This site is an rss / xml news reader. It contains a compilation of news feeds from our favorite blogs. All articles are the copyrighted material of the blogs that wrote them (as indicated).

Vampire Knight Episode 1 - Night of the Vampires

post from Cinnamon Ass on 09 April 2008 06:43:00 PM. © Cinnamon Ass

OP - Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi (ON/OFF) - repeated, repeated, repeated lyrics. Glass shards and nightgowns - it’s shoujo angst-riffic.

ED - still doll (Kanon Wakeshima) - creepy vampire bunny thing! What a dreary song, though, barely any melody to it. Can’t imagine anyone buying it as a single, certainly.

Years ago, Yuki Cross was saved from a vampire attack by another vampire, the dashing Kaname Klan. Now she polices a boarding school where humans study in the Day Class and vampires in the Night Class, where the vampires are taking experimental blood capsules to stop them needing to feed on humans and Kaname is a student looking not a day older than when he rescued Yuki.

To interrupt the episode synopsis - I don’t have a problem with Kaname being ageless, as that’s standard vampire lore. I do hope, however, that we get a good excuse for him being in school - is he just phenomenally stupid? Does vampirism make you incapable of understanding calculus or something that means you constantly have to stay in high school? Enquiring minds need to know!

Anyhoo, Yuki and her adopted brother Zero are Guardians, policing the interface between the two Classes; Zero’s lack of tolerance of vampires stems from them killing his family, but he appears to have A Dark Secret involving vampiric tendencies and a mysterious tattoo on his neck which will no doubt cause glorious levels of shoujo melodrama at a later point in the series. This episode’s minor piece of plotting involves a vampire losing his self-control and drinking some of Yuki’s blood, but we mostly get a whole load of setup - lots of characters who are all impossibly beautiful and stylish, lots of suppressed memories and past-related drama, the usual stuff.

Ah, what glorious ripe shoujo cheese this show is! The animation’s not great, and the story is mildly amusing in how melodramatic it has the potential to be, but it’s hard not to enjoy Vampire Knight because it doesn’t really get anything wrong per se. There’s a surprising amount of humour in this first episode for what sounds like a broody, gothic story, but it’s generally quite entertaining. I don’t think there’s really much more to say about Vampire Knight thus far - it’s not a show that provokes great thought by any means, but I had fun watching the first episode and definitely intend to watch next week. I think I’ve been lacking ridiculous angst in my anime diet…

Read The Full Article:
http://www.ass-no-ryu.com/animeblog/?p=1095

Digg this

Monochrome Factor Episode 1 - Silver Shadow

post from Cinnamon Ass on 09 April 2008 05:01:00 PM. © Cinnamon Ass

OP - Metamorphose (Asriel) - the strings in this make the song sound SO much like Tsubasa wa Pleasure line from Chrno Crusade it’s uncanny. Anyway, I like the song for no apparent reason - the OP gives absolutely NOTHING away about the show, you just see the main characters and a bit of fighting. How am I supposed to make predictions about the rest of the show now? (note: this will become important later in the entry)

ED - Awake ~my everything~ (a couple of seiyuu) - oh, the hideous cheese, it causes me pain! A very monochromatic, and thus fitting, ending animation, where the characters look curiously different (better) than they do in the episode.

Yes, that IS a man wearing lipstick who is not a transvestite. Yes, it IS a bit weird.

Anyway, summary - well, not much of one, as there’s not really much plot to speak of. Akira Nikaido is a mildly delinquent young man with a regular shounen sense of justice; his mildly annoying best friend is one Kengo Asamura, and his tsundere nemesis is class president Aya Suzuno - they’re all obviously important as they turn up in the OP hitting things with swords and boxing gloves, so we should expect more of them later on. To cut a fairly uninteresting story short, they end up in school at night looking for a stuffed toy of Aya’s when they’re attacked by shadowy monsters, as predicted by freaky dreams Akira’s been having and by a strange, extremely camp man in a cloak called Shirogane who accosts Akira on his way home from school. Eventually, after some hoo-ing and haa-ing, Shirogane transforms Akira into a shadowy version of himself who can beat these monsters in order to preserve the balance between Light and Dark yadda yadda fishcakes rhubarb.

Please feel free to ignore the rest of this entry, because it is going to defy any rules of common sense whatsoever.

I don’t know why, but I find Monochrome Factor strangely interesting, and it’s not just my completely unfounded and irrational Mag Garden-philia rearing its superpowered slightly androgynous head. This episode is fascinating precisely because it seems so utterly mediocre that I think there must be something up the team behind its sleeves other than gratuitous bishounen kissing. The story is painfully thin - Nabari no Ou at least sets up a continuing arc with Joji Nakata and his Voice of Evil in the first episode, but Monochrome Factor doesn’t have anything beyond “bad things - fight them!”. The art style is totally flat and uninteresting, the animation sparse and only competent, the acting barely beyond cliched (if you’ve seen one tsundere you’ve seen them all…) and the structure of the episode all over the place. Yet all this (plus a catchy OP) has only served to make me more interested in seeing what the HELL the show is going to do to string itself out over at least 13 episodes. Normally I’d have some idea of, say, an arch nemesis turning up or at least SOMETHING like a story arc, but I’m coming up completely blank on this one.

Monochrome Factor is not a good show, and it’s not something I’d recommend taking time out of your anime viewing schedules to sample if you weren’t going to already. It must be lack of something in my diet, then, that means I plan on watching the second episode next week…

Read The Full Article:
http://www.ass-no-ryu.com/animeblog/?p=1094

Digg this

To-Love-Ru - First Impressions

post from Xebek's Blog on 09 April 2008 03:00:00 PM. © Xebek's Blog

This show seems to be following along the lines of another show this season with the focus being strongly on ecchi and slapstick like humor. While it does seem that it will be a bit different from the other one this season, more or less it?s on the same track with what kind of show it will be. Hell, I can already tell that the manga is probably leaps and bounds better then the anime, as shows like this tend to have that trait. Still, it will be interesting to watch.

I have to say that I did feel really sorry for Rito at that ending scene. When it happened it just seemed so horrible for him. Here?s the girl he?s liked for a long time, he finally has the chance after many failed attempts to confess to her, he manages to say it but not only does he more or less fail in confessing to Haruna, she sees him confess and what seems to be marry someone else. That?s just horrid luck. It?s a bit odd for me to lean this way for a show like this but I really hope Rito ends up with Haruna. Now, as far as the manga goes I bet he?d probably end up with Lala and as far as the anime goes I doubt they will even conclude it in any form but I am kind of rooting for Haruna even though I don?t see it happening.

Read The Full Article:
http://xebek.animeblogger.net/2008/04/09/to-love-ru-first-impressions/

Digg this

[G-Man] What in the world was I thinking!

post from Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts on 09 April 2008 02:24:24 PM. © Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

I guess there was no mass email sent out to proclaim the news that I’m the newest member of the Riuva team. Oh please hold your applause… When I got the news I was pretty ecstatic because I thought my scholarly treatise on emoism didn’t nearly receive the attention that the coincidentally timed post, that [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.riuva.com/?p=1048

Digg this

You Come Here Often

post from Sea Slugs! Anime Blog on 09 April 2008 01:44:14 PM. © Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

I made the mistake of paying attention to one of Totali’s comments today, and it actually got me to thinking about what SS!AB’s blog sign would be…Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.Capricorn (The Sea-goat) (earth, cardinal, universal): Keyword: “I use”. Prudent, cautious, [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/seaslugteam/~3/267158058/

Digg this

Blogging Vampire Knight soon

post from itsumo anime blog on 09 April 2008 12:07:00 PM. © itsumo anime blog

Read The Full Article:
http://myillusion.net/itsumo/?p=469

Digg this

Kanokon - First Impressions

post from Xebek's Blog on 09 April 2008 10:09:00 AM. © Xebek's Blog

This was certainly?.interesting. It pretty much turned out the way I thought it would, being full of ecchi moments and rather slapstick comedy. However I didn?t think that it would be THAT ecchi. Still, while this show doesn?t look like it will achieve greatness and become a wonderful series I had a lot of fun watching it. Hell, its even more ecchi and will likely have less plot then Rosario + Vampire but it doesn?t mean that it?s bad. These kinds of shows are alright in their own sense. So, I will be continuing to watch this. As I said I had a lot of fun watching it and Ecchi shows aren?t bad as long as you see them for what they are.

I do have to point out that I already love the loli characters in the show. The two twin lolis who were eating their lunch and kept getting stuff spilled on it was great. I hope they continue to have a small part like that in several episodes. It seems like they will introduce the other fox girl soon though so the show will likely stay focused on those two and the guy as main characters.

Read The Full Article:
http://xebek.animeblogger.net/2008/04/09/kanokon-first-impressions/

Digg this

[LianYL] NCRM >> Random Rumours

post from Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts on 09 April 2008 09:41:49 AM. © Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

Below are some news/rumours that I’ve read around Chinese anime sites these few days. I can’t really remember where I read which from so I’ll just leave it unreferenced.News/Rumours of late:1. Detective Conan manga will end this year. Rumours say that Dr. Hiroshi Agasa is the mastermind villain behind the criminal organisation that caused Shinichi to turn [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.riuva.com/?p=1047

Digg this

[Ascaloth] Final Critique: True Tears

post from Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts on 09 April 2008 07:23:23 AM. © Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

When the winter/spring 2007 previews of the upcoming anime season first started appearing on the various anime blogs, hardly anyone took notice of yet another "harem" show that was in the list; understandable, considering that SHAFT’s excellent ef ~a tale of memories~ had just concluded, and KyoAni’s big-hitter CLANNAD (TV) was still halfway through [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.riuva.com/?p=1043

Digg this