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misaki started off fine, but he's getting annoying again. you would think that by this stage that he has accepted his feelings for usagi and he should be somewhat honest about them. but no. he is still the same misaki from the beginning of season 1 who refuses to accept usagi completely. whatever happened to his resolve to push usagi down and seduce him?!? he's definitely not making any progress with that resolution at the rate he is going now. i don't even think he has clearly voiced a simple "i love you" to usagi yet in this season. his self-narrations about his feelings toward usagi has certainly increased, and because of that we as viewers know that he has embraced his feelings for usagi to some extent. that's fine, but i don't see the point of verbalizing his feelings to us - the viewers. he should be articulating it TO USAGI for god's sake. we get the point! misaki cares for usagi! but usagi doesn't know the extent of how much misaki cares for him yet -_- and that is the most annoying part of it. usagi is constantly conveying his feelings to misaki. it's almost pitiful that he doesn't receive the same amount of emotional security back.

as for the other animes i'm watching:

 

soul eater - started off good but i stopped watching at about ep 22 i think. still downloading though so i might get back to it...one day

i never ended up finishing this XD;; it just became boring.

nabari no ou - again, another series with potential but i stopped after ep 15? the jokes were also kinda lame T_T

i never finished this one either haha. it was just crap.

 

skip beat - typical shoujo story. i like it, but i love spoilers so i went and wiki'd the summaries. i just don't like how there's no guarantee that kyoko and ren will get together.

finished watching this, but clearly, it’s incomplete so i found the manga and started following that instead. the manga is great XD funny and has more kyoko-ren love~~! the manga is ongoing so unfortunately, their relationship still has a looong way to go T_T

 

nodame cantabile paris-hen - FANTASTIC. i love it. you must be insane to not like this series :D pity, that it is only a 12 ep series this season T_T

am waiting for third season baby!!

 

toradora - so far, i LOVE it. the characters are interesting and the story is well...okay haha. i just hope that taiga and ryuuji get together with each other T_T 
finished this and well, it was okay haha. nothing spectacular. the type of anime that you’d watch, delete or burn off. i don’t think i’d rewatch this one.

 

toaru majutsu no index - started off well. nice character designs, but shocking plot. it's the typical shounen anime with cliche script lines. i am all for cliche, but this one just doesn't do it for me. it's like watching poor acting in an anime T_T

totally gave up on this. didn’t bother with this after i wrote this post.

 

ikoku iroki romantan OVA 2 - this was just great haha. you just got to love BL! because it was an OVA it was rushed, but at least it ended well. i went to look for the manga after and the chapter after the ending of the OVA is even better haha. but this is always the case where the manga is always better than the anime. particularly for BL animes anyway. they really disappoint me with the invisible boundaries that restrict animation companies from releasing more explicit material -_- people may see it as porn, but i frankly don't. it actually has a plot line and a strong theme of love, so to me it is more about making love rather than meaningless sex.

just waiting for more animated BL now XD~~~!

 

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currently watching

 

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i'm glad that the series has finally picked up again for me. during nagisa's absence it was nice to see tomoya thinking about nagisaepisode 18 was definitely the pick up point for my slump hahah. there were so many notable things to list when nagisa returned - tomoya's blank state of not knowing how to react when she came back to school, tomoya having so much fun with her while watching tomoyo play the tennis match, tomoya's defensive gesture toward the guy who accidentally injured nagisa. this was not the first time tomoya has shown a protective nature towards nagisa. in the early stages of kotomi's arc when kotomi said that the man looking for her was a bad person, tomoya quickly fled to nagisa's side and pulled her away while holding his hand up to protect her XD~ so, slapping that tennis player's hand away from touching nagisa was the definitive answer to kyou's, ryou's and tomoyo's feelings. personally, i LOVED through flashbacks. the scene where he was sitting in the theatre club room by himself going through the moments he had with her, writing her name on the blackboard, going over to her place and just staring at the lit-up room or just having her face pop up in his mind like in episode 18 when he was in sunohara's room XD~~ it was sweet and gave me a sense of relief and understanding to his feelings :) that part hahaha. i kept rewatching it because it was conclusive! tomoyo calmly accepted the situation when she put two and two together when nagisa reintroduced herself during the tennis match, while kyou and ryou had a huge cry about it. i think the crying in public was overdone though hahaha. that one moment seemed to be so intense for the people involved, but to spectators it would have just been weird lol. kyou and ryou really balled their broken little hearts out and i can't say that i feel sorry for them hahaha. i'm so cold hearted XD;;

 

i absolutely loved this series. i have to watch ep 21-26 again though when it's subbed since i only managed to get the jist of the raws. i need some things clarified. but what i really need to do now is to release my despair over the ending. it was a bittersweet ending, but i did feel like it was sort of rushed. there's definitely room for another episode or two.

 

and i thought it was really lame how the rest of the 12 shinshou make an appearance all of a sudden to give their two cents in the last freaking episode. trying to fit everything into one 26 episode season was a bad call. i really wanted to know about the other shinshou who were neglected for practically the whole show and a little bit more about their relations. there seemed to be something going on between kou/touda and tenitsu/suzaku. heck, even the touda/seiryuu relationship could have been elaborated a bit more. i really don't believe that seiryuu's 'hatred' toward touda is purely based on the fact that touda went berserk and tried to kill seimei. that event had a large influence upon seiryuu's bitterness, but for some reason, it looked deeper than that. seiryuu looked torn between his words and action; saying that he will kill touda if he was to committ another 'sin' versus actually taking action on him. it was almost as if he didn't want to live up to those words.

 

another thing is the 'sins' that touda committed. on both occassions the poor guy was being controlled by someone or rather which made him committ those so called 'sins' and to 'punish' him because of that really made me go what-the-f*ck. it was all because of this that he had to die to only be revived and lose all his memories of masahiro -_- i don't think he deserved such a tragic fate. he didn't even do anything in his life to warrant this type of fate. sure he attacked humans, but only because ryuusai/soushu took control over his soul. sigh~~ i am so depressed. i really am. i kept on crying because the ending was just too much. to have your most precious person remember everything besides you is definitely hard to take. what made me feel really sad though was that toward to end of the last episode, touda was asking kou "why am i in this form", "why are we here", and then - "are wa dare" ~~~ *CRIES A BUCKET OF TEARS* i was seriously hoping that the years of bonding between touda and masahiro would spark some sort of nerve cell to make him remember his time with masahiro again T_T. unfortunately, that didn't happen :( the price that masahiro had to pay to save touda was indeed a high one :(

 

and i don't understand how masahiro could be revived. i mean, it's like he will never die or something. he has been revived so many freaking times that i've lost count. the last revival though is something that i can't understand. wakana revived him?? but how? does she even hold that kind of power to just 'send' him back to life??? >_>

 

also, right at the end where it shows akiko, masahiro and touda watching the fireflies at kifune was also stupid. it was so half-assed. it was as if they just wanted to make a point to show the viewers that he kept his promise. i guess that it does give closure to masahiro/akiko fans to show that they ended up together, but that was apparent from the beginning. personally, i don't think that level of closure was needed right at the end of the episode. i really needed to see some closure between masahiro/touda. it would have been nice if the absolute last scene was dedicated to that. masahiro/akiko closure could have been easily dealt with during the episode with a scene or two rather than at the end. i really can't get over that. the lasting impression of this series for me was the relationship between masahiro and touda. i was drawn into this series more and more because of their connection. it was certainly more important than his relationship with akiko in my eyes, which is why i'm having such a hard time trying to comprehend what the stupid producers/author (or whoever it was) was thinking -_-

 

the 'relationship' between rikugou and kazane was SO FREAKING SWEET yet short lived -_- see, i reckon this could have been developed on a more elaborate and deeper level throughout the series rather than flickering scenes here and there to hint that something exists and then only to have it confirmed in the second last episode while she died T_____T;

 

overall, it is a great series with a lot of potential that the anime failed to deliver. i am not sure how the manga is or how closely related the anime is to the manga, but based on the anime alone, there seemed to be a lot of arcs that could have been expanded on a deeper level. since no attention were given to these potential 'arcs', the character development was hindered. like i said earlier, what's the point of showing the remainding shinshou who did not appear for the whole series in the VERY last episode??? these characters existed but were neglected and because of that, viewers like me are sitting here thinking, well what could have been? i don't even know their names, powers, background or 'personality'. i didn't know anything about these characters. they were just pictures that held no meaning.

 

this could also be said for the shinshou who did appear. sure their names, ability and personality (to some extent) were evident throughout the series, but ultimately little was known about them. this is precisely why i think that an adequate amount of time should have been dedicated to these supporting roles to actually BUILD character depth. though i say that it is a great series, it could have been a lot better if it took advantage of the characters that made this story come to life. i don't think i have felt this strongly about character development before. there are series that piss me off due to the lack of character development, but i think that by writing this blog, i've pinpointed the reason why i feel so uneasy about this series. the plot was interesting, character designs were appealing, character interaction was amusing, it was humorous yet emotional, but unforunately it lacked character depth. sigh~~~what a waste -_- but, i still highly recommend this to everyone and hoping that there will be a second season (which i really doubt that there will) or an OVA or something >_>

 

first and foremost - ~ i don't know how else to express my emotions right now. i feel so elated, content, SATISFIED. yep, you heard me. i've been on the edge lately as a result of watching some shocking anime series. i was seriously getting frustrated. other than the anime that i've been keeping tabs on, nothing else seemed to appeal to me. i wanted to watch a complete series, but nothing did the trick. i gave fate/stay night a go which turned out to be okay, but in the end it didn't bring me any justice. what's worse is that i watched air gear after that which totally made me even more bitter that i originally was. now that was a shocking anime -_- the character designs gave it potential, but i didn't like the storyline nor did i like the direction of the character development *remembers frustration while watching this T_T*. then, i gave basilisk a go which eased my impatience a little bit, but the only problem with that anime was that it was way too grim. tragic storyline with a tragic ending. all that lingered after i finished the series was a sense of despair, loneliness and sympathy. basilisk is a good series though if you're up for a serious and depressing journey *nod*.

 

after all those trials, i was still feeling rather unsatisfied. that's when i stumbled across victorian romance emma. in all honesty, i doubted the quality of this anime. firstly because i didn't like the character designs and secondly, both parts were 12 episodes long. i was in the mood for a full season anime with at least 24-26 episodes. i most definitely wasn't in the mood for a short series. so by taking all those negatives into mind, you can only imagine how reluctant i was to watch this. the only hope that kept me going was the fact that it received a rather high rating on anidb. so with one huge breath i gave it a go and i can tell you now that i don't regret it in the very least.

 

there aren't a lot of 12/13 episode animes that satisfy me, but Emma did the trick. both seasons were fantastic and i loved how the second part was completely relevant to the first part! i was actually afraid that the direction of the anime would turn toward a new storyline with new characters and such, but i was relieved to see that this was not so. it was a perfect continuation of the first part and i'm glad that it turned out that way! if the second season chose to give Emma a new love interest or a brand new storyline to work with then i wouldn't have regarded this series as highly as i do now.

 

but firstly, the general plot to the series. it's about the love between a maid and an upperclass noble set in the 19th century. through fate they met, fell in love, encountered hardships (as you would expect from this type of relationship), but perservered. both characters even attempted to look for a new beginning only to find themselves struggling to forget one another. they were both afraid, lacked confidence, courage and hestitated throughout the whole series, which may sound annoying to most viewers, but i can guarantee you that this wasn't annoying or frustrating at all. through all that hesitation, hardships, doubts and questions, their resolves strengthened and with the support of the people around them, they finally gathered enough courage to accept their own feelings so that they could find happiness together *-*

 

even though this sounds like and most probably is, the typical love story between a rich noble and a poor woman, it is definitely worth watching. the pace and depth of the story unravelled beautifully and developed at the right moments. there wasn't a moment where i thought that this series was going too fast or too slow - it was just right. nor was there a moment where i thought that the characters lacked development. though it was frustrating to see the potential love interests for both william and emma (eleanor and hanz), it certainly gave it spice. the suspense of not knowing what the ending would be like kept me on the edge. some people may find that the ending was predictable, but personally for me, the direction of the story could have turned out either way. i really did think that william was going to adjust himself to a new love. even though emma's feelings for him remained the same throughout the series, it was william who i was worried about. i was literally sitting here thinking to myself, don't you dare develop feelings for eleanor!! i would have seriously become a bitter, bitter viewer by the end of it, if that did happen. *sigh of relief*

 

emma is also not your typical 'poor' maid. sure, the hardships that she encountered in her past was a common story, but the way she developed into a refined, intelligent and strong woman in the end was admirable. and it wasn't as if she was out to look for love, love came to her after she refused all the proposals that she received. i was actually quite shocked myself as i didn't expect her to receive so many letters of proposal. at the beginning though, i have to say that her character was rather bland, but she started to become a little bit more interesting as the episodes went on, which of course was due to her interactions with william^^ if any, the only negative thing that i can think of about emma's character was her seiyuu. at times, i thought that the seiyuu for her character sounded too mature. she was only 20 years old yet she sounded like she was 30. and this may be due to her mature and serious character, but it didn't fit well especially when she was with william, who sounded like his age. when they were paired up, it was hard for me to feel the romance or chemistry between them because the image of emma being in a position of a 'teacher' or a 'parent' kept popping up in my mind whenever she spoke. that was pretty much the kind of feeling that i was getting from the seiyuu. and what's worse is that whenever she was in her maid outfit with her hair up, it made her look even more older!

 

as for william, well he frustrated me at times with his decisions but i can't blame him. being the kind person that he is, he really couldn't refuse eleanor, which annoyed me to an extent. i was happy to see him try to at least tell her that his feelings for her aren't love and i commend him for telling her straight out in the second season, but that's as far as his determination goes. the committment that eleanor showed was definitely hard for him to refuse and i guess that was why i got so irritated. if he's going to make a decision, then stick to it! don't sway at every bend in the road, you dumbass!! -_- what hakim said to him was really true - "do your feelings only amount to that much". but, the last couple of episodes in the second season really made me respect william a little bit more with him going around trying to find investors, so that his family's company wouldn't be ruined. even though it was william's actions that brought about the possible destruction of his family, i was happy to see him give it his all to try to rectify the situation. viscount campbell was a bastard i tell you -_- *shakes fist*...he was definitely the stereotypical image of an aristocrat.

 

another character that i think deserves a mention is hakim. this guy rocks. the seiyuu for his character matched perfectly and i can't get sick of listening to his voice either XD it has this sort of musky and charismatic tone to it ~ i just googled to see who the seiyuu was and it's no surprise why i fell in love with hakim's voice. the same seiyuu voiced morita in honey&clover XD *loves morita* i also loved how he supported william, as well as all the other characters that he interacted with throughout the series. i reckon that william would never have been pushed into the 'right' pathway if it wasn't for the advice that he got from hakim^^ the female attendants who were always with him were so cute!! hahaha i loved how they acted!! the way that they poked eleanor's nee-sama or randomly tried on other people's hats in the background was adorable hahaha. i guess it's just something that you have to see to understand hahaha. or maybe i'm just weird, who knows haha. i just know that it gave me a light hearted perk at the right moments^^ i would have liked to see a potential love interest for hakim though~~

 

and i also loved the okusama in the second season. i don't know what her name was, but the german lady who took emma in. it was nice to see some level headed aristocrats in the series! a good way to balance out the bunch of snobs and gossipers that dominated the noble scene. during the second season i just kept feeling that emma was lucky to have been accepted by such a nice family. it made me feel all warm and fuzzy ~ the same can be said for the okusama in the first season (stowner). emma was extremely lucky that she met her as well as stowner was the one who educated her and taught her how to read and write. i also loved it how stowner was not against the love of emma and william, even though she had an idea of the types of challenges that they would be faced with. her encouragement and support for emma's love was just much love

 

ok well it's 330am and i'm buggered (yes, even though i haven't done anything all day haha). bottom line, victorian romance emma season 1 & 2 is definitely worth watching! it was nice to finally watch a series that put my irritation to rest! i felt content and warm after watching this fairy tale. it left me with a satisfied smile and it is definitely going onto my list of favorites. i'm not sure if i'll be able to rewatch it again though as the series tends to be rather continuous, meaning that i wouldn't be able to rewatch it w/o skipping >_> hahaha this is the first series that has made me feel like this. usually, i tend to skip through episodes in a flash and just watch my favorite scenes or selected episodes, but i feel that i can't do that with emma^^

 

 

 

getting around to watching the mitsuba arc took a lot of effort hahaha. i put it off for a few weeks thinking that i'd wait for all of the episodes to be released before i delve into it, but surprisingly the arc only lasted for a mere two episodes. i was expecting a semi-arc of at least five episodes hahaha but oh wells. it covered what needed to be covered in two episodes and yes, no doubt about it - it was depressing as hell. and when hijikata finally said it with his own mouth (though not to mitsuba directly) that all he wishes for is the happiness for the woman whom he loved seriously made me go out of control haha. i was seriously feeling for hijikata at that point. and to top that off, the last scene after mitsuba's passing that subtly showed hijikata sobbing while eating the spicy senbei was all that i could take. they were seriously made for each other, especially with their compulsive addiction with adding things to their food haha. the tobasco flavored parfait was just hilarious LOL hahaha. pooooooor gintoki!! hahaha at least he was nice enough to gulf it down XD

 

and i was also finally able to see kondo's serious side for a change, especially when he lashed out on okita at the hospital. it was also good to see okita show some sort of emotion as well. the spoilt side of him while being with his sister, the anger? envy? confusion? and self loathing that he felt regarding his relationship with hijikata and of course the grief that he felt after his sister's passing. it was also nice to get a glimpse into the history of kondo, hijikata and okita prior to their shinsengumi days. another notable scene for me was when okita sliced the car with the corrupt brother-in-law in half. it was such an intense scene for me hahah. almost as if it was like "haa~~finally i get to see you unleash some of your power".

 

oh and another thing that shocked me was how hijikata was calling okita 'senpai' during their non-shinsengumi days ahahaha. it was just so weird...only because i never anticipated that haha.

 

so anyways, though it was an extremely short arc, it was nonetheless a powerful one where i was overwhelmed with a series of multiple emotions simultaneously. this is one of the reasons why i love gintama - it has yet to fail me.

 

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i have finally decided to blog about this anime and i gotta say, it absolutely rocks^^ i guess because it's different to the types of animes that i'm use to watching, it makes it all the more entertaining and unique. i love the concept of having the mixture of samurai x ninja x alien characters living in a technologically advanced edo period XD

 

almost all of the characters are interesting to watch, but sometines i want the less significant characters to get more of a spotlight though, particularly sacchan and zenzou who come up sporadically in random episodes here and there for comical relief. what i would like to see though is having sacchan appear in an episode that flaunts her good side rather than an episode that purely lives to make fun of her masochistic fetishes. sure, the whole bondage obsession with gin is hilarious, but i still want to see a kakkoi part of sacchan so gintoki can finally open his eyes and be somewhat amazed by her as well *-* haha. and yes, i am a sacchan/gin shipper , which is why i want to see more of her awesomeness so that gintoki can be in awe too haha. that kind of episode is never going to happen though, since a) it doesn't seem to fit sorachi's style and b) it doesn't seem to be a focus of the story haha. sigh ~~ i remember reading a comment on someone else's blog about gintama and how they were saying why the love triangle between sacchan x gin x otae is funny only because gintoki is not interested in either of them and plays it off as if it is just too troublesome to be with them. as much as it pains me, i can agree with that though haha. but i have to admit  that i really don't like the subtle hints of the otae/gin pairing (T_T). that pairing is just too hard to swallow for me haha. it really annoys me!

 

i also want to see more of the shinsengumi and katsura. katsura does come up quite a bit i think, but that's alright because i can't see how someone could get sick of watching him haha, especially katsura (and gin) in action XD! i think it was episode 60 or 61 when gin, katsura and takasugi were finally 'reunited' and how we got to see katsura and gin kick some serious ass. that was really satisfying to watch ;D ~ oh! and i just loved the episode with ikumatsu <3 that was much love! yes, i'm a sucker for pairings haha. i've already paired up a few characters already hehe and this is indeed one of my favorite pairings. the good thing about gintama is that there are just so many potential relationships hinted that it gives fans the chance to create their own stories about them. so definitely, in my eyes katsura/ikumatsu  for the win  

 

as for the shinsengumi, i can never get sick of watching these guys either haha. they are just so badass haha. the one scene that made me go kyaa the most was the episode when all the characters got together to decide on an alterate story for gintama. the kyaa part of it  was when the shinsengumi were introduced into katsura's idea haha, even if it was only just for a split second. that image was totally in sync with my view of the shinsengumi haha *starts fangirling*. hijikata with his cool facade, okita and his sadistic yet childish behavior (and of course the okita x kagura pairing owns me), and kondo when he's serious haha. i think the fact that kondo is portrayed to be an helpless idiot 3/4 of the time his badass image gets damaged, but when his serious side is shown it's just much love haha.

 

i also love the hijikata/gin pairing too. they are so alike that it's funny to watch. their rivalary is priceless and the fact that they have the same thought patterns is even more adorable XD ~ i think it's the same with the okita/kagura pairing as well. it's just so cute to watch! some examples, sadaharu vs sadomaru naming coincidence, they watch the same soapies, they are both sadistic and ridiculously strong, and they are both competitive and childish haha *thinks back to the episode about the mechanic and his robotic son...i can't remember his name haha, but the matsuri scene* but i can't wait to see the story between hijikata and okita's sister animated though! the summary on wiki just sounds so *-*...it's about time that sorachi chose to include some serious romantic arcs in the story...even if the ending is bittersweet (T_T)

 

anyways because of my urge to watch more of gintama, i succumbed to dling the raws and even the chinese subbed files lol. the raws were quite hard to find. most of the torrents were dead unfortunately, hence the chinese subs. gintama is definitely difficult to understand without subtitles, especially the jokes. there's just too many cultural references included in it which makes it even harder to comprehend lol. i sort of got the jist of it, but i can't wait until the english subs are released though. it would clear up a lot of things for me haha.

 

the one thing that is bugging me the most is the teacher that taught gin, katsura and takasugi. i think his name was shouya or something and how gin made a reference saying something about abandoning a ramen shop at the end of the takasugi arc. to me, it somehow seemed to be linked to ikumatsu's ramen shop but i have no idea how lol. it's either their teacher was ikumatsu's husband, or her husband was killed by their teacher or something or rather. i honestly have no idea haha. that's about the only thing that's irritating me atm haha. damn me and my limited japanese -_- i also can't wait to see more of gin's past with his old comrads too. that should be sweet, even though they will ultimately battle it out with takasugi. i hope they can somehow change takasugi's view on the world and make peace with him though, but i don't think that's going to happen ne >_> ahh ~~ i want more gintama！

 

 

[UPDATE] FINAL CHAPTER OF LOVECOM MANGA :O yes, you heard me..."chappi" LOL XD

 

well firstly - YAY！:D i'm so happy right now. WHY do you ask? well, i so happened to check the lovecom community on LJ and found out that there was ONE LAST CHAPTER OF LOVECOM!!! i was soooo confused at the beginning! i thought the post was about lovecom PLUS, but i'm so grateful to the person who posted the link to the final chapter. to think that there was one more chapter left (O_O) i am still shocked haha. i wasn't expecting it at all.

 

so now just a brief summary. the chapter was basically a reunion for all the lovecom members, including maity, his wife (i can't remember her name now lol. i think it started with J..too lazy to check XD), haruka, seiko-chin and even kohori! well anyways, nobu chan finally came back to osaka to visit and on the day of risa's birthday they all went to the beach to play~~ this chapter also reinforced and i guess, strengthened^^ the relationship between otani and risa too which was really satisfying!

 

the chapter typically started off with risa's insecurities, which mainly revolved around the fact that she felt that something seemed different between her and otani, since he seemed to be off in his own little world, busy with his friends from uni and his part time job. it also didn't help when otani bumped into his uni friends at the beach, which was where risa not only found out that he was nicknamed "chappi" LOL HAHAAHA (yes he was named after a dog XD), but also the fact that otani didn't tell his uni friends that he had a girlfriend. i was pretty shocked at this myself lol. i was totally wide-eyed and repeatedly asking myself, WHY OTANI WHY! i seriously thought they were going to drift apart haha *wipes sweat*. nearly gave me a heart attack. and to top up my anxiety, otani ALSO forgot that it was risa's birthday :O~！ tsk tsk.

 

but in the end, it was seriously just an honest mistake on otani's part. he ended up buying a bouquet of roses for risa and yes, the roses had meaning to it! hehe. at the beginning of the chapter while risa thought that otani was totally self consumed in his phone conversation with his mates from uni, she noticed how a guy on the table next to them gave his girlfriend a bouquet of flowers and stared with dazzling eyes. amazingly enough, otani actually noticed her staring at that couple all starry eyed which was why he bought her the flowers in the first place haha. the fact that it was linked to the incident at the beginning, it made otani's apology even more sincere because it proved that otani still watches risa carefully, even though he gives off the image that he doesn't really care. if otani had bought her roses for the sake of buying them, then i would have thought of it as being a cheap cop out. in the end, it was nicely played out^^

 

BUT the ABSOLUTE KYANESS of this chapter was when otani said and i quote "risa".....(O____O) KYYAAAA  ！ that was like the first time that he EVER called risa by her first name and with such great timing too *-* i hope that part will be animated!! it will definitely make me die from happiness lol. i mean gosh, look how happy i am with just READING the freaking thing. *happy sigh*

 

overall as i had expected, lovecom is definitely a great manga. i've had my up's and down's with it, but in the end it blew me away with one satisfying attack. i don't know how many times i have said goodbye to this wonderful series, but here i am parting from it again lol. i can happily say though - i am totally content, satisfied and in ecstacy^^ lovecom - saikou！

 

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LOVELY COMPLEX REVIVED ^______^ ！！

 

yes, that's right. i'm happy to say that my previous warm and fuzzy tingles over lovecom has finally returned! episode 18 was just awesome. i guess the whole birthday idea was so good to begin with that it was pretty much impossible for the anime to go wrong ne XD ~ i absolutely LOVED the otani surprise kiss attack on koizumi  XD and yes, we cannot forget the follow up *mutual* kiss that took place after that ;D

 

oh gosh. i'm over the moon right now ~_~. even though i expected to see those sequence of events, it still managed to stir my emotions and sent me off happily content  *gives an extremely satisfied sigh* this is what the anime should be about! the way in which the manga was depicted in motion was just great! while i do believe that the anime should stick closely to the manga, i still think that it shouldn't follow it blindly. what i mean by that is that i want the anime to capture and express the emotions of the manga and bring it to "life". i have mentioned a number of times before how certain mangas have sent me on an insane and intense emotional rollercoaster ride, where it had the ability to either make me smile idiotically, cry a bucket of tears or feel an overwhelming sense of suspense. that's right - still images that are accompanied by speech bubbles filled with text and nothing more. it does all this without the use of background music or voice intonation to help intensify the situations. it's just like reading an extremely good novel. the way in which the content is mentally envisioned heavily depends on the author's ability to articulate those 'images' through a series of words. likewise, the way in which the plot, mood and setting of each frame that are conveyed in mangas depend on the artist's ability to express each moment through a sequence of images, with or without text, since a picture is able to tell a thousand words afterall.

 

alright, so i went off on a tangent and started rambling on about my weird passion for anime/manga haha, so moving along now. in any case, i am back on track again anticipating the episodes to come. it has been a while since i last felt this way about lovecom and i'm glad that this feeling is back

 

 

 

i don't know how i feel about this episode. i think that after the disappointment of episode 16, my hype for lovecom has just gone down considerably. this episode wasn't bad or disappointing so to speak, i just didn't feel a great deal of impact, even though it did stay true to the manga this time. i also realized why they chose to cut out the classic "don't stop" line in the previous episode. they planned to incorporate it into this episode that's why. i was somewhat relieved, but as i stated before, i didn't feel anything from it when it was said. it didn't have an impact on me, it didn't stir my emotions, it didn't excite me.

 

also, the "jama" scene (the part when otani hit koizumi on the head when he came out from his bball practice) was more light hearted than i had imagined. i guess that was one of the results for cutting out the "don't stop" line in episode 16. if everything had stayed the way that it should have, then i would have expected otani's "jama" to have a sense of awkwardness and shyness to it. i can't articulate it well. if i had to describe it then i guess it's like the after effects of hinting to someone that you like them, but at the same time not confirming that your feelings are true. so then it creates this atmosphere where (person A) ends up questioning how (person B) feels about them but without really knowing, while (person B) has some sort of an idea how he feels about (person A) but doesn't want to fully admit it. <--- POOR description, i know. LOL. oh gosh, i'm seriously losing my ability to express myself in written form -_- it's depressing. but hopefully, my point has been successfully delivered haha. but yeah, i guess that's why the "jama" scene stood out for me, since the implications that the anime and manga wanted to convey were completely different.

 

anyways, in the end i think i am a victim of the manga. i just can't stop comparing the anime and the manga in my head. i always ask myself; what if i never read the manga? how would i have felt then? would it have impacted on me more strongly? or would things still have been be the same? sigh ~ i honestly think that i'm destroying the value of this series with my own hands haha. i need to lower my expectations otherwise i'm going to end up bitter about it in the end.

 

は～い。お・わ・り

 

---

 

 

mmm...i'm not terribly happy considering how this episode didn't stick with the manga. if i had to say, then yes overall it did stay true to the manga all except the ending. scenes were cut out and modified (otani going to the infirmary, koizumi telling otani to treat her karaoke and the actual karaoke scene, the timing of when otani declared to maity that he is the one that she loves) which also made me kinda sour.

 

but, the ending. WHY didn't they just follow the friggin chapter! the part i'm referring to is when koizumi told otani that she is seriously going to give up on loving him. i was waiting, and waiting, AND WAITING for otani to freaking say the crucial "don't stop" line, and to admit that it annoyed the crap out of him whenever she talked about maity. that was such an important moment!! i honestly don't understand WHY they would choose to cut that part out. i remember when i got up to that scene in the manga i felt an overwhelming sense of joy, satisfaction and relief. it was like there was finally some clarification on otani's part, some progress! BUT NO! to my dismay the stupid episode ended without that "confession" so to speak. instead, it decided to include some stupid police officer chasing after them to i guess promote a 'comical' atmosphere, which clearly didn't work on me. i didn't find that amusing or entertaining.

 

sigh ~~ the bottom line is that i'm disappointed. i can't stress that enough. the series is at 16 episodes for crying out loud. i'm not sure how many episodes they are thinking of releasing of lovecom, but by this stage you would think that they would set the scenes for progress. i then skipped to the preview for next week and it's going to be about otani's interschool bball match, which again is suppose to have a scene where otani expresses his feelings for koizumi. i have a feeling that next week's episode is going to stay true to the manga, well at least i hope that it does. if it ends in the same fashion as it did with episode 16 then there's just no hope for lovecom -_- sigh ~~ i'm still pissed off. i feel so ripped off right now.

 

 

 

the ending was okay. i didn't like the whole arc to begin with. sure, it gave us insight into kazuma's past with tsuo rin, but the whole RPG thing was just boring. the battle with the final boss (?) - not sure if it's the final boss, but that huge hand that came out beneath the ground - was lame. it basically ended in one attack with kazuma, ayano and ren charging in. no suspense, no intensity. and the outfits that nanase and yukari were wearing were just lame too. it probably was drawn to accommodate for certain fetishes, but it really didn't do me any justice. i couldn't help but think, cheap...cheap tactics =_=

 

with that being said, i did like ayano's little outburst. FINALLY, she is able to tell kazuma what she thinks! i let out an extremely satisfied sigh when that happened. this was nicely followed up with having the wind gently blow ayano's hair in the direction of kazuma, which he embraced and kissed <3 i was so happy at that point haha. watching that reminded me of the reason why i liked kaze no stigma to begin with. it really was all about this pairing and any form of contact between the two was just awesome *-* i read on another blog that the whole hair embrace thing had a deeper meaning to it in the novel. apparently, the way that her hair was flowing towards kazuma was a sign of ayano's feelings reaching his heart and the very fact that kazuma embraced and kissed it showed that he was accepting and reciprocating ayano's feelings to some degree (credit to that blog for that information). reading that i felt even more relieved. i was able to get some answer as to what ayano was to kazuma. this whole time i was thinking that ayano is important to kazuma but to what extent?? and what kind of feelings are they exactly?? i was constantly doubting kazuma's affection for ayano and wondering whether he really saw her as a romantic partner or not. so at least, this has been somewhat clarified. and the cheeky smile that kazuma had toward the very end when he was being chased by ayano was so adorable *tears*...a step closer to warmth and happiness with ayano being the trigger <3 - yes i know that sounds corny, but it was just too sweet hahaha.

 

i also liked the scene when kazuma turned around to embrace ayano in pain after he heard that tsuo rin's last memory was that she wanted to kill him. poor guy. but at the same time, i don't feel much sympathy for him. i never really liked tsuo rin/kazuma pairing anyway, so any hints or reference to her just made me feel queezy haha. i am a ayano/kazuma shipper all the way. but the fact that he turned to ayano made me feel somewhat satisfied. that's right kazuma! leave the past in the past and concentrate on what you have NOW!!

 

anyways, the ending was really just okay. it definitely left the doors open to a second season because nothing happened to the evil dude...don't remember his name -_- haha. he's like the worse villain that i've ever seen. the guy practically just LEFT the scene for god's sake hahaha. they didn't even fight -_- ~ really, all that the evil guy did was just stand/sit around saying a whole bunch of rubbish to provoke kazuma haha. and with the episode ending with lapis saying that rin wanted to kill kazuma definitely left a huge gap that needs to be filled. and this whole obsession with seeing kazuma in despair is something that i don't understand. WHY kazuma? and for that matter, WHY did rin have to be the sacrifice in the first place.

 

but all in all, the series as a whole was C-grade. if it wasn't for the ayano/kazuma pairing then i would have given up on it a long time ago. the only other 'memorable' moment was the ren/ayumi arc which was touching. but, at least the viewers were granted with the chance of seeing some resolution in kazuma and between kazuma and ayano^^ ayano/kazuma ftw!

 

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even though tsuo rin has finally been introduced and the door to kazuma's past is slowly opening, i'm not happy with the direction that the anime is heading especially the deal between rin and kazuma. the preview to episode 20 proved my earlier speculations regarding their relationship when it showed the shadow of kazuma and rin kissing -_- though it wasn't showed explicitly, it nonetheless made me feel like crap afterwards lol. i always had a gut feeling that rin was extremely important to kazuma and since that has been proved by his speechless expressions each time he encountered her, i am pained haha. i am a kazuma/ayano shipper afterall. even though rin/lavis is obviously not the rin that kazuma knew of in the past which was hinted by her eye color, i still think that during their 'battle' a strong unconscious memory of kazuma will be triggered, thus preventing rin/lavis from hurting him. that's my two cents and i'll be glad to accept it if i'm wrong. all in all, she is the girl of his past; an unforgettable and an extremely important person to kazuma even after death -_-;;

 

this is making me feel so down about the anime haha. i don't even know if i'll be able to accept it now if kazuma chooses ayano in the end considering the impact that rin had on him. heck, kazuma might not even end up with anyone 'cos he sure as hell aint showing any signs of romantic feelings toward ayano =/ i guess the disappointment i'm feeling is mainly due to the fact that i overinflated the potential relationship between kazuma and ayano in my mind. i was so sure that something was going to happen between them, but now that this 'obstacle' has appeared, my confidence in the pairing has considerably gone down haha ~ sigh. i can safely say that i am not looking forward to episode 20 XD *does not want to see the scene of that shadow kiss*

 

i still think that ayano needs to perk up. i don't have any desire to cheer for her the way that she is now - weak, whiney, dependent, slow and uncool. sigh -_-;;

 

---

 

episode 15 was a crap episode too. if i had to summarize it into one word then it would be - boring. the idea of the episode was boring and the "fight" scenes were boring. notice how i wrote fight in inverted commas lol. seriously, all they do is stand there, wave their hands around, jump up and down a few times and shoot fireballs lol. there is just ZERO suspense. it looks like child's play. and although i bag the "power up" animes, at least their fight scenes are somewhat interesting. what those animes lack is just a nicely written script. but when it's compared to kns, those power up animes seem so much more bearable. personally for me at this point, kns is just filled with lame lines and boring fights. what's worse is that there wasn't any ayano-kazuma rabu either to help redeem itself, so it's not even worth one brownie point for crying out loud.

 

i don't know what happened. when i first started to watch this series, i remember that i really liked it. i was looking forward to every episode, but then for some reason, all that i am seeing now are the negatives. the characters are also losing their appeal. kazuma is not as cool as he once was and ayano is getting more and more annoying as the episodes go by. and the plot...well let's not go there. i mentioned in my first edit that i had already lost track of what kns was even about -_- sigh ~~ what on earth happened (T_T)??

 

---

 

i was disappointed after watching episode 14. it was just a crap episode to tell you the truth. too much talk during the "fight" scenes. it reminded me of dragonball or some stupid action packed anime that lives on lines such as, "he is so powerful, what am i suppose to do" sort of thing. that was the feeling that i got from this episode. ayano's lines were annoying too. especially the scene when part of the building exploded. she was saved by kazuma, which was all fine and dandy, but what i found odd was the way she said "kazuma! thank you!" >_> it just seemed so...unnatural o_O? just think of the feeling you get when you hear american seiyuus deliver a licensed anime. sends shivers down your spine doesn't it? hahaha and they're not exactly positive or exciting shivers too! hahaha i guess it's just something that you have to watch to hopefully understand my annoyance. personally, the episode just made me go "....."

 

the only notable ayano-kazuma scene was at the very end when kazuma licked the wine off her cheek hahaha now i have to admit, that made me go kyaaa~! that was sweet hahah and i'm probably overanalyzing it, but i reckon kazuma manipulated the flow of the spilled wine to land on her face with his wind powers XD i mean, it's too suspicious to see that as just an 'accident' haha^^

 

but what annoyed me was the fact that kazuma didn't offer his jacket to ayano (T_T). her dress was pretty much screwed, so you would think that under such circumstances he would offer his jacket to her and be a gentleman! *sigh*

 

anyways, hopefully the series will pick up in the next episode *fingers crossed*...i want them to take out the stupid script lines and redeem itself with some *notable* ayano-kazuma rabu scenes! ayano needs to perk up. she's too weak and whiney for my liking right now =_= oh and it just occurred to me, i have absolutely no idea what the overriding plot is LOL. you see i thought all 26 episodes was going to focus on kazuma's 'vengence' toward the kannagi family or something along those lines. but, that was pretty much taken care of in the first two episodes LOL so i have no idea what they are working with now. the only thing left to uncover is what kazuma did in the 4 years that he was away and that chick, tsao rin...(T_T) yes...the girl from the past (T_T). i guess another possible plot is the reason why soushu is so adamant about having kazuma date ayano hahaha. sigh. oh wells, i guess we will see in due time.

 

but, despite me bagging this episode, this series is still lovable haha. ayano-kazuma rabu ftw <3

 

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so i gave kaze no stigma a go, thinking that it's just going to be the typical shounen type of anime with fighting scenes all the way. but i was wrong XD. yeah sure it has its action, but it's comical AND the most important thing about this is the LURVE XD. so it has been decided. my new favorite anime hahaha after lovecom of course XD

 

but sadly, lovecom anime appeal is starting to go down for me haha. i don't know why, but i felt a lot more touched and moved by the manga. there's not enough oomph in the animation. anyways, back to kaze no stigma.

 

in all honesty, kns's main appeal is the ayano-kazuma r/ship haha. ayano annoyed the crap out of me at first though, especially in episodes 1 and 2. she was unbearable. but then she became a lot less annoying and i think that was mainly due to kazuma haha. ayano on her own definitely has no value, while kazuma on the other hand can fly solo or in the combi. he has character and power so it makes him a lot more enjoyable to watch. as for ayano ~ well, yeah she has power and personality, but her personality is unbearable to the point where her overaggressive and over-temperamental characteristics become annoying. it gets old after a while. anyways, their combi is really cute to watch, particularly when kazuma bags the crap out of ayano. it's adorable to the point where i just want to pinch someone's cheeks hahaha.

 

i also love how kazuma treats ren especially at the beginning <3 that is something that you just have to watch to comprehend hahah. and also how ren admires kazuma and the way in which kazuma shows his love to ren, even if it is in the form of bullying and sarcasm XD.

 

oh and you got to love ayano's father for trying to push ayano and kazuma in the right direction ~ good job i say!!! without his interference, their r/ship won't go anywhere. ayano is shy as hell and kazuma is too busy trying to be cool hahaha. and at this point i can't really determine whether kazuma likes ayano in that way or not. it's clear how ayano feels, but kazuma is not so easy to ascertain i guess. he didn't seem to have a problem when he found out that soushu was trying to set them up on a date, and he has never shown signs of objection when people tease ayano about their 'r/ship'. so in this sense it's easy to say that he does feel something for her, but he hasn't exactly shown any expression that really solidifies his feelings for ayano in a romantic way. right now, i would say that yes, he does have feelings for her but what bothers me is - what kind of feelings are they? are they romantic ones or not? and the flashback of that girl being eaten by the youma bothers me a lot. i'm guessing that her name was cui ling (sp? - wiki says tsao rin, but my fansub says otherwise haha so take your pick). my speculation is that she and kazuma had a mutual thing going on, which ended with a bittersweet parting where he failed to protect her. it might turn out to be one of those love thingies where he continues to love her secretly, or that she is a person who is important to the point where she is irreplacable and unforgettable D: *paranoid*

 

BUT i will convince myself otherwise haha. i mean you can't ignore the classic ayano-kazuma scenes now can you? if you start from the beginning then it has to start off with that mouth-to-mouth transfer of medicine when ayano was beaten to a pulp by ryuuya. the important thing about this scene was that kazuma KEPT his lips on ayano's even after the medicine was already in her mouth and he waited for her to open her eyes to only push him off . another thing that i noticed was that when he was standing with his back to her, his eyes weren't shown. it was like covered by his hair. for some reason i saw that as *something* hahaha. animes that choose to hide characters' eyes with their hair always seem to hint out some sort of unspoken emotional reaction, in my opinion anyway XD. this was then followed up with kazuma bagging ayano for losing XD, and to conclude ~ ayano straddled kazuma in anger after they defeated the youma in half torn clothing which pretty much exposed most of her nakedness hahaha <3 *sees the lurve*

 

then ~~ the next memorable scene for me was the pixie episode haha. it was cute how kazuma chose to keep quiet  about the pixie only because he wanted to see ayano's reaction to all the traps that were set up XD *rabu hint* this episode definitely had its cute moments. my favorite had to be when kazuma said, "or is it that you want to know everything about me?" which stirred ayano up and led to a kazuma kiss attack on her nose XDDD KYAAA!!! *dies from fangirling* another adorable scene in this episode was when he went up next to her saying, "i am here to protect you...don't you believe me" XDDD*dies again* hahahaha yes, i am fangirling badly.

 

oh! oh! it was also cute how ayano was jealous over misao XD i felt sorry for her when she was showing signs of sadness hahaha sigh. ayano ganbare! but after that, the series became preoccupied with ren-ayumi so i didn't get to see a lot of ayano-kazuma rabu rabu =( the only significant thing was when ayano leaned on kazuma's shoulder while he had his hand on her head. i didn't really see this as "romantic" due to the circumstances, but at the same time it was kind of out of the blue hahah. i just wasn't expecting her to do that o_o

 

as for ep 13, i was hoping for more progress but i guess what took place was *boredline* safe hahaha. the classic moment here was the ferris wheel and how kazuma gave a sweet smile at ayano when she was bewildered by the sunset XD *rabu hint*. another moment was when ayano went over to kazuma to see ren and his mates running around below only to realize that her face was rather close to his XD ~ she then moved away flustered and sat next to him. she also showed that 'sad' expression again when she saw the kindness in kazuma's face when he was talking about ren. i guess it's kind of like "how come you don't show me that kind of expression" type of thing haha. AND THEN ~~ *drum roll* ~~ kazuma's hand on ayano *yelps* XD~~!! KYAAAAA *dies repeatedly* even though, i would have liked to have seen more progress, this was something at least^^

 

and now i can't wait for ep 14!!! yes i have succumbed to the raws lol. ep 14 is meant to be airing today, so hopefully it will be upped later tonight or early tomorrow *prays* hahaha i really want to watch this ep before uni starts haha i just feel like i have to! the preview shows ayano finally wearing a change of clothing hahah yey~! i really can't stand how she's always in her school uniform. i mean it's getting old haha. and kazuma too. that black shirt is sexy but the color of the jacket and pants just makes him look daggy haha. that's the same as lovecom. the manga had so much more fashion sense than the anime >_> and i find that risa looked a lot prettier in the manga haha. her hair in the anime is just wrong. wrong wrong wrong. OK i guess that's it for now hahah.

 

so as for those who haven't seen kaze no stigma, watch it XD and you will be a ayano-kazuma shipper too XD *spreads love*

 

*impatiently waits for the next episode*

 

 

 

many thanks to the kind soul who heard my request and posted up the link to chapter 3 of lovecom plus! i just finished reading this chapter, yes, -the- last chapter of the series. i think that this is the absolute end (o_o) i will be surprised if anymore is released.

 

but anyways, i don't know how i feel hahaha. 3/4 of the chapter was spent on talking about both of their past. first, it started off with their highschool entrance, which then led to the first time that otani and koizumi met during their first umibozu live. then in the last few pages, you see koizumi and otani as they are now, well it wasn't really that far down the track. it was during their highschool spring break, which is pretty much right after their graduation i think haha. well anyways, it shows koizumi and otani rushing to go see an umibozu live where they so happen to bump into yoshii, who was also going to see the live with akechan XD, typical ne? hahaha but i had no problems with it. then during the live, otani and koizumi start talking about umibozu and eventually realize that back then, otani was the guy who she gave the lolly to and koizumi was the girl who he gave his shoes to XD~~~ talk about fate ne? then it ends with koizumi saying that she thought that boy was in elementary school and the following phrase:

 

 

so in order for me to be satisfied, i attempted to translate this as:

 

 

i'm not happy with this translation. this tiny little sentence took me an hour LOL sigh. anyways, this is subject to change. hopefully i will get some feedback or someone else's opinion on this phrase soon~~~

 

but overall, mmm i didn't get the closure that i wanted. the ending of this chapter had the same effect as the end of volume 16. it was suitable, but it didn't feel like an "end" to me. that lonesome feeling that i felt last night still lingers. i guess lovecom plus wasn't released to be an "ending" so to speak. rather it was released to give the audience some sort of an idea about their past by delivering the message that fateful encounters can take place anytime, anywhere and that you can never predict what is going to happen next o_O ~~ ok i have no idea what i'm talking about lol. i'm confused D: but it is seriously over now *cries* ~~

 

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[edit #2]♪^-^

 

so i've finished reading all 16 volumes of lovecom ^______^ with the exception of volume 14 which was a chinese raw, so i couldn't understand anything >_> hopefully some kind soul will hear my call and reply my post to tell me where i can find the japanese raw of that volume *-*

 

but anyways, it's a great manga! much much love. however, even though i said before that this manga is on par with kare kano, sadly i have to take that back. this manga is indeed fantastic, but it did lose some brownie points though throughout the story. maybe my expectations were too high? who knows. i just know that the feeling that i got from this was rather mixed. i found myself tuning out, getting annoyed and frustrated. some parts dragged on a little bit too much and lacked depth, especially after koizumi and otani hooked up. prior to them hooking up and probably just at the beginning of their relationship i felt like i was on a rollercoaster ride, eager to find out what was going to happen next. i found myself being overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions anticipating each page and each chapter. it was an extremely exciting feeling. but then for some reason, that excitement died and i was thinking to myself "how long is this going to go on for??" don't get me wrong, i thoroughly enjoyed this manga and it most definitely is one of my favorites, however i cannot ignore those feelings that crossed my mind whilst reading it. the manga just lost some of its spark after volume 7/8 in my opinion. volumes 9-16 had its occassional exciting outbursts, but it wasn't continuous. i felt like i was being dragged along only to be instantaneously excited then dragged along again. there were some good moments in the last half of the manga, but not as much as i would have liked.

 

some examples of the long-winded and shallow bits were the annoying flash backs + reference to koizumi getting rejected by otani (how many times do they want to reiterate the same thing over and over again??), and the stories of nobu-chan/nakao-chi and suzuki/chiharu. they somewhat developed towards the end but i found it to be kinda half assed. they were playing the supportive role throughout the manga and i was fine with that. i was also fine with the time they got to explain their *own* stories. however, i think the way that their own stories were integrated with the overall story was kinda out of the blue. it was like - this is their story, develop, conclude then pushed to the side. i'm not sure if i'm making sense -_- if i have to say it simply, then i guess i felt like their stories were only included for the sake of it, rather than being a part of the story that needed to be covered.

 

let's take kare kano as an example. throughout kare kano each of the characters' past were hinted and referred to *throughout* the manga, which was then later followed up before the end to give the audience closure. but with lovecom, the supporting characters (nobu-chan/nakao-chi and suzuki/chiharu) were just introduced out of the blue which was then quickly followed up and wrapped up. it felt shallow and rushed =/ i understand that lovecom takes on a completely different stance to kare kano being more of a comedic type of shoujo manga, but it would have been nice if those characters were given more of a story line rather than just completely relying on otani/koizumi. i think that's another reason why i tuned out. once they hooked up, there wasn't much more to work with besides clarifying their feelings for each other and taking it onto a deeper emotional level. the clarification was taken care of, but they didn't really manage to take it onto the next stage in my opinion.

 

another example of this lack of depth was haruka - i really didn't understand his existence in the story. it's like he was created just to be used in situations to clarify things or to introduce a new arc (maity's wedding for example). kohori was also kinda weird. he got a little bit more exposure, but again, his character was kinda shallow as well. he did contribute a bit to the overall story though by bringing out otani's feelings a bit more, but that was pretty much it. abe was also weird -_- she was introduced in the *last* volume for gods sake, so i think without saying anything further, you get the jist. why would you choose to bring a new chara into the last volume - i have no idea.

 

i also wanted to see a bit more physical interaction between otani and koizumi. yep they kissed and occassionally held hands but that was it. i felt the love when they did show that type of affection, but i didn't think that it was enough. no, i am not greedy. it just didn't flow right. and the times when their kisses were interrupted annoyed me a lot. why? because there was not enough physical affection to begin with, so the interruptions just made it worse.

 

with that being said, i still really enjoyed this manga. otani/koizumi conbi was really fun to follow. their relationship was the typical highschool relationship that makes you go ~kyaaa~ the shyness between the two was indeed cute! i really liked the arc where they went to maity's wedding. though i was not 100% satisfied, it was still cute hahaha especially the part where each couple were separated into their own rooms. the frame which got me going ~kyaaa~ alot was when koizumi took the remote off otani and fell back onto the bed and otani was sorta hovering over her XD CUTE! that would have been the PERFECT moment for an affectionate kiss, but nope to no avail~~ sigh. i reckon their relationship could have been deepened more during that trip. the chance for emotional development was there but was not taken advantage of. it was too mmmm, superficial? well not really superficial. i can't find the word to describe it. i guess it was too "normal"...it was like once they hooked up their relationship remained on a somewhat constant level rather than being deepened any further. there were alot of clarificaitons especially on otani's side about how he felt about koizumi, but it didn't raise the bar any higher from what it originally was. most of their development was shown prior to them getting together, which i thought was rich in quality. during that time, you really got to see how they were drawn together, and how koizumi's love deepened as well as having otani realizing his own feelings for koizumi. now i felt like that was real development =/ the "development" showed throughout the last half of the manga can't even compare to the first half D:

 

as for the ending, it was suitable. it left me lonely though because i didn't want to see it end. i don't want to part from the characters  either *tears* so now i'm feeling kinda mellow hahaha. there is a sequal though - lovecom plus but i only managed to find 2/3 chapters. the first chapter delves into otani's past while the second chapter delves into koizumi's past. apparently the third chapter is going to show how each of the characters are going after their graduation, though i'm not sure how far down the track. i am dying to read that third chapter!! volume 16 ended well, but as expected, i need *real* closure. the fact that there is a sequal out there makes me wonder - are they still together? have they grown apart and separated? aaahhh~~~*pulls hair*

 

alright well last words - ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. you will not regret reading this manga (or watching the anime). i loved the anime that much that i needed my lovecom fix so badly, which ultimately led me to succumb to the japanese raws lol. it was hard to comprehend and took ALOT of mental effort ;_; but in the end i got through it, am happy with it and enjoyed it^^ though i have complained about it, it doesn't change the fact that it is and will always be one of my long term favorites. sadly, as i do with all manga and anime, it is time to part with these awesome characters. otani/koizumi duo banzai <3!!! definitely one of the cutest couple and relationship that i have come across to date. ~lonely sigh~

 

離れたくない！ラブ★コん、読んでよかった^^ 完全にみんなにお勧めするよ！読んでください！絶対に後悔しないもん～！本当に

 

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[edit #1]

 

KYAAAA!!!! ok, so last night i went around trying to find the manga releases of lovely complex cos it was too painful to wait one week for the anime hahaha. but after reading the manga, my hype kinda went down a bit because it became apparent to me that you can't make someone fall in love with you, which is exactly what risa was trying to do. so i kinda lost a little bit of respect for her. even though otani wasn't taking advantage of her or being a prick, i believe risa should have more self worth - why chase after someone who has rejected you? you deserve more than that - kinda thing. and so i was getting a bit depressed about it until 5 minutes ago.

 

i just finished reading chapters 23-25 and my high has returned. i am in absolute bliss right now. lovecom is soooo good! it is definitely on par with kare kano in my books!! i just loved how the story has played out now. i also loved maity!! what an awesome guy^^ he gave otani a good push. there is nothing better than using jealousy to bring out someone's true feelings ne XD and even though otani has yet to *officially* confess, he at least gave a more stable indication of his feelings. last night i really felt that otani would be unable to return risa's feelings, but now that opinion has changed. "i don't want you to stop loving me either" awwww otani~!! it was just so kyaaaa! i am really enjoying this! XD omg hahaha i can't express my satisfaction right now.

 

i can't wait until the next chapter is released. so far 16 volumes have been out in japan, but the scanslations have only just started volume 7. still a way to go, so i don't think their relationship is going anywhere solid anytime soon hahaha. the ending better be headed for the right direction. otherwise all these feelings of content and satisfaction will be greatly wasted. i don't want to be disappointed! *crosses fingers and waits*

 

---

i'm not sure what it is about this anime that makes me fall head over heels, but there is definitely something about it hahaha. the chara designs weren't really my cup of tea at the beginning but they are not that bad now^^ the bg music is awesome and the plot is awesome. typical but awesome XD i just love how koizumi and otani's r/ship is developing. each episode makes me smile like a child haha i know, i'm pathetic >_>

 

anyways, the reason for this blog is just to mark ep 11. the raw came out tonight and it took a heck of a long time to dl >_> but in the end i got it, watched it, fawned over it and am still continuing to fawn over it XD the episode was pretty good, well the last 5 minutes was anyhow. the first 3/4 of the ep was mmm so-so. i was getting a bit nervous though cos the direction of the episode didn't seem to be going to well - i.e. koizumi trying too hard and intentionally doing things to keep otani and kanzaki apart. i don't really like that type of scenario, hence the annoyance haha. but then it redeemed itself around the 16 minute mark when koizumi chose to leave. now that is my cup of tea. i can't really explain it, but i guess it's something like, i'd rather see otani make his own decision rather than having it imposed on him. i didn't want to see koizumi succumb to and be obsessed with her insecurities and envy. it would have spoiled the series for me. so thankfully, it went in the happy direction hahaha. but anyways, the main point of the episode was the last quarter *kyyyaaaa* it was just sweet. i think that's why i like lovecom so much hahaha. it really plays out the insecurities of a person in love <3

 

okay i guess that's it. i might continue to rewatch the ending XD i have literally watched it at least 10 friggin times now >_> i can't wait until the next episode. next saturday!! actually sunday, cos it won't be upped straight away X( so longggg~~~!

 

sigh. okies i will re-indulge myself again XD バイバイ！

 

 

 

 

so i insanely finished 14 volumes in 2.5 days. i honestly did think that it would take me a couple weeks to go through all the books, but boy was i wrong. now that it has ended, i have realized how wonderful this manga is. i am truly touched.

 

i began reading thinking that i would take my time. but once i started, i couldn't stop. i could not put it down. i read until i couldn't read anymore.  i immediately picked up the next volume and read with full concentration, not wanting to miss a single thing. properly reading each and every word and analyzing each and every caption. despite being black and white, the drawings were amazing - clean, crisp, pretty *-*

 

the characters were absolutely beautiful - visually and personality-wise. they were flawless. each character had their own story to tell and were given the right time to explain themselves. no character was pushed to the side. in the end, none was neglected. it was great to see each of them grow, develop and flourish. it captured both the ugly yet beautiful sides. it showed the filth and absolute cruelty of what humans are capable of. it showed strength and courage and the struggle for freedom. it showed the appreciation of love in every possible way - conditional and unconditional and the value of happiness. and last but not least, it showed hatred, despair and loneliness in unimaginable ways. i gasped at the extent of hatred and empathized with the states of loneliness.

 

i never imagined that i could cry whilst reading a manga. slam dunk (manga) did touch me in amazing amount of ways, but kare kano touched me in ways that i didn't think was possible. still images without a hint of sound or movement along with miniature speech bubbles had the ability to powerfully tell a story in such way that stirred and drove my emotions left, right and centre. it had the power to bring tears to my eyes and made me feel the pain, the loneliness and the relief that the author wanted to convey. it had the power to make me stop, think and reflect on how true some of these words were. it truly touched me.

 

the heavy weight of the drama was nicely balanced with the comedic relief provided by supporting characters. the changes in drawings also helped lighten the mood (the chibi figures were so damn cute that i just wanted to pinch them! hahah). but at the same time, i stared in awe at the character designs in full form. i can't find the words to describe it. if i had to explain it then i guess it's the feeling of when you just close your eyes, take a huge breath in and release with such content and satisfaction, ending with a light smile.

 

but now that it has ended, half of me doesn't want to part with this story and its characters. as a result, i feel a sense of emptiness, despite my feelings of satisfaction. the story has concluded. the characters now cease to exist, which is precisely where my emptiness stems from. i guess in my case, i have been truly touched with this story and the agents who made it come to life. thank you tsuda masami for such a wonderful series.

 

ok so this is what i did instead of my assignments hahaha - major time waster XD but it was fun nonetheless!

 

my first video!! i'm happy with my amateurish attempt XD gotta love the hirumamo pairing ;D

 

so for anyone who is the slightest bit interested haha - douzo!

 

 

 

 

*mellow* well i finished watching this a few days ago so i can't remember every single detail, but it is a really bittersweet anime haha. i just finished watching the last three episodes again and yep, that bittersweetness is confirmed. i didn't have a problem with hagu choosing shuu; more like i kinda expected it. to me, shuu was more of a father figure to hagu and i never once thought of them being in a romantic r/ship with each other, which was why i was cool with it haha.

 

BUT, in the last episode, shuu finally admitted that he loved hagu after morita asked him. now this can be interpreted in two ways haha - 1) a type of fatherly/family type of bond or 2) the romantic type of love. all this time i thought hagu and shuu were sorta related, even if it was a distant relation haha so it was kinda disturbing to me if it did turn out to be a romantic type of love (T_T). and hagu did ask him to give her his life and to stay with her until the very end - which again is vague and open to interpretation haha. sigh. well like i said i never had a problem with shuu so it didn't frustrate me so much, but what i did feel was a sad type of emptiness. why? cos i'm a morita supporter hahaha. i was cheering for morita since episode 1, season 1 :D his character is so adorable and i really appreciated how his past was brought to light in the second season <3 so really, i wanted hagu and morita to be together. it would've worked out if shuu stayed in his fatherly role *disturbed again*

 

but anyways, at least there were signs that hagu did/still loves morita. again, the line "i will always be watching over you. forever and ever" is hella vague and open to interpretation (-_-) in my eyes, hagu really did have feelings for morita which made me feel somewhat satisfied. at least it wasn't takemoto *yay* haha. but by telling morita that she will always be watching over him, is something that i can't understand. did she mean that as a friend? or as a lover? in all honesty, i think it is as a friend or rather a 'special' friend that will forever be close to her heart, while at the same time a 'special' friend who will probably never be able to replace shuu's presence. this could also be interpreted as hagu's way of telling morita to never run away. by telling him that she'll always watch over him will give morita no choice but to keep trying, so that he won't disappoint her. don't mind the corniness, this anime is corny as it is haha so it's difficult to talk about it without being mushy about it XD

 

but yeah back on track haha, i guess that is why i found it hard to comprehend. i reckon morita could have also made hagu happy. but most likely, hagu wasn't looking for love; rather she was out to find comfort. she practically grew up with shuu and he was there for her countless times giving her security, and an environment that was safe enough for her to be free. she was able to draw whatever she wanted with shuu without feeling any sense of guilt, hesitation and doubt. so i guess ultimately, that is why shuu won over morita haha obviously >_> it was evident during the first season. and that is pretty much the reason why i'm feeling so mellow right now. it's not a bad thing. if i had to explain this type of feeling, then i guess this is the true feeling of "it can't be helped", that's probably the best way how i can verbalize what this uneasy feeling is. hagu's decision really couldn't have been any other than shuu. morita wasn't less of a person than shuu, nor was shuu any greater than morita. they were both on the same playing field, except the biggest disadvantage for morita was timing. not only does hagu and shuu go way back, but morita's committments to his brother pretty much restricted him from being close to anyone. he chose to live for his brother rather than his own life, so he didn't have time to connect with the people around him on that type of wavelength. the time that he was away could have wavered from a day to a few months. so in that sense, it was really a situation where it couldn't be helped. i guess morita already knew that he couldn't be there for hagu, even though he wanted to be there to console her. he wanted to be there for kaoru, even if that meant that his path with hagu will separate. sigh~~

 

and i was also kind of disappointed that they didn't devote any more time to the yamada-nomiya combi X( they make such a cute couple. nomiya is so much love too <3 <3 i was *extremely* satisfied with the 1-2 episodes that were devoted to them...i think it was like 1.5 episodes hahah but either way, that made me happy. and although nothing concrete was said about how yamada felt about nomiya, it was pretty obvious that she had feelings for him. feelings that she doubted and didn't want because if she did admit that she felt something for nomiya then her feelings for mayama would have been nothing but lies. but in the end, it was nice to see that there was hope that yamada will accept her feelings for nomiya. this was vaguely reinforced at the end of the anime when the credits were rolling. yamada making her pottery while nomiya was there holding two cups of coffee XD at least there was a sign that a *potential* r/ship could develop haha. i would have liked more time exploring the connection b/w these two though, but i can't do anything about it now haha. it's over ><

 

ok i guess that's it for now. if i think of anything else then i'll be back for an edit. but my last words - great anime depicting the bittersweet moments that we so often see in everyday life - finding one's purpose, finding the right path to take (i.e. in terms of studying - which course? and within that course, which field will u specialize in? career?), the battle b/w the hard workers vs. the "talented", love triangles, the strength to grow after experiencing a failed love, and last but not least - the time where friends have to part in order to take their own paths in life. the anime was quite real to me. yes it was a cartoon, but it definitely lived up to its genre - drama. frustrating and annoying to watch at times, while being inspirational, comical and depressing. the bittersweet taste that was mentally left behind wasn't solely due to the love affairs. the time when they had to part was definitely depressing. that is something that i personally think about all the time. in the next few years things won't be the same anymore. the people who i am so use to seeing now will be walking on different paths in different places at different times. the time when everything changes will be the time when everything ends. i don't mean "end" as in a bad thing either - more like the days that i cherish now will fade and eventuate in nothing more than memories *ripped off takemoto's quote right at the end XD*.  takemoto's last words were so true though. although friends will stay friends for an eternity, the act of parting is always depressing. sigh. alright i'm seriously getting mellow hahah so...

 

--- o w a r i ---

 

so after i finished some stuff for uni i decided to reward myself with watching howl's moving castle for the second time XD i've been waiting to rewatch this for over a year haha and now that i have finally bought the dvd (yes straight from japan!) i was able to do so.

 

i just want to highlight a few things that i guess i understood a little bit more clearly than i did in the first time round. so really, this is just a follow-up on my earlier post on howl's :) alright, so the main themes that i picked up the second time round were: to learn to love yourself for who you are, finding a purpose in life, confronting the obstacles before you instead of running away, courage, the desire to be free and unconditional love.

 

 

so why did sophie's hair remain grey even though her spell was broken and she had regained her youthful form? well i didn't really understand this part when i first watched it, but now that i come to think about it, maybe it was to signify a change in sophie. that is, it was to show that sophie had become a different person - a person who now loves and accepts herself for who she is. now why did i come to this conclusion? mainly because she mentioned more than once how she disliked the way she looked, and how she reverted to the obaachan image whenever she wanted to "run away" from her flaws, or i guess when she didn't like the person whom she was (scene: howl taking her to his secret garden getaway and she told him how she wanted to help him, even though she wasn't pretty and all that she was good at was cleaning. after she said that, she immediately changed back to being an old lady).

 

sophie's lack of self-respect was also evident when she made the comment "at least these clothes suit me now" immediately after she was cursed, which implied to me that even though she was still young on the outside, she felt as though that she was old at heart. this was probably one of the main reasons why she was content to leave the town. she also had a beautiful baby sister who was extremely popular with all the boys, and an uncaring yet beautiful mother. so i guess this made her feel even more alienated, unworthy - unbeautiful. i also got the impression that at the beginning when she was sewing the hats, she felt somewhat empty. lost. as if she didn't have anything worthy to live for except to continue the business that her father had left behind.

 

but once sophie met howl, i guess she started to find a purpose in her life. something worth living for. and i guess the unconditional love worked both ways. howl showed that he accepted sophie for who she was despite her appearance as being an old woman. likewise, sophie mentioned repeatedly that regardless of what form howl takes, let it be a monster or human, she will nonetheless accept him and unconditionally love him. so it worked out really well in my opinion. these two characters were clearly destined for each other. each having their own reason to run away, though i think that they were both really running away from themselves. both of them also didn't seem to have a purpose to live either. as i mentioned before, the sewing scene at the beginning of the movie, and as for howl i think one of the main reasons why he always chose to run away from his problems was that he didn't see any reason to stay to confront them. but once he met sophie, he began to change. howl developed enough courage to challenge the obstacles in front of him in order to protect the person who was important to him - sophie. courage that he didn't have to begin with. so really, they began to live for each other.

 

 

i still don't quite understand the meaning behind the howl-calcifer contract but here are my two cents. i kind of got the impression that howl knew what his magic was going to be used for - a tool of war and he clearly stated his opinions regarding the war by calling the bomber aircrafts "murderers" and by saying that it doesn't matter whether they are an ally or enemy - "they are all the same". so in this sense i guess that is why he decided to sell his soul to a demon. he wanted to be free from the obligations of being a wizard. i also found the concept of the "moving castle" to be a symbol of freedom as well. since the castle was mainly controlled by calcifus, it gave me even more reason to think that howl had sold himself in return for freedom. the castle was his sanction. he needed calcifer to help him move a castle through the different dimensions - in other words, he needed calcifer to help him be free. 

 

but, i still think that another reason why he decided to give his heart to calcifer was to gain a companion. howl seemed to live a rather lonely lifestyle. besides from mark, he didn't seem to have any other social interaction except from the orders of kings and suliman. he didn't seem to have any other friends. and he also mentioned that he often spent his summers alone when he was a child at the house in his secret getaway garden. he also said that was the house that his wizard uncle had left for him in secret. so i don't think he had much contact at all. calcifus was probably the closest thing to a friend that he encountered as a child.

 

though, sometimes i think that the "freedom" theme was only an excuse for howl. as i mentioned before, he didn't really have much to live for. he was used as a tool of war and had very little friends, so in a sense all he wanted to do was run away. he only stopped running away when he found sophie, which gave me all the more reason to think that he was running away from loneliness.

 

i know that i have continuously crapped on about freedom, purpose, unconditional love and whatnot, but i can't help it hahaha. they seem to be the reoccuring thoughts in my head. but again - with regards to freedom, the unconditional love that sophie gave him helped him escape the demon within him. since he found a purpose in his life, it reminded him that he was still human which was probably why he was able to refrain from transforming into a monster.

 

 

but overall, the movie focused a lot of its attention on the perspectives on war, the stregnth to grow, the ability to change and the desire for one to be free in order for one to find their purpose in life. the "running away from oneself" also seemed to be a popular theme throughout the anime. sophie from her image, howl from his magic, and the witch of the waste from the results of aging. the animation was beautiful as always. the detail of the castle, the colors used - especially in the backgrounds, and howl's character design <3 haha. but yes, i still don't think it is miyazaki's best work, but nonetheless i have to admit that it is -extremely- captivating and touching. the unconditional love that was shown between sophie and howl really made me squeal hahaha. i loved it. it was just too sweet - something that would only happen in a fantasy. haha i think that is why i am attracted to howl's moving castle so much. the fact that each time that i watch it, i feel as though i am in a fluff of clouds flying high in the sky. that i am in a world that is far away from reality. it certainly gives me that "happy sigh" type of feeling where i'm left in awe and content :)

 

so after forgetting to watch the last half of this series for god knows how long, i finally got round to downloading it and finishing it. now i'm having A LOT of mixed emotions T_T

 

mmm, overall i do think that this is a great series. every episode had the right amount of suspense and the characters were much love - especially haji, the sif, solomon and even nathan. my tolerance for saya wavered. she sucked in the first half of the anime. too cowardly, too much self pity and hesitation. i didn't like the way she treated haji either T_T i guess the biggest problem for me was that there wasn't any i guess, "concrete" evidence that saya loved haji. i mean it was obvious how haji felt, he even said it at the end of the series. but saya *sigh* let's just say the chemistry is there and she probably did have mutual feelings for haji, except she never once verbalized it nor did she show it through her actions. the closest thing i got from saya was when she kissed haji at the end. but that still wasn't enough for me hahah i mean i was WAITING and WAITING for some saya-haji love. but that wait was never satisfied. throughout the series all she did was thank him. i really, and i mean really wanted to see something more than gratitude from saya's end. it was as if the animators didn't want to give a clear answer to this r/ship. it's always a juggle b/w haji and kai, which frustrated me so much so -_- the lack of feelings shown from saya toward haji definitely influenced my overall satisfaction. and i didn't like the open-to-your-own-imagination lines that kai said either. always saying he'd care for saya, that haji is someone like him who cares deeply for saya blah blah blah. i mean you can see it one way, kai wants to protect saya because she is family to him OR you could see it another way, that kai is trying to imply that he has feelings for saya and cares for saya in the same wya that haji does...so it's more like love love, rather than family love. anyways, that's just the way i saw it and it bugged the crap out of me -_-

 

another thing that really depressed the crap out of me was the sif. their story really got me balling my eyes out >_< i'm guessing they were humans to begin with, but basically for someone to be "created" for the purpose of being a tool and a weapon of war was just way, way too sad. the whole irene-kai talk really got me down hahaha. i guess the reason why i loved the sif was because it was clear that they were the good guys at heart. they only acted the way they did because obtaining something via force was the only thing that they were taught. this made me side with them whole heartedly! it was a pity that practically all of them died but one =[ and i loved how kai stood up for irene and showed the others that there are humans in this world who will try to understand them. and i also have to mention, the whole karman-moses deal was definitely bitter sweet *tears* i cried so much >_> i really admired their friendship *sigh*

 

i also felt the same about solomon. though he was diva's chevalier and did some horrible things, deep down you can tell that he was a good guy at heart who yearned nothing more than to love and be loved. i loved how he constantly always saved saya at the -right- time. i loved how he disowned his role as a chevalier to live his own life. i loved how he cared so much about saya, though sadly it wasn't reciprocated. i really didn't want solomon to die. this was another thing that shattered my overall satisfaction too. i really liked solomon's character...so much so that when he dueled it out with haji, i couldn't choose who i wanted to win T_T it was the biggest dilemma for me!! hahaha, i wouldn't mind saya being with solomon, but at the same time i couldn't bear watching saya without haji hahah and vice versa. so it was a tough one! oh, and i really loved how he looked out for carl. his little speech when he went to i guess "take care" of carl got me teary. the fact that carl couldn't see that solomon was always there for him *sigh* it really got me screaming though when he went to save saya for the very last time. solomon didn't have to die god damn it!!

 

but i didn't understand why saya lived. i mean, in what way was diva's blood defective?? i even made sure i rewinded it back to the part where they both stabbed each other, hoping for an explanation but nonetheless failed. i probably missed it or something, but seriously that did not make any sense to me. and the whole nathan thing REALLY didn't make sense either. i mean HOW COME!! i saw it with my very own eyes. how come he didn't die!? don't get me wrong, i am really glad that he lived cos nathan was another character that rocked, but i just did not understand it haha. argh!! now that i'm typing this it's making me even more frustrated haha i want to know WHY god damn it!

 

oh and another killer for me was RIKU T______T I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!! i mean WHY!!! riku did not have to die T________T

 

basically, the anime is great. i recommend it to everyone cos it's something that you just have to watch. the background music rocked, the opening and ending songs rocked *in love with angela aki's song* and the characters were fantastic. you will definitely find yourself siding with characters so much so that you don't want to see anything unfortunate happen to them, though sadly they don't live happily ever after. the feeling of wanting those characters to live was so intense that my overall satisfaction was dependent on it. this is why i'm very "meh" about the whole series. yeah it was great, but the fact that the characters that i adored all came to an ill end really got my enthusiasm down. for me, it was really depressing. and the lack of expression from saya's side toward haji also got me down too. even though there was a little bit of hope at the end - the whole rose thing at the very last seconds of the last episode lifted my spirits up a little, but not much. haha well not enough to rid me of this empty, bittersweet feeling that i'm feeling right now *sigh* HAJI!!!!!! SIF!!!! SOLOMON!!! RIKU!!! *continues to cry a bucket full of tears*

 

so i was hoping that the story would progress in someway with the second season of tsubasa chronicle but in the end, i wasn't satisfied. for the first 10 or so episodes, it was extremely weak. after that it kinda picked up when they started to pry into kurogane's past and i admit that it had it's emotional moments, but that was it. the amount of depth that was shown throughout these 26 episodes was pitiful.

 

i found that they were touching on alot of stuff, i.e. syaoran's past, fay's past, and fang's motive, but they never followed through with it. it was -very- frustrating. i mean i get it! there's a bad guy who has some weird double of syaoran who probably wants the power of the feathers to do some crap or another, but HOW many freaking times do they want to emphasize the SAME thing over and over again WITHOUT any explanation or progress! if they wanted to touch on those issues without revealing too much, then for god's sake, give us viewers something! anything!! if this series is hoping to get one big bang at the end when -everything- is revealed, then it better be damn good.

 

there were alot of hints, and alot of smartass ways to try to connect characters from different dimensions together but whooptie doo dah~ i am not the least impressed. i really do think that this anime has alot of potential to be something fantastic, the characters are great...particularly fay and kurogane. syaoran and sakura well...even though they are the main characters i find them very bland. mainly cos of the lack of expression that they show. i mean i don't know if this bothers anyone else but it sure as hell bothers me! no matter how syaoran is feeling or how his voice changes, it doesn't suit the expression that is shown. his face is like a brick. he is just -boring-, there's no other way to describe it. and sakura follows in the same fashion. all she does is sit and worry. sigh. if it wasn't for kurogane and fay then i would've given up on this in season 1.

 

i do think that kurogane and fay are intriguing characters and was somewhat satisfied when they touched on kurogane's past. why do you ask? because they actually followed up on it!! :O i know, shocker. it wasn't a measly 1 episode cap like they did with the first 10 episodes. this is the main reason why i say the show is weak. i understand that it is emphasizing the journey, which i interpret as - it is the journey that is important and not the outcome, so i won't be surprised if the ending freaking sucks. anyways, that's not the point. the point is, yes the journey is important and the people that they meet have some significance. but that importance only lasts for 22 minutes. and if you really think about it, when you include the opening song and a recap of the last episode which takes roughly 3 minutes, and the ending song which is another 2 minutes, you really only have ~18 minutes of depth. i am emphasizing the time because personally i think it is too little. i found myself cursing at the monitor during the first 10 episodes. it was like ok, what was the point of that?? was it a filler? was it contributing to the storyline? was it showing progress but in a turtle pace like way? I HAVE NO FRIGGIN IDEA because the episodes were so freaking pointless and short! i would LOVE to call them fillers, but the only thing that is restraining me from doing so, is that they -always- and yes i mean always, drop in a couple lines, or a couple flashbacks/references that is relevant to the main plot but then AGAIN, i will come back to the same point which i have mentioned throughout this whole blog - they do nothing about it. if they are trying to create a deeper and "intense" atmosphere then they have to produce SOMETHING at the end of it. rather than have all this bullshit talk only to have it end abruptly for them to make a journey into the next world. oh how it frustrated me so.

 

ok i went a little off topic in that paragraph, so i will come back to kurogane and fay. kurogane at the moment is borderline safe. that is, because they shed that tiny bit of light into his past, i am -just- satisfied. now fay is a different story. he is a probably the most intriguing character, in my opinion. and the fact that they NEVER show his past really pisses me off. i mean the closest thing you get to it was the episode with chi in it, and yep again, they touch on it and they dropped it. fay's past is always like that. there's always some hint towards it (i.e. kurogane's suspicious stare and always hints out things like "i know you are powerful but why won't you show it" or, stuff like "your face immediately changed when ashura's name was mentioned, why" blah blah, you get the point), but these hints are dropped out here and there, but then they immediately get shoved to the side, never to appear again until god knows when. i do agree though that by doing so, it will make fay fans want to want to watch it more JUST to find out what is so damn special about his past. but it is a double edge sword. personally, i think that they have exaggerated his past way too much, and whenever they choose to reveal the reason for his silence, it HAS to be extremely good, otherwise it will backfire. if his past isn't as interesting as the whole series makes it out to be like, then i will feel ripped off badly. my reaction will pretty much be like this: "wth was all that hype about? this is what i waited for???". sigh.

 

also i found that the script of the second series was not as funny as the first. but then again, most of my humour came from fay/kurogane combo with a touch of mokona. it's just really how fay and mokona bag kurogane hahaha, i just think it's too cute. and also i also loved how fay modified kurogane's name hahah it was so cute! i remember during season 1 i use to write down all the variations lol. if i had to choose b/w fay and kurogane then fay definitely has to be my #1. mainly because he uses magic hahah and i just think that is too cool, though i would REALLY love to see him use at least half of his power. it's getting really frustrating to watch him do nothing. at least he is starting to use -some- magic, i.e. that whistle thing that he used twice in season 2. hahaha, yes TWICE. god damn fay, show your true self!!

 

anyways, they were my main frustrations and now that's out of the way, here are my speculations: (dont laugh T_T)

 

syaoran is a clone of the syaoran in the water tank that fang has. hahah i don't particularly have a reason to back that up, but it is just a gut feeling. ok to save confusion, i'm gonna refer to the syaoran in the water tank as evil-syaoran. well anyways, back to my point. i reckon the good-syaoran is an empty container, obviously with some sort of self control. it just makes it easier to think of it this way, well for me anyway. that would explain why the evil-syaoran can control the good-syaoran's body XD hahaha it's a crappy speculation but seriously, that was the only thing that was going through my head whenever they showed the evil-syaoran. or it just could be that the evil and good syaoran are two different people who share the same soul, like how they have been emphasizing throughout the second season.

 

i have absolutely no idea what the ruins are for in the land of clow. it's related to sakura and her power. hahah that is as far as i can go~! lol i am guessing the ruins + sakura's power is the key to unlock the power to transcend time and space, and i think this has been mentioned already. but with regards to fang's motive then - i have no idea whatsoever. fang's motive is still unclear to me.

 

when they do choose to reveal everything, it better be damn good T_T alternatively i could go and grab the manga, but being human, i am lazy. hahah so i guess i will just wait until april 2007 to find out. even if the series doesn't want to reveal all, season 3 better show SOMETHING. gosh! i am in need of desperate progress >_> i don't know if i can take anymore of this haha, another season that basically repeats the previous season is -totally- unforgivable.

 

ja until then, i will keep what's left of my faith sigh. matteru yo~!

yukari, a typical studious highschool student who lives by her parents expectations became involved with an eccentric group of fashion students. as the bonds intensify, yukari slowly finds her own path in life.

 

after that being said - i absolutely LOVED it! sure, it was a short series being 12 episodes in length, however the depth it covered was indescribable. the story and characters developed so well in such a short amount of time. i can't express how satisfied i am with this anime. it definitely is on par with tsukhime. while i was watching it i felt like i was almost in a fantasy land. feelings of love, joy, sadness, frustration all hit me at once. i really can't describe how strongly these emotions were rushing through my body. i was in ecstacy. truly.

 

at first i thought, mmm this looks so-so and honestly didn't like the animation at first. it started off with GREAT detail in the background and characters, but then when yukari started to make a run from arashi at the very beginning, the motion threw me off. it just didn't seem to flow smoothly for me whenever the characters walked or ran. in my opinion, i reckon that the animators sacrificed motion for detail because the detail of every scene was indeed breath taking. i loved the detail of the dresses/clothes that were made AND the clothes that were worn by the characters. i felt as though they were wearing something different almost every time - though im sure there were parts where they wore the same clothes, but i didn't notice. it was amazing. also minor details such as the accessories and even the photo album that miwako had when she showed yukari the childhood photo of her, arashi and hiro. i didn't expect to see photos of miwako and arashi in there, cos to me most animes just show a bunch of photos with no faces. i even had to rewind and pause just to see each photo!

 

as for character design - totally superb. every character was beautiful, no doubt about that. but they were still unique to me. it may have also been due to their fashion, but their faces were very nice to look at. i know this is going to sound typical but george really blew me away. he was like the perfect man, in every way possible. kind, gentle, sweet, romantic, talented, mature, fashionable, good looking ... and the list goes on. although i didn't like arashi's piercings. they were nice, but i think the paper clip piercings took it too far. especially the one at the lip, it just wasn't my cup of tea. i loved isabella...that purple flower eye patch was so weird, but so nice to look at. i couldn't have imagined isabella without that. miwako was also so cute! i just loved her facial design. her clothes were also nice to look at! suited her so well. she looked better with the pink hair though..the short black hair at the end was okay, but nicer with the pink.

 

apart from how the characters looked, i have to say that the way the characters were portrayed was also a huge thumbs up!! every character has their own story and their personalities and background were nicely integrated with the whole story. i never expected isabella to be a man - that to me was totally unpredictable. that affect really shocked me, not through disgust but more so that i didn't see it coming. that was nicely hidden i reckon. also arashi and miwako's relationship was so cute! it was such an honest relationship, as in it was so easy to read what each one of them were thinking. and it was cute how they rejoined with hiro at the end! that was satisfying to see that at the end of the 12 episodes that some resolution and change took place. i was so relieved when his insecurities were dealt with. i felt sorry for miwako. it just seemed like she was always trying to make arashi happy and it appeared that arashi took her for granted, even though that wasn't the case. so hontou ni yokatta :)

 

now my favorite couple - george and yukari. LOVED IT. it was so romantic and so sweet. it really left me in a phenomenal state. if i had to describe it then every time i watched the two of them, i felt like i was flying through the clouds...as corny as that sounds, that's the best description i can give right now. in less abstract terms, then i guess i was in a state of ecstacy. it just overwhelmed me! george's character was so unpredictable that i didn't know what to expect. yeah he was interested in yukari, but was he serious? where did yukari really stand? how important was she to him? was he just using her as a model to advertise the clothes he made? they were the types of questions that ran through my mind while i watched every single episode. george was so mysterious and it was that aspect that i loved. and what i loved even more was the little things that he would do for yukari - the beaded ring, the modified beaded ring, the wardrobe and how he treasured every piece of clothing and wanted yukari to wear it, and how he was able to ask yukari if he was able to kiss her. aaaahhh suteki!!! tottemo nya dayo! i feel so "sigh" right now...it's not a sigh of relief, nor is it a sigh of sadness or content, more like a dreamy type of sigh. if that makes any sense.

 

as for yukari, her character frustrated me alot throughout the series. i did feel as though she was the spoilt brat that depended on everyone while she continued to do as she pleased. i remember in one episode when hiro asked her friend at school about why yukari was absent, her friend said something like "it's annoying how she is off doing as she pleases while everyone else is working hard" - that really made me think, that is true. everyone was working hard - her classmates studying for exam and miwako, isabella, arashi and george preparing for the fashion show. yukari on the other hand was off looking for a job and wanting to be a model.

 

at first i thought what the ... model? when she first said that i thought, she's caught in the moment and only wants to be one because of the influence of george et. al. i didn't really like that idea, it just didn't sit right with me. and when the series kept progressing and her desire to be a model continued to flourish, i eventually accepted it and got over it. it still bugged me because i didn't think her role suited to be a professional model. it just seemed like a decision that was right off the bat because she wanted to be like the eccentric fashion students that she was affiliated with. also her attitude pissed me off. it was a good mixture though, her attitude and george's but sometimes she took it too far - ie. when kaori turned up at george's apartment. true, she's a woman and is indeed filled with jealousy and insecurities, but it still annoyed me because she didn't have to take it that far - ie. continuous interrogation of who kaori was and what she was doing at george's apartment that late. that just shitted me - no need for that type of attitude, regardless of whether you're his girlfriend or not. and also, i would have liked it if she actually spoke her mind a bit more to george. even though she was outspoken, i felt as though her insecurities were never clearly stated...well not to george anyway, and that annoyed me. for that reason, i think their relationship could have been elaborated a bit more, or at least given it more depth than what it was. i could feel the chemistry, i could feel that both characters cared for each other, but at the same time, the relationship also seemed like a booty call.

 

i have to admit that the sex scenes were depicted elegantly. it was done nicely and was integrated with the whole atmosphere well. though again, i think there was too much focus on the physical side of things with yukari and george. yes, that physical contact and intimacy was needed, but i would really have liked to see more of an emotional development. i'm not denying that their relationship didn't develop at all, because clearly they were able to slowly become comfortable with each other and grow with each other (though i think yukari grew more than george), but there was still that emotional depth missing - and i think that's why i'm somewhat unsatisfied.

 

i have repeatedly reiterated how good i feel about this anime but at the same time, i cant rid myself of this uneasiness. it was sad that yukari and george parted, and if the anime ended with them living happily ever after then it would have been too cliche. but at the same time, i wanted that type of ending. i'm not saying the ending was bad because from another stand point, it was indeed great...mainly because it was so realistic. so if they had ended up together it would have been another typical fairy tale love story, so i understand why it ended the way it did. BUT..again, they could have just left it with george departing. they didn't have to throw in the "10 years later" part where yukari stated that she was getting married. i mean, fair enough, 10 years is a long time and realistically first loves wont last or "wait" for each other because of that. but i still didn't want to see that type of ending. in my mind, yukari and george were meant to be and because they so CLEARLY stated that wasn't the case - it just made my ecstacy burn out. it was such an unpleasant feeling! they should have just ended it at the point where yukari opened the container. that would have been enough for me. no need to to clearly state that yukari was going to get married!! if it did end at the container scene, then of course i would be wondering.."hmm wonder what yukari will do now" and eventually will conclude that she will get over george. but i find that to be less bitter than them purposely showing her getting married...iyada!

 

oh and another thing that i loved was how george gave yukari the key to the container where he left all his designs. now that was emotional. it was so so sad...i could almost feel the emptiness that yukari would have felt at that point in time. the emptiness of departing with the one that you shared such a strong bond with, the one who you cared most about. that scene won the emotional affect for sure.

 

as for the miscellaneous characters - the man with hiro during the fashion school festival, george's mother and father, and even kaori...they were okay, but their introduction and i guess relevance was rushed. cos out of no where this old guy is walking with hiro and supposedly -knows- hiro, arashi and miwako very well, yet the attention given to him was what 5 minutes? that was too rushed for my liking. the same applies for kaori...she came out of no where and in my opinion, played the largest role in the end - ie. george and his decision to continue with being a designer. she obviously had a large affect on george, yet her presence was covered in such a little amount of time.

 

but overall - GREAT anime. absolutely LOVED it - it is one of my favorites that i will rewatch. it left me in a phenomenal state of ecstacy, in which i felt as though i was in a fantasy land of my own. FANTASTIC animation detail despite the crappy motion, and AMAZINGLY STUNNING clothing designs and accessories. the relationships throughout the show really touched me...the characters and their personalities affected me in ways that can't be described. though the ending left me bitter - it was still acceptable. it was almost as if...reality and fantasy became one.

i'm so disappointed right now...so much so that i don't even have the motivation to write a proper overview. the ending totally blew it for me. the series altogether was pretty good, annoying and frustrating at times, but still engaging.

 

but again, i can't express how sad i am with how it ended. the ending was half-assed and pathetic. wth happened to athrun and cagalli for gods sake?? that's the biggest question racing around in my head right now. it's making me so angry just thinking about it. the so called final episode was stupid. a 46 minute episode in which 36 minutes was a complete replay of episode 50 - that really angered me. they had 46 damn minutes to use to make a PROPER ending and wtf do they do?? recap?!?! they left a measley 10 or so odd minutes to squeeze in the last pieces and i really, really cannot describe how frustrated i feel at the moment. that's really all i have to say right now. until my anger ceases and i have the motivation to write a proper overview, this will remain as it is. hella disappointed.

honestly, this series didn't do me justice. it was indeed fun to watch, but the story had absolutely no depth behind it. my friend described it as "dbz-tennis" and i gotta admit, that is pretty much it. middle school tennis players competing against various schools in tournaments, in which every player powers up each match. the shots were exaggerated as if they were some sort of ultimate technique that you'd probably see in naruto or something. seigaku - particularly ryoma obviously always won. matches were all the same with no intensity or suspense, and kinda got boring sometimes since they used the same moves time and time again to produce the same outcome. the plot was definitely weak and to a certain extent, there wasn't much character development.

 

with that being said, here are the positives:

 

like i said, even though the story sucked it was still fun to watch nonetheless. it wasn't that crap for me to disregard it all together. the humor and definitely the character's personality kept me wanting to watch it until the end. my favorite has definitely got to be fuji, which isn't a surprise haha considering the list of favorites i have already. fuji definitely fits that criteria! i guess what really attracted me to fuji was the fact that it was repeatedly stated that he never shows his "true" strength. and i guess that was what i wanted to see - i wanted to see the real fuji. his personality also tickled my fancy, as in the way how he cares about his friends and family. he plays tennis seriously for the sake of others, never his own which is why i loved the match between fuji and mizuki and akaya. he revealed glimpses of his real self to protect his younger brother and to i guess "avenge" tachibana. fuji just totally rocked throughout the series, especially during the end when he faced tezuka. that match was probably the only one that made me shiver. not only was it intense but it was unpredictable since both players never lost throughout the 170 odd episodes haha. i kinda had a feeling that tezuka would win since its tezuka, but i have to admit that there were times when i thought omg omg, fuji is going to actually win! i wanted fuji to win, demo zannen datta na.

 

kikumaru was also another character that i adored. his bubbley and cheerful personality was fun to watch. his facial expressions, actions and language were definitely to my liking - i.e. the way he said ochibi and how he'd just barge in on momo and echizen, how he just pops out of no where and gives a random comment, the "V" sound that he makes haha it was so cute! i also really liked how it showed his past with oishi and how they became friends. that made me somewhat satisfied. basically his friendship with oishi just drew me in. he definitely provided me with some light-hearted entertainment.

 

nanjirou and karupin were also to my liking hahah, i think i just liked nanjirou's voice when he said "hora" and karupin's loyalty to echizen was so cute! i swear that cat could pass off as a human haha, it seemed as though he understood what people were saying to him >_>. oh and let's not forget, the annoying existence of sakuno. i really didn't like her character. she was pratically useless. even though the first years..horio and the other 2 first years (cant remember the name - thats how insignificant they were!) and tomo-chan didn't really contribute much, they still did a far better job than sakuno! all sakuno did was sulk and whine - annoyed me so much that that i can't describe in words. i hate characters that whine like that. its like she's just repeating what everyone else is saying, or she was there to try to add that "suspense" or "worry" to the whole atmosphere. if that was the case then it was a half assed job cos that certainly didn't work on me. it had the reverse affect and made me lose interest in her character all together.

 

but like i said, i dont think that the characters developed very much. there were 178 episodes in total and i felt as though that they were trying to squeeze the important parts of the story in the last 4 episodes?? i guess in a sense they did develop in terms of their physical and mental strength (training camps), but personally it wasn't that much of a change in my eyes. i don't know if that makes any sense. i just didn't feel like there was any real change...it felt as though it was just a superficial change taking place. "oh blah blah has powered up and is stronger than before" ..."omg when did he develop that move" etc etc. i mean if the "new move" that was developed was any different from the previous moves then alright, i may have been interested. but it was the same shit and the only thing different about it was the power up - ie. momo's super special dunk smash. it just bored me how every character used the same technique time and time again - kaido's snake and boomerang snake, oishi's moon volley and momo's dunk smash, atobe's rondo of destruction etc. i mean i understand that they can't have an unlimited number of techniques, nor can i think of any other way that they could have done it, but all in all, it eventually bored me.

 

even fuji, echizen and tezuka. they were probably the only ones with more than 2 moves. though it didn't bore me as much as the others, it still wasn't stimulating. i was quite disappointed with fuji actually since they kept going on and on about him being the tensai. deep down i was hoping and waiting for a new technique to be created out of the blue due to his tensainess. even though he was never 100% serious with his matches i still hoped that he would provide me with some entertainment - especially the match against tezuka. sigh - again, zannen datta na.

 

i know that i've mentioned it already, but that match between fuji and tezuka has got to be the best. i have to highlight the past that was revealed between those two and how tezuka acknowledged fuji as being his "best and ultimate rival". that was touching, and actually provided me with some emotional justice. at least there was some weight behind those two characters, and that i have to give two thumbs up for. definitely my favorite scene!!

 

even though echizen is the main character of the whole show, i don't feel a connection with him. yeah he was awesome, skilled and had that calm-cool charisma attached to him, but strangely enough i didn't identify him as being one of my favorites. maybe too much focus was placed on him, or too much hype surrounded his existence where everyone kept talking him up. i think i got bored after awhile cos it was so predictable. echizen never loses and you kinda get that feeling before the match starts. even though they tried to make it seem as though he wasn't going to participate in the invitational tournament. that didn't work on me. i mean, deep down i knew that he was going to come on to challenge kevin and in the end when akaya was injured, it was no surprise to me. more like "ha, thought so". so that took away the suspense. but, what i really loved about echizen was his friendship with momo. that i have to mark down. also his sarcasm and coldness was entertaining at times, especially towards his father haha. so he wasn't all that bad - likeable but not great.

 

another thing that bothered me was rinko. how come her face was never shown and why was her presence so insignificant. there's got to be some meaning behind it and i haven't been able to grasp it. it's clear that nanjirou was the main influence of echizen, but after they showed the nanjirou's past and how he met rinko, i thought that they would've given her a little bit more credit. though again, every time when she was around it only showed her back and half of her face. she contributed very little to the whole story, and was hardly at home. i was practically sititng here thinking, what the heck does she do? work? i don't think so! and nanako! the point of her character confused me as well. it was as if nanako provided more of the "mother" figure to echizen rather than rinko and i really, really did not understand that. i think i might have missed something at the beginning, but it was strange to me.

 

overall, a fun anime to watch. i would recommend it for the humor, friendship and of course FUJI!! hahah, my liking to fuji really got me to watch it until the end, so he's something to keep in mind. even though the plot lacks and the nonexistence of character development, the characters were nonetheless adorable. they are interesting to watch off court, and to a certain extent on court. yeah it gets boring sometimes, but it's still bearable. the last episode did bring a tear to my eye - the whole arigatougozaimasu thing done by echizen in his ending match with tezuka. that did touch me. oh and i can't forget, i LOVE the music!! the background music was awesome! and the last ending song, i don't know what it's called but definitely the ending theme that you hear during the last few episodes. that was satisfying. also, i didn't really like the fillers. the chibi drawings were cute and they were funny, but something was still missing. other than that, give it a go! re, re se-i-gaku!