Wakaranai

 

This episode of the Sacred Blacksmith swings back from the light and fanservicey heights of last week’s maid episode and ramps up the action again, providing an abrupt and dramatic conclusion to Charlotte’s Empire quandary. I say it was an abrupt resolution because I kind of expected these guys to hang around a bit longer and end up intertwined with the central story of the series, but instead they were on their way again after a bit of self-pitying and a good healing beating from Cecily. For a 12 episode series, Charlotte-and-company’s plot has been a pretty long tangent, essentially stealing the focus for three episodes, or a quarter of the show. I will be annoyed if they don’t show up again to contribute to the final climax. For that reason, this episode annoyed me a little. But its main problem was that, despite all the blood, sweat and tears being flung about, and the veritable storm of emotions that followed the Empire’s threat, I found myself pretty disconnected emotionally from the whole affair. Perhaps it was just a bit too cliché and predictable to have much resonance with me, but I didn’t feel a tinge of empathy for the girls throughout the episode. The lesson on life and family was just too forced and simple to be very engaging, and I was personally off-put by the girls’ stubborn rejection of the defection offer – if it’d been me I would have accepted happily!

The drama component may have been a bit weak but the action sequence that made up the climax of the episode was really awesome. The subbers, known for their, err, personality, seemed to revel in Cecily’s admission of her own stupidity, but for a Cecily fan like myself, I was more impressed by the fact that she actually got the chance to be awesome! There’s been a fair bit of harsh criticism hurled her way, along the lines of “she’s the most useless heroine of the year!”, but if anyone has the guts to call her useless now then they must be the stupid ones! She fought really well against Charlotte’s three loyal defenders. To their own demise, they opted to attack her one-by-one, but, even still, Cecily beat them down without hesitation or remorse. The fights were animated really well, adding yet another scene to The Sacred Blacksmith’s impressive action repertoire. In fact, the production quality all-round has been good. This may not have caught my fancy the same way the last episode, with its maids and bath scenes, but it was good for its fantasy battles (if not for its plot or dramatic impact).

● Man, Lisa and Luke sure have been sidelined lately. I always kind of figured that the show would primarily feature the four characters it shows on the OP and ED, but none of them have been getting much attention lately, with the exception of Cecily. But I liked Doris, Penelope and Margot so much that I can’t say I missed them much.

● I’m going to miss you Doris! ;_; You were so pretty and valiant..

● So Siegfried set the girls up to get a hold of Aria, huh? What is his goal, I wonder? If he just wanted the demon sword I’m sure he could have found a much better way to obtain it.

 

Quite contrary to its first season, Darker than Black season 2 never fails to impress, but this episode it went one better and raised the bar for itself with an uncompromisingly riveting, and superbly produced episode. Without the comic-relief distractions of the transvestite bar owner and her pseudo-son, the series has now completely plunged into its increasingly complex and intriguing plot, with awesome results. Suou and Hei now find themselves in an intensifying maelstrom of violence and espionage as all of the many players enter the fray with their own nefarious goals relating to Suou’s brother, Shion, and the Izanami plot. They now have to deal not only with the lethal Japanese Agency, but also the CIA, which Hei betrayed, and the Russian secret service, which have pursued them to Japan. More than any other, this episode was seeped with betrayals and scheming, as Misaki forms a dubious alliance with coworker, Shizume, and Suou and Hei are screwed over by the own contacts.

Now the series really feels like a fugitive/manhunt type story, where our protagonists find themselves alone, unable to trust anyone, and targeted by an increasingly deadly array of assassins. With the heroes both struggling to survive and also trying to grapple with each of their own confused morality, Darker than Black has really become edge-of-your-seat viewing. I just hope that they can not only keep up this pace, but accelerate it toward a mind-blowing finish. There were sincere emotional moments coming from the utterly captivating Suou, and the episode even featured one of the best-choreographed action sequences I’ve seen in a TV-anime. As I’ve said before, this series, in some ways, has the scale of a Hollywood film, but also conveys a poignant emotional story. The strong content is backed up by as good a production work as one could hope for, from the amazing voice cast, to the sleek art and animation, and it even has the temerity to offer one of the best anime soundtracks I’ve heard since Gits SAC, if not the best.

● Where the twins got to? When they were introduced like 3 episodes ago I kind of figured they’d have had some kind of role to play by now. I only miss them cause they’re cute.

● Suou’s attack using shards of glass was really brutal and surprisingly effective. I’m surprised she was able to throw them so strongly and precisely. I thought it was a really great scene though just because of how she continued to impale her victim with the glass with so little hesitation or emotion. It’s a good example of her contractor side really coming to the forefront.

● There were no more allusions to Suou/Hei pairing that sort of arose last week. I say sort of because it really depends on how you interpreted her behavior then. Was her kicking of Suou’s ghost out of jealousy, or frustration because of how Hei’s feelings for her tore down Suou’s determination to succumb to her contractor side? I think there’s a little bit of jealousy there. I quite like the idea of a subtle romantic interest coming from Suou. It’s certainly an interesting romantic subplot if true, given how Hei treated her just recently. But somehow I would still find her feelings believable. Hei never really hurt her anyway, at least not physically.

✔ Suou’s interactions with July this episode were priceless. Her trying to poke and prod a reaction from the doll was just so cute. Especially when she pinched his cheek in frustration and then rubbed it, apologizing. July and Suou are really adorable. It was also a nice moment when July heeded Suou’s prior advice and said he was in pain later on. Is there hope for contractors after all? I also had to laugh when Suou threw a snowball at Mao. So she has a playful side, eh?

✔ The final action scene was just totally awesome. The storyboarders/writers are good at coming up with interesting ways to orchestrate Hei’s kills; jumping off an adjacent moving truck, and rolling over the roof of a car to strangle the driver has gotta be one of the coolest yet. It was really exciting and well-animated!

✔ This episode was directed/storyboarded exceptionally well. Every scene seemed to have real visual depth and its own kind of atmosphere. This makes most anime look flat and uninspired, because you can really feel that a lot of thought was put in as to how to capture the scenes.

♡ My burning moe passion for Suou goes stronger and brighter with every episode! I just think she’s one of those rare characters who’s both extremely cute but also multi-faceted and compelling. She has a definite moe angle – given her situation you frequently feel like you want to protect and nurture her, but she’s also very strong in her own right. As I’ve said before, Hana Kanazawa has just nailed her. She’s totally my type of character. Suou: loli of the season!

 

 

Although only two or three pages shy of Ken Akamatsu’s usual output (apparently owing to some medical issue), this chapter felt extremely short. I still felt like I’d only just started reading when I stumbled onto the final page. Perhaps it flew by because there’s wasn’t a lot of dialogue to digest, only what could be squeezed in between impressive shots of Rakan and Fate going at it. But I think it seemed so short mainly because it was so enthralling and because it left me hungry for more. I’m usually a fan of cliffhangers. The type of cliffhanger that puts the heroes in mortal but predictable danger, I can handle. But throwing in a huge revelation and new mysterious plot twist so quickly only to leave us right on the brink of having it all explained, is just plain evil. The thrills of the epic clash between the nefarious Fate and indestructible Rakkan come fast and furiously, only to evaporate into a mindfuck scene in which Fate reveals he has the power to bend and form reality to his will, by proxy of the still very much alive Lifemaker. Not only was it a gripping experience seeing Rakan, in peak badass form, deliver a beatdown on the previously untouchable Fate, but it was almost more so seeing him in a state of disarray and concern. I wouldn’t go ahead and say he came across as scared here, but Fate’s unlimited power has triggered a moment of anxiousness, which, for Jack Rakan, is a big deal.

Well, until then, the fight was pretty damn awesome. The whole time we’ve been getting the flashback I’ve been praying for a glimpse of this battle, and now it finally came! Fittingly, it’s some of the best action we’ve seen in a while, a close-quarters, frenzied melee between two titans of the magical world. Jack Rakan proved his worth, clearly taking charge of the fight before Fate turned the tables with his power. He drove himself through a mass-dagger attack of Fate’s, in his usual ‘Tank’ style of play, to land a direct hit, a crippling Rakan punch. Fate might say he’s trying to “save the world”, but his methods up till this point certainly warrant a good punishing strike from Rakan! And as to the truth behind his goal, it seems as though we’re heading towards having that angle explored within the next few chapters! This has got me really excited because the character of Fate, his motivations and perspective, have always been one of the most intriguing components of the Negima for me, and it’s been shrouded in mystery for too long! Knowing who or what drives him should make him a more compelling foe for Negi.

In typical Negima style, this chapter has raised more tantalizing questions than it has even hinted at answers. But the next chapter holds great promise for some explaining to be done. What exactly is this key Fate suddenly wields? Is that truly the Mage of the Beginning, really alive and unharmed from his past run-in with Nagi? Just what does Fate mean by his comments on the world being an illusion, and how does this all fit in with the grand plan he supports? It would seem that, using what he describes as the power to destroy and create worlds, ‘Rewrite’, he intends to do just that to the magical world. But the key question then becomes why?

This was a really fascinating chapter, even if it didn’t provide the usual mix of entertainment Negima is known for, with only the odd glimpse of a cute girl, and no humour of fanservice whatsoever. But the sheer importance of the events that transpired and the plot development that is about to be given, make this a pivotal and exciting chapter. Rakan was totally awesome. May he survive this encounter!

Chu-bra!! is a fast-approaching TV anime adaptation of a popular and unabashedly erotic manga published in the renowned Comic High! Serialization. Comic High! is known for producing high-quality manga with a strong fanservice bent, including the controversial Kodomo no Jikan, and seriously ecchi High School Girls. Like those two manga, this one is interestingly also written by a woman, Nakata Yumi. It would seem that these days the men in the manga industry either don’t have the balls or the experience to pen a decent ecchi manga! Several volumes of the manga have been released, and the first two chapters have been translated, and it is solely through my exposure to the source manga that I am at all interested in the upcoming anime version. I’m not usually one to get enthusiastic about a series that blatantly flaunts fanservice without any attempt at plot or characterization. That’s essentially what this is, but the key component is that it’s GOOD fanservice, unlike the Queen’s Blade or Ikkitousen. You could say that this H-toned manga offers tasteful fanservice with its focus on cute characters and nice art. As the title suggests, the theme to the ecchi is underwear, so expect to be overloaded with panty-shots and a huge variety of underwear. The premise makes no attempt to mask this focus:

The story centers on Nayu, a middle school girl who shocks her schoolmates on the first day of school by wearing black lace panties. She likes this kind of underwear, and she tries to “spread the word on the merits of [these kinds of] underwear” via an underwear club with her schoolmates, who are worried about their bodies’ development and which underwear to choose.

The protagonist and perpetrator behind much of the fanservice, Nayu, makes her fondness for underwear a way of life! The origins of her passion and wisdom on the topic of braziers and panties lie with her casual career as underwear-tester for her friend who designs them. But the pantsu-mania extends from her bedroom into her middle-school when she earns reputation for keen advice on styles and sizes! Yep … the plot, if you care to call it that, is about as thin as they come. But that doesn’t matter when we’re barraged by images of cute, half-dressed. And they really are cute; the characters designs are very easy on the eye, and they come in all shapes and sizes to maximize the fanbase. There’s the flat-chested girls, the one girl with the gigantic bust size, and the even more voluptuous teacher. All bases are covered. So the source manga is good (shallow, but good). The anime being good is a different matter. Fortunately, a trailer was screened at Comiket 76 which shows plenty if promise:

You can see that the art quality looks very high, especially for this kind of series. There’s lots of detail and the colour palette is good. Visually this looks like a pretty flawless transition from manga designs to anime ones. The series is being produced by ZEXCS, who have created some other fine works, including Umi Monogatari and a personal favourite of mine, Macademi Wasshoi. Things are looking all-green in this area. The other thing the trailer shows is that full-colour panties are far more exciting than black and white ones! So it’s therefore important to know that the series will be airing on satellite/cable TV channel, AT-X. This of course means it should be completely uncensored! If everything goes according to plan (keikaku doori!), then this should turn out to be the ultimate pantsu-fetish anime ever to have been created! There’s still an important factor to consider though: will the seiyuus be up to the task of making the characters fun and likeable? Here’s the cast list:

Nayu Hayama: Minori Chihara
Yako Jinguuji: Minako Kotobuki
Haruka Shiraishi: Sayuri Yahagi

Minori Chihara has played a wide variety of roles and, I think, has proven herself more than able to take on a character like Nayu. I especially liked her as Coopa from Druaga and Chiaki-sama from Minami-ke. I honestly haven’t heard much of Sayuri Yahagi. I must be subconsciously avoiding her anime or something. But I have heard her play the very sweet Rima from Shugo Chara. Rima had a lovely voice, so I’m hoping that’ll apply here too. I’ve gotta be least excited about Minori Chihara though, who hasn’t really pulled off anything memorable yet. I guess she wasn’t half bad at playing the soft-spoken Tsumugi from K-ON! Overall, the main cast looks fine, no risky newcomers but no really big names either.

In fact, on the whole, this is shaping up to be as good as I could’ve hoped. It’ll certainly fill my fanservice quota for the coming season!

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Against all the odds I’ve been diligently keeping up with the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei all this time. In this case the odds can pretty much summed up by a fansub dilemma. It seems to be usual practice for a sub group (this time it was gg) to pick up the latest SZS series and churn out the episodes at a good pace for the greater part of the show’s length before suddenly bailing and leaving fans hanging out for the last few. Unfortunately, seeped with Japanese cultural gags and puns, and notorious for its WALL-OF-TEXT humour, this isn’t the kind of series you can casually get by on with just the RAWS. So I’m really glad someone else stepped up the challenge and finished what gg started. The release of this episode, the latest OAD, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: No Man’s Land, came as a total surprise and I would never have known about it but for the kind soul who subbed it and uploaded it. Which is lucky, because I genuinely enjoyed it! In fact this episode was probably funny than most (but not all) of the last tv series. As usual the political jabs, cultural satire, and wry social commentary are delivered well by the quirky (and sometimes insane) cast of cute high-school girls. The topics of this episode were:

1. Indecisive demonstrations - the paradoxical tone that describes many political and cultural protests.

This was a great segment because a lot of the protests alluded to apply to all developed countries of the world and not just Japan.

2. Jokes that people feel obliged to laugh at for fear of looking like they can’t understand the humour.

3. The introduction of Chiri-chan’s crhonically messy older sister. Together they form a combo: older sister messes things up, the younger sister cleans up.

Good solid episode. I’m a bit worried by a comment I came across that implied that the introduction of Chiri’s sister was fast-tracked into this episode because the sales for the anime are down and there might not be another tv anime to follow! It’s funny, initially I didn’t really care for this series, but now I’ve become accustomed to having SZS to watch every season, and attached to the familiar characters and humour. With this anime gone I think there would be a void in anime seasons to come. What other anime even bother attempting satire?

As usual featuring some really lovely outfits for the girls were featured, including the usual array of attractive kimono patterns, and almost Kobato-tier cute casual wear. But the highlight in the cute department was Maria dressed up in a maid outfit. It was so charming I had to stitch it! Maria is one of my favourite characters. I wonder if she’s inclined to break her habit of not wearing panties when she’s in maid-mode? Well, it’s something for the imagination..
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The opening and ending songs, and their accompanying animation, have long been a vital part of the anime industry. In many ways the OP and ED are the first big pitch to potential fans and can single-handedly make a name for a series. Just look at the sensation that the Hare Hare Yukai ED for Haruhi generated! Over the years we’ve become accustomed to a high standard of music and visuals to kick-start and wind-down our anime episodes, the flashier, catchier and more memorable the better. These days an anime that doesn’t give its OP and ED enough attention just comes of looking cheap. Unfortunately, generic jpop and colourful nonsense still describe most OPs and EDs. But even among this bulk a few gems stand out and make an impact. I thought it might be fun to investigate the OPs and EDs that this Winter season had to offer. After checking them out for the majority of the winter I’ve come up with a shortlist of my personal favourites. Nothing too amazing has arisen from this season, but there’re still a couple of fun ones. If you have your own favourites then by all means, share in the comments!
 
 
 
1. …Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu II – Purezza OP

     I’ll freely admit that this anime isn’t exactly a masterpiece (more of an exercise in shameless otaku pandering), but I still find it enjoyable, and I consider the OP genuinely impressive. The OP to the first season was similar, but they’ve really gone one better hear, making something really elaborate with heaps of detail, humour and cuteness. The way it scans through animated anime-magazine articles is extremely cool, plus there’s some nice fanservice thrown in too!~ And I find the song quite catchy.

 
 
 
2. …To Aru Kagaku no Railgun OP

     The visuals accompanying this are actually a bit of a letdown compared with the OPs we got for Index (much like the animation production of the series on the whole), but the awesomeness of the song well and truly makes up for it. Fripside is an artist I’m definitely not familiar with, but they did a great job with this. Great choice of music to open up this anime - fast and energetic.

 
 
 
3. …Shin Koihime Musou ED

     So it’s a bit of a trashy anime series, but Shin Koihime Musou is well known for its cute characters and even cuter EDs. This one takes the cake in my opinion. Maybe I’m just biased towards the adorable chibis, but I just find this ED impossible not to love. It helps that the song is instantly catchy – happy and upbeat without a hint of drama or angst. If you don’t find this cute you must certainly be evil at heart!

 
 
 
4. …Kimi ni Todoke OP

     This new Production I.G romance/drama series has been getting a lot of positive buzz, and if this OP is anything to go by it’s with good reason. The song sounds like something Negishi from Detroit Metal City would have loved to have performed, a light, romantic, guitar-strumming track. It’s not my usual cup of tea but it’s a welcome diversion from the usual onslaught of more typical j-pop. Where this OP really impresses is the artistry behind the beautiful aesthetics - gorgeous, inviting colours and a lovely style.

 
 
 
5. …Sora no Otoshimono OP

     There’s nothing really unique or outstanding about this OP but I guess you could say it has an infectious jubilance to it that never fails to put me in a good mood for some care-free, mindless entertainment! The vocals are really nice as well. I especially love the start of the OP where Icarus the angel-girl is drawing the connecting lines between the characters and themes of the show. It’s something I haven’t seen before. This series’ uncompromisingly shiny production values are definitely visible in the OP animation too.

It’s that time again! Released alongside the special edition of volume 28 of Ken Akamatsu’s contemporary manga masterpiece, Mahou Sensei Negima, comes the second OAD episode in the ‘Another World’ series, unleashing a massive shockwave of ecchi and awesome. At the moment I type this, the raw isn’t yet widely available, but investigating the comments and pictures shared by fans and proud owners of the new release reveals a good picture of what to expect, and gives a good look at all the sexy extras crammed into the package.

The pictures used in this post were obtained from the sites listed at the bottom of this page.
 

 
 

The primary attraction of this release is the next installment in the anime adaptation of Negima we’ve always wanted! Okay, maybe not the animated Negima we’ve dreamed of, but this new slew of OADs being released by SHAFT far outshine all previous attempts at converting Akamatsu’s fantastic manga, in both quality and faithfulness. This OAD episode clearly continues on right where the last one left off – Negi and the rest of his posse have been separated and disparately strewn across the vast Magical World after their gateport clash with villain, Fate Averuncus. It would appear that this episode only manages to cover the stories of Chachamaru and Chiisame fending for themselves in the fantasy wilderness and eventually being reunited with Negi.

A lot of people are a bit worried about the fact that the OAD is going so slowly, and I have to admit that it’s kind of unusual that they spent so much time working on fairly unimportant chapters such as these when there’s so many more chapters to plow through before they catch up to the manga. But luckily, I really, really enjoyed these chapters from the manga. Having the girls isolated from their leader and champion was a new experience. Especially in the case of Chiisame, where you really got a feel for her vulnerability as a regular human thrown into this dangerous new world. My main disappointment rests with the fact that they didn’t include the lovely Setsuna/Asuna bathing scene, which was simultaneously hot and cute in the way it showed their friendship. That’s for next time I guess (OR ELESE!).

The thing that no one should be complaining about is the fact that they kept in the fap-worthy fanservice from the manga totally unaltered or uncensored!! KITTA!! We get some awesomely dirty tentacle rape for poor Chiisame-san (she just wanted a normal net-idol life and now she’s been violated by a slimy fantasy creature ;_;), and the first extra-erotic “charging” scene between Negi and Chachamaru. The orgasmic charging session looks pretty exciting, although Chachamaru saves up her greatest climax for pactio foreplay later on. I think Negi needs to charge up some of the other girls, if you know what I mean. Chachamaru is probably the only sexually satisfied character in the whole manga!
 
 

 
 

 
 

As before the disc comes with an audio commentary, and also features some neat character design art, shown below.

 

 
 
Per tradition, the limited edition release of the manga has received an enticing erotic upgrade. As far as I’m concerned, nothing can beat the sheer nosebleed-inducing hotness of the Setsuna-stripping that graced the civer of volume 25, but this is also kind of nice. I’ll never say no to Yue fanservice.

 
 
This time the packaging is hotter than ever though, featuring a swimsuit-clad Setsuna and Konoka in a shy and super erotic pose! ❤❤

 
 
The bonus rare item this time is a nice-quality Negi card that will be part of a set of 27 pactio cards:
 

 
 
Overall, it seems that Ken Akamatsu and his publishers/marketers have really been doing their fans justice with these OAD and limited edition releases. Not many manga get great releases such as these. As for the content of the OAD, I’ll have to wait a bit longer before I can truly judge, but it looks to be a wholesome intake of win that should satisfy most fanboys! The timing of this release was also good because it will help keep the enthusiasm flowing as Ken Akamatsu takes an unprecedented several-week break. But there’s also some bad news. Apparently we’ll be waiting till May next year before the next OAD. May! COME ON …

And I still wish Del-Ray would get their game on and help captivate their American audiences with extras and releases like this. I am damned positive that a good number of Negima fans, including me, would pay extra for limited edition goodness.

 
 

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