Ugh, running on four hours sleep when I usally take eight to ten...
I spent the entire night writing a paper I had a month to do. Agh, and I have a presentation this afternoon that I didn't prepare and a language exam tomorrow, and I didn't study for it either. Damn it.
Good thing my hair looks like a mess even when I comb it :P So I don't have to pay too much attention to it. Just say, "It can't be helped." and move on.
Ah, yes, the dreaded friend/girlfriend. You know the sort. Everyone THINKS you're going out, YOu think you should be going out, but for some reason you never leave the friend zone even though you're practically in a relationship that's maybe non-sexual but definitely friendly-romantic. I both like and hate the friend/girlfriend. There's no pressure, but there's also no payoff.
Haha, Arika, DEPTH. The recesses and emptiness of her brain, maybe, are deep. I hated Otome with a passion. And I dislike Mai greatly, but she had at least a lot more dimensions to her. It's funny how I put myself through those series for three characters: Shizuru, Natsuki and Haruka.
I'm a real straight-laced looking girl, which is not who I am on the inside, really. I'm reading this pretty cool yuri manga called Hanjuku Joshi, it's cute and sexual and interesting, actually. Anyway, one of the characters is a small sweet pretty girl and she just wishes she was taller, more boyish since she didn't think her outside reflected her inside. I feel kind of like that. I look like one of those girls who never step out of line, and yet that's not who I am. I wish I had piercings and tattoos and the like, but it doesn't suit me :/
At least we have an openly bisexual character in anime though! :D With Nene, I mean.
Ah yes! If you like Girl Friends, the Nana and Hitomi one-shots are more satisfying.
My least favourite Sugimoto is the married one. I dunno, she just doesn't seem to appeal to me like the others. Kuri is ultra cool. Shinako is a riot. I feel like she knows everything but just keeps it all to herself and doles it out at her amusement.
The guys in Aoi Hana are extremely nice, even Akira's grossly obsessive brother. In fact, Shimura only writes about pleasant people. Nobody is a conniving bitch or anything.
Btw, lastest chapter of Aoi Hana: wtf...?
Actually, I might incite great rage from yuri fans, but I prefer the Akemiya x Sumi pairing. I'm sorry, but he likes her for exactly who she is--tall, rough, violent and un-cute. And he still thinks she's cute.
It's too bad she's interested in girls (wait, did I say that??), because Akemiya is a really nice guy.
I'd like to see a love triangle anime with two girls and a guy. And the object of desire is the girl. I dunno, I just think it would be fascinating. They really give bisexuals the shaft in anime and manga. If it's yuri or yaoi, the bisexual is the enemy. If it's het stuff, she/he's a whore.
Ouch, get better soon! I need to see a dentist. I am getting a cavity on a tooth I got a filling on, what was the point of that then?
And yes, I read Amnesian and it is incoherent, terrible an absolutely hilarious--so I see Kaishaku's keeping up their grand tradition.
I can't wait for the anime adaptation, because I really hate reading Kaishaku manga, I have no idea what's going on because it's so busy and all over the place.
Partied? Nope. I wanted to get shit-faced, but I had a lot of work to get done this week.
Haha, your reaction to your genki girl friend amuses me. I'm a morning person myself, but not genki, I'd say. I'm more of a wake up, brush my teeth, shower, have breakfast, and then hop back into bed and laze around until it's a more Godly time to get off the bed or start doing things.
As per genki girls, I like them, since they get to express themselves so much. I'm more of a deadpan snarker/oblivious ditz (and yes, someone can be both), so genki is an image I won't be able to perpetuate. Heh, but you really sound like this girl I used to... I don't know what to call the relationship, really. More than friends, less than lovers sort of thing, it was. Anyhow, I'd wake up, get coffee, turn on the TV, chat with her mom who also was an early riser, and basically get things done, and she'd crawl out of bed around ten and look at me like I was the Devil and ask, "Why are you up so early!?"
UHGUGHGIGUGH, Arika!? Yuck! HATRED. I didn't think they could do worse than Mai-HiME, but I really should stop challenging the anime industry, since they do seem willing to go out of their way to top terribleness.
Oh, I love Orikasa Fumiko! And if you take a look at this list, several of Orikasa's characters prove to be my favourites. And yes, I did watch Hyakko for Torako too. If she wasn't in it, I hardly could be able to finish it if it weren't for her. She deserves such a better anime, really. And OMG, do not mention that Hirano role--I am so glad she didn't appear in the OAV. Probably couldn't afford her or she was too damn busy. Oh, and the sex-crazed bisexual? Yes, I did watch for her too :P Though sometimes I wished she wasn't so physical because I kept thinking if she was a guy, I'd hate her for being a pervert and lifting girls' skirts. Like Torako's brother. Though I didn't hate him as so much was annoyed deeply by his presence.
Kugimiya's voice for Mika in Kanamemo sounded like she wasn't even trying. It sounded almost exactly like Taiga. Like she just thought, "Well, this role won't affect my career, let me pull out a stock voice and use that." Her voice as Al (she's Al, right...?) was lovely though.
You know, reading what you said about melodramatic girls in your high school, I wanted to say otherwise, but last night I heard that my cousin and her best friend have fallen out and it was because of rumours they started spreading about one another. Sigh. Fortunately, my life is not so interesting as to have people spread rumours about me.
I think Aoi Hana is the best presentation of a lesbian teen's life without the suicidal tendencies or batshit crazy insane detrimental love interests. In fact, it's probably the best yuri I've read because it actually focusses on lesbians and not just girls who like girls or who happen to like this particular girl blah blah blah.
My memory fails me--what one shot was I talking about??
I completely agree with the mangaka about taking her time with the issue of Akira dealing with Fumi.
I mean, look at Akira's position:
- Someone confesses their love to you.
- It is your best friend.
- Your best friend is another girl.
- This girl has seen a lot of heartbreak.
- You want to protect this girl.
- She has had sex before.
- You do not even understand sex that well.
- She wants to have sex with you.
- You are not ready for that.
- You are not ready for a relationship.
- You are not even in love with anyone.
So I understand why Akira wants to tread lightly. She can end up hurting someone she loves by NOT loving them.
I want more Orie and Hinako though :( And Shinako! She's fascinating!
Haha, I'm sure Akira's never even kissed a person yet. Maybe she also feels a lack of confidence because Fumi is so much more experienced than she is, so maybe she is concerned about that.
I thought Ueda would have been but when I saw her and Fumi together on page for the first time, it didn't click for me. I was expecting it since they introduced Ueda and I was like, "Hmmm!" but she doesn't seem interested in anyone, really.
Ah, yes--I think Kyouko is bi. At least, that was the vibe I got from even the first volume, I dunno why...
I find it odd considering I am more interested in the story than the final outcome. How they bring it to a conclusion as opposed to the final result.
That's exactly why I am reading this. I honestly don't really mind if they don't end up together or not. Shimura has proven that she can take a story even beyond the point of her characters not hooking up or hooking up (you should take a peek into Hourou Musuko; excellent manga), so I hope she applies the same thoughts to Aoi Hana and does not want to crash end it like Hayashiya did with Strawberry Shake Sweet.
And ah, yes! I remember that--you WERE the one I talked about Clannad to first! :D Haha, my friend says that Fuuko is "functionally retarded". Which slays me every time she says it, in such a matter-of-factly tone.
I liked Nagisa because of that lack of backbone. So when she stood up and supported Tomoya when he needed someone to hold him up, she did it in the way she only knew best. Some people are not strong, but I like her kind of strength. I didn't see her weaknesses as weakness--I saw them as facilitators for her own brand of inner strength. She's got her own kind of game face, and I admire her for that.
A lot of the people who are watching Kampfer are expressing their disappointment with it. I still think it's because they are watching it without the beer and chips you're supposed to have with it.
Mezousa or something was the rabbit from Pani Poni Dash. He was amusing. PPD was funny for the first 13 episodes and then the references got so out of hand and unfunny in the latter half, it was frustrating rather than funny.
Not my birthday yet :P But thank you! And I WILL reply to your message, I just have to get some work and whatnot out of the way before I psyche myself up to tackle it fully ;)
After a while, I start regarding people by their profile pics. So I wondered, after glancing at yours, "Who the heck is this and what a long message they left me!" until I took a look at the name. Ah, I'm such a child...
Oh, I like Akira because she is not what you expected her to be:
1. genki girl --> she sure is expressive and lively, but she's not a loudmouth Tomo or Torako or whatever energetic girl who tires people out by just looking at her.
2. midget tsundere --> haha, Kugimiya you said? I always have a problem when every tsundere in anime is voiced by her, I can practically time the "URUSAI!" I do like her as a voice actress, but these otaku are making her career a mess since the casting directors all have her doing only tsundere. She's quite capable of doing otherwise.
And you are right, Akira averted that so well. She's quite... normal.
That's what I think a lot of people missed the point entirely of Aoi Hana and said it was boring. What, do they think that in real life, everyone butts into people's lives and screams and throws fits? Hell no! Not unless they liked DRAMA like those kids in American TV shows.
I mean, the characters were really, really mature. Look at Yasuko's comment about Fumi's little conflict about going to school with her. She thought it was cute and childish. Was there any "WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH AKIRA!?" Actually, and this was done so subtly, I wonder if anybody noticed, Yasuko HAD in fact wondered if there was something more going on between them when she remarked something like, "You sure do talk about Akira a lot." to Fumi. Even when Fumi found out Yasuko was emotionally unavailable because she was in love with someone else, did Fumi burst into tears and act like her life was over LIKE IN SO MANY OTHER ANIME? Not at all.
And that scene where Akira confronts Yasuko is powerful. Since this is realistic, put yourself in her shoes--how many people do you know in real life would have the gall to go talk to their best friend's ex and demand a reason as to why they broke her heart? Not many. That was a brave thing Akira did.
I'm not sure who my favourite character is, but Akira is top tier most definitely. She just warms up all her scenes, and I love going into her head. I mean, we know Fumi's wants, fears and desires, but what about Akira? So any time we slip into her perspective, I'm really glad. It was like the Hitomi chapter of the Nana x Hitomi one-shot series by Morinaga Milk, if you know it.
I didn't think that Akira and Fumi would ever, ever get together, but now I am starting to wonder. I didn't want them together, and I must have been one of the few to think like that. Since their friendship really is magnificent. I felt making them fall in love would be taking away something. But alas, Shimura is more skilled than I keep forgetting to give her credit for. She doesn't make them, "Omg, I'm in love." I believe that Fumi loves Akira because like slowly realising you love someone close to you, I realised she loved her best friend.
I dunno what Akira is thinking or feeling. I have a friend also reading it and she thinks it's gayngst. It couldm be, I'm not sure. I'd say Akira is terrified into inaction at the moment. I mean, she knows just how much Fumi's been hurt by unrequited love and maybe she's just threading softly so she won't be another name to add to the list of people who broke Fumi's heart.
But then, why'd she be so hung up over the sex part? I could relate to Akira since when I was that age, my best friend came out and said she liked me, and I was so afraid about it since I did not like her in the same way. So I felt extremely aware of everything, which is what Akira is feeling now. I mean, you're afraid to touch them, say certain things, act certain ways because all you can think is, "Dear God, please don't let me hurt her." So I was very, very sympathetic to Akira's position.
- Her reaction when Fumi and Ueda are standing next to one another. --> initially I thought this was because they were trying to open a Fumi x Ueda relationship, and much in the way Akira noticed that Yasuko was hitting on Fumi on the bench, I thought she felt that something was happening again. But I did eventually interpret the scene as maybe a sign of romanticism. I mean, why'd her heart skip a beat? Does she feel something for Fumi? Or does she have a height fetish? ;)
- Her lack of reaction to Fumi declaring her love for Akira, and potentially maybe fear over Fumi's experience compared to Akira's relative inexperience. --> "stunned into silence" is a phrase that comes to mind. But I noticed most of Akira's recent ponderings is not that Fumi is in love with her, but that Fumi just might want to have sex with her. Before, when she said, "Well, I DO love her. But not like that." her musings were all on whether Fumi loved her or not. Now it's something else. It could just be very teenage, though. I mean, who wasn't thinking about sex then?
- Her reaction when her classmates are making comments about same-sex relationships. --> I re-visited this scene so many times. I thought she acted that way because she's thinking, "Poor Fumi. Is this what she'll have to face?" I mean, her close school friend is bisexual and her best friend is a lesbian. I figured it was like the same reaction of say a white person in the early 1900s hearing others discriminating against black people, when they had a black best friend themselves. That sort of reaction. But looking at it again, it makes me wonder if that might be deterring her from addressing her own sexuality. She's scared herself of facing that crowd. Shimura really is a talented writer. So many of her scenes can be interpreted alternatively.
- Her inner battle when talking to Ueda about her thoughts on Fumi's declaration. --> I thought it was amusing the whole sex talk :P
There was one more moment I thought was significent. When Akira directly mirrors Fumi's "It's not that I (didn't want to/thought it was gross), it's just that I was scared."
Fumi said that line directly when she first had sex with Chizu. It was at that moment she gave into her attraction to other women. I thought perhaps it was a parallel for Akira.
You know, I like that you mentioned "Fumi's experience" because that's another unconventional aspect of this manga. The main character is not a virgin. And she's a girl. And she's a quiet, shy girl. With glasses. Who wasn't raped. (Well, we can go into a whole long statutory conversation, but that would be missing the point.) The thing is, when does a manga series actually portray their protagonists as people who are NORMAL: kiss, fool around, have sex. Most of them are chaste and untouched. I suppose to appeal to the crazy fanbase who are obsessed with their 2D girls being "pure".
When I first started watching Clannad, I earnestly had NO IDEA who he'd choose. Because I was not used to harem since I hate them, so seeing everyone on basically equal footing, my heart went out to Nagisa. And I hoped, and hoped that something would happen between them, but I was almost pretty sure that he'd chose Kotomi or Tomoyo. Or Kyou. Ugh, see!?
But it was when in one of the later episodes, he absent-mindedly scribbled her name and his on the blackboard I thought, "Oh my, I think he's falling in love with her."
I think if Clannad was of any of the other arcs, I'd have enjoyed it less. Even if the other girls are "better" than Nagisa, I look at the effect a couple has on one another.
With Tomoyo, he did manage to grow up, but the entire relationship seemed like a pain rather than something beautiful.
With Kyou, Tomoya did not grow up in any way. All he did was picked and chose what he wanted. I felt like he did not change for the better or even at all really.
You can argue that the OAV didn't give the thing time to flesh out, but I am looking at the conclusion.
Why I think he and Nagisa make better companions for one another is the fact that they never were a detriment to one another. Their love was not built on torrid romance. They just... slowly and simply fell in love. Nobody created an obstacle for them. Most people have that Romeo x Juliet syndrome where you wonder if the love and passion is fuelled by the fact that OTHER people don't want them to be together.
With Tomoyo, it was the student body, with Kyou, it was her sister.
Who stood in the way of Nagisa and Tomoya to make their relationship more passionate? Now, don't mistake my argument as a "they didn't have more to overcome" sort of thing. True, they might have had to work less at becoming a couple, but my question is... does it have to be work to fall in love and be with somebody? I am saying that they had none and that to me makes their love more interesting and powerful. They fact that this is something that warms them and came to them.
Nagisa and Tomoya are so much more natural with one another too. I mean, I can't see him still being friends with any of the other girls had he married them. But Nagisa wasn't just his wife--she was his best friend.
But that's just my argument why they make the best couple in this series. And that's just opinion. Clannad didn't suffer an inch to me. Except maybe when they gave us that crap ending with Fuuko. And also, I find Nagisa wasn't given as much prominence as she needed after she... you know... came back.
And I answered your question with my answer, but I'll answer again: I did watch those OAVs. And I loved them. But they didn't make my heart waver for a minute because I kept thinking, using my Austen criteria, that Tomoya and these other girls just don't seem to work. On a chemical level, maybe. But it does not have that gentle sweetness there was with Nagisa. It felt like work, like I said.
The male leads that are interesting are all HEROES. Just watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Possibly the manliest thing I watched next to Berserk. I'm not talking about fake-manly like Bleach and Naruto. Those are just loud boys being loud.
I hope that Kampfer ends up getting some merchandise! I mean, honestly, does nobody even realise they're parodying magical girl anime where there's always a little cute creature floating about?
I mean, those plushies are rude and grotesque. Not conventionally cute anyway. I immediately think of Kero from CCS. But come on, a line of plushies who have all committed suicide or been murdered in some horrible way that their guts fall out? And they are the mascots!? I see a lot of people bashing Kampfer, and it's because they have no idea it's making fun of everything under the sun. I suspect unless they throw in a Higurashi or Hatsune Miku parody, then nobody will know that the entire series is tongue-in-cheek. I like it just for that. It's parodying based on genre, not based on recognisable anime or franchises that would get them fans in an instant. Like the very mediocre Seitokai no Ichizon. Many people scream it's hilarious.
It's not hilarious just because it is referencing anime left right and centre. Lucky Star was hilarious to me, and not because of the parodies because at the time I had seen it, I had only seen THREE of the ten thousand anime they referenced in there. It was funny because it was funny.
But anime fans cannot differentiate between clever humour and fan pandering humour. Throwing in a Full Metal Alchemist reference in Seitokai no Ichizon. What did it accomplish for the anime? Nothing. It served no purpose. There was no punchline. It was just for some FMA fan to go, "Omg, FMA! HAHA!" But Kampfer parodied Marimite, and what did it do? It went to town with all the tropes from yuri anime that are completely ridiculous, like the fangirls and swooning over someone just for eating a grape. THAT is funny.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I said in my rather displeased review of Maria Holic that Mariya was the one thing that saved it because even though he's a complete wang, he's very charismatic and wicked and isn't afraid of that. But God damn it, it was a painful experience to watch that anime.
Ooh, I had started reading the Aoi Hana manga first. But I think a lot of people completely miss the point of the characters. Yes, they are archetypes. That's undeniable. Tall, shy, meganekko crybaby, and uber genki tiny girl? Come on, these have existed since forever! But it's WHAT the mangaka did with them that makes them so wonderfully different.
I like the fact that Fumi actually has had more life experience than even the brave and self-confident Yasuko, who seems so accomplished and worldly. I like that Akira is not some oblvious idiot, and actually figures things out even before people tell it to her, sort of like how she noted that Kyoko might be into women and when she saw Yasuko and Fumi talking, she realised something was up with the two of them, something personal and romantic.
Oh, Haruhi! I forgot she was a meganekko too! Now I love her even more :D
Yasuko's sexuality has been a big debate with the fans. I just think she's willing and open, not so much bisexual. Because even when her sister asks, she doesn't answer. She realised that Fumi might have had a thing for her, and hit on her and succeeded. I don't doubt she grew affectionate of Fumi but love? Not at all. They were each other's rebounds. Fumi needed a normal relationship and Yasuko needed someone who would take her mind off of her sister's fiance.
I don't think it's too horrible because at least Fumi got to experience something close to normal. Her first sexual experience and romantic liaison was secretive, taboo in more than one ways and was not exactly the sort of thing a girl would dream about. With Yasuko, she went on dates, they held hands, kissed--all the normal stuff she could never do with Chizu. She even had the chance to come out in the open about what she experienced with Yasuko, as embarrassing and scart that was for her.
I really want to know what will happen with her and Akira. I suspect the friend end but that won't be a problem for me, since I never thought of them as more than friends until the very latest chapters.
I think Hayashiya-sensei has issues with the peoople who own her manga. I think they once offered to make HayatexBlade into anime and she turned them down. Also, I heard from a reliable source that SSS would not get an anime adaptation because none of the manga that are in the Yuri Hime line have been offered adaptations.
:0 *blocks ears* I love Nagisa... Those AU things were fanfiction to me.
It's pretty funny. All the girls I like are really tough badasses like Revy or Canaan the Mahor from Ghost in the Shell... but most of my favourites are those brown-haired sweet tempered girly girls. I don't understand it, because I swoon hard for the girl who'd shove a gun in your face and laugh about it... but I got Honda Tohru on my favourites, the girl who wouldn't even step on an ant :/
I hear a lot of people talking about how awful Kampfer is, and I think they don't realise that the anime is parodying... itself.
I mean, come on! They also took yuri to town!
1. Flower explosions
2. Onee-sama!
3. Treating Natsuru like she was a superstar
4. The psycho lesbians and their molestation (although this wasn't that funny to me... but the anime IS right--what's a yuri anime without some psycho lesbians raping someone)
5. Everyone is a yuri fangirl
It is seriously hilarious. One lined killed me though. When Akane has the cream on her face and she gets mad at Natsuru for being a blockhead and storms out. And Natsuru shouts, "But you still got cream on your face!"
Oh yes, sorry, I didn't realise my typo. I tend to type like, what do you call it... predictive text. I have every bit of information in my head, though what I type and what I think tends to be two different things. My friends keep telling me to take a typing course because I cannot seem to produce the words on the screen from the words in my head. I did mean Kobayashi. Asakawa would have been really nice too :D But I love Kobayashi and that husky drawl of hers, omg.
And I try to close my eyes and just not think of Mariya :/ Honest to goodness one of the most overrated and misogynistic and homophobic anime to ever be made popular. I find it sad that men's heroes have become pretty, sadistic, horrid cross-dressing boys.
~Desu drives me up a wall, honestly. I just want to attack things.
I loved Fujita-pro. That's why I like anime like Saki. The characters won't win josei awards for being unique and three-dimensional, but there's something comforting about their constants and their quirks. Like I know they won't change but that makes me happy for some reason. Sort of like superheroes. We love them and feel comforted because of who they are and not who they can be. Sometimes I prefer two-dimensional characters simply on the basis that they are just more fun to watch.
Ah, Fumi was just my little fumbling meganekko nice girl, and then when I saw her without the glasses I was like, "WTF KEEP THEM OFF, KEEP THEM OFF!" Worse was when she was in the bath and tied up her hair... I kept thinking, "Was she always this... sexy?" It feels weird thinking it, but she is!
Which is kinda why I guess Chizu pounced and tapped that. Although Yasuko is surely losing out. Too bad.
For some reason, girls who wear glasses constantly = not as hot.
But...
Girls who wear reading glasses/wear glasses occasionally = omgtissuenosebleed.
I don't understand why they have that affect on me. But Kana from Candy Boy nearly made me have a "Julia" moment when I saw her with glasses on. And I think Tomoyo is more fascinating, because technically, that makes her a meganekko but she isn't like one in the traditional sense.
There needs to be more girls who wear reading glasses..
I was a Bleach-tard up until episode 60 when I realised that it was just not going to end. And I am glad I pulled out of it fast, because it's past 200 episodes and most seem to be awful filler. I just try to watch a few episodes that have my beloved Soi Fong/Soifon in it.
Yeah, Battler from Umineko. Meh, whatever. I thought Higurushi wasn't as great as everyone else thought it was, and I really think Umineko is pure excrement.
I love Sawashiro, so her Canaan was like an ear-gasm seriously. In fact, most of CANAAN was like an aural orgasm.
I think I only liked Momo and Yumi on the basis of stealth sex and that face that Yumi is voiced by the ever-sexy Asakawa Yuu. I swear to God, DAT VOICE. Especially when she was all shy in the onsen, I never really understood with "HNNNGGG"-ing was, but I completely did it when I heard her voice.
Wahaha's seiyuu is also the coiner of that annoying "desu~" thing, isn't she? It's funny how desu made my blood boil, but wahaha was hilarious and cool.
There was this one really funny scene where Fujita-pro was announcing and she says that Yumi is the captain of Tsuruga and the guy was like, "Er, no. Kanbara is the captain." and she looked at him in shock.
My problem with Yuuichi was exactly that. He was too much Sugita, not enough himself. Tomoya has the distinction of being the one majorly beloved KyoAni hero that wasn't a "Kyon". Other than Yuuchi's more laidback playfulness and emotional side, he is almost indiscernible from Kyon. Tomoya is Tomoya.
I thought I was the only one who opted for Sumi investing in some contacts.
Actually, meganekko really don't do it for me. I dunno why. I kept wishing Fumi too would get some contacts, because without them, the girl actually is... really attractive. Especially with her hair up as well.
Unfortunately, I saw FSN after I saw Bleach, and so I kept making parallels to both and while FSN was prettier, it was too fanservice-y and boring for me to like. Plus, Shirou SUCKS, OMG. I hate guys like him. The closest thing to him I am seeing these days is Battler from Higurashi, undoubtedly the worst protagonist for any anime released this year.
I'd like an OAV where Canaan and Maria meet again. I dunno why peopel are so fatalistic and say stuff like, "THEY'RE SEPARATED FOREVER!? THIS SUCKS!" I think Canaan, Maria and Alphard are like magnets. They will attract one another and be drawn to one another despite it all. I said it many times before and I'll say it again: Canaan had a "happy" ending, not a pessimistic one.
Canaan's "Bang! That's mine." at the plane as Maria flew overhead was her way of saying that no matter what, Maria is her everything and is hers. She does not need Maria there 24/7 to prove that she is thinking of her or that she belongs to her. Maria's final words of her accepting that she needs to grow up and can't expect that Canaan will be there for her always whenever she needs her. Their mutual dependency is what endangered them, and separating was their way of growing up.
Heh, I watched Saki to "take one for the team" since there was a debate whether or not it was really yuri. So I decided to watch it. Lo and behold, it became the most entertaining anime I watched in the Summer Season.
We're in the same boat then! Mihoko and Hisa were my favourites as well. There's something about the inter-school relationship that made it even more delectable. Saki and Nodotits were bleh. I was like, "NOOO, WHY!?" any time we went back to them.
I'd say my faves were:
Kyaputen x Hisa
Yumi x Stealth Homo
Desu wa x Hajime
Wahaha x her pimpin' Volkswagon
Yumi and Momo had a cute, fumbling, shy relationship. It was too adorable, really. And I love how Hisa and Mihoko interacted with one another. They're not clueless-dere for one another like Saki and Nodoka, nor are they stumbling around one another. It seems pretty mature.
You listed some very, very fine men there. Other than the boyish charm types, I also go for rugged manly men, so fellows like Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and in other ways, Tomoya from Clannad (I wouldn't say he had boyish charm as so much devilish charm, and he became a man eventually).
Ha, I doubt I could care about the ending of Kampfer. Just as long as it stays true to itself and acknowledged terribleness. That is true, she seemed to react more to him as a female than a male, but maybe she's starstruck by the coolness of his girl form and finds his male form too incompetent? Maybe she will come to like him as a he. Or maybe they will just throw it up in the air and have no resolution as these anime are wont to have.
Is it bad that I only really want to see the pool episode of SK really badly...?
The last lengthy anime or character discussions I had, other than from my usual conversations I have with friends, had been with Type Moon fanboys trying to convince me that Kara no Kyoukai and Fate/Stay Night are better than I think it is. Which in turn led me into telling them that no, I think it is a mediocre franchise driven by VN fan support and pretty animation.
I really don't know how people can say that Shiki is an excellent character when she is the typical emotionless killer with random bouts of "moe" to appeal to fans. I especially find it amusing when they compare CANAAN to Kara no Kyoukai and saying that Shiki has more depth than Canaan. Maybe more depth, since she's emo and when you are DARK and MYSTERIOUS there is always depth behind you. I think Canaan makes a superior character because unlike Shiki, her emotionless attitude is something she does not embrace, but tries to work against. Which is why she clings to Maria so much, since Maria makes her feel something closer to human. I mentioned it in my review of CANAAN, that people completely missed the point of Canaan's characterisation--she does not want isolation like all those other dark and aching ruthless killers. She yearns for interaction. Which is why her decision to stay away from Maria is given weight, because she learns in the end that she cannot rely on someone else's constant presence to make her feel. She can feel even without them there, and that was what is important--she begins to have functional emotions.
Anyway, what was I talking about...?
Forgetting that rant, Yuuki and Yume went nowhere with that relationship. I thought they might have delved a little deeper, but every time this anime seems to head in a more mature direction, it does a complete turn and runs the hell away. I liked that Hinata was the first and only person to point out that Yuuki's coddling will do Yume no good. I know a lot of fans raged at Hinata saying she should mind her own business or saying she's a homophobe. I don't think so. She has a point. Yume can't grow up if Yuuki keeps stunting her growth. And Yume herself is not doing Yuuki very much good either, since she indulges in that overwhelming attention. Although this isn't an anime about digging into characterisation, so I ignored it for the most part and just thought, "Okay, kissy-face happy lesbians--I can dig it."
Mentioning Twilight made me remember this pic (you will need to click on Com-to-Com to see the full image, since the text box cuts half of it out):
I like Toyosaki Aki. She's adorable. And I am a self-proclaimed Horie whore, though sometimes she can ride my nerves sometimes, but I guess because I am such a big fan, mediocrity is something I won't settle for when I know she is capable of great stuff. I loved the voice she used for Haruka. It was just so... fun. And she has such a unique type of lisp, I can't place my finger on it, but listen to Kyouko any time she says something with "s" sounds in it.
Ooh, Orikasa Fumiko can do a graty high voice and she's a master at it, but Akira's seiyuu has a way to go, since her voice seemed a bit inconsistent at times. I think there were some big differences from the first episode to say the sixth or seventh. I think the best scene that seiyuu worked on was when she confronted Yasuko and they had their little chat about why she broke up with Fumi.
Kampfer is so funny to me. I am trying to convince people to watch it since they just think, "Ugh, trap/gender bend." It's especially hard to convince yuri fans to watch it since they think it's just going to have a girl fall for the girl and then find out it's a guy and then stay with the guy.
I went in to Kampfer ready to rip it to shreds and then I got knocked right on my behind when I realised that IT realised how silly the premise was and was playing with that knowledge.
Plus, all the seiyuu shout-outs made me grin. I suspect it must be fun for them, and I always say that once the seiyuu sound like they're having fun, a comedy is made that much better.
Ooh, you haven't seen Sasameki Koto then. Well, re-evaluate what I said once you've seen the first episode. Then you'll see what I mean about comparing the anime to one another.
Haruka was my least favourite thing about Kanamemo. The only characters I watched that anime for was Yume and Yuuki (lesbian love-love that wasn't dysfunctional or built on lies or guilt!?!?), Hinata (I have a thing for misers and she was the only truly functional and normal person in the bunch, and her cost-cutting antics were hilarious--the scene where she took her laundry to the bath-house killed me), and Kana herself, even if she is a bit functionally retarded, to use a coinage of a dear friend of mine. I do not like deadpan lolis, but mostly because I don't like lolis, so Saki was out. Mika was a stereotypical midget tsundere, and this was just worse considering she is voiced by Kugimiya, who invokes her Taiga/Louise/Shana for this role (I really feel sorry that she's typecasted so much, since she is very capable of doing a myriad of excellent voices), and of course, Haruka should be jailed.
I actually like Horie Yui, so listening to her drunk was the highlight of Haruka. They just ruined a character who could have been a cool big sis. A drunk cool big sis, too. Also, it's probably the only time I think she wasn't voicing some catch-phrase making grown child (re: Uguu~ from Kanon, Auauau from Higurashi and Uuu! from Umineko), and did an adult voice.
Haha, I wish the comment was still there, but at least someone came forward and told me why they find my reviews becoming "increasingly unhelpful" and it's because they don't agree with me. It's the flaw of a helpful/unhelpful system. What people interpret that as is "agree/disagree". I disagree with several reviews I find helpful. Once is has personality, is coherent, and makes sense, it is helpful to me, even if my opinions are diverging.
And you are right--people just unhelpful my reviews most of the time because *I* wrote it or I didn't like their favourite anime/I liked something they hated. I have a good laugh when I post a review for an anime that less than 20 people had probably seen and yet I end up getting more unhelpfuls than the total number of people who even saw the thing. I don't sweat the small stuff though. If it makes them feel good, by all means, let them. My concern more than anything is that people even acknowledge that I wrote something and read it.
Liang, Liang--oh my. Psycho lesbians do amuse me and I have a soft spot for them as I have a soft spot for all psychotic or batshit crazy characters. I liked Liang up to a point. Then she got so over the top, that I found her hard to take seriously, I was not surprised by her cruelty, nor did I care when she met her fate.
Somehow, though, I don't believe CANAAN was about developing characters subtly. It is loud and in your face and basically, "LOOK HERE, LOOK AT THIS!" so I regarded it as such. Liang's madness was something to sympathise with and fear since she was intrinsically evil, unlike Alphard, who was simply cruel as a result of creating an identity for herself.
But in coming to the end with the whole love impact nonsense and her crazy "CANAAN'S IN THE MIRROR!!" foolishness, I just didn't care any more about her perverse and obsessive desire for Alphard's attention. But somehow I felt it was necessary, at least for this anime. If it were something like Noir, which was a character piece, we see that Chloe eventually loses her nut more than she already did because Kirika essentially chooses Mireille over her. Liang goes fruity-basket case insane when she realises that Alphard really just hates her or worse--couldn't be bothered with her. At this point, she was such a huge ham that she tried to out-ham even herself, and so took those pills to give herself synaesthesia or whatever.
In short, Liang went so over the top that that when she came back down, it ended with a big, messy splat.
Fumi's voice was "Eh..." with me. Some parts it was absolutely adorable, like whenever she said, "Ano ne", but I hated hearing her enunciate "s" words. Actually, the seiyuu did a preview for the anime and I was like, "Wtf, why didn't she use THAT voice instead!?" as it was different and infinitely better than the one in the anime.
Actually, Akira's voice was nails to me, but after a while, I got so used to it that I actually started liking it a bit.
Heh, if you want a run-through:
Kampfer --> friggin' hilarious, tongue-in-cheek, brainless fun, makes fun of itself hard. I especially don't like ecchi, but this is a fun show.
Bakemonogatari --> pretty, I only saw 1 episode, but everyone looks insane or weird, so I will like it. I just need to let the fanboying surrounding this anime die down, since fanboys kill the mood of anime for me.
Taishou Yakyuu Musume --> I love baseball, so I enjoy this title. Need to finish though! Sugar-coated feminism though :0
Sasameki Koto --> I think it's better than the Aoi Hana anime... I do not think, as far as the manga are concerned, that SK at its highest point can even scratch the bottom of Aoi Hana's lowest point, but damn me if the technicals and presentation of SK's anime had more personality and flavour to it than the blander Aoi Hana. Of course, Aoi Hana is meant to be bland, but I felt it didn't have that daringness in direction that I like to see in adaptations.
Animating something scene by scene, emotion by emotion based on the manga is dull to me, in terms of my enjoyment. It's why anime like Bleach and Naruto are "meh" because it's the same thing. If I was reading the manga for one, I'd never watch the anime. I saw the anime for both first, so despite people's urgings, I will never read the manga, since it's the SAME THING SCENE FOR SCENE just with no motion or music.
I'm not saying adaptations such veer completely away from the source material (re: Strawberry Panic), but I mean, come on, directors! You can use alternate camera angles, lighting, positions, music and all other sorts of things to make the anime different but maintain the canon.
All Comments (25) Comments
Nice review on Ikkitousen though, if you ever read this.
I spent the entire night writing a paper I had a month to do. Agh, and I have a presentation this afternoon that I didn't prepare and a language exam tomorrow, and I didn't study for it either. Damn it.
Good thing my hair looks like a mess even when I comb it :P So I don't have to pay too much attention to it. Just say, "It can't be helped." and move on.
Ah, yes, the dreaded friend/girlfriend. You know the sort. Everyone THINKS you're going out, YOu think you should be going out, but for some reason you never leave the friend zone even though you're practically in a relationship that's maybe non-sexual but definitely friendly-romantic. I both like and hate the friend/girlfriend. There's no pressure, but there's also no payoff.
Haha, Arika, DEPTH. The recesses and emptiness of her brain, maybe, are deep. I hated Otome with a passion. And I dislike Mai greatly, but she had at least a lot more dimensions to her. It's funny how I put myself through those series for three characters: Shizuru, Natsuki and Haruka.
I'm a real straight-laced looking girl, which is not who I am on the inside, really. I'm reading this pretty cool yuri manga called Hanjuku Joshi, it's cute and sexual and interesting, actually. Anyway, one of the characters is a small sweet pretty girl and she just wishes she was taller, more boyish since she didn't think her outside reflected her inside. I feel kind of like that. I look like one of those girls who never step out of line, and yet that's not who I am. I wish I had piercings and tattoos and the like, but it doesn't suit me :/
At least we have an openly bisexual character in anime though! :D With Nene, I mean.
Ah yes! If you like Girl Friends, the Nana and Hitomi one-shots are more satisfying.
My least favourite Sugimoto is the married one. I dunno, she just doesn't seem to appeal to me like the others. Kuri is ultra cool. Shinako is a riot. I feel like she knows everything but just keeps it all to herself and doles it out at her amusement.
The guys in Aoi Hana are extremely nice, even Akira's grossly obsessive brother. In fact, Shimura only writes about pleasant people. Nobody is a conniving bitch or anything.
Btw, lastest chapter of Aoi Hana: wtf...?
Actually, I might incite great rage from yuri fans, but I prefer the Akemiya x Sumi pairing. I'm sorry, but he likes her for exactly who she is--tall, rough, violent and un-cute. And he still thinks she's cute.
It's too bad she's interested in girls (wait, did I say that??), because Akemiya is a really nice guy.
I'd like to see a love triangle anime with two girls and a guy. And the object of desire is the girl. I dunno, I just think it would be fascinating. They really give bisexuals the shaft in anime and manga. If it's yuri or yaoi, the bisexual is the enemy. If it's het stuff, she/he's a whore.
Ouch, get better soon! I need to see a dentist. I am getting a cavity on a tooth I got a filling on, what was the point of that then?
And yes, I read Amnesian and it is incoherent, terrible an absolutely hilarious--so I see Kaishaku's keeping up their grand tradition.
I can't wait for the anime adaptation, because I really hate reading Kaishaku manga, I have no idea what's going on because it's so busy and all over the place.
Partied? Nope. I wanted to get shit-faced, but I had a lot of work to get done this week.
As per genki girls, I like them, since they get to express themselves so much. I'm more of a deadpan snarker/oblivious ditz (and yes, someone can be both), so genki is an image I won't be able to perpetuate. Heh, but you really sound like this girl I used to... I don't know what to call the relationship, really. More than friends, less than lovers sort of thing, it was. Anyhow, I'd wake up, get coffee, turn on the TV, chat with her mom who also was an early riser, and basically get things done, and she'd crawl out of bed around ten and look at me like I was the Devil and ask, "Why are you up so early!?"
UHGUGHGIGUGH, Arika!? Yuck! HATRED. I didn't think they could do worse than Mai-HiME, but I really should stop challenging the anime industry, since they do seem willing to go out of their way to top terribleness.
Oh, I love Orikasa Fumiko! And if you take a look at this list, several of Orikasa's characters prove to be my favourites. And yes, I did watch Hyakko for Torako too. If she wasn't in it, I hardly could be able to finish it if it weren't for her. She deserves such a better anime, really. And OMG, do not mention that Hirano role--I am so glad she didn't appear in the OAV. Probably couldn't afford her or she was too damn busy. Oh, and the sex-crazed bisexual? Yes, I did watch for her too :P Though sometimes I wished she wasn't so physical because I kept thinking if she was a guy, I'd hate her for being a pervert and lifting girls' skirts. Like Torako's brother. Though I didn't hate him as so much was annoyed deeply by his presence.
Kugimiya's voice for Mika in Kanamemo sounded like she wasn't even trying. It sounded almost exactly like Taiga. Like she just thought, "Well, this role won't affect my career, let me pull out a stock voice and use that." Her voice as Al (she's Al, right...?) was lovely though.
You know, reading what you said about melodramatic girls in your high school, I wanted to say otherwise, but last night I heard that my cousin and her best friend have fallen out and it was because of rumours they started spreading about one another. Sigh. Fortunately, my life is not so interesting as to have people spread rumours about me.
I think Aoi Hana is the best presentation of a lesbian teen's life without the suicidal tendencies or batshit crazy insane detrimental love interests. In fact, it's probably the best yuri I've read because it actually focusses on lesbians and not just girls who like girls or who happen to like this particular girl blah blah blah.
My memory fails me--what one shot was I talking about??
I completely agree with the mangaka about taking her time with the issue of Akira dealing with Fumi.
I mean, look at Akira's position:
- Someone confesses their love to you.
- It is your best friend.
- Your best friend is another girl.
- This girl has seen a lot of heartbreak.
- You want to protect this girl.
- She has had sex before.
- You do not even understand sex that well.
- She wants to have sex with you.
- You are not ready for that.
- You are not ready for a relationship.
- You are not even in love with anyone.
So I understand why Akira wants to tread lightly. She can end up hurting someone she loves by NOT loving them.
I want more Orie and Hinako though :( And Shinako! She's fascinating!
Haha, I'm sure Akira's never even kissed a person yet. Maybe she also feels a lack of confidence because Fumi is so much more experienced than she is, so maybe she is concerned about that.
I thought Ueda would have been but when I saw her and Fumi together on page for the first time, it didn't click for me. I was expecting it since they introduced Ueda and I was like, "Hmmm!" but she doesn't seem interested in anyone, really.
Ah, yes--I think Kyouko is bi. At least, that was the vibe I got from even the first volume, I dunno why...
I find it odd considering I am more interested in the story than the final outcome. How they bring it to a conclusion as opposed to the final result.
That's exactly why I am reading this. I honestly don't really mind if they don't end up together or not. Shimura has proven that she can take a story even beyond the point of her characters not hooking up or hooking up (you should take a peek into Hourou Musuko; excellent manga), so I hope she applies the same thoughts to Aoi Hana and does not want to crash end it like Hayashiya did with Strawberry Shake Sweet.
And ah, yes! I remember that--you WERE the one I talked about Clannad to first! :D Haha, my friend says that Fuuko is "functionally retarded". Which slays me every time she says it, in such a matter-of-factly tone.
I liked Nagisa because of that lack of backbone. So when she stood up and supported Tomoya when he needed someone to hold him up, she did it in the way she only knew best. Some people are not strong, but I like her kind of strength. I didn't see her weaknesses as weakness--I saw them as facilitators for her own brand of inner strength. She's got her own kind of game face, and I admire her for that.
A lot of the people who are watching Kampfer are expressing their disappointment with it. I still think it's because they are watching it without the beer and chips you're supposed to have with it.
Mezousa or something was the rabbit from Pani Poni Dash. He was amusing. PPD was funny for the first 13 episodes and then the references got so out of hand and unfunny in the latter half, it was frustrating rather than funny.
Oh, I like Akira because she is not what you expected her to be:
1. genki girl --> she sure is expressive and lively, but she's not a loudmouth Tomo or Torako or whatever energetic girl who tires people out by just looking at her.
2. midget tsundere --> haha, Kugimiya you said? I always have a problem when every tsundere in anime is voiced by her, I can practically time the "URUSAI!" I do like her as a voice actress, but these otaku are making her career a mess since the casting directors all have her doing only tsundere. She's quite capable of doing otherwise.
And you are right, Akira averted that so well. She's quite... normal.
That's what I think a lot of people missed the point entirely of Aoi Hana and said it was boring. What, do they think that in real life, everyone butts into people's lives and screams and throws fits? Hell no! Not unless they liked DRAMA like those kids in American TV shows.
I mean, the characters were really, really mature. Look at Yasuko's comment about Fumi's little conflict about going to school with her. She thought it was cute and childish. Was there any "WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH AKIRA!?" Actually, and this was done so subtly, I wonder if anybody noticed, Yasuko HAD in fact wondered if there was something more going on between them when she remarked something like, "You sure do talk about Akira a lot." to Fumi. Even when Fumi found out Yasuko was emotionally unavailable because she was in love with someone else, did Fumi burst into tears and act like her life was over LIKE IN SO MANY OTHER ANIME? Not at all.
And that scene where Akira confronts Yasuko is powerful. Since this is realistic, put yourself in her shoes--how many people do you know in real life would have the gall to go talk to their best friend's ex and demand a reason as to why they broke her heart? Not many. That was a brave thing Akira did.
I'm not sure who my favourite character is, but Akira is top tier most definitely. She just warms up all her scenes, and I love going into her head. I mean, we know Fumi's wants, fears and desires, but what about Akira? So any time we slip into her perspective, I'm really glad. It was like the Hitomi chapter of the Nana x Hitomi one-shot series by Morinaga Milk, if you know it.
I didn't think that Akira and Fumi would ever, ever get together, but now I am starting to wonder. I didn't want them together, and I must have been one of the few to think like that. Since their friendship really is magnificent. I felt making them fall in love would be taking away something. But alas, Shimura is more skilled than I keep forgetting to give her credit for. She doesn't make them, "Omg, I'm in love." I believe that Fumi loves Akira because like slowly realising you love someone close to you, I realised she loved her best friend.
I dunno what Akira is thinking or feeling. I have a friend also reading it and she thinks it's gayngst. It couldm be, I'm not sure. I'd say Akira is terrified into inaction at the moment. I mean, she knows just how much Fumi's been hurt by unrequited love and maybe she's just threading softly so she won't be another name to add to the list of people who broke Fumi's heart.
But then, why'd she be so hung up over the sex part? I could relate to Akira since when I was that age, my best friend came out and said she liked me, and I was so afraid about it since I did not like her in the same way. So I felt extremely aware of everything, which is what Akira is feeling now. I mean, you're afraid to touch them, say certain things, act certain ways because all you can think is, "Dear God, please don't let me hurt her." So I was very, very sympathetic to Akira's position.
- Her reaction when Fumi and Ueda are standing next to one another. --> initially I thought this was because they were trying to open a Fumi x Ueda relationship, and much in the way Akira noticed that Yasuko was hitting on Fumi on the bench, I thought she felt that something was happening again. But I did eventually interpret the scene as maybe a sign of romanticism. I mean, why'd her heart skip a beat? Does she feel something for Fumi? Or does she have a height fetish? ;)
- Her lack of reaction to Fumi declaring her love for Akira, and potentially maybe fear over Fumi's experience compared to Akira's relative inexperience. --> "stunned into silence" is a phrase that comes to mind. But I noticed most of Akira's recent ponderings is not that Fumi is in love with her, but that Fumi just might want to have sex with her. Before, when she said, "Well, I DO love her. But not like that." her musings were all on whether Fumi loved her or not. Now it's something else. It could just be very teenage, though. I mean, who wasn't thinking about sex then?
- Her reaction when her classmates are making comments about same-sex relationships. --> I re-visited this scene so many times. I thought she acted that way because she's thinking, "Poor Fumi. Is this what she'll have to face?" I mean, her close school friend is bisexual and her best friend is a lesbian. I figured it was like the same reaction of say a white person in the early 1900s hearing others discriminating against black people, when they had a black best friend themselves. That sort of reaction. But looking at it again, it makes me wonder if that might be deterring her from addressing her own sexuality. She's scared herself of facing that crowd. Shimura really is a talented writer. So many of her scenes can be interpreted alternatively.
- Her inner battle when talking to Ueda about her thoughts on Fumi's declaration. --> I thought it was amusing the whole sex talk :P
There was one more moment I thought was significent. When Akira directly mirrors Fumi's "It's not that I (didn't want to/thought it was gross), it's just that I was scared."
Fumi said that line directly when she first had sex with Chizu. It was at that moment she gave into her attraction to other women. I thought perhaps it was a parallel for Akira.
You know, I like that you mentioned "Fumi's experience" because that's another unconventional aspect of this manga. The main character is not a virgin. And she's a girl. And she's a quiet, shy girl. With glasses. Who wasn't raped. (Well, we can go into a whole long statutory conversation, but that would be missing the point.) The thing is, when does a manga series actually portray their protagonists as people who are NORMAL: kiss, fool around, have sex. Most of them are chaste and untouched. I suppose to appeal to the crazy fanbase who are obsessed with their 2D girls being "pure".
When I first started watching Clannad, I earnestly had NO IDEA who he'd choose. Because I was not used to harem since I hate them, so seeing everyone on basically equal footing, my heart went out to Nagisa. And I hoped, and hoped that something would happen between them, but I was almost pretty sure that he'd chose Kotomi or Tomoyo. Or Kyou. Ugh, see!?
But it was when in one of the later episodes, he absent-mindedly scribbled her name and his on the blackboard I thought, "Oh my, I think he's falling in love with her."
I think if Clannad was of any of the other arcs, I'd have enjoyed it less. Even if the other girls are "better" than Nagisa, I look at the effect a couple has on one another.
With Tomoyo, he did manage to grow up, but the entire relationship seemed like a pain rather than something beautiful.
With Kyou, Tomoya did not grow up in any way. All he did was picked and chose what he wanted. I felt like he did not change for the better or even at all really.
You can argue that the OAV didn't give the thing time to flesh out, but I am looking at the conclusion.
Why I think he and Nagisa make better companions for one another is the fact that they never were a detriment to one another. Their love was not built on torrid romance. They just... slowly and simply fell in love. Nobody created an obstacle for them. Most people have that Romeo x Juliet syndrome where you wonder if the love and passion is fuelled by the fact that OTHER people don't want them to be together.
With Tomoyo, it was the student body, with Kyou, it was her sister.
Who stood in the way of Nagisa and Tomoya to make their relationship more passionate? Now, don't mistake my argument as a "they didn't have more to overcome" sort of thing. True, they might have had to work less at becoming a couple, but my question is... does it have to be work to fall in love and be with somebody? I am saying that they had none and that to me makes their love more interesting and powerful. They fact that this is something that warms them and came to them.
Nagisa and Tomoya are so much more natural with one another too. I mean, I can't see him still being friends with any of the other girls had he married them. But Nagisa wasn't just his wife--she was his best friend.
But that's just my argument why they make the best couple in this series. And that's just opinion. Clannad didn't suffer an inch to me. Except maybe when they gave us that crap ending with Fuuko. And also, I find Nagisa wasn't given as much prominence as she needed after she... you know... came back.
And I answered your question with my answer, but I'll answer again: I did watch those OAVs. And I loved them. But they didn't make my heart waver for a minute because I kept thinking, using my Austen criteria, that Tomoya and these other girls just don't seem to work. On a chemical level, maybe. But it does not have that gentle sweetness there was with Nagisa. It felt like work, like I said.
The male leads that are interesting are all HEROES. Just watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Possibly the manliest thing I watched next to Berserk. I'm not talking about fake-manly like Bleach and Naruto. Those are just loud boys being loud.
I hope that Kampfer ends up getting some merchandise! I mean, honestly, does nobody even realise they're parodying magical girl anime where there's always a little cute creature floating about?
I mean, those plushies are rude and grotesque. Not conventionally cute anyway. I immediately think of Kero from CCS. But come on, a line of plushies who have all committed suicide or been murdered in some horrible way that their guts fall out? And they are the mascots!? I see a lot of people bashing Kampfer, and it's because they have no idea it's making fun of everything under the sun. I suspect unless they throw in a Higurashi or Hatsune Miku parody, then nobody will know that the entire series is tongue-in-cheek. I like it just for that. It's parodying based on genre, not based on recognisable anime or franchises that would get them fans in an instant. Like the very mediocre Seitokai no Ichizon. Many people scream it's hilarious.
It's not hilarious just because it is referencing anime left right and centre. Lucky Star was hilarious to me, and not because of the parodies because at the time I had seen it, I had only seen THREE of the ten thousand anime they referenced in there. It was funny because it was funny.
But anime fans cannot differentiate between clever humour and fan pandering humour. Throwing in a Full Metal Alchemist reference in Seitokai no Ichizon. What did it accomplish for the anime? Nothing. It served no purpose. There was no punchline. It was just for some FMA fan to go, "Omg, FMA! HAHA!" But Kampfer parodied Marimite, and what did it do? It went to town with all the tropes from yuri anime that are completely ridiculous, like the fangirls and swooning over someone just for eating a grape. THAT is funny.
Ooh, I had started reading the Aoi Hana manga first. But I think a lot of people completely miss the point of the characters. Yes, they are archetypes. That's undeniable. Tall, shy, meganekko crybaby, and uber genki tiny girl? Come on, these have existed since forever! But it's WHAT the mangaka did with them that makes them so wonderfully different.
I like the fact that Fumi actually has had more life experience than even the brave and self-confident Yasuko, who seems so accomplished and worldly. I like that Akira is not some oblvious idiot, and actually figures things out even before people tell it to her, sort of like how she noted that Kyoko might be into women and when she saw Yasuko and Fumi talking, she realised something was up with the two of them, something personal and romantic.
Oh, Haruhi! I forgot she was a meganekko too! Now I love her even more :D
Yasuko's sexuality has been a big debate with the fans. I just think she's willing and open, not so much bisexual. Because even when her sister asks, she doesn't answer. She realised that Fumi might have had a thing for her, and hit on her and succeeded. I don't doubt she grew affectionate of Fumi but love? Not at all. They were each other's rebounds. Fumi needed a normal relationship and Yasuko needed someone who would take her mind off of her sister's fiance.
I don't think it's too horrible because at least Fumi got to experience something close to normal. Her first sexual experience and romantic liaison was secretive, taboo in more than one ways and was not exactly the sort of thing a girl would dream about. With Yasuko, she went on dates, they held hands, kissed--all the normal stuff she could never do with Chizu. She even had the chance to come out in the open about what she experienced with Yasuko, as embarrassing and scart that was for her.
I really want to know what will happen with her and Akira. I suspect the friend end but that won't be a problem for me, since I never thought of them as more than friends until the very latest chapters.
I think Hayashiya-sensei has issues with the peoople who own her manga. I think they once offered to make HayatexBlade into anime and she turned them down. Also, I heard from a reliable source that SSS would not get an anime adaptation because none of the manga that are in the Yuri Hime line have been offered adaptations.
:0 *blocks ears* I love Nagisa... Those AU things were fanfiction to me.
It's pretty funny. All the girls I like are really tough badasses like Revy or Canaan the Mahor from Ghost in the Shell... but most of my favourites are those brown-haired sweet tempered girly girls. I don't understand it, because I swoon hard for the girl who'd shove a gun in your face and laugh about it... but I got Honda Tohru on my favourites, the girl who wouldn't even step on an ant :/
I hear a lot of people talking about how awful Kampfer is, and I think they don't realise that the anime is parodying... itself.
I mean, come on! They also took yuri to town!
1. Flower explosions
2. Onee-sama!
3. Treating Natsuru like she was a superstar
4. The psycho lesbians and their molestation (although this wasn't that funny to me... but the anime IS right--what's a yuri anime without some psycho lesbians raping someone)
5. Everyone is a yuri fangirl
It is seriously hilarious. One lined killed me though. When Akane has the cream on her face and she gets mad at Natsuru for being a blockhead and storms out. And Natsuru shouts, "But you still got cream on your face!"
I dunno why, but it really tickled me.
And I try to close my eyes and just not think of Mariya :/ Honest to goodness one of the most overrated and misogynistic and homophobic anime to ever be made popular. I find it sad that men's heroes have become pretty, sadistic, horrid cross-dressing boys.
~Desu drives me up a wall, honestly. I just want to attack things.
I loved Fujita-pro. That's why I like anime like Saki. The characters won't win josei awards for being unique and three-dimensional, but there's something comforting about their constants and their quirks. Like I know they won't change but that makes me happy for some reason. Sort of like superheroes. We love them and feel comforted because of who they are and not who they can be. Sometimes I prefer two-dimensional characters simply on the basis that they are just more fun to watch.
Ah, Fumi was just my little fumbling meganekko nice girl, and then when I saw her without the glasses I was like, "WTF KEEP THEM OFF, KEEP THEM OFF!" Worse was when she was in the bath and tied up her hair... I kept thinking, "Was she always this... sexy?" It feels weird thinking it, but she is!
Which is kinda why I guess Chizu pounced and tapped that. Although Yasuko is surely losing out. Too bad.
For some reason, girls who wear glasses constantly = not as hot.
But...
Girls who wear reading glasses/wear glasses occasionally = omgtissuenosebleed.
I don't understand why they have that affect on me. But Kana from Candy Boy nearly made me have a "Julia" moment when I saw her with glasses on. And I think Tomoyo is more fascinating, because technically, that makes her a meganekko but she isn't like one in the traditional sense.
There needs to be more girls who wear reading glasses..
Yeah, Battler from Umineko. Meh, whatever. I thought Higurushi wasn't as great as everyone else thought it was, and I really think Umineko is pure excrement.
I love Sawashiro, so her Canaan was like an ear-gasm seriously. In fact, most of CANAAN was like an aural orgasm.
I think I only liked Momo and Yumi on the basis of stealth sex and that face that Yumi is voiced by the ever-sexy Asakawa Yuu. I swear to God, DAT VOICE. Especially when she was all shy in the onsen, I never really understood with "HNNNGGG"-ing was, but I completely did it when I heard her voice.
Wahaha's seiyuu is also the coiner of that annoying "desu~" thing, isn't she? It's funny how desu made my blood boil, but wahaha was hilarious and cool.
There was this one really funny scene where Fujita-pro was announcing and she says that Yumi is the captain of Tsuruga and the guy was like, "Er, no. Kanbara is the captain." and she looked at him in shock.
My problem with Yuuichi was exactly that. He was too much Sugita, not enough himself. Tomoya has the distinction of being the one majorly beloved KyoAni hero that wasn't a "Kyon". Other than Yuuchi's more laidback playfulness and emotional side, he is almost indiscernible from Kyon. Tomoya is Tomoya.
I thought I was the only one who opted for Sumi investing in some contacts.
Actually, meganekko really don't do it for me. I dunno why. I kept wishing Fumi too would get some contacts, because without them, the girl actually is... really attractive. Especially with her hair up as well.
I'd like an OAV where Canaan and Maria meet again. I dunno why peopel are so fatalistic and say stuff like, "THEY'RE SEPARATED FOREVER!? THIS SUCKS!" I think Canaan, Maria and Alphard are like magnets. They will attract one another and be drawn to one another despite it all. I said it many times before and I'll say it again: Canaan had a "happy" ending, not a pessimistic one.
Canaan's "Bang! That's mine." at the plane as Maria flew overhead was her way of saying that no matter what, Maria is her everything and is hers. She does not need Maria there 24/7 to prove that she is thinking of her or that she belongs to her. Maria's final words of her accepting that she needs to grow up and can't expect that Canaan will be there for her always whenever she needs her. Their mutual dependency is what endangered them, and separating was their way of growing up.
Heh, I watched Saki to "take one for the team" since there was a debate whether or not it was really yuri. So I decided to watch it. Lo and behold, it became the most entertaining anime I watched in the Summer Season.
We're in the same boat then! Mihoko and Hisa were my favourites as well. There's something about the inter-school relationship that made it even more delectable. Saki and Nodotits were bleh. I was like, "NOOO, WHY!?" any time we went back to them.
I'd say my faves were:
Kyaputen x Hisa
Yumi x Stealth Homo
Desu wa x Hajime
Wahaha x her pimpin' Volkswagon
Yumi and Momo had a cute, fumbling, shy relationship. It was too adorable, really. And I love how Hisa and Mihoko interacted with one another. They're not clueless-dere for one another like Saki and Nodoka, nor are they stumbling around one another. It seems pretty mature.
You listed some very, very fine men there. Other than the boyish charm types, I also go for rugged manly men, so fellows like Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and in other ways, Tomoya from Clannad (I wouldn't say he had boyish charm as so much devilish charm, and he became a man eventually).
Ha, I doubt I could care about the ending of Kampfer. Just as long as it stays true to itself and acknowledged terribleness. That is true, she seemed to react more to him as a female than a male, but maybe she's starstruck by the coolness of his girl form and finds his male form too incompetent? Maybe she will come to like him as a he. Or maybe they will just throw it up in the air and have no resolution as these anime are wont to have.
Is it bad that I only really want to see the pool episode of SK really badly...?
I really don't know how people can say that Shiki is an excellent character when she is the typical emotionless killer with random bouts of "moe" to appeal to fans. I especially find it amusing when they compare CANAAN to Kara no Kyoukai and saying that Shiki has more depth than Canaan. Maybe more depth, since she's emo and when you are DARK and MYSTERIOUS there is always depth behind you. I think Canaan makes a superior character because unlike Shiki, her emotionless attitude is something she does not embrace, but tries to work against. Which is why she clings to Maria so much, since Maria makes her feel something closer to human. I mentioned it in my review of CANAAN, that people completely missed the point of Canaan's characterisation--she does not want isolation like all those other dark and aching ruthless killers. She yearns for interaction. Which is why her decision to stay away from Maria is given weight, because she learns in the end that she cannot rely on someone else's constant presence to make her feel. She can feel even without them there, and that was what is important--she begins to have functional emotions.
Anyway, what was I talking about...?
Forgetting that rant, Yuuki and Yume went nowhere with that relationship. I thought they might have delved a little deeper, but every time this anime seems to head in a more mature direction, it does a complete turn and runs the hell away. I liked that Hinata was the first and only person to point out that Yuuki's coddling will do Yume no good. I know a lot of fans raged at Hinata saying she should mind her own business or saying she's a homophobe. I don't think so. She has a point. Yume can't grow up if Yuuki keeps stunting her growth. And Yume herself is not doing Yuuki very much good either, since she indulges in that overwhelming attention. Although this isn't an anime about digging into characterisation, so I ignored it for the most part and just thought, "Okay, kissy-face happy lesbians--I can dig it."
Mentioning Twilight made me remember this pic (you will need to click on Com-to-Com to see the full image, since the text box cuts half of it out):
I like Toyosaki Aki. She's adorable. And I am a self-proclaimed Horie whore, though sometimes she can ride my nerves sometimes, but I guess because I am such a big fan, mediocrity is something I won't settle for when I know she is capable of great stuff. I loved the voice she used for Haruka. It was just so... fun. And she has such a unique type of lisp, I can't place my finger on it, but listen to Kyouko any time she says something with "s" sounds in it.
Ooh, Orikasa Fumiko can do a graty high voice and she's a master at it, but Akira's seiyuu has a way to go, since her voice seemed a bit inconsistent at times. I think there were some big differences from the first episode to say the sixth or seventh. I think the best scene that seiyuu worked on was when she confronted Yasuko and they had their little chat about why she broke up with Fumi.
Kampfer is so funny to me. I am trying to convince people to watch it since they just think, "Ugh, trap/gender bend." It's especially hard to convince yuri fans to watch it since they think it's just going to have a girl fall for the girl and then find out it's a guy and then stay with the guy.
I went in to Kampfer ready to rip it to shreds and then I got knocked right on my behind when I realised that IT realised how silly the premise was and was playing with that knowledge.
Plus, all the seiyuu shout-outs made me grin. I suspect it must be fun for them, and I always say that once the seiyuu sound like they're having fun, a comedy is made that much better.
Ooh, you haven't seen Sasameki Koto then. Well, re-evaluate what I said once you've seen the first episode. Then you'll see what I mean about comparing the anime to one another.
I actually like Horie Yui, so listening to her drunk was the highlight of Haruka. They just ruined a character who could have been a cool big sis. A drunk cool big sis, too. Also, it's probably the only time I think she wasn't voicing some catch-phrase making grown child (re: Uguu~ from Kanon, Auauau from Higurashi and Uuu! from Umineko), and did an adult voice.
Haha, I wish the comment was still there, but at least someone came forward and told me why they find my reviews becoming "increasingly unhelpful" and it's because they don't agree with me. It's the flaw of a helpful/unhelpful system. What people interpret that as is "agree/disagree". I disagree with several reviews I find helpful. Once is has personality, is coherent, and makes sense, it is helpful to me, even if my opinions are diverging.
And you are right--people just unhelpful my reviews most of the time because *I* wrote it or I didn't like their favourite anime/I liked something they hated. I have a good laugh when I post a review for an anime that less than 20 people had probably seen and yet I end up getting more unhelpfuls than the total number of people who even saw the thing. I don't sweat the small stuff though. If it makes them feel good, by all means, let them. My concern more than anything is that people even acknowledge that I wrote something and read it.
Liang, Liang--oh my. Psycho lesbians do amuse me and I have a soft spot for them as I have a soft spot for all psychotic or batshit crazy characters. I liked Liang up to a point. Then she got so over the top, that I found her hard to take seriously, I was not surprised by her cruelty, nor did I care when she met her fate.
Somehow, though, I don't believe CANAAN was about developing characters subtly. It is loud and in your face and basically, "LOOK HERE, LOOK AT THIS!" so I regarded it as such. Liang's madness was something to sympathise with and fear since she was intrinsically evil, unlike Alphard, who was simply cruel as a result of creating an identity for herself.
But in coming to the end with the whole love impact nonsense and her crazy "CANAAN'S IN THE MIRROR!!" foolishness, I just didn't care any more about her perverse and obsessive desire for Alphard's attention. But somehow I felt it was necessary, at least for this anime. If it were something like Noir, which was a character piece, we see that Chloe eventually loses her nut more than she already did because Kirika essentially chooses Mireille over her. Liang goes fruity-basket case insane when she realises that Alphard really just hates her or worse--couldn't be bothered with her. At this point, she was such a huge ham that she tried to out-ham even herself, and so took those pills to give herself synaesthesia or whatever.
In short, Liang went so over the top that that when she came back down, it ended with a big, messy splat.
Fumi's voice was "Eh..." with me. Some parts it was absolutely adorable, like whenever she said, "Ano ne", but I hated hearing her enunciate "s" words. Actually, the seiyuu did a preview for the anime and I was like, "Wtf, why didn't she use THAT voice instead!?" as it was different and infinitely better than the one in the anime.
Actually, Akira's voice was nails to me, but after a while, I got so used to it that I actually started liking it a bit.
Heh, if you want a run-through:
Kampfer --> friggin' hilarious, tongue-in-cheek, brainless fun, makes fun of itself hard. I especially don't like ecchi, but this is a fun show.
Bakemonogatari --> pretty, I only saw 1 episode, but everyone looks insane or weird, so I will like it. I just need to let the fanboying surrounding this anime die down, since fanboys kill the mood of anime for me.
Taishou Yakyuu Musume --> I love baseball, so I enjoy this title. Need to finish though! Sugar-coated feminism though :0
Sasameki Koto --> I think it's better than the Aoi Hana anime... I do not think, as far as the manga are concerned, that SK at its highest point can even scratch the bottom of Aoi Hana's lowest point, but damn me if the technicals and presentation of SK's anime had more personality and flavour to it than the blander Aoi Hana. Of course, Aoi Hana is meant to be bland, but I felt it didn't have that daringness in direction that I like to see in adaptations.
Animating something scene by scene, emotion by emotion based on the manga is dull to me, in terms of my enjoyment. It's why anime like Bleach and Naruto are "meh" because it's the same thing. If I was reading the manga for one, I'd never watch the anime. I saw the anime for both first, so despite people's urgings, I will never read the manga, since it's the SAME THING SCENE FOR SCENE just with no motion or music.
I'm not saying adaptations such veer completely away from the source material (re: Strawberry Panic), but I mean, come on, directors! You can use alternate camera angles, lighting, positions, music and all other sorts of things to make the anime different but maintain the canon.
[/rant]