November 1, 2007: Gundam 00 ep 4

Posted at 01:31 PM   Gundam Zero Zero   Add a Comment    Permalink  

Well, it seems we had a bit of a politics lesson from episode 4. Most parts were boring since I have no particular interest in such matters. Gundam fans, don't burn my house when I say that I only watch this series for the mechs and Tierra.

Moving on, three new characters were introduced and were given a fair share of exposure throughout the show: Marina Ismail, Shirin Bakhtiar and Soma Peiris. On the other hand, we also see the rest of the crew of Ptolemaios.

In this episode, Celestial Being showed what eradicating war is really all about; while the rest of the world is doing everything to take it down. Very soon, the Gundam Meisters will no longer be as invincible as the man who waited 200 years to bring about revolution in mankind.

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 4: Eradicating war isn't something we can attain so easily - Allelujah.

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November 3, 2007: Myself; Yourself ep 5

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One word: creepy episode. AND, I had to watch it on midnight.

There seems to be a giant leap in the story. I don't like the way the mysteries are suddenly mixed together like it's the final episode. I prefer they do it gradually; or with advise, perhaps a spine-chiller at the end of each episode, rather than surprising us all with freaky old women watching TVs late at night while stroking cats.

In this episode, Nanaka performs a dance in celebration of the Sakura Festival. While she and Sana are slowly rekindling their lost friendship, they meet an old woman who mistook Nanaka for her dead granddaughter.

Episode Rating:

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November 3, 2007: Minami-ke ep 4

Posted at 12:46 PM   Minami-ke   1 Comment/s    Permalink  

In this episode, the Minami sisters were visited by their heartbroken uncle. Meanwhile, Kana meets her rival for Fujioka's heart and Haruka unintentionally charms a vain volleyball player who wants her to become his sweat-wiper.

Four new characters are introduced to add spice to the Minami-ke series, but I'll only be mentioning two: Riko; a Fujioka fan who believes she must befriend Kana to become closer to him, and Hosoka; the volleyball top player who made all the wrong assumptions and fantasies about Haruka; including the one where he thought Haruka was a mother of two.

Episode Rating:

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November 4, 2007: Ghost Hound

Posted at 02:48 PM   Ghost Hound   2 Comment/s    Permalink  

Shinreigari or Ghost Hound is an anime TV series, created by Production I.G and Shirow Masamune, noted for being the creator of the Ghost in the Shell series. The original concept and design was first developed by Shirow in 1987. It is Production I.G's 20th year anniversary project and was first announced at the 2007 Tokyo International Anime Fair. [source]

The series is set in the modest town of Suiten, located in a remote mountain region in the island of Kyushu, and follows three boys who have each had traumatic encounters in their childhood and learn to transfer their souls into a parallel world known as the "Unseen World" (Out of Body Experiences). The Unseen World is however undergoing a change, with its ghosts starting to appearing into the real world, which is therefore also being subject to changes. [source]

Definitely not the best work of Production I.G (in terms of animation), although Ghost Hound's animation is excellent on its own. This series looks promising. I have very high expectations on Shirow Masamune's (Ghost in the Shell) tandem with Chiaki J. Konaka (Serial Experiments Lain). Plus, this is I.G's 20th year anniversary project, so surely, something special is in store for us.

Ghost Hound is a blend of horror and paranormal concepts, set in a rural area where there are more trees than people. Adolescents are playing on this one, so there's probably a mix of innocence and raging hormones along the way as well. From this point Ghost Hound is already appealing, and we expect to see fresh ideas from Masamune-sensei and Konaka-sensei. I just hope this will not turn out redundant like Jigoku Shoujo.

In this episode, protagonist Taro Komori tries to recover his memories involving the kidnapping incident 11 years ago through several out of body experiences. He records the events unfailingly, hoping to find the reasons why he was able to return while his sister was not. Is she dead? Is she alive? His journey to the "Unseen World" will be entwined with two other students (Masayuki Nakajima and Makoto Ogami), who too, are trying to find answers behind this 11-year old mystery.

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November 4, 2007: Ghost Hound ep 2

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I am enthralled by Masayuki's storytelling in this episode. The overall story of Ghost Hound has solidified. There's also G.H.'s weird background music that I failed to discuss earlier. Instead of the usual piano or violin piece that we hear in most animes, Ghost Hound makes use of static noise and water ripples to emphasize a certain scene or event.

In this episode, Masayuki uncovers information regarding the Komori kidnapping incident. His reasons for doing such are still unknown. Meanwhile, Taro leaves for the mountain to return to the hospital where he and his dead sister (Mizuka) were found, but along the way he was attacked by Narcolepsy and found himself haunted by strange visions of a tall faceless man.

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 2: I'm filled with nothing but terrifying things -- Taro.

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November 6, 2007: Shion no Ou ep 3

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In this episode, the culprit responsible for the murder of Shion's parents is slowly returning to the surface. Two detectives are hell-bent on catching him before he gets to Shion. Meanwhile, Shion was overcome by stress and falls to a short coma. She wakes up and realizes that her last match before the finals is against the first person to ever beat her. Will Ayumi succeed the second time?

This episode was slow, but at least we get to see some development in the story. The events were scattered in the beginning and the story only took shape after Shion was brought to the hospital and later wakes up to go to her pre-finals match.

Episode Rating:

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November 7, 2007: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -KAI- ep 17

Posted at 09:37 PM   Higurashi no Naku Koro ni KAI   Add a Comment    Permalink  

In this episode, Rika offers her blood to save Satoko from being possessed by the Hinamizawa syndrome. Meanwhile, Takano is finally one step closer to her life-long objective, only to be dragged down by Koizumi's death. When she thought she had lost everything, Takano sees a new hope.

Well, this is a very enjoyable episode (even though the animation was bad). Some old mysteries are resolved (this is a solution arc after all); but a lot of questions are still left unanswered, and judging from the development in the story, we are bound to see more.

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 17: Medicine is something born from one's heart. -- Rika.

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November 8, 2007: Shion no Ou ep 4

Posted at 10:03 PM   Shion no Ou   Add a Comment    Permalink  

Somebody teach me Shogi!

In this episode, Shion musters the little strength she had left and fights for the other slot in the finals league. Will Shion's Shogi win this time around?

Well, I'm quite dissatisfied with how ep 4 ended. It also didn't help that the whole show revolved around Shion's match with cross-dresser Ayumi. If I had knowledge on Shogi I might have thoroughly enjoyed it. But I don't, so I have no idea what to make of this episode.

Episode Rating:

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November 10, 2007: Minami-ke ep 5

Posted at 11:35 AM   Minami-ke   Add a Comment    Permalink  

Finally, a beach episode! Despite the cold weather I suddenly craved for the sea! I totally love ep 5. Kana's stunts are hilarious (as always) but what made this episode better than the rest was the part where Kana showed her melodramatic & insecure side.

Here, the Minami sisters decided to go to the beach. Three days before the big day, it started raining and desperate Kana was left no choice but to roll Chiaki up in a sheet, hang her, and make her pray to the God of Rain. Meanwhile, Haruka is worried about her skimpy swimsuit. Perhaps staying in the house might be a good idea after all. Will Chiaki be able to overpower the Rain God? Will Haruka run to the sand half-naked? Will Kana stop being a bird-brained idiot? (so Chiaki says). Here comes Summer.

Episode Rating:

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November 10, 2007: Blue Drop ep 4

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In this episode, Hagino meets with the Master Commander of the Nobal ship to relay the incident five years ago. Meanwhile, Mari bonds with two of her classmates outside school, unaware that she's about to face her worst nightmare yet. Things started going wrong after the arrival of Kawashima's enemies. Mari was taken by ugly thugs but the alien race wants a piece of Mari too. Hagino rushes to save her, but will she make it in time? Is she ready to turn against her own kind?

By this time, Hagino is already certain of her feelings toward Hagino. Much of that was shown in the way she thoughtlessly left her ship to rescue Mari. Mari's actions (embracing Hagino and holding her hand), however, may still be attributed to her fear of the alien race. Having considered this though, I'm still pretty confident that Mari will reveal her own feelings. I just hope it won't be too late for her to do so.

Episode 4 was the first to show some battle scenes. The artwork was excellent and I hope there will be more of these in the succeeding episodes, especially now that the aliens have started to move.

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 4: If you wanted to rescue me, do it faster! -- Mari.

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November 12, 2007: Romeo x Juliet ep 23

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In this episode, Neo Verona was finally returned to the Capulets. Juliet, however, has one more destiny to fulfill. Romeo learns the truth from sexy Tybalt and hurries to save her, but Juliet refuses to be saved. With time running out, the two decide that there's only one way to make the other yield; and that's by killing each other.

Well, I thought I'll never be able to see the end of RxJ, with Umai dropping the project after receiving a warning from the licensed distributors. Fortunately, another group resumed the work (Shakespeare), though I have a feeling that it's still Umai under a new group name. Just like Kuro-Hana's case with Death Note.

Moving on, we're only one episode away from the conclusion of Romeo x Juliet. Looking back, this anime has been rather entertaining. The overall story was plotted well, although it did drag a bit, from episode 11 to 16. Despite that, this is truly one of Gonzo's magnificent works.

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 23: For you, I will gladly fall to Hell -- Romeo

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November 12, 2007: Ghost Hound ep 3

Posted at 05:03 PM   Ghost Hound   1 Comment/s    Permalink  

In this episode, Masayuki takes Taro and Makoto to a little hiking adventure. Their destination: The Kameiwa Respiratory Hospital. For Taro, this is his chance to overcome his fears. His courage, however, may not be enough for what awaits the three of them at the end of their journey.

Ep 3 is very intriguing. First; Masayuki's revelation about himself and the possible reason why he has Acrophobia; Second; a new link between Taro and Makoto; and Third, another mysterious event that happened in the Kameiwa Hospital. Apparently, the story of GH is much more complex than we were made to believe.

Episode Rating:

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November 12, 2007: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -KAI- ep 18

Posted at 09:09 PM   Higurashi no Naku Koro ni KAI   2 Comment/s    Permalink  

Most of the events in this episode occurred shortly before and after Satoshi killed his aunt and "disappeared". This has certainly cleared a portion in the overall "Satoshi mystery". There are, however, remaining unresolved bits, and I don't think they will be answered in the next episode because according to the preview, Keiichi finally arrives at Hinamizawa, and that's about one year (??) after this incident.

Ack, I can't wait for them to wrap everything up. This is taking too long.

Episode Rating:

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