Saki - First Impressions

post from Xebek?s Blog on 23 April 2009 10:41:00 PM. © Xebek?s Blog

At first I wasn?t even going to watch this series. I know nothing of Mahjong and have a lot of stuff going on that I don?t really care to learn about it, so I figured this series wouldn?t interest me. However after a couple of the series I did pick to watch ended up being either not very good or really just not with what interested me, I decided to give this a try. I was very surprised with how much I ended up liking it. Even with no knowledge of Mahjong it was interesting. It wasn?t because of these complicated hands that I?m sure I?d appreciate much more if I knew of the game, despite that the characters and just the situation was very fun to see It was interesting seeing this person who didn?t try and win kind of shake up someone who always wins. Her interest in the game and motivations, things like that are what makes this series interesting. It could very easily be applied to any game or activity and I think I would have the same feelings for it; so far it has caught my attention.

I do think there are some interesting possibilities for this series to come. First off the rivalry friendship developing between Saki and Nodoka, not to mention perhaps some yuri action? Also simple things like Saki just flat out getting beat by some much better player shaking up her confidence and affecting her character development and just simple things for a series focused on a sport or activity would focus on like losing for first time, running into people with different views on what the game is about and simple things like that. I think there will be plenty of fun moments to come so I?m going to keep watching it.

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Hatsukoi Limited 01

post from Sea Slugs! Anime Blog on 23 April 2009 06:11:35 PM. © Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

Summary:Arihara Ayumi tells her friends about her in-class daydream about a prince confessing to her. Ironically, right after Ayumi explains that she would unconditionally loved any man who confessed to her, scary highschooler Zaitsu Misao steps out and hands her a love letter. Ayumi is too scared to answer right away, and so [...]

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Tears to Tiara - 02

post from Xebek?s Blog on 23 April 2009 03:00:00 PM. © Xebek?s Blog

Arawn fights to protect Riannon and Arthur.

Impressions:

Disclaimer: I don?t feel like pretending I don?t know what is going to happen, and writing a section without spoilers and then one with them, as I?ve played the game. This post will contain massive spoilers to the whole plot. If you don?t want to be spoiled, then don?t read on. I won?t spoil anything simply for the sake of spoiling it, no needless spoilers, but they will be there. Final warning.

This episode was alright. Right now more than anything I?m concerned about the pacing that the anime has. I?m not sure if it?s good or bad but overall that would be my concern for a series like this. There were so many moments in the game that really weren?t all that important for overall plot, which I personally found great. However there were also a lot of moments that weren?t plot related but just focused on a character. Not even mentioning the H scenes, there were some important character development moments. Now either they try and include these moments and are rushed to do the real plot, which won’t turn out as well, or they try and focus on the plot and don?t get the characters. Either way I don?t think it?s going to end up being the full content you would find in the game just because they are small innocent moments that would be hard to make fit well into the anime.

I am curious as to if Morgan is going to ?jump? Arawn on the boat in the next episode, as the preview does show them on the boat. I have a feeling that the anime is going to shy away from anything even hinting at it. I don?t expect them to show it, but I?m guessing they are also going to go the route saying it didn?t happen, which is too bad because I quite like Morgan. Still, seriously though it?s at this point that she declares herself ?Wife #2? Her being his wife is actually VERY important later on in the story. Because she is his wife, she breaks Arthur?s arm in the forest, and because of the arm being broken Taliesin doesn?t fight Arthur. Arthur does this on purpose for a reason, so they still have to have Morgan kind of declare herself his wife.

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Tears to Tiara - 01

post from Xebek?s Blog on 23 April 2009 01:00:00 PM. © Xebek?s Blog

An evil priest tries to resurrect the Demon King Arawn.

Impressions:

Disclaimer: I don?t feel like pretending I don?t know what is going to happen, and writing a section without spoilers and then one with them, as I?ve played the game. This post will contain massive spoilers to the whole plot. If you don?t want to be spoiled, then don?t read on. I won?t spoil anything simply for the sake of spoiling it, no needless spoilers, but they will be there. Final warning.

I?m not going to make any comments about the character models, as I did a whole big post on it and it?s out of my system. Seeing them in action they aren?t horrible, and I definitely don?t dislike them, so just saying, no talk on that. If you want to hear my opinions o the character changes, read the post on it in this category. Anyways, moving right along.

Arawn?s summoning was certainly a lot different from the game. Previously it was actually kind of funny, they summoned him and nothing happened, and he kind of casually walked through a door they weren?t expecting. Here there was a whole big spectacle with some weird evil glow to him. It was interesting and I think a little better to show it like that, except they actually showed him all demon like. He doesn?t have a demon form? Although, this could actually be interesting as it may give the illusion of him actually being a demon, instead of someone who just had the title demon thrown on him.

I actually like that they showed Ogam seeing this giant burst of light. Before they never explained where the hell he came from. He just kind of was there in the crypt with Arawn when he woke up. They never explained what the hell he had been doing there. It makes much more sense for him to go to that location after seeing or sensing something. On a small related note, it was very cool seeing the only five second clip at the beginning of the destruction of the gold age. They never showed anything related to it in the games, just said that it was destroyed by the falling moon, which you see. All those dragons getting killed and the destruction of such a powerful species would be cool to see. Hopefully they?ll show more of that when they talk about how the ages were destroyed later.

Everything else seemed fine. It?s on the first episode so can?t say too much, but I do hope the series goes nicely. I really do love the story of the game and hope they don?t screw it up somehow, though I?m sure it won?t be anywhere near as good as the game.

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Kurokami - 13

post from Xebek?s Blog on 23 April 2009 09:00:00 AM. © Xebek?s Blog

Kuro and the others fight off an attack from the Mototsumitami?s of the Kaionji group while Keita lies in a coma.

Impressions:

This episode was amazing. Six months passing by really does seem to put an interesting situation into the mix. I?m interested in them showing some of the new Moto?s people sense of direness to everyone?s situation, and the fights they had were pretty interesting too. Plenty of new characters, some new gadgets and attacks, it was a lot of information crammed into this one episode and I was very impressed. I really hope they keep up this pace because if they do the series will just be so much better. As I said it was interesting seeing some new characters, like the Motos that the Kaionji group gave to the Master Roots. Six months does seem to be enough time for these Master Roots to be paired with Motos, so it?s not odd to all of a sudden seeing these characters with them. However some of them do seem interesting so I hope they give them a little more development. Not too much, as they are bad guys that are just kind of there to stop the good guys and slow them down, but there could still be some small interesting things there.

One thing that really got my attention, and kind of surprised me, was how much things seemed to change. I wasn?t expecting a time jump at all but here we are six months later and Sawamura is already obviously planning on total world domination basically. It is nice thought o finally see his plan into action, as it was a little tiring just effectively guessing what the hell he was going to do. Right now he does seem to be a better bad guy then Reishin thought just because he isn?t so much about brute force but is cleaver and smart about things, manipulating people like Akane and Yuki and things like that. His talk of Reishin only having ?disappeared? interested me, as it gives the possibility of him returning. If he does I?m pretty sure it won?t be in the same fashion. He won?t be the main bad guy, if anything will help to take down Sawamura if only for his only gain. Still, I don?t think that?s going to be a very prominent thing. It seems like this will be about how much the world has changed.

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Why I Can’t Get into Figures

post from Xebek?s Blog on 23 April 2009 06:26:00 AM. © Xebek?s Blog

maria_holic_figure I’ve always been curious about figures. I regularly check out reviews and I like to look at them. (I even bought the figure book that super rats released.) I just can’t make the leap into collecting them myself. I’m pretty much at the stage of looking but not getting involved in the hobby. (Similar to my interest in Gothic Lolita.)

The main reason for this is that figures are expensive, in my opinion. I’m not sure why they are; maybe Xebek can enlighten me. I can’t really understand why people pay so much for something that sits on the shelf. I will admit that a lot of figures look great but not sure I can fork over $90 to $100 just for one figure. I rather put the money towards anime DVDs, manga, or computer stuff. For the cost of one figure I could buy several anime series. But I guess we all like to spend our money differently.

I guess the second reason is that they seem to get sold out or placed on back order fairly quickly. I’ve tried looking into buying a figure in the past but I can’t seem to find what I want. Usually when that happens, I say screw it. They cost too much anyways. It’s a little frustrating and discouraging.

Well, those are my reasons for not getting into figures. They are probably the same for others in my position. Maybe one day I will buy a figure but at the moment I don’t see it happening soon. I really like buying DVDs and manga. It’s sorta become an addiction, which I imagine is the same for figure collectors. Thats probably another reason for me because I think that once I start I won’t be able to stop.

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[Scott] Why I Can’t Get into Figures

post from Xebek?s Blog on 23 April 2009 06:26:00 AM. © Xebek?s Blog

maria_holic_figure I’ve always been curious about figures. I regularly check out reviews and I like to look at them. (I even bought the figure book that super rats released.) I just can’t make the leap into collecting them myself. I’m pretty much at the stage of looking but not getting involved in the hobby. (Similar to my interest in Gothic Lolita.)

The main reason for this is that figures are expensive, in my opinion. I’m not sure why they are; maybe Xebek can enlighten me. I can’t really understand why people pay so much for something that sits on the shelf. I will admit that a lot of figures look great but not sure I can fork over $90 to $100 just for one figure. I rather put the money towards anime DVDs, manga, or computer stuff. For the cost of one figure I could buy several anime series. But I guess we all like to spend our money differently.

I guess the second reason is that they seem to get sold out or placed on back order fairly quickly. I’ve tried looking into buying a figure in the past but I can’t seem to find what I want. Usually when that happens, I say screw it. They cost too much anyways. It’s a little frustrating and discouraging.

Well, those are my reasons for not getting into figures. They are probably the same for others in my position. Maybe one day I will buy a figure but at the moment I don’t see it happening soon. I really like buying DVDs and manga. It’s sorta become an addiction, which I imagine is the same for figure collectors. Thats probably another reason for me because I think that once I start I won’t be able to stop.

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http://xebek.animeblogger.net/2009/04/23/why-i-cant-get-into-figures/

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Slayers Evolution-R - 13 [Final]

The fate of the world rests on a desperate fight to stop Shabranigdu.

Impressions:

Ok I just have to ask how the heck does Pokota survive? Seriously we?re just supposed to buy that Rezo somehow did something to save him? At least just kill off Pokota if your going to have him stop Shabranigdu long enough to attack. That effort should have wasted his soul. Rezo had no body and thus no way to send Pokota out. Besides they were caught in a Giga Slave, nothing should be getting out of that thing anyways.

Still this episode was probably the best of the entire season. You got some pretty nice moments with some classic music kicking in when they were fighting Shabranigdu. Besides it was something to see the Giga Slave in action again. I guess the Talismans were supposed to replace the Sword of Light in comparison to the first season. To be honest the plan was pretty flimsy. It pretty much included using one of the most powerful spells in black magic repeatedly and then expecting to have enough magic to use the Ragna Blade in the end. I know they were desperate but was that seriously the best they could come up with? At least it worked out and if you?re going to reuse villains it might as well be a strong one like Shabranigdu. It was good to hear some of the old songs again when they were giving it all they had. Lina also got some nice monologue time remembering the dangers of the Giga Slave.

Here is hoping that Rezo is dead for good this time. That guy has come back one too many times in the history of Slayers. There have to be other obstacles to overcome other than the Red Priest. That guy has lead to the deaths of far too many people all for the sake of his eyesight. Someone should have just lied and said the world is incredibly ugly and it was in his best interest to not have any way to see it.

Final Words:

In the end you could really call Revolution and Evolution-R filler series. If you look at how Revolution started and how Evolution ended there really is no major difference to the characters. Zelgadis is off on his own probably looking for a cure to his body, Amelia is doing her princess thing, while Gourry and Lina are looking for a new sword. Taforashia really can just be tucked away and never remembered. The world was saved so you can?t say nothing of consequence happened. But really they just went and reused old ideas from the show with newer animation. It just came down to killing Shabranigdu yet again with the Giga Slave. It wasn?t even much of a fight since they were only fighting some things he was shooting out at them. Try was also original content, but to its favour it did do its own thing. The OP for Evolution-R should have made it clear they were just going to dip into the past both with Rezo and with Shabranigdu. The story was just alright since you pretty much had an idea where things were going.

Another issue was with the characters. Zelgadis and especially Amelia just felt like passengers they were bringing along for the ride. Neither one was particularly effective in a fight. It just felt like they were around mostly for getting injured. They had to limit the damage to Lina so she could save the day and injuring Gourry too much would just get repetitive. If your going off the novel path anyways why not give them something so they can be a little useful? They haven?t advanced at all since the end of Next. It was nice to see Xellos again since he did have a role to play in this. Besides he got to use some nice moves which at least made him visually worthwhile.

The music was fine especially in the last episodes where you got some very familiar tones. It almost made you think that it was the good old days of Slayers. At least one can leave this series satisfied with that side of things.

I don?t think you can complain that much about the animation either. While I think Zel looked better the old way the overall feel was good. They could really show off the techniques and make things look nice.

In the end Evolution-R will depend on your expectations and how comfortable you felt with the direction they went in. When hearing about a new Slayers series I was pretty excited about it. I had no idea where things would go, but if it meant going back to Slayers it couldn?t be that bad. In the end the series felt disappointing and below average. They just failed to go their own way with this series. We ended up having yet another fight against Shabranigdu and giving Gourry a replacement sword of light which of course broke by the very end. They left things open to a new season. I just wonder if it would be worth it to actually make a new season down the road. If this is the best they can do it might be better to leave Slayers to memory and re-watching of old seasons.

I would probably put Evolution-R just ahead of Revolution and well behind the Original, Next, and Try. Sometimes you can bring back the past and sometimes you can?t. If you really enjoyed the original series it would still be worth watching.

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the prophecies of gundam 00

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Is Shangri-La Crap Animebloggers are Crap.

post from Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts on 23 April 2009 01:58:37 AM. © Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

Everyone seems to think so. I’m on the fence at the moment, though I must say it isn’t the worst anime of the season, and probably is about average. There are far worse shows, such as Ghost 07 where pretty boys love each other really hard, and Tayutama, a really bad version of Inari-sama. The [...]

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