Awesomeness

The ending sequence for Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu is legendary for its ability to incite otaku into getting their fat asses off their comfy chairs and goofy-dance to its groovy beat. Don't believe me? Watch the video and tell me it doesn't at least give you urges:



The clip below is probably the greatest parody of the Haruhi dance ever created. It totally rocks (ba-dum-ching!). Sera, I salute thee!

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri

Got another vid for you guys: this is the opening sequence for the PS2 port of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (ひぐらしのなく頃に/"When Cicadas Cry"), which is pretty much the most acclaimed doujin soft product since Tsukihime. The PS2 version, dubbed Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri (ひぐらしのなく頃に祭/"When Cicadas Cry Festival"), contains the first seven chapters of the intense murder mystery (Onikakushi-hen/鬼隠し編/"Demon Hiding Chapter", Watanagashi-hen/綿流し編/"Cotton Drifting Chapter", Tatarigoroshi-hen/祟殺し編/"Curse Slaying Chapter", Himatsubushi-hen/暇潰し編/"Time Wasting Chapter" [nothing says "filler" better than this title], Meakashi-hen/目明し編/"Eye Opening Chapter", Tsumihoroboshi-hen/罪滅し編/"Sin Expiating Chapter", and Minagoroshi-hen/皆殺し編/"Wholesale Killing Chapter"), as well as three new chapters meant to resolve the storyline (Taraimawashi-hen/盥回し篇/"Tub Spinning Chapter", Tsukiotoshi-hen/憑落し篇/"Haunt Dispelling Chapter", and Miotsukushi-hen/澪尽し篇/"Channel Marking Chapter").



The opening theme, Nageki no Mori (嘆きノ森/"Lamenting Forest"), is performed by Ayane (彩音).

Rozen Maiden

A couple of opening sequences from the two PS2 installments of the Rozen Maiden franchise.

Rozen Maiden ~duellwalzer~:



Rozen Maiden ~gebetgarten~:



The first game takes place during the Rozen Maiden (first season) timeline, while the second is a retelling of the events of Rozen Maiden ~träumend~. Both games are hybrid types that are mostly visual novel and partly... something else. That "something else" is a (simple) shooting game in duellwalzer/Duel Waltz and a Mai-Otome ~Otome Butoushi!!~-esque aerial fighting game in gebetgarten/Prayer Garden.

The theme songs are performed by ALI PROJECT, whom most people remember for Kopperia no Hitsugi, the opening theme of Noir.

Passing Judgement: RahXephon

With all the pomp and circumstance normally attributed to the despot ruler of a banana republic (and all the accountability of an unpaid internet "journalist") I prepare to pass judgement on RahXephon.

In what was almost certainly a mistake, I watched the entire series over the course of the past 24 hours. This might not, by itself, have been so bad if I hadn't done the same thing with Negima over the weekend. Regardless, while my brain is still seeped in Xephonic vapors I will take this time to ruminate a bit on the topic.

The first thing you think, on watching RahXephon, is "My god, they're ripping Eva off so hard it hurts." I immediately began drawing character parallels between various characters between the show. As things progress, and the show gets some ground under its legs, it manages to establish itself as more than just an imitation.

The series does, however, stick with many of the genre cliches. Look, it's the monster of the week. Good thing the destined shounen can hop in his giant robo and save us all. Oh no, damage has been done, will the varied cast of support characters be able to fix it in time?

Moreover, it's not terribly subtle with many of its character related plot twists. Put simply, if you're paying attention, there's very little left byepisode 6 that should really surprise you with regards to the character interactions. The same can not be said of the plot twists which are at times so random and seemingly arbitrary that you can can only absorb each event in a sort of zen like stupor.

If I'm giving the impression that I didn't like the series, then do not let my overly caustic nature deceive you. I actually rather fancied it. The pacing was such that I felt compelled to strive forward throughout the entirety of the series. There was never a point where I felt that here was a comfortable stopping point, or rest. It is a rarity for me to find a show so absorbing.

By series' end, things have resolved themselves satisfactorily (well, sorta). Several plot threads are left unfinished, but are done so in such a way that it doesn't much matter. However, the theatrically released movie does indeed tie some of these wandering narrative threads up.

Other than these revelations, though, the movie is largely dissapointing, consisting of a few new scenes and a lot of jerky editing of the regular television show. Since it establishes itself as a new continuity, those aforementioned revelations are themselves called into question. Indeed, with the way things are reworked, various facts from both continuties could not rationally be true in the other.

Still, considering the sum totality of the series, I approve. RahXephon provides a thoughtful giant robo romp without all of Eva's distressing emotional baggage. It's still got some of it, but there's no warm liquid goo phase to live down. Watch it if you get the chance.

Game Review: Aa Megami-sama

Aa Megami-sama is a game produced by Marvelous Entertainment as something of a "20th Anniversary of Aa Megami-sama" present to fans of the Aa Megami-sama/Ah! My Goddess franchise. The limited edition package certainly delivers for the fans: special box art, a silver pocket watch (made in the likeness of the watch seen in the game), dress-up cels, memory card-sticker cels, limited edition cards, a special drama CD, and a desktop accessories CD for those who pre-ordered the package (these are goodies for your computer).

Turns out that those goodies are what you were paying for, because the game itself isn't worth much. My condolences if you bought the standalone edition that contains only the game itself.

I. Story:

The Spirit of the Silver Watch, who rules over a deserted island, needs the help of the goddesses -- and Morisato Keiichi -- to fix a mysterious flaw within the island. She enlists the help of some shady characters -- Hildr and Marller -- and ends up trapping the goddesses (and Keiichi) inside a magic maze that encompasses the whole of the island. To escape the maze (and to stop it from draining the goddesses dry of their most precious memories), our four protagonists must penetrate to the center of the island and disable the magic circle fueling the barrier around the island. To do that, though, they must overcome the myriad challenges and pitfalls lying in their path...

The story is nothing spectacular. It's basically a little side adventure for Keiichi and the girls. Due to the way the game plays, you never really feel any suspense or any true sense of danger. The pace of the story progression is rather slow, as well. Luckily there's a built in "Skip Event" function (press Start) -- there aren't many scenes you'd want to see more than once.

II. Gameplay:

The gameplay in Aa Megami-sama is tedious, tiresome, uninteresting, occasionally frustrating, and just generally uninspired. As Keiichi, you run around the landscape of the island, using clues, intuition, and your goddess partner's special powers to solve puzzles that block your path. Each goddess possesses access to her unique elemental powers (Urd: Thunder, Belldandy: Wind, Skuld: Water), and it's often necessary to swap your goddess partner at a swap pod in order to solve a puzzle and move on. Puzzle-solving in Aa Megami-sama depends on Keiichi's ability to "extract" actions (such as "hit", "show", "turn", "talk", etc. etc.) and conditions (such as "thunder", "wind", and "water", in addition to the ones listed above) from objects and then use them on other objects in order to activate them/move them out of your way (the Triangle button lets you exchange stored activation conditions for the ones possessed by each object, and the Circle button lets you perform a similar exchange with your stored actions and those of the target object. Once you perform an action that satisfies an activation condition for the object, it will do what you want it to.). The whole game is centered around such puzzle-solving -- there's no life meter and no fighting or dying (the ubiquitous giant robots only look scary -- they can't hurt you), so the only danger is in getting "stuck." As in most puzzle-based games, this will happen quite a bit and could prove quite frustrating, especially as you move deeper into the island and clues become more cryptic.


The really frustrating thing, though, is that some of the puzzles will "trap" you so that you cannot advance further in the level without restarting (the game has a retry option that allows you to restart a level either from the beginning or a retry gate). Certain levels (such as the final level of the "Future" zone) will hit you with puzzles of that ilk in rapid succession, which will no doubt cause some gamers to slam their controllers in disgust. Perhaps this is just a function of the game's difficulty, but due to the aforementioned cryptic nature of some clues (and the fact that some gamers will struggle to even read those clues without sufficient Japanese skills), these "trapping" puzzles causes the game to quickly lapse into tedious repetition. Tedious repetition is not fun.

The puzzles themselves are also unspectacular. Everything is set so that you have to rearrange/modify an object or a combination of objects so that you can move from point A to point B (for example, in the first level of the "Past" zone, you have to manipulate a group of golems so that they can hit a series of tuning forks to lower pedestals which allow you to enter previously inaccessible areas). Sometimes you have to jump through an awful lot of hoops to do a seemingly simple thing (in the second level of the "Past" zone, you have to manipulate three golems in a series of complex maneuvers just to open a door that grants access to the next part of the level), and sometimes you're made to run halfway back across the level just to retrieve an action you'll need to solve your current puzzle. There are also these transporter pads which simply won't work if you have any stored actions, and it's a major hassle to find objects nearby to throw your actions away on just so you can teleport to the next part of the level. It's similarly tedious to have to run a long way to a swap pod when you need a different goddess partner to come out and do something. Overall, there's little variance in the type of puzzles you see, and just about everything you see has been done already in bigger, better puzzle adventure games.

Please note that you also need significant skill in Japanese to play this game: it's very difficult to decipher many of the clues without firm command of the language and knowledge of many kanji characters.

III. Graphics:

Aa Megami-sama doesn't look good. All the levels are mapped out with 3-D textures, but the quality of those textures is sorely lacking. While the character models are decent (but far worse looking than models found in recent PS2 games), the settings look little better than those you'd find from later PSOne games. The island is divided into "zones" corresponding to each goddess: the "Past" zone for Urd, the "Present" zone for Belldandy, and the "Future" zone for Skuld. Settings in each zone match the theme of that zone (e.g. tall, pristine buildings, jet engines, circuit boards, and giant LCDs convey a futuristic look for Skuld's zone), and while some of the settings look neat, the majority of them suffer from the low quality of the textures used to construct them. The game also suffers from poor collision detection: Skuld's water pellets have a tendency to hit things that aren't there, limbs often pass through walls, and giant robots may run into each other or stick to each other even when there's clearly enough space for them to pass by one another. Dialogue scenes use 2-D sprites, and these aren't any good either -- each character only has about four or five interchangeable facial expressions, and their postures don't change. Ever. Goddess or no goddess, Skuld should come down with a badly sprained elbow from having to hold that pose for an entire game. The expressions are simplistic, too -- the characters blink, smile, and talk (the movement of their mouths never match any of their lines, by the way) with animations light years behind what a modern PS2 visual novel offers. Also, in case you're curious -- there are no pretty CGs or FMVs in this game. None whatsoever.

IV. Sound:

The sound effects in Aa Megami-sama offer a mixed bag. The voice acting is good but not spectacular: everyone sounds the way they should, but due to the poor pacing of the dialogue scenes, no one sounds very enthusiastic. Also, while a large number of characters from the series appear (e.g. Peorth, Lind, Troubadour, Chihiro, Megumi, Sora), they're generally confined to short cameos during the dialogue scenes, so you won't hear very much from anyone other than the main characters. The background music tends to be just boring: instead of being really soothing or really exciting, you usually get a dose of the same bland tune being played over... and over... and over again.

V. Extras:

There is a comprehensive "Encyclopedia" option accessible through the game menu on the overworld map (i.e. between levels): it lets you review all the dialogue scenes that have occurred so far, view profiles of every character encountered so far (with an option for viewing their rotating 3-D character models as well as their different facial expressions), and view a list of all the devices (robots, doors, contraptions, etc.) you've encountered throughout the game. Nothing spectacular, but it is very thorough and a neat touch. Unfortunately, the Devices portion of the encyclopedia is flawed -- you usually have to train your camera very close on a device when it performs an action for that action to be transcribed in your encyclopedia (even if you're sure you "witnessed" an action, sometimes the game doesn't record it). While inside a stage, you're not allowed to view your encyclopedia, which means that completionists will have to repeat levels ad nauseum in order to fill out their encyclopedia entries. Also, you can unlock two special outfits for each goddess (in addition to the "casual dress" they start the game wearing) -- a swimsuit and a battle uniform -- and special scenes by collecting hearts (for the swimsuit) and items (for a special scene when you complete the current zone -- battle uniforms are automatically unlocked once you complete each of the three zones). There are typically one heart (collect all the hearts in each zone to unlock the swimsuit of the goddess who holds dominion over the zone) and two items in each level (for the special scene), and collecting them is a headache inducing endeavor: if you missed a heart or an item in one level, you must replay that entire level from beginning to end -- there is no option that lets you grab what you missed and exit back to the overworld map. The extras are neat -- being forced to replay entire levels is not.

VI. Overview:

All in all, Marvelous Entertainment just did not put much effort into making this game. Aa Megami-sama bears the markings of a low-budget production all around, and even among anime/manga-based PS2 games (a classification where bland games are the norm) it stands out as a particularly uninspired product. If you're a hardcore fan of the franchise, you'll likely persevere to the bitter end because you get to spend more time with your beloved characters, though you won't enjoy the game nearly as much as you'd hoped (you'll enjoy the limited edition goodies, though!). If you're only a casual fan of the series, though, take a pass on this one: it's definitely not worth your money. If you don't know what Aa Megami-sama/Ah! My Goddess is or aren't a fan of the series... don't even bother. Spend your hard-earned money on something else.

Game Review: Lupin III ~Lupin ni wa Shi wo, Zenigata ni wa Koi wo~

Lupin III ~Lupin ni wa Shi wo, Zenigata ni wa Koi wo~ (ルパン三世 ルパンには死を、銭形には恋を/Lupin III: Death for Lupin, Love for Zenigata) is an interactive adventure game from Banpresto. It's the third Lupin III game made for the PS2 (after Lupin III: Majutsuou no Isan/Treasure of the Sorceror King and Lupin III: Columbus no Isan wa Ake ni Somaru/Columbus's Bloodstained Legacy). This game is a fast-paced, wacky hybrid adventure that delivers almost everything a Lupin fan could ask for but falls short of offering the kind of strong gameplay and powerful drama that would make it universally fun even for gamers who are not fans of the series.

I. Story:

"Lupin III has three days left to live."

Lupin's longtime comrade, Mine Fujiko, has been kidnapped in Soukai (a fictional city that strongly resembles Hong Kong) by an underworld organization known as the Tenryuukai ("Realm of the Heaven Dragon"). Kourin, the leader of the Tenryuukai, shows up at the airport to welcome Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon... by telling them to "bring [him] the ancient manuscript if you want Mine Fujiko to live." This leads to a crazy chase through the city of Soukai which ends abruptly when Lupin is hit by an ancient martial arts move that will kill him in three days' time. The gang is forced to do Kourin's bidding and investigate the ancient ruins that holds untold treasures -- including an antidote that could save Lupin's life...

Meanwhile, Detective Zenigata arrives in Soukai, on a mission to protect Ginrei -- a favorite in the World Miko (priestess/shrine maiden) Beauty Contest which begins in three days' time. Naturally, he crosses paths with Lupin, who is aiming to steal the Peach Crystal traditionally awarded to the winner of the competition -- the crystal is the key to the ancient treasure vaults of the Sou Dynasty. While engaged in his traditional cat-and-mouse games with Lupin, Detective Zenigata slowly falls in love with the beautiful Ginrei -- but is she exactly what she seems?

II. Gameplay:

The entire game plays like one long, continuous cutscene. One dialogue/action sequence leads to the next as the story progresses, but these will be interrupted by interactive segments where the gamer gets to take control of the action. Level one, for example, describes the fateful meeting between Lupin's gang and Kourin at the airport. The dialogue will play automatically until Kourin starts running out of the airport and the gang gives chase. The chase scene will feature two L.A.E.s (Lupin-tic Action Events): interactive points in the story where the gamer must enter a button sequence (e.g. tap Circle, Circle-Triangle-X, or tap Square rapidly) within the time allotted or take damage. The rest of the level features three car chase segments, where you must guide Lupin's vehicle through heavy traffic, bump enemy vehicles off the road, and have Jigen shoot out the tires on enemy cars respectively. The entire game is like that -- story sequences interspersed with L.A.E.s and full-interaction segments that include fights against gangster grunts, infiltration missions which depend on your mastery of disguises, Indiana Jones-style romps through dangerous ruins, and even instances where you must do what Goemon hates most -- cut worthless things to stop an oncoming horde. The game is divided into Lupin Missions (where Lupin is the protagonist) and Zenigata Missions (where Zenigata is the central character), and you can unlock more BGM's and movie clips by performing well in each mission (there is a ranking system that judges your performance for each mission, based on factors like time used, damage taken, accuracy percentage, etc.).

Yes, this is a failed L. A. E.

All in all, the gameplay setup in Lupin III ~Lupin ni wa Shi wo, Zenigata ni wa Koi wo~ is unique and interesting. Some gamers, however, will wish there were more fully-interactive segments that allow free exploration of the game's more exotic locales. There will also be times when seemingly simple instructions could prove extremely difficult to execute (for example, the left analog stick -- used to maneuver, aim, change angles, etc. -- often proves to be far, far too sensitive). Of course, gamers without sufficient Japanese skills will also struggle a bit at understanding the instructions before each interactive sequence, though it isn't hard to learn what you're supposed to do in this game through trial and error.

III. Graphics and Sound:

Lupin III ~Lupin ni wa Shi wo, Zenigata ni wa Koi wo~ is rendered in full 3-D. While the textures are not comparable in quality to recent PS2 blockbusters, they still look good enough to satisfy all but the most critical gamers. The settings are realistic and attractive, and the lighting fits the mood of each stage perfectly. On the whole, the characters look like who they're supposed to be, though some details could have been done better (for example, some of Fujiko's facial expressions are just "off").

The sound is perfect. BGM's are the kind of jazzy, upbeat tunes you'd expect from a Lupin game, and they always fit the mood of the action. The seiyuu cast features the usual voices for "the gang" (Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, Goemon, Zenigata) and a couple of seasoned pros for the game-exclusive characters (Okiayu Ryutarou as Kourin, Noto Mamiko as Ginrei). There's absolutely nothing to complain about the voice work -- everyone does his/her role very well.

IV. Overview:

Lupin III ~Lupin ni wa Shi wo, Zenigata ni wa Koi wo~ is a fun romp that features an innovative gameplay structure, decent graphics, and quality sound effects. Lupin fans will be able to jump right in and enjoy themselves from beginning to end. I would not recommend it to gamers who aren't at least aware of the Lupin III franchise, however -- the game presumes prior knowledge of the main characters and their personalities, and uninitiated gamers can also be "turned off" by the "silly moments" and melodrama which are staples of the series. On the whole, Lupin III ~Lupin ni wa Shi wo, Zenigata ni wa Koi wo~ will offer a quality gaming experience to most who play it (the majority of whom will likely be fans of the franchise), but it's not a game that will satisfy all comers purely on its merits as video game.

Gainax is cashing in... AGAIN.

Let it be known that I loved Top wo Nerae!/Aim for the Top!/Gunbuster. It was a superb blend of drama, action, and heartache, framed in the first sci-fi adventure I can remember that actually deigned to obey the theory of relativity (which adds to the heartache). Seiyuu Hidaka Noriko's performance as Takaya Noriko is, to this day, one of the three iconic roles of her long, prolific career (the others are Asakura Minami and Erica Fontaine), and Tanaka Kouhei rules.

Let it be known that I sorta liked Top wo Nerae 2!/Aim for the Top 2!/Gunbuster 2/Diebuster. I like it for being a follow-up to Top wo Nerae! (and paying homage in every episode -- especially that last one, heh), for using the same style of animation that made FLCL great, and for doing so many things in an over-the-top manner (feel free to groan now). I am not as impressed with the so-so voice cast, the way the plot twist(s) turned out, and Topless -- probably the ugliest pun I can ever remember being executed to visual fruition in anime (yes, this should be ironic to you, considering what I just did in the last sentence). All in all, it was still enjoyable.

It stands to reason, then, that my curiosity should go on red alert when I heard about this. I was very excited about possibly witnessing the collision of the two installments of this grand space saga, I speculated about a Go Nagai-esque crossover throwdown, and I really wondered how Gainax would resolve the lingering continuity conflicts (and a couple of pretty important plot questions), the slight discrepancy in the timeline, and the dramatic differences in the animation styles between the two OVAs.

They didn't.

Continuing their recent tradition of re-releasing stuff they did decades ago (*cough* Eva *cough*), Top wo Nerae! * Top wo Nerae 2! Gattai Gekijouban (Aim for the Top! * Aim for the Top 2! Combined Theatrical Edition) is a combined re-release of both OVAs -- each joined together into one continuous 90-minute-ish movie. Yeah, there's some new stuff (such as the widescreen letterbox format and a few new scenes with voices from new seiyuu -- a few of which were still playing with hanetsuki and Ultraman action figures back when Top wo Nerae! was made), but the content is largely the same. So now you get to go to a theater, sit down, and watch both installments of the franchise in one three-hour sitting. Whoopee.

Perhaps I wouldn't have been so annoyed if Gainax had simply translated their Japanese title for the "film" the way I did... but no, they had to go with "Gunbuster vs. Diebuster." That title really makes you feel like the two titular mecha would, you know, actually meet each other, doesn't it? Imagine my disappointment when I found this was just another Gainax ploy to get you to spend money on something they've already sold you before.

By the way, the DVD box of "Gunbuster vs. Diebuster" came out on January 26th. Feel the excitement! Dig out your wallets and pay Gainax now!

Wei's Anime Recommendations: Gokujou Seitokai (Part I)

Vintage: 2005
Episodes: 26
Maker: Konami
Other Media: Manga, Playstation 2 game



Gokujou Seitokai (極上生徒会/"Ultimate Student Council")* is one of those shows that knows its place: it doesn't try to blow you away with spiffy, sparkling animation (and it never will, trust me), and it doesn't try to project some grand, shadowy crisis looming over the whole show (there are a few lingering mysteries, including one that comes to a head in the requisite climactic conflict that occupies the last 2.5 episodes of the show, but none of them jump out and hijack the narrative away from the characters -- the heart and soul of this show). Instead, what we get is a mostly fun, lighthearted school comedy/slicer-of-life fare with a large cast of cute, eccentric, and generally likable characters (exceptions will be noted below).

*The word gokujou literally means "absolute highest." It's generally used to denote something that is the best of its class (e.g. gokujou no egao = the most dazzling smile), and here it's used as an acronym for the organization that features the main characters of the anime: the Miyagami Gakuen Gokudai Kengen Hoyuu Saijoukyuu Seitokai (Miyagami Academy Ultimate Jurisdiction Holders (and) Highest-Level Student Council).

Since the show is all about its characters, let's break them down one-by-one and hope that the decentralized elements of the main plot --such as it is-- segways... er, segues... well from one character's section to the next:

Name: Randou Rino (蘭堂りの)
Character Type: 単純 (tanjun - simple-minded), 泣き虫 (nakimushi - crybaby), どじっ子 (dojikko - clumsy child), バカ (baka)
Gokujou Rank: Secretary
Special Abilities: None. Seriously, she's useless.
Seiyuu: Tamura Yukari (goth-loli forever~!)

Rino is the main character of the show. As the story begins, she's on her way to Miyagami Gakuen -- her mother, Randou Chieri (misspelled as "Rieri" in the ending credits on many of the early episodes -- is ADV outsourcing labor to Konami now?), had passed away one year ago and left Rino dependent on the charity of her mysterious pen pal/benefactor, one "Mr. Popit." As the anime opens, Mr. Popit arranges for Rino to transfer to Miyagami Gakuen, a beautiful girls-only boarding school occupying a scenic island-with-forested-hills-in-the-middle-of-an-azure-lake setting. A slight problem arose, though -- the apartment Rino was to live in burned down (with all her luggage in it), and penniless Rino was reduced to a homeless bum. She was found asleep outside the front gate of Miyagami Gakuen (by her soon-to-be best friend, Oume Ayumu), taken to class (where she somehow became the new class representative, much to the consternation of her new classmate/last year's class representative, Izumi Kaori), and was then embroiled in a hectic turn of events involving the Gokujou Seitokai -- the student organization which wields ultimate civil, political, and economic powers on the island and its surrounding town (due to the fact that its chairman literally owns the whole area) -- and their attempt to arrest an arsonist who's been disrupting order and causing mayhem around the town. After displaying surprising powers in screwing up everyone else's work (Rino's powers) and even more surprising powers in single-handedly pacifying the criminal (not Rino's powers -- read on), the chairman of the Gokujou Seitokai gives Rino an executive role on the council (the secretary position ... that you rarely see her doing any work for) and takes an unusually personal interest in the welfare of our protagonist (who also gets free room and board in the Gokujou Dormitory as an executive member of the student council; benri da ne?)...

Rino is a cheerful airhead. She has an uncanny ability to screw things up (she accidentally incapacitates all three members of the yuugekibu in episode 1 and accidentally blows up the Gokujou Dormitory in episode 14) and she's a terrible student to boot (consistently earning goose eggs in both academics and athletics). She is, however, absolutely honest and straight-forward: she will tell you what she feels no matter what (usually breaks down and cries while speaking her mind). Her sincerity (and maybe just a touch of her goofiness, too) ends up touching just about everyone on the Gokujou Seitokai throughout the course of the show.

In the Gokujou Seitokai TCG (Minamo designs one in episode 20 in an effort to booster the student council's lagging finances -- due to their own penchant for staging gaudy events and engaging in wanton property destruction -- through merchandise sales associated with a collectible card game), Rino's card is essentially useless. She has zero attack power, zero study-skills rating, and absolutely no special abilities. If you play five Rino cards at a time, though, a special event occurs -- the entire Gokujou Seitokai will take pity on her and allow you to take possession of all cards currently on the table and play them any way you want.

Her constant companion is ...

Name: Pucchan (プッチャン)
Taxonomy: Ventriloquist's hand puppet
Personality: Caustic, sarcastic, tsukkomi (突っ込み - "straight man")
Special Attack: "Burning"
Seiyuu: Usually Tamura Yukari, but really depends on who's wearing him at the moment

Pucchan is a hand puppet with a mind of its own. Originally a companion for Rino's mother, he became Rino's confidant/personal protector when Chieri passed away. Pucchan is very sharp of mind (he deducts the identity of the fourth onmitsu member long before Rino even got a clue) and has a habit of saying bitingly sarcastic things (usually delivered in a very colloquial/gangster-like accent). The girls of Gokujou Seitokai initially thought that Pucchan was what he looked like -- a ventriloquist's prop -- and took him away from Rino in order to punish her for saying such disrespectful things about them (except, of course, that it was Pucchan saying those things). After some wackiness in which Pucchan lodged himself on the hands of many Gokujou Seitokai members (and proceeded to talk in the voice of whomever was holding him -- that episode was an exhibit in versatility for many of the show's seiyuu), everyone slowly came to realize that it's better not to try to understand the nature of Pucchan's existence and to just accommodate him.

In the Gokujou Seitokai TCG, the Pucchan card is used in combination with any character's card to give that character a 300% stat boost (attack power, study-skill rating). Ayumu tries to use this effect to tell Rino that her card isn't absolutely useless... until Pucchan points out that, well, three times zero is still zero.

Pucchan is also an adept fighter, possessing a special move called "Burning" (where he seems to set himself afire with fighting power) and an even more powerful tag-team move called "Double Burning", which he utilizes in tandem with...

Name: Lance Bean (ランス・ビーン)
Taxonomy: Ventriloquist's hand puppet
Personality: Ladies' puppet, roughouser, battle-tested veteran
Special Attacks: "Bang", "Double Burning"
Seiyuu: Usually Saitou Chiwa, but like Pucchan, it depends on who's wearing him

Lance is Pucchan's friend and partner. According to Pucchan, the two of them have been through thick and thin together. He is found in the garbage by Izumi in episode 18 and promptly, um, "seduces" her (how does a puppet seduce a person? yeah, I don't want to know either...). Lance carries a gun in his hand and can apparently use it to "shoot" things (that is, he yells "bang!" at stuff and said stuff acts like it was shot...), in addition to his aforementioned special tag-team move with Pucchan.






Lance! Pucchan! The invincible team!






The real reason behind Lance's visit was his desire to meet Rino, since he had always been very fond of...

Name: Randou Chieri (蘭堂ちえり)
Character Type: お母さん (okaasan - Mother), 能天気 (noutenki - happy-go-lucky), 口悪い(kuchiwarui - foul-mouthed, particularly when she loses in video games)
Relatives: Rino, ???, ???
Seiyuu: Hisakawa Aya

Rino's deceased mother. Like Rino, she's very cheerful and kind-hearted. Chieri-san only appears in a few flashbacks throughout the series -- I only bothered to make a section for her because her personality is somewhat reminiscent of Honda Kyouko from Fruits Basket... and because I'm a huge Hisakawa Aya fanboy.

Konna kuso-ge (ge = ge-mu = "game") yatteranai wa yo!

To be continued...

I'll just let the pictures do the talking this time.

At the Center of the World, Shouting "Love"

The title of this post should've clue you in on what I'm about to talk about: the Japanese novel/movie/drama Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu (世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ -- for translation, see the title of this post... mmm, circular referencing in blog entries). Unfortunately, you're not going to get a deep, moving review of that fantastic jdrama from me -- since it aired in 2004, plenty of reviews have already been written, many of which are far better than anything I could've put together (you do, however, get a courtesy pic. Because I love pics.).


Instead, I'm going to tell a rambling story about a conversation Dave and I had over IM last week. Everything started when an episode of Gokujou Seitokai (good show... I'll blog more about it later) made a reference to it:

Sunday: Sekai no chuushin de, ai wo sakebe!
Cindy: Aye.











Dave points out that this is based on the title of a Harlan Ellison short story. Being the Eva trivia master that he is (sorry about that Rokubungi swag thing a while back, Dave...), he also points out that the quote made an earlier appearance as the title of episode 26 of that show (Shinseiki Evangelion):

The Japanese reads sekai no chuushin de ai wo sakenda kemono, and the "ai" written in katakana here is wordplay -- the English word "I" is pronounced "ai" in the syllabary. It's interesting to see the same basic phrase pop up in all sorts of places -- Harlan Ellison, Human Instrumentality, and a mother-daughter reunion between two people who have very little grasp of proper Japanese (you'll see what I'm talking about later)...

P. S. -- The English title of the Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu franchise -- "Socrates in Love" -- is just ...random, isn't it?

Hey ADV, your credits grunts suck too.

Well, we all know that the fine, fine people at A. D. Vision care about the fine, fine products they provide to the anime-watching public at finely, finely exorbitant prices. We also know that they're absolutely committed to getting everything right. Here's an example.

That's part of the original seiyuu credits from ADV's R1 DVDs of Choujuushin Gravion. The seiyuu for Ena is listed as "Mai Nakajima." Who's Mai Nakajima? I have no idea either, because the person who voiced Ena/Eina (as the name was in the original Japanese version of the anime) is this one. Nakahara Mai.

It gets even worse if you look a couple of lines down: the seiyuu of Tuile is listed as "Miikacp Takahashi." No, "Miikacp" is not a Japanese name (nor a name in any other language I've ever heard of). Dear folks at ADV, Takahashi Mikako would like for you to get her name right (as opposed to replacing it with the grandmother of all typos), but understands that the way you see it, nobody you're selling this crap to reads the credits anyway.

(In case you're wondering, this stuff stayed wrong for every single episode of the series.)

More Aria: The Animation

More neat Aria character bios and screencaps for y'all today:

Finally, we meet Orange Planet's Athena-san, the third of the Mizu no Sandaiyousei (水の三大妖精 - "The Three Great Faeries of the Waters"). She's a mostly quiet, unassuming gal who happens to be VERY scatterbrained (what the Japanese call a dojikko) but possesses a kind heart and incredible canzone (It. song) skills (marvelling at one of Athena's rangy soprano tunes, Akari calls her "tenshi no utagoe," which literally means "angel's song voice"). Athena is Alice's roommate and senpai, and though Alice views this particular senpai with some condescension and irritation (from always having to take care of her clumsy messes), she comes to realize that Athena has been quietly supporting her from the shadows since the very beginning. Her anime seiyuu is Kawakami Tomoko, with the peerless a capella soprano solos provided by Kawai Eri.

"She often trips over flat ground, spills her drinks, forgets the most important things, and hits the hang-up button on herself while talking on the phone..."









Hime-shacchou: she's the blue-eyed honorary head of Himeya Company, which is the establishment that Aika belongs to (and is, in fact, the heiress of). Her seiyuu is not credited in the anime, but then, she doesn't get that many "lines" (not that many = zero)...





Maa-kun: an abandoned kitten (and what an ugly one, at that) found and secretly nursed by Alice (Orange Planet does not allow its employees to keep pets). It (we are unsure of its gender at this point) was named "Maa-kun" because "maa" is apparently the only sound it can make, and it also seems to have a talent for biting Aria-shacchou where it hurts. People did find out about its existence, but luckily for Alice, Athena discovered that it has aquamarine eyes (how can you tell?!) and persuaded Orange Planet to adopt it as its new honorary president (the previous one had just passed away). So I suppose its name is now actually Maa-shacchou... Its seiyuu is the versatile Watanabe Akeno.

次回も水の惑星(アクア)でご一緒しましょう。

Wei's Anime Recommendations: Aria - The Animation

So, my loyal readers, have any of you ever watched either of the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (aka Yokohama Shopping Log) OVAs? Aria - The Animation is very similar in pacing and "feel" to that series -- that is to say, it is a story of peaceful people leading tranquil lives in calm, serene surroundings (though not originally so serene -- Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou takes place on Earth after an apocalyptic event has wiped out most of the human population, and Aria uses as its setting the water-covered planet Aqua... which turns out to be the terraformed version of the previously inhospitable "red planet" Mars). I'm a big fan of these "slice of life" series -- as long as it presents me with genuinely likable characters and actually cares to develop them (as opposed of letting them become so many pieces of recycled cliché cardboard), as well as look pretty enough to take my mind off whatever ultra-gory and/or ultra-mindrape-happy series I'm attempting to recover from (let me tell you, slicers-of-life are excellent therapy).

Let's just say that Aria succeeds on both counts.

The characters of Aria are diverse and well-developed, and each possess different charms and shortcomings, all of which allow them to mesh beautifully into a remarkable tapestry of hopes and dreams that adorns the gorgeous backdrop of Neo Venezia (an exact replica of old Venezia on Earth/Man-home; id est, Venice, Italy). Since there aren't many things that I like more than cute anime chicks, I'll go ahead and show you a few:

Mizunashi Akari: the protagonist of the series, Aria chronicles her efforts to adapt to her new surroundings in Neo Venezia, make friends, and ultimately become an Undine (ウンディーネ - a gondolier/tour guide). At the beginning of the series, she's still a one-glove/intermediate-level trainee at Alicia's Aria Company outpost. She's not a very good gondolier yet (although she's serviceable ... when rowing backwards, heh), but her easygoing, optimistic personality and sincere smile quickly win her many friends on Aqua. Her anime seiyuu is newcomer Erino Hazuki, while her audio drama seiyuu is Mizuhashi Kaori...

... and her SD faces are very, very funny. :)










Aika Granzchesta: Akari's friend and fellow one-glove Undine-in-training. She's been groomed from a very young age to be the eventually successor of the gondola company Himeya, and she sometimes resents the pressure put on her, especially from Akira, her occasionally overbearing overseer (how's that for assonance?). Aika is generally outspoken and a straight shooter. Alicia once cheered her up when she was younger, and as a result Aika is very fond of Alicia. Her anime seiyuu is Saitou Chiwa, and her manga-based audio drama seiyuu is the famous Hayashibara Megumi.


Her SD face looks like this --------->










Alice Carroll: (yes, the name is an homage to a certain book a guy named Lewis Carroll [actually, Charles Lutwidge] wrote) The youngest of the Undine-in-training sanninmusume ("girl triumvirate"... play your Sakura Taisen!), Alice works for Athena at the Orange Planet company. She's accorded to be a gondolier prodigy, despite the fact that she is still a two-glove (ie lowest rank) trainee by Undine standards. Alice is extremely introverted, and had problems even smiling to people before Akari became her friend. Her anime seiyuu is Hirohashi Ryou, while her audio drama seiyuu is the hatefully loli-rific (no, that's not a real word, but you should be able to figure it out) Saitou Ayaka.

Even freakier...












Alicia Florence: Akari's boss, a Prima (highest-rank) Undine, and (with Akira and Athena) one of the Mizu no Sandaiyousei (水の三大妖精 - "The Three Great Faeries of the Waters"). Alicia is a charming person who dispenses rather generously with her smiles and is kind and affectionate towards everyone. Most of the characters in Aria love her (and most of the fans do, too), although her smiles and her "ara, ara"s tend to annoy Akira (who grew up with Alicia and thus have had to suffer the cheerfulness a long, long time) to no end. Her anime seiyuu is Oohara Sayaka, commonly acknowledged to be the "lite" version of her audio drama seiyuu, Inoue Kikuko.

Akira: "Ara ara kinshi!" ("ara ara"s are forbidden!)
Alicia: *Ufufu* (giggling)
Akira: "Ufufu mo kinshi!" ("ufufu" is also forbidden!)
Alicia: "Ara ara~"
Akira: "DOCHI MO KINSHI!" (they're both forbidden!)




Akira Ferrari: Aika's boss at Himeya, Prima Undine, and one of the Mizu no Sandaiyousei. Akira is the diammetric opposite of her childhood friend Alicia -- she's demanding, proactive, and sometimes bad-tempered. Despite their occasional clashes, Akira's personality has rubbed off quite a bit on Aika. Akira's exasperated tirades at Alicia (see above) provide some of the most comedic moments in Aria. Her anime seiyuu is Minagawa Junko (Sagitta~~~), and her audio drama seiyuu is the accomplished Mitsuishi Kotono (Misato~~~).


I suppose Akira-san isn't too used to being bribed with food...









Ai: a little girl who sort of... blackmails... Akari into giving her a gondola ride. She's tired of the same old, same old in her life back on Man-home (Earth), and an eventful day spent with Akari and Aika restores some of her optimism and hope. She returns to Man-home at the end of Episode 1, but keeps in touch with Akari via video mail. Her anime seiyuu is Mizuhashi Kaori.


"Take me on a gondola ride or I'll scream 'kidnap'!"








This ... thing ... is Aria-shachou(社 長 - company president). He's supposed to be a cat (EDIT: a Martian cat -- hence the eccentric look. --K. 2/26/07). All of the gondolier guilds in Neo Venezia employ cats with blue (specifically, aquamarine blue) eyes as titular presidents in order to bring themselves good luck (as Aquamarine is taken to be the guardian goddess of waterfarers), although other "presidents" look more catlike (EDIT: again, because they're not Martian cats --K. 2/26/07) and are generally smarter than Aria-shachou here... His anime seiyuu is Chinami Nishimura, and his audio drama seiyuu is Hayashibara Megumi.

Naturally, my first exposure to Aria was through manga; namely, the manga series Aqua by Amano Kozue. Quite frankly, the Aqua-Aria manga franchise featured some of the most astonishingly beautiful manga art I have ever seen. Not only are the characters attractive, but the surroundings are done in fine, toned detail that makes for an extremely immersive and visually satisfying reading experience. The same is true for Aria - The Animation. The interplay of the various shades of blue that dominate the planet Aqua are done in rich, colorful detail, and the stylistic architecture of Neo Venezia project beautifully into the water beneath them, which itself is a mirror for the expansive sky above. Accompanied by a superb soundtrack featuring soothing ambience and soft yet richly lyrical theme tracks, Aria presents a setting that can easily compete with the D. C. ~Da Capo~ and Stratos 4 franchises for top honors in artistry and elegance from recent anime series. Combined with the peaceful tone of the story and character-driven vignettes that subtly understate the calmer, gentler nature of life on Aqua (and in Neo Venezia in particular), Aria - The Animation is a cut above the competition as a remedial anime and as an anime that everyone can enjoy. I recommend it.