested he might have precognitive abilities, he's starting to wonder himself. He goes to the hosptial to see the doctor that he saw as a kid, but the doctor doesn't remember him. Before they can talk about much, he passes out and is put in a bed to rest. Seira visit him dressed as a nurse and he regains enough energy to go home.

At school, some girls are swapping scary stories, but Rimi can't handle it and asks them to stop. When Daichi asks someone to get a book from the library for him, she jumps at the opportunity to leave. In the library, she meets a white-haired girl and is impressed by the intelligent looking books the girl is reading. At home, Yua is searching for information on dissociative identity disorder, presumably because she thinks Takumi suffers from it.

Takumi in the meantime is going over the images that 'Shogun' sent him earlier. He is shocked to find that some of the images are of him running away from the scene, and he realizes that the images really were sent from the future. He remembers that Yua suggested he had precog abilities and begins to research. He remembers as a child, feeling like a giant eye was staring at him, and he could hear himself asking "These eyes...whose eyes are they?" He stumbles on a page about a singer known as FES who sings for a popular band called Phantasm. Phantasm's website is incredibly dark and bloody, and he guesses that they might have something to do with the NewGEN murders.

Takumi and Daichi go to the Phantasm concert and we see the lead singer FES is the girl that Rimi met in the library. At the concert, Takumi sees FES materialize a strange weapon, but no one else seems to see it. He realizes that the lyrics of her song describe the bloody murder that he stumbled upon. When FES closes her song, she looks directly at him and asks "Whose eyes are they?" In a panic, Takumi runs away. Away from the concert, a young girl with blonde twintails burns a school uniform sadly. The next day, Takumi and his sister Nanami are going on a sibling date, but Takumi is distracted by a girl with black hair holding a weapon similar to the one FES used. Back in the hikikomori cave, Takumi receives a link to strange auction with pictures and information about a supposed vampire killing. In the final image, there's a dead body in a bathroom stall with bloody handprints all over the wall. He is shocked to find that someone has written in blood on the wall "These eyes...whose eyes are they?"


Ohohoho, this is getting so delicious. I felt the previous episode moved too slowly, but this one was nicely paced. Yua takes a back seat this episode and it focuses largely on Ayase/FES. It's also the first time we get to see the materialized weapons. Takumi's "happy delusions" feel really out of place with Seira dressed as a nurse and FES approaching him as her clothing disappears. I know in the game the delusions are based on how happy or unstable he is, but it's kinda jarring. I might be able to handle the Seira ones, but the random ones with Yua and FES in various states of undress don't fit in at all. I love FES' voice so much. Usually idol singers have high pitched voices, but her deep and beautiful voice is a pleasure to listen to. The mystery deepens quite a bit with the "whose eyes are they?" question echoing through the story. Next episode looks like we'll get to see more of the black-haired girl. This pleases me, as I think she and FES are the most interesting looking. Yua isn't too bad, and there isn't enough of Rimi to make a decision. Nanami is so uninteresting right now. We even got a cliched "Onii no baka!" from her in this episode. The OP shows her with a materialized weapon as well, so let's hope she gets more interesting. Anyone wanna bet that the homeless dude is Takumi from the future?

Whoever does the fake internet pages must really enjoy him/herself.
WE-KEY PEDOPHIRIA?

--Ou-bento

Chaos;HEAd Ep. 02 - Could it be any slower?

Well, after the promising setup, we get...even more setup. Slow moving, but decidedly intriguing. The "demon woman" at school is surprised that Takumi doesn't recognize her. He wonders how she knows his name, and she acts hurt, saying they're friends. She asks if he remembers her name, and he suddenly recalls her name is Rimi, although he can't figure out how he knows it. His friend Daichi shows up and tells him they've been classmates since their first year, showing Takumi a picture of the three of them as proof. Back in this storage container, Seira comforts Takumi in his confusion until he has a delusion of a bloody Rimi showing up at his door. Suddenly the real Rimi appears, trying to be friendly with him. He tells her to go home. Yua then visits and asks Takumi to take her shopping. The two head out and Yua buys plenty of otaku goods. They run into Takumi's younger sister who thinks Yua is his girlfriend. She's disappointed to find out that isn't the case, but she tells Takumi to pull himself together because it's his chance. Yua bids a fond farewell to Takumi, but not before asking for his cellphone number and email address. He doesn't have a cellphone, but he gives her his email. She sents a rabu rabu email that night and Seira gets jealous. Takumi deletes the email. Meanwhile at the police station, they're investigating the strange "newGEN" murder that Takumi witnessed. They have footage of Takumi fleeing the scene while holding one of the spikes. From the video, they can only tell his school and grade from looking at his uniform. The next day, Yua stops by Takumi's classroom, but Rimi tells her that Takumi didn't come to school today. She's also surprised that Takumi has such a lovely female friend. The day after, Yua catches up with Takumi and says she'd like to walk home with him. They take a detour, and Takumi finally notices the three frogs on Yua's bag, realzing she was probably next to him in the internet cafe. She sees him looking at the frogs and tries to take one off her bag for him, but her bag falls over and a pile of articles and information about the newGEN murders spills out. Takumi thinks she's in on it, so he tries to run away, but she stops him. She shows him one of the spikes and says she found one in his room. She's been investigating the murder, and he's the number one suspect. She then shows him the chat logs between KnightHeart (Takumi) and Shogun (the person who sent him the blood photos). She tells him that there's something strange about the chat. The time stamps on the messages don't match up. The user KnightHeart received the messages the day before the user Shogun even sent them. She says that the user Shogun is also Takumi, and that he sent those messages to himself from the future.

Is it just me, or was this episode slow? A lot of interesting things happened, but I think it could have been done in maybe two thirds of the time it took. Also, the animation is incredibly lazy. There were lots of still frames, panning, talking heads, and simple CG animation. Hopefully it means they're saving the budget for some super hardcore fight scenes in the future. And even though so much talking went on, I didn't feel much in terms of the characters. Rimi is still a complete mystery, Takumi's sister doesn't have much of a personality, and Takumi himself still seems like a snivelling loser (hopefully future Takumi/Shogun is like super GAR or something). Yua is the only one who's becoming somewhat interesting, but since I never went for the megane type, I'm not interested. I'm really looking mostly to the singer and the chick with the black hair, but they got no screentime at all this episode. Oh well. I shall be patient. The mystery is definitely drawing me in. I just wish it would move a little faster.

--Ou-bento

Skip Beat! Ep. 03 - Needs More Ren

With my new job, I'm finding myself falling behind on anime already. I'm doing my very best to keep up with at least Skip Beat! Kyoko's talent (as you may have already guessed) is cutting vegetables. However, it's not just vegetable cutting. It's creating a daikon rose, which is a very difficult sort of cut that only master chefs can perform. The judges are very impressed and Kyoko moves on to the second phase along with the black-haired woman, Kanae Kotonami. Kanae takes Kyoko aside and says the only reason she passed is because she's a "rare animal" like a hippo. She has no talent, she's just interested. Kanae predicts that Kyoko won't make it past phase two. Phase two is a reaction test. The girls have to react to a voice on a cell phone. Kanae blows everyone away by conjuring up a smile and tears in mere seconds. When Kyoko gets the phone, she hears a man apologizing for being selfish and playing with other women. He wants to get back together. But Kyoko can only think of Sho and she throws the phone to the ground, breaking it in her anger. Unsurprisingly, she doesn't pass. She asks Sawara why, and he explains that she lacks the ability to love. She says she lost it and she doesn't want it anymore, claiming it's just the prelude to despair. Sawara wonders what happened to cause her to lose her ability to love, but he doesn't press the issue. Back at the darumaya where Kyoko works and lives, she's incredibly depressed, but then she remembers something (or SOMEONE) called "Corn," and she pulls out a blue stone from her belongings. After holding the stone, she feels much better, thanking the magic of the stone for always making her happy again. In the meantime, the LME president Lory looks over Kyoko's file again and decides that if she returns, he'll give her a second chance.

Not enough Ren. : ( I feel empty and sad without Ren. Also, it's interesting how they brought up corn so early on. In the manga, the blue stone wasn't mentioned until a good deal later. It's kinda nice for those who know the story of the blue stone (anyone notice that it's in the first episode?). Kinda a frustrating episode, since seeing Kyoko fail is hard. But I'm actually happy she didn't make it the first time. It doesn't follow the normal conventions of someone with amazing talent blowing everyone away and making it to the top with ease. Real actors fail auditions all the time. XD Next episode, emo Kyoko mopes. And more Ren. Which is good. Ren is good.

--Ou-bento

Shugo Chara Doki 54 - Power up!

Yaya is excited about Amu's most recent power up with Ran and hopes that the Humpty Lock will perform similar magic for her. Amu makes a new friend named Nanami whose parents own a flower shop. Nanami loves flowers as well and wants to use flowers to make people happy. Meanwhile at Easter, Lulu pays a visit to Gozen and says that she'll be able to bring out the Embryo using a magical glowing pendant. She approaches Nanami and uses the pendant to transform Nanami's egg of the heart into a "riddle egg." Nanami is put in a trance and wanders around a park making magical trance-inducing flowers grow everywhere. Yoru is caught in the flowers and decides to find Ikuto, but he runs into the guardians. He accidentally spills the fact that Easter has found a new way to find the Embryo, and the guardians hurry off. They find Nanami in her spell, and when Amu confronts her, the riddle egg grows and swallows Nanami. When it hatches, Nanami has done a chara nari and turned into some uh...flower girl (I heard her say "Kurara Dream" but I'm probably wrong). Amu powers up and purifies the riddle egg, and everyone is happy again. Ikuto realizes that the fight attracted the Embryo, but it disappears before he can do anything.

Finally. Something happens. I never thought I'd be so happy to see a monster of the week. So it looks like the riddle eggs are caused by the pendant, not Lulu's chara power. It's still unclear what her chara's ability is, but they don't seem to always get along. In general, Lulu is pretty much as annoying as I expected. A stuck-up oujo type who looks down on poor plain girls like Amu and Nanami. I don't like her, but I suppose I'm not meant to. I can barely tell that Amu's power up is any different from her normal transformation. It would have been nice if she got an entirely new outfit, or at least an upgraded edition. Oh well. Still no sign of the roller skates. Ikuto seemed genuinely worried about Amu, but he didn't really do anything to help her out. : / Also, Lulu seems to have zero interest in Ikuto and all. I personally would have loved to see Utau smash Lulu into the ground. Maybe we'll still get to see it. owo Well, at least the introduction of the riddle eggs is shaking things up a bit. It will be interesting to see why they exist.

--Ou-bento

Nightmare of Nunnally - Manga Review

Sorry for missing yesterday. I was out all day from six in the morning to close to midnight and anything I would have written would have been incoherent nonsense. Which means it would have been perfect for reviewing this series. Nightmare of Nunnally is Code Geass re-imagined in a work where Nunnally is fanservice, Britannia's best fighters are girls in skintight suits, and Zero is Batman. I don't get it. I really don't.

The plot starts out pretty similar to Code Geass, but when Lelouch discovers C.C. she also has a doll with the "code" on its forehead. Nunnally, feeling her brother is in danger goes to Shinjuku on her own. There, she finds the doll that C.C. had. The doll forms a contract with her, creating an "alternate Nunnally," a girl with the ability to see into the future and pilot a knightmare frame. Alternate Nunnally wreaks havoc in Shinjuku, destroying many of Britannia's forces. Lelouch never returns from the battle, leaving Nunnally alone to live in Ashford on her own. The difference? Her alternate self lives with her (in her mind), and feeds off of her anger and hatred. Nunnally, wishing for a peaceful world, tries to suppress her alternate self, but can't help wanting to lash out, especially when she is bullied by other girls at school. Before alt. Nunnally can unleash her rage, Nunnally's best friend Alice shows up to diffuse the situation. Alice, as it turns out, is a Geass user and part of an elite squad of (really hot female) Geass users for Britannia. In the background, a super muscular and manly Zero orders around some terrorists. But no one cares because they're too busy looking at Nunnally fanservice.

I'm reminded of the My HiME manga series, which took the most basic plot premise from the series and rewrote it to include as many scantily clad, super-powered fighting chicks as possible. The chicks are then sent through compromising situations, random nudity, and discussions of made up technologies and random English words. Calling this series a Nightmare is a pretty good description. The plot is completely confusing with characters speaking in coded words and everyone acting way more mysterious than anyone needs to act. The art is pretty, but the only reason anyone would really look at it is for the fanservice. Girls have random holes in their clothing everywhere in the most strange places. Not like fanservice clothing has to be functional. I'm also disappointed by a severe lack of Lelouch. The only saving grace is that in a series laden with fanservice, Karen is mercifully lacking. Normally I'd say it needs more Karen, but frankly, I'm quite tired of Karen fanservice.

You can read it online here.

--Ou-bento

Skip Beat! Ch. 129

It's really kinda weird watching this series where Kyoko hasn't even passed an audition yet, then skipping ahead to this where she's [spoiler spoiler spoiler]. Then again, I don't think saying Kyoko actually lands a job is any sort of spoiler at all. Picking up from the last chapter, Kyoko's new character surprises her cast members a good deal. Chiori is delighted to hear that Kyoko is taking a departure from what the director ordered, since she sees it as a chance to sabotage Kyoko. Kyoko says she can't find teh bow on her costume, and the girl who stole it denies any knowledge of it, only be frozen by Kyoko's evil stare. In the meantime, Yashiro tells Ren he wishes he could have seen Kyoko's training session the night before, if only to see Ren do a female model style catwalk.

I'm so happy Kyoko finally managed to find her own character, but it looks like she's still gonna be getting a lot of grief from her cast mates - especially Chiori. I hope the director is cool with it and owns all those catty girls. But that's unlikely. : ( And Yashiro is hilarious. Also, model posing Ren is :D

--Ou-bento

Bihada Ichizoku Ep. 01-02 - Maybe she's born with it; Maybe it's Insanity

I was really expecting a cute and mindless story about cute girls worrying about fashion and boys. Turns out, it's really not. Bihada Ichizoku (Beautiful Skin Family) is another series in the grand tradition of selling stuff to kids. But instead of trading cards or plastic wands, it's cosmetics. And the plot is only tangentially related to any sort of cosmetic products at all. The world beautiful skin competition is dominated by the Bihada family. The winner this year is Sara Bihada, and the runner up is her older twin sister, Saki Bihada. The family throws a fancy party to congratulate Sara, and hunky hunk man Tatsuya shows up. Sara dreams that he'll compliment her as well, but Saki becomes increasingly jealous of her sister's popularity. When the Bihada parents prepare to give Sara the Bihada family secret scroll, Saki steals it and runs away. Sara chases after her and sees her getting into a car with Tatsuya. ::gasp:: Three years later, Sara attends school and lives a somewhat more normal life. People still recognize her, but now they compare her to the current beauty skin champion, Saki. After Saki left, the Bihada family fell to ruin and the mansion and fortune were lost. Sara visits her destitute father, and Saki drops by to laugh at them. To be continued. O:

Okay, so it's better than I expected, but I wasn't really expecting much. The plot is a lot deeper than it could have been considering the topic, but that's not saying much. Jealous girls competing over who has the nicest skin still isn't very deep. In fact, you might say it's...SKIN DEEP. Sorry. The animation is really interesting. It looks like an older series, especially the way Tatsuya is drawn as a classic bishounen rather than the current stick figure boys these days. It's a little nostalgic, and it reminds me of those old fairy tale and classic novel anime series I used to watch. I really like the jealous demon eyes, and it would be so much cooler if the girls really were demon possessed. Alas, such is not the case. As it is, I can't really think of a reason for anyone to watch this unless he or she is bored, curious, interested in makeup, or some sort of completist who needs to watch all anime ever (you can't do it). It's not bad, just...bland. Each of the episodes is less than ten minutes long though, so I'll probably keep watching it to see if the plot turns into anything more interesting (spoiler: it probably won't).

--Ou-bento

Skip Beat! Ep. 02 - Poor Sawara-san ;_;

Kyoko takes her first steps into showbiz in a most unconventional way. With no clue how to go about breaking in, she marches directly to the most well-known talent agency, LME and demands to be accepted as a star. The head agent of the talent division, Sawara, agrees to meet with her. Upon discovering that she has no passion for acting, singing, or modelling, he quickly boots her out, assuming she's there to get close to LME's top actor, Tsuruga Ren. Ren himself, the man who melts women's hearts appears, and Kyoko instinctively thinks of him as the enemy before she remembers that she is no longer cheering for Shou. Ren kicks Kyoko out, but she waits persistently, stalking Sawara even to his home until he finally gives in and lets her into the group audition. She bumps into Ren, who tells her that there's no way she'll pass the audition on guts alone. At the audition, Kyoko is overwhelmed by the amount of beautiful girls there and wonders if she'll be okay. A black-haired woman screams at a little girl for wandering around the audition area, and when the girl begins to cry, Kyoko pulls her cheeks and tells her that a woman's tears won't always be effective in getting what she wants. At the audition, the company president, Lory, presents himself with a showstopping number complete with cabaret and a really nice sombrero. During the talent portion, the girls discuss how none of the talents stand out after his wild introduction. Most girls came prepared to sing, play an instrument or dance, but it all seems rather bland. The black-haired woman amazes everyone by memorizing and entire book on the spot and reciting back any line she is asked for. Finally, it's Kyoko's turn and she steps onto the stage with a knife and a daikon.

I love this show. O: A lot of important secondary characters were introduced this time around including Sawara, Moko, Maria, and Lory. I always felt pretty bad for Sawara, having to take all the abuse from Kyoko. She's such a demon girl. Plus more Ren = more FUN. Okay, so he's kinda jerkish right now, but I don't care. Ren is amazing, and Katsu is putting in a wonderful performance. Actually, on that note, the entire cast is performing beautifully. I know almost nothing about Moko's seiyuu, and it was wonderful hearing her for the first time. Sawara and Lory were both suitably hilarious, and there weren't many Maria lines, but she sounds pretty cute. The voice acting actually stands out above the rest of the production values. While the animation is clean and I have no complaints, it's a little outdated compared with what else is showing this season. It can't compare to the fluidity and beauty of Kannagi, Kuroshitsuji, To Aru no Majutsu Index, Toradora...etc. The music is still well done, but some of it shows up in the most random places, and the lack of random silly sound effects is disappointing.

The adaptation from the manga is very faithful, with a few subtle changes that help enhance the story. I'm honestly very pleased at how close it is staying to the manga, because I loved the manga quite a bit. Now that Kyoko isn't the wilting flower of episode one, she's a lot more fun to watch. Next week, the audition finishes. I'm looking forward to the cell phone scene. Oh yeah, and not like most readers care, but I'll be having my group dub some RenxKyoko scenes from this series. >.>

--Ou-bento

Kuroshitsuji Ep. 02

Ciel invites fat Hitler, a Chinese pimp, Carmen Sandiego, some guy from from Black Lagoon and a some dude who I can't think of anything snarky to say about over for a pool party. The billiards kind. Meanwhile, the three incompetent servants are chasing some mice around. Sebastian, of course, manages to take care of the mice in style. Ciel gets kidnapped by the Black Lagoon dude and put in some meaningless showy bondage while a sniper goes after Sebastian. He escapes the bullet (unsurprisingly) and takes off after the guys who kidnapped Ciel. He manages to defeat a horde of mafia-like dudes by throwing plates and silverware at them. In the end, Ciel is held hostage until he allows himself to be shot dead. Except he comes back to life Baccano! style and does unspeakable dark things to the guy who kidnapped Ciel.

This show is still so jilting. The random comedy and the darker elements don't mix very well at all. The humorous parts and pretty funny, but mixing them in among the darker elegant mood really feels out of place. Another episode with a little bit of plot, but not much to draw me in. The characters who Ciel invited look interested, and I'm hoping they get a lot more development in the future. The production qualities are just as nice. The music is suitable, and the animation is very beautiful and elegant. I really want to like this series, but the mood keeps changing on me, and I haven't really seen anything to make me care that much about the characters or where they're going. More of Sebastian's are revealed, which is pretty cool. His abilites and connection to Ciel are certainly intriguing. But his utter perfection and Ciel's bratty attitude make it hard to really care about either of them. ^_^;; I'm sure a nice long plot will kick in soon enough, though.

Sometimes, it's just too easy. : /

--Ou-bento

Shugo Chara Doki 53 - Are we there yet?

So, here's how I imagine the pitch for Shugo Chara Doki went:

Random Employee 01: The first season was an entire week ago! We should start the season with a recap episode so viewers will remember what happened.

Boss Guy: Good idea, but I'm worried that we don't have enough time in one episode to recap fifty-one episodes.

Random Employee 02: Well then, why don't we have TWO recap episodes IN A ROW!

Random Employee 01: That way, they'll definitely be excited about the new season!

Boss: Good good, now we are cooking people. Anything else?

Crazy Fangirls: GIVE US IKUTO OR WE BURN YOUR OFFICE DOWN!

(Different) Crazy Fangirls: GIVE US TADASE OR WE BURN YOUR OFFICE DOWN!

Boss: And throw in some Ikuto vs. Tadase for good measure.

Random Employees: Right away, boss!

In case you haven't figured it out, this episode was essentially another recap episode. D: On the bright side, there were vague snippets of plot. Random Amu/Ikuto moment in the rain, then interrupted by Tadase who proceeds to start a fight with Ikuto. Amu tries to stop them, and the Humpty Lock begins to glow. Then she does chara nari with Ran, and it's really exciting for some reason. In the meantime, Lulu arrives at the airport and hangs around looking evil.

So uh...two recap episodes in a row. How the snet is that a good idea? Oh right. It's not. This might be the weakest opening to a series ever. From the looks of the preview, Lulu's power transforms chara eggs into "? Eggs" and people do all sorts of weird transformations with them. Probably under some sort of evil influence. With that and Amu's upgraded transformation, I'm already starting to feel like this is just a remix of Sailor Moon. Even the search for the Embryo is like searching for pure star seed. Blah. I never liked Sailor Moon. -_-

Here's hoping we actually have some plot advancement next episode.

--Ou-bento

Ouran Official Funimation Dub

First two episodes are up for free streaming. Itadakimasu~

The opening is...interesting. Singing is good, although for some reason it just feels like her voice is a lower pitch. The lyrics are nice too, although I'm so accustomed to the ones I wrote, it's a little jarring. Translation is pretty spotty, but since the lyrics where rearranged to rhyme and it still gets the point across, I can deal. I didn't really like the original ending, so I don't have much of an opinion of the dubbed ending. It sounds a bit out of his range. The lyrics sound good to me, but I don't actually remember the original so I guess it doesn't matter. XD

Hm, I should stop rotting my brain with this video. I was genuinely surprised to only hear quiet chatter in the library. -_- Haruhi's voice is much better than it was in the promo video. It's a lot more masculine than Maaya's take, but it's a pretty good fit. Some of the lines feel a little flat, though. I think the monologue is a little hard on her, and it feels like she's still getting into the character. But definitely a pleasing voice and delivery.

The twins sound good together. But wow, they sound so not like the twins when it's only one or the other talking. O_o Hikaru's voice is a little lower than I'd expect, and Kaoru's isn't quite as nasal. I think I'll get used to them if I keep watching, but I'm honestly a little surprised at the departure.

Tamaki sounds like Fai. I WONDER WHY. I know a lot of people are like GRRHATEVIC, but I like his acting in this. I really, really liked Mamoru Miyano's performance, and it's pretty hard to live up to a standard like that, but I don't feel let down by Vic. I think some of his performance is more flamboyant than what Mamo did, which gives a different feel to the character. I'm going to have to get used to his higher pitch, but I definitely think it's a dub well done.

Hani's voice is definitely cute boy voice all the way, but it's a lot raspier than the original. o.o Luci's got a lot of energy in her delivery, which I like, but the raspy tone makes Hani sound more like a wild child than the loli shouta type, though. : / Really, really cute delivery, though. Even though the raspy tone is a little weird, this is one of the strongest performances in the dub.

Kyouya's voice is probably my least favorite in terms of the actual voice. I'm probably more picky about it since Kyouya is my favorite character, though. I think his voice should be a bit deeper and much smoother. Some of his lines sounded more playful than devious, I think. I'll probably get used to the voice with time. We'll see.

Not enough Mori lines to tell anything. : (

Whoa, Ayanokoji's voice is definitely higher than I expected. And she sounds a little more California girl snooty than high class snooty. Personally, I think she could really sound good in this role, but I think the directing for this character is a little off. I liked her crazy screaming at Haruhi, though.

Other fangirls were good. Not anywhere near as high pitched as the original, but the deliveries were spot on.

Scripting isn't too bad. They leave in a lot of Japanese phrases like "-chan" and "lolita." Tamaki's lines are really nicely translated. The vocabulary is well-chosen, and I'm pleased to hear him use random French. I can't believe Ayanokoji said "crap." I don't think a high class girl like her would use that sort of language. I don't like Haruhi's line "I know just the story," as if she were trying to manipulate the girls. I think she was just being honest. I also don't fully understand "I'll just call everyone dude and bro, now." It's quite a departure from the original meaning, and it feels incredibly out of place, even to someone with no knowledge of the original.

There is absolutely no screen painting whatsoever. While I understand this for a lot of the animated kanji that dances around the screen (and especially the huge "onna" made of lightbulbs), it's distracting and frustrating for the labeled portions with the words inside the fancy frames. It really isn't that hard to just paint over those. I paint over important stuff in my fandubs when I can. Personally I think if it's just words sitting in a frame, it really should be painted rather than subtitled. The subtitles are hard to read against that background. At least they did us the courtesy of redrawing the show's logo into English.

Final verdict: Anyone with no knowledge of the original will have no trouble enjoying this dub. The acting and voices are great, and the script is pretty solid for the most part. A few hiccups in the script and the subtitles are bothersome and annoying, but not life-changing. Fans of the original will find that the voices aren't perfectly faithful, but the direction and acting are strong enough that it's still enjoyable (unless you're a dub hater). Overall, a piece of quality work that manages a solid English conversion. Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure I've seen Vic act like that in real life.

Anyone else have an opinion to share?

--Ou-bento

Chaos;HEAd Ep. 01 - You're always SUPER SPECIAL

Killer lolis? I'm sold! Okay, so they're a bit older than your average loli. But they haven't quite attained yandere level yet. Then again, it's only episode one. It's pretty obvious this was based on a visual novel. Some of the scenes and characters were pulled straight from VN territory. The lead male, Takumi is an interesting guy though. He's an otaku to the core, and one of the delusional variety. He lives the otaku life in a storage container on a rooftop far away from prying eyes. In his mind, he imagines his favorite anime heroine Seira lives with him. He goes to school, but he's not much interested in anything other than video games and anime. One day, someone online sends him links to images, promising that the world will change once he clicks on them. He's not interested, but he clicks on one by accident, revealing a gruesome image of a bloody body pinned to a wall with numerous daggers. He tries to wipe the image from his mind, but the next day on the way home, he finds a dagger in an alleyway just like the ones in the picture. He looks up to see a beautiful girl with pink hair standing next to the bloody man he saw in the picture. She smiles sadly and apologizes to him, even knowing what his name is. He runs away in fear, but doesn't notice that he still has the dagger he picked up. In school the next day, he runs into the lovely blonde megane girl. He freaks out, thinking she's in league with the pink-haired "demon girl" he saw the day before and tries to run away. He doesn't get far, and she eventually manages to calm him down and escort him home. Upon seeing his figure collection, she reveals that she too loves anime and manga. While going through his collection, she discovers the dagger he found the day before, but says nothing about it. The next day in school, Taku is shocked to discover the "demon girl" is in his class. She greets him with a friendly good morning.

Otaku heroes are pretty standard fare, but Taku's pretty deep in it - especially with his delusions (OR ARE THEY?) of Seira. The girls that surround him don't seem to stand out too much. A younger sister (likely not blood related), a quiet and elegant meganekko with a touch of dojikko in her, a beautiful idol singer, an elegant tough girl and a bubbly pink-haired girl of mystery. The opening has a lot of promise, and I get something of a My HiME vibe from all the girls with magical materializing weapons. There's also something of a mystery involving the little frog character that Taku's sister likes so much. Yua (the blonde megane) has three on her schoolbag. I wonder if they'll have any importance to the story whatsoever...

Also the ending song "Super Special" seems terribly out of place. It makes Chaos;HEAd seem more like a generic dating sim than a visual novel with any sort of plot.

Yua has three frogs on her bag. She's probably the person who sat next to Takumi at the internet cafe.

--Ou-bento

Toradora! Ep. 02 - Curse you, irony!

First off, I really like the opening. The song is catchy and a bit frantic, and the imagery is pretty cool. Definitely one of my favorites this season. In this episode, Ryuji and Taiga hatch a series of half-baked plots to get Taiga to hook up with Ryuji's best friend. These plots include sneaky pairing up during gym class and baking cookies, Things go terribly awry each time though, leading to rumors flying of Ryuji and Taiga being hooked up. Taiga finally sets the record straight in her tsun tsun way and manages to confess to Kitamura, only to mess up her confession by turning it into a monologue about how much Ryuji has been there for her. Kitamura realizes that Taiga's feelings probably aren't for him, so he kindly turns down the confession until the day that she has sorted her feelings out properly.

I'm really liking the animation, especially the hair. Taiga's hair in the braided twintails was excellent. Thankfully, Taiga's tsun tsun side wasn't as annoying harsh this time around, and we got to see a lot more adorable dere dere. I love dere dere Taiga~ I kinda wish they had included the scene where Ryuji took Taiga to the infirmary after throwing a basketball in her face. It was pretty cute. And Ryuji is as great as ever, even eating all of her cookies even though she totally messed up on them. Another fun episode that I enjoyed. Although really, Ryuji's mother and parakeet are so...weird. @_@ Not much to say about the plot. If anything, this show is thoroughly predictable. But it's still a fun ride. Here's to more tsundere goodness next week.

--Ou-bento

Square Enix developing Brainwave-Controlled Video Games

News courtesy BusinessWire. Square Enix has teamed up with NeuroSky to develop video games where the only controller is the human brain. NeuroSky develops hardware that measures human brainwaves and transmits corresponding information to a computer. Their latest product, MindSet, is "the first commercially available, "consumer-ready", brainwave-controlled headset for the mass consumer market." MindSet is a lot like a pair of headphones with a node in the center that measures EEG waves from the brain. It measures the level of "excitement" the user has. The actual application to the game has not yet been revealed. There will be a technical demonstration tomorrow and Friday (October 9-10) at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show.

I don't know about you guys, but this looks totally exciting. Who hasn't wanted to be able to throw down the controls and the button mashing and control the game with their own mind? Hardcore. My application? Bringing Angelic Layer to life. What would you do with it?

--Ou-bento

To Aru Majutsu no Index Ep. 01 - It's good?

So I wasn't going to watch this, since the description and promo images didn't seem like anything up my alley. But I read some good things about it, so I decided to give it a spin. Color me impressed. The intro was an amusing start, but I was immediately drawn in by the opening. Music by I've never fails for me, and the beautiful animation plus the promise of some nice fights with cool powers really caught my attention. It really had a nice Shakugan no Shana feel, and I quite enjoyed the first season of that.

So far, the characters seem pretty interesting. From her character design, I thought I'd be completely annoyed by Index, but she's actually surprisingly adorable. I still dislike her outfit. It's really quite ugly and an insult to all in the sisterhood. But she herself is quite cute. Cute moments include but are not limited to begging for food, brandishing a kitchen knife, and running around in circles while being chased by cylindrical robots.

The girl with the electricity seems like a cool chick. I really hope she doesn't fall prey to becoming the "powerful friend/rival who always loses to the newest bad guy to prove how hardcore the new bad guy is," or the "girl who starts out hardcore but becomes a damsel in distress after two episodes."

Either way, an interesting start. Voice acting is solid, animation is beautiful and incredibly fluid. Music by I've is instant win, and the plot is setting itself up to be something I might actually enjoy.

--Ou-bento

Skip Beat Ep. 01 - YAYAYAYAYAY

Well, this series is my pick of the season, so I'm quite excited that it's finally out. Quick summary: All kids hold an egg in their soul. The egg of their hearts... I mean...all people have a box in their hearts. A box that can only be unlocked by someone else. Kyoko is an average sweet girl in Tokyo who juggles multiple jobs to support her personal prince and childhood friend, Shou Fuwa. Sho is a rising star and a popular idol singer, but he still relies on her to pay the rent for his apartment. He verbally abuses her during the rare moments that he actually spends time with her, and the rest of the time he's busy basking in the glory of his idol status. Kyoko is content to bear all of it for his sake, dreaming of one day being a princess for Sho. Unfortunately, he doesn't share the same dream. She overhears him telling his manager that he has no interest in plain girls like Kyoko and that he only uses her. These words unlock Kyoko's "box of the heart" releasing a thousand vengeful demons. But with all of Sho's security guards, Kyoko can't even touch him. He tells her the only way to get revenge is to outdo him in show business. She sells all her worldly possessions and gets a new haircut, color, and wardrobe, ready to make herself a new person who will overtake Sho someday.

I am so excited. Skip Beat! is one of my favorite shoujo series, and I was very excited to find it was going to get the anime treatment. This episode was a bit frustrating, but the first chapter of the manga was equally frustrating, so I'll deal with it. Next episode looks to have Kyoko's first audition, which is a riot, so I'm excited for that. The adaptation of the manga's storyline is happily quite faithful to the original. The only change was an extra cameo appearance of Ren, but it was a nice touch and I'm really happy with how it's kept to the original.

The animation is clean, and pretty, although not very shoujo. I'm not really a fan of Sho's really bright yellow hair, but since I'm not a Sho fan anyway, I guess it doesn't matter. XD The music is above average, which is pleasing. I especially liked the track when Kyoko went to visit Sho and found that he wasn't interested in her. The OP was average in terms of animation and music, but it's fine. I really liked the ED, but I like that sort of sound so there's no surprise there. XD More than anything, I loved the voice acting. Love love love. I really had no doubts that Marina Inoue and Mamoru Miyano would knock it out of the park, and Katsuyuki Konishi's two lines as Ren sounded great. I'm really excited for more, and as much as I dislike Ren, I'm really hoping he gets a concert or something so I can hear Mamoru Miyano sing. >.> The animation in the OP only covers Kyoko's first two jobs. Hopefully we'll get at least as far as Dark Moon.

Overall, I'm pleased with this episode in that it conveyed the story well. I can't wait for next week with Kyoko's first audition when the story gets ridiculous and wonderful all at once.

Parody of Mos Burger.

--Ou-bento

Kuroshitsuji Ep. 01 - Ooh, Jumanji!

I am so confused. What is this show trying to be? And who the snet is the target audience? For the first thirty seconds, I thought I was watching Princess Tutu. And then it became...I don't know. I thought maybe it was meant to be a comedy. The inadequate house crew, the random old man butler who does nothing but sip tea, a demanding young master, and a butler who can do anything? The gardener and chef are completely silly, and the megane dojikko meido is straight out of a harem romance comedy. But the mood music, dark themes, and random mental torture of the visitor don't mesh up at all with any of the previous. I'm not really sure what this story is trying to be at all. The animation is pretty, and the music is nice. But the story is all over the place, and I'm so confused as to what's really going on. I'm not very drawn in, either. I like butlers (especially the kind that can catch bullets), young boys (not like THAT), eyepatches, and somewhat supernatural creepy houses, but for some reason this really isn't clicking with me.

I totally thought that this game would be the best version of EXTREME DREIDEL JUMANJI EVER. And then it was. :D All the weird things the guy landed on like "loss of limbs" and "burnt at the stake" came true (although in a less death inducing manner). Definitely a lot of creepy going on, but I guess I don't really get the point.

Of course, the title character is the most confusing of all. He's a butler named Sebastian, which made me giggle a bit (thanks to Konata). But after seeing all his mad skills, it's hard to tell who he really is...

Aw dude, it's Peter Parker.

Wait...David Copperfield?

Did he just say "Yes, my lordo?"

OH SNET IT'S LELOUCH.

And since I'm here...let's just round it out by saying a series with Lelouch acting as butler to Itsuki is something of a Jun Fukuyama overload.

Okay, I'm done now.


I guess.

--Ou-bento

Kannagi Ep. 01 - Crazy Shrine Maiden is Crazy

A little different from the manga. Much more emphasis on Nagi without even showing Aoba's face. Oh well. As a young boy, Jin is standing in front of a sacred tree and grabs a large spider. A strange girl in a shrine maiden's outfit appears behind him. She disappears suddenly, and the spider Jin found is gone as well. In the present, Jin is finished carving a statue from the same tree. It suddenly bursts open and the same girl bursts out wearing decidedly less than she was during their last encounter. She's the goddess of the area, and she was housed in the sacred tree. When she discovers it was cut down, she's less than happy. However, when a centipede crawls up her leg, she calls it an impurity and one of the evils of the land. Jin tosses it aside, and she's amazed that a mere human can touch such evils. Back at Jin's house, she sees a magical girl on TV and decides that she'll become a magical girl as well, using her powers to remove all the "impurities" from the land and fight for love and justice. Somehow, Jin actually gets dragged along. Until Nagi can find a better place to stay, she'll be living with him.

Kannagi has a fairly average plot. Normal guy living alone is suddenly graced with the presence of a quirky but beautiful female deity. Confusion and awkward situations ensue. This was actually a pretty cute episode, though. The amount of fanservice was surprisingly low, and Nagi's personality isn't quite as brainless as the average female deity. In fact, she's actually quite devious as further episodes will likely show. Her magical girl routine was highly amusing and I loved her blushing when she ate the tayaki. The acting was pretty solid from both cast members, and I'm glad that Nagi doesn't have the average high-pitched sort of voice. The OP is probably my favorite, although it's terribly misleading for anyone who doesn't know the series. Honestly, if this were a showbiz/idol series as indicated, I'd be all over it. As it stands, it's certainly amusing to watch, but although it's not a perfect clone of previous series, it's similar enough that I can't really get into it. Still, her eagerness to rid the world of impurities (rather than serve the innocent dude she's suddenly living with) is enough of a difference that you won't feel like you're watching the same old.

The adaptation from the manga isn't completely faithful, but the changes are better for the timing and pacing of the show, and they don't twist the plot around at all. The addition of the eating tayaki scene, especially, was a welcome change. So cute. I'll probably watch this a bit longer to see if I actually start caring about the characters. If nothing else, I would love to have a concert scene with her singing. I'm a total sucker for insert songs.

--Ou-bento

Shugo Chara Doki Ep. 52 - Recap+the next villain is...Lulu?

Recap episode. Dia randomly hatches from her egg for no good reason, and the other guardian charas (plus El and Il) bring her up to speed on everything that happened in the first season. ::disappointment:: The preview tricked me into thinking there'd be some nice stuff going down. I was all OH SNET DIA! And then...it wasn't really worth mentioning. I don't know why she just randomly hatched, since she was supposed to reappear the next time Amu shone, or something like that. ::sigh:: The OP is pretty promising, at least. All of Amu's upgrades are shown in action. Turns out the Amulet Clover upgrade is a bubble blower (and not a ping pong paddle). The most promising part, however, is the return of everyone's favorite trap, Nadeshiko/Nagihiko. Except this time as a dude. Looks like he'll be standing in as the Jack chair for awhile. The OP was fine in terms of the music. I know a lot of people prefer Buono!'s work, but I think this was pretty cute too. Animation seemed a little less dynamic that previous OPs, but I still like it. The ED was equally pleasant, and fans will be happy to see Buono! performed it.

Overall, a somewhat useless episode, as we just finished the first season a week ago. A recap episode feels like a pretty weak opening. But there are plenty of interesting things to come. Scans+spoilers below:

The following scans were unceremoniously lifted (and edited) from the Shugo Chara community.

Nadeshiko/Nagihiko's Chara Nari with Temari: Yamato Mai Hime. I don't care if it's a dude, Nagihiko really is the ideal "yamato nadeshiko." So much beauty. So much grace. So much trappyness. And so much lovely, lovely violence when he wields that naginta~

Nagihiko's chara nari with his second chara, Rhythm. This one is called Jump Beat, which despite sounding like a bizarre crossover of mangazines looks more like a snowboarder dude. I honestly don't like the design as much as Yamato Mai Hime, but if his chara's name and chara nari name are any indication, I'm hoping for some musical, possibly drum-themed attacks. That would make me very happy. I love drummers. @_@

Well, this girl appears to be the next villain for shugo chara. Her name is...Lulu...
Okay, now that that's out of the way. Don't know much about Lulu, here. She's an anime original character, and supposedly the next villain in the series. In the OP and ED she's mixed in with all the other main characters, etc. From her design, I'm not too excited about where this is going, but maybe she'll turn out to be a decent antagonist who isn't like...annoying. She looks annoying though. Maybe she's Easter's secret weapon? I suppose annoying but effective would be much easier to deal with than annoying and ineffective x 3.

--Ou-bento

Tentai Senshi Sunred Ep. 01 - O_o

This show is so random. It's only thirteen minutes long, and is a collection of short stories about the daily loves of Sunred and a plethora of random villains. Sunred is a "typical" sentai superhero and he has plenty of villains living in dark lairs (or small apartments) chasing after him to do dastardly things. The story's mostly about his daily life, buying food, arguing with his wife, etc. And once in a while villains attack and he makes short work of them. Sometimes villains just chill and watch TV. Really, really random stuff. I'd probably find it a lot funnier if I actually watched sentai shows. Also, the lines in the animation are crazy thick. Yeah...

Short post is short.

--Ou-bento

Peacock Snack Chips D:

Today I found one of the must disturbing and puzzling bits of food packaging artwork I've seen in awhile. Peacock brand snacks. The packaging shows a bunch of guys take off their clothes in a laundromat, much to the chagrin of the girls there. One even threatens to strip aaaaall the way down. I regrettably did not have a camera with me to catch this bizarre spectacle, but thankfully two denizens of the internet got ahead of me. Net Foodie and sevenworlds16. The only difference is that the packaging I saw was much more cartoony in nature with characters looking approximately seven years old with a style similar to that of Shinjuku Hero Shin-chan. Honestly, I think that makes it even more disturbing. If any brave soul can find a photo for me of this updated edition of awkward (and possibly appetite-destroying) packaging, I would be very greatful for it.

--Ou-bento

Yozakura Quartet Ep. 01 - I'm not sure what to think?

I'm not exactly sure what I just watched, but I don't think it was Yozakura Quartet. Admittedly, I've only read one chapter of the manga, but already there are lot of things that are different. The three lead females are relatively unchanged, but the lead male who is supposed to be just a normal dude somehow has powers? Someone who knows the story better should probably tell me if he had latent powers that manifest later on, but for now I'm just gonna stare at the screen confused. Despite that glaring error, the plot has undergone quite a few "enchancements" since I last remembered it.

But these are only complaints because it's different. I'm going to have to register a few for some low production values. The OP isn't as lazy as Hakushaku to Yousei, but it really feels like the amount of effort more suitable for an ED sequence. And in the first two minutes, we are treated to a rambling narration with no animation save zooming in and out and panning. Still frames for two straight minutes, especially as the first two minutes of a show don't instill a lot of confidence. The show also suffers a bit from talking head syndrome. Half of the time it's just zoomed in on someone's face while they orate. The action scenes are disappointingly short and not as dynamic as they could be.

Lazy animation and somewhat mystifying plot aside, there's actually a lot to like about this. Voice acting is solid and pleasing to the ear. The animation is very clean and stylish. The OP is reminiscent of the first Bleach OP with it's clean feel and attitude. The entire show just exudes attitude in the style of animation and the characters. Hime's scarf is especially nice, always blowing in the wind like a hardcore ninja. And the real charm of Yozakura Quartet comes with its characters. Ao is playful, adorable, friendly, and surprisingly un-annoying for a catgirl. Her only real flaw is the fact that she seems to have forgotten her pants. : / Kotoha is great. Her casual demeanor mixed with her surprisingly bloodthirsty nature make her an interesting character. The part where she caught the falling books with her foot was really cool, and her machine gun noises during the fight scene were priceless. Her power to be able to materialize ANYTHING seems a bit overpowered to me, but we'll see. Hime is my hands down favorite. I already took a liking to her in the manga with her "tsun tsun tsundere~" song (which I would really like to hear), but her coolness aura really shot through the roof in this. She swatted a bullet away with her hand. That is hardcore. Plus she was really adorable with her cup noodles. The cold tsundere is my favorite type. owo Akina confuses me. His charm in the manga came from lack of "special powers," but I'm not really sure how he fits into the story now. Still, he seems to provide balance, and he's one cool dude to be hanging out with such cute chicks.

Final verdict: It's gonna take a bit to get used to where they're moving with the story, but I'll probably deal with it. I'm very hopeful for some higher production values, especially in the animation department. Thankfully, the characters are interesting enough that I'd really like to know what happens to them in the future. For now, I'll continue watching.

;_____________; I agree.

--Ou-bento

Shikabane Hime Aka Ep. 01 - She's like Claire from Heroes

I like chicks with guns. Especially the dead serious kind with ice cold eyes. The best part is, this one can't die. The title character "corpse princess" Makina has as many lives as necessary, constantly coming back to life after undergoing all sorts of deaths. Her body is still covered in scars, so she doesn't necessary regenerate like everyone's favorite cheerleader, but it's close enough.

Lead male Kagami lives in a sort of orphanage/monastery. As a kid, something caught his attention late at night. He found the body of a dead girl covered in cuts. The head monk held the girl and she suddenly came alive again. Fast forward to the present. A strange man eludes the police by jumping out a window from a high rise. Elsewhere, it's breakfast at the orphanage. Today is Kagami's last day with everyone and there's a somber mood as he leaves for school. Meanwhile, the purple-haired girl gets a call from the monk who heads the orphanage. She has another job. After school, Kagami packs up his stuff and heads out. The purple-haired girl Makina is duking it out with the strange man who escaped earlier. He's a shikabane, and he's using his vampire-like powers to control women. He sprouts wings and carries Makina into the sky, dropping her unceremoniously from a great height. Her body lands by Kagami, and he recognizes her as the girl he saw before. She's dead, but he holds her, hoping that she'll return to life again. She does, and is surprised that he's not scared of her. Before he can get to know her, she slaps him and runs off to finish her job. She finally corners the shikabane and manages to make short work of him. Kagami enters his new apartment and finds his friends waiting to throw him a welcoming party. Unfortunately, he arrived so late they've all fallen asleep.

An interesting setup episode. The fight scenes were a lot of to watch. Makina is pretty hardcore. I'm not sure how Kagami will play into her future, but there's no doubt they'll cross paths again. From the burnt picture that Makina keeps, there's a good chance they've met in the past as well. There are already a lot of mysteries, like how Makina became a corpse and why she's fighting to kill other corpses. Or how any of these zombies even came about in the first place. A few pieces of nicely animated fighting, but I'm definitely hoping for more action in the next episode. Overall, an interesting hook that sets up a decent premise. Let's hope it goes somewhere.

--Ou-bento

Let's Make Our Own Anime!

But not a real anime. Because that would defeat the purpose. I tend to haunt the deviantART forums looking for people who are searching for help in various projects. Every once in awhile, someone comes along with grand plans for their own original anime series. All they need is someone to write scripts, some character designers, and animators (without even realizing they'd also need composers, voice actors, sound engineers...)! Oh yeah, and then we're gonna sell it in Japan and make lots of money. Usually the person comes in with little more than idea and only a vague idea of what's necessary to really create any animation at all, much less an entire series. And of course, the idea is always something mindblowingly original like "A bunch of kids have powers," or "there's a secret organization trying to take over the world." Of course, I never get all the details because they're afraid to say too much for fear that someone might steal their idea.


But hey, I figure we've got enough creative juices running around in the blogosphere to do something good (read: bad). I have taken the liberty of making an audio trailer for a brand new series called Damaged Blue (name courtesy the random word generator). I know nothing about this series except that it's probably based on a visual novel. The challenge? Finish Damaged Blue for me. Tell me the plot. Make up character designs. Your art doesn't even have to be good. Mine sure isn't (see above). Write the OP for Damaged Blue, and please sing it in your prettiest voice. Oh, and if you're feeling especially ambitious, animate a scene from it. Windows Movie Maker is preferable.

--Ou-bento

Toradora! Ep. 01 - I love Tsundereko~

Yaaaaaaay! ::cheers for all tsundere:: I've already ready some of the Toradora! manga, so I pretty much knew what to expect. Thankfully they didn't drop the ball, and I actually enjoyed watching this more than reading the manga (which is pretty rare for me). Ryuji is a docile guy who likes cooking and cleaning, but his appearance makes him out to be a delinquent. He wants to make friends, but people always assume the worst of him. When a boy accidentally bumps into him, the boy and his friend are so terrified that they offer Ryuji their wallets before he can tell them it's fine. And so his day goes with students and teachers alike being completely terrified of him. The only exception is his best friend Yuusuke, and the object of his desires, the adorable Minori. Ryuji accidentally bumps into the diminutive Taiga, known throughout the school as the palm-sized tiger. She unleashes her fury on him, but he thinks it's the last he's seen of her until later that day she attempts to take his schoolbag from him. At home, he discovers a love letter from Taiga written to Yuusuke. He realizes that Taiga put the letter in the wrong bag and thinks it's cute until she bursts in wielding a wooden sword, ready to kill him so that she can retrieve it. He finally pacifies her by promising to help her win Yuusuke's affections. In return, she'll aid Ryuji in winning her best friend, Minori.

Poor Taiga. I've totally been there. Ou-bento is a short, short bento and in high school people would bump into me all the time and then apologize "I didn't see you there." I had something of a vitriolic reaction to moments like that, because it really gets quite annoying after awhile (on the bright side, no one brought any lawsuits against me). That being said, what a tsun tsun reaction~ Taiga is a little more tsun than my favorite flavor of tsundere, but her dere is so adorable. Rie Kugimiya brings in a solid performance without straying too much into Shana/Louise territory, which is nice. The scene with the boys with the wallets was really funny. I like the comedic timing in this and the over the top voice acting from all the characters really brings the story to life. The animation isn't as nice as it could be, but it's not distracting enough to really bother me. Also, Ryuji's mother is pointless and his bird totally freaks me out.

Wawawa-wasuremono~

Mai husbando

--Ou-bento