I'm dying here. Every chapter seems like it's shorter than the last, and there's still no sign of Ren. AHHHH! When will the fans finally get their juicy romance? Sho and Reino have a confrontation over Kyoko, and Reino implies that Kyoko made her chocolates out of love. Sho becomes furious, as he can't even imagine that Kyoko would fall for a guy like Reino. Before she can set the record straight, he leaves. Reino refuses to accept the chocolates as it isn't technically Valentine's Day yet (Still? It's been six months!), and Kyoko says that she'll be working on Dark Moon the next day, so Reino is free to visit her and collect his chocolates if he's willing to see Ren again. Reino freezes in his tracks, and Kyoko skips of happily, secure in the thought that Reino wouldn't try anything against Ren.
Make it stop make it stop make it stop! I just want a sweet and adorable and happy romance to bloom between Kyoko and Ren! Like that'll happen. The way things are, a horrible confrontation is going to errupt all over the place and Reino is going to do some serious damage. Or, Ren could totally own everyone and protect Kyoko and they could have a super sweet moment together and make me explode with happiness all over this blog. That would be...better. Honestly though, this Valentine's Day arc is lasting a lot longer than I expected it to (although Chiori's arc was way too long, too). I feel like there's a carrot on a stick dangling in front of me...As long as it doesn't drag on until NEXT Valentine's Day, I think things will be okay. XD
All you lucky punks who went to AX already got to see this, but now the rest of us are finally able to see the first Soul Eater trailer from FUNimation. Definitely a marked improvement over the Media Factory trailer that looks more like a documentary than a trailer. Plus, we finally get our first sample of the official English dub. If you don't recognize Soul's voice, there's a good reason for that. Rumor has it that Soul's voice actor is a new guy. Intriguing indeed.
I haven't been blogging Shugo Chara lately, because really...nothing's been happening. Until now. That's right kids, Rhythm hatched! Kukai stops by the Guardian's place to show off his manliness for no apparent reason through and arm-wrestling competition with Nagi. Amu notices that Nagi's egg is reacting to the display of manly power. Flashbacks occur of Nagihiko as Nadeshiko and how he always had to hold back because he was a "girl." While playing basketball, he finds that he can go all out and be his true self. Easter is up to their old schemes, at the fail trio once again find a way to summon X-eggs from kids. They attack a basketball court, and the X-charas decide to play basketball...for some reason. Amu can't defeat them, so Nagi's egg hatches to reveal Rhythm. They transform into Beat Jumper and own at basketball. The end.
So while I'm not a fan of the anime messing with the manga's timeline, I guess I should say that I'm pretty grateful for this one. Nothing's been happening at all lately, and waiting for Rhythm and Beat Jumper to show up has been a little frustrating. Naturally I would have preferred it to happen during a real pinch (like say, a serious fight with Easter and not an random basketball skirmish.) BUT, we finally have Beat Jumper. And that's cool. Looks like he's actually gonna stick around, too. None of this "I'll return to my egg until the next time your heart shines!" business. Looks like next week is all about showing off Nagi's new manly basketball skills. ::sigh:: The manga is close to being done. Can't the anime just...go to the final battle now?
The first episode moved pretty quickly. The second episode...did not. Lots and lots of talking occurred, which I'm sure is totally important and relevant and fascinating. But it took awhile. Of course, some of the talking from the original was actually cut out, so I really can't complain too much. Maria reads a letter from Beatrice saying that she's going to take everything unless someone can find her gold. Jessica gives Maria's safety charm to her mom. George proposes to Shanon. The next day, a bunch of people are dead, including Shanon (who is wearing the ring George gave her). Jessica's mom is safe, but the bloody handprints on her door seem to indicate that someone was trying to go after her. Good thing she used the safety charm from Maria!
I'm relieved that Maria's "uu uu!" has been toned down. I don't know how much more I could have taken. That sort of repetitive random noise really fails to be cute for me. Unfortunately, I'm really bothered by Natsuhi's hair, now. Why is it two colors? I just noticed that, and apparently it's always been that way. Does she wear extensions or something? Why is her ponytail a different color from the rest of her hair? Great scot, I'm so distracted...
It's pretty rare for me to talk about video games, especially ones not out of Japan. But Galactic Arms Race caught my eye for a couple reasons. First, the acronym is GAR, which makes me giggle quietly to myself. Second, it's a top down shooter with "evolving weapons." The game generates new weapons based on the type of weapons that the player prefers to use.
It's an interesting concept, and it got me thinking about whether or not such a thing could be applied to say...dating sims. For instance, if you seem to chase after girls with glasses more often, the game will introduce more girls with glasses as new chaseable characters. And if you prefer the tsundere types, more and more girls you meet will suffer from violent and adorable moodswings until you have a megane who bakes you million dollar cookies, then cuts your head off if you don't confess to her. Good times. We'll call it Machine Operated girlfriEnds, or MOE for short.
It's the same question that shows up at every voice actor panel. Perhaps you've asked it yourself. How can I be a voice actor? Will I get scouted by posting fandubs on YouTube (answer: no). Well, worry no more. Voice Actor Kick Start is here to answer all your questions. VAKS is a collaboration of many professional voice actors (including yours truly). In includes articles, podcasts, and most importantly - a forum where you can ask all the questions you've been dying to know the answer to and get answers from people who actually work for Bang Zoom! and FUNimation (and more). So if you've ever wanted to be a voice actor or if you have any questions about becoming one, why not pay us a visit?
So this is pretty much the only anime series I've been anticipating for this season, although I will doubtless check out others. This episode pretty much sets up the deserted island, the feuding family grabbing for inheritance money, and a mysterious witch and her curse, and a creepy little girl who seems to be able to talk to her. Unlike Higurashi, Umineko fits a lot more of the standard "mystery" genre. Mansions, deserted islands, a rich crazy old man on the edge of death and his greedy children, and so on. The cast is pretty huge. Thankfully, most of them don't matter, and many of them wind up dead (oops, spoiler alert).
The animation is...inconsistent. Unsurprising for Studio DEEN. Some of the art is very nice, but Battler's eyes change size every scene, and there's plenty of lazy animation and corner cutting like slow panning and motion lines. Thankfully, it's not as distracting as it was in Higurashi. But still, it's a bit disappointing. The music is pretty bland, save for the OP and ED. The opening is a fantastic series of howlings and creepy music that sounds like the twin song from the game's opening. The ending is sung by someone who seems too old to sing, but he manages to carry a tune anyway. Odd. Voice acting is top notch, as to be expected from such a nice cast. Sadly, Maria's "uu, uu!" phrase got very old very fast. Hearing it said so often is a lot more aggravating than reading it. The story is very faithful to the original. I'll definitely keep watching this unless the production values drop so much that I can't stand to look anymore.
I'm dying here. Every chapter seems like it's shorter than the last, and there's still no sign of Ren. AHHHH! When will the fans finally get their juicy romance? Sho and Reino have a confrontation over Kyoko, and Reino implies that Kyoko made her chocolates out of love. Sho becomes furious, as he can't even imagine that Kyoko would fall for a guy like Reino. Before she can set the record straight, he leaves. Reino refuses to accept the chocolates as it isn't technically Valentine's Day yet (Still? It's been six months!), and Kyoko says that she'll be working on Dark Moon the next day, so Reino is free to visit her and collect his chocolates if he's willing to see Ren again. Reino freezes in his tracks, and Kyoko skips of happily, secure in the thought that Reino wouldn't try anything against Ren.
Make it stop make it stop make it stop! I just want a sweet and adorable and happy romance to bloom between Kyoko and Ren! Like that'll happen. The way things are, a horrible confrontation is going to errupt all over the place and Reino is going to do some serious damage. Or, Ren could totally own everyone and protect Kyoko and they could have a super sweet moment together and make me explode with happiness all over this blog. That would be...better. Honestly though, this Valentine's Day arc is lasting a lot longer than I expected it to (although Chiori's arc was way too long, too). I feel like there's a carrot on a stick dangling in front of me...As long as it doesn't drag on until NEXT Valentine's Day, I think things will be okay. XD
