The AFA 09 in Singapore is here again, and I was thankful that they actually emailed me to offer me a media pass. Honestly, work has been so tiring these days that I had to sadly ignore NovaJinx’s calls on Friday because of intensive meetings at work. On a pleasant note, I didn’t expect the communications team for AFA to remember a random folk here. I mean, I am not exactly employee of the month, I couldn’t go to the press release because I am at work (2 pm is not a friendly time for a working adult) and I didn’t even promote on AFA at all. I promise I will be diligent next time at the very least.

After visiting the conference, I will probably be making a simple post about the overall state of AFA. I am quite sure that many blogs will offer you the sights and sounds of the conference, while I will probably do a more boring entry about the improvements and regressions from AFA08 to AFA09. Stay tuned if you are keen to hear what I have to say.

For now, I am still fully engrossed in Kimi no Todoke and Kobato, both good series that never fails to have that fuzzy feeling in your heart. I remember a comment from my girlfriend who noted that this season would make GAR lovers squirm in agony from all the lovey-dovey moments in the better animes. I am PERFECTLY glad if that happens every season. The bad news is that I will then haunt this blog much more than you wish for it. Whether it is a good thing or bad thing, I wouldn’t personally know myself.

I do apologize if people are expecting me to blog systematic articles of particular episodes. I believe the other bloggers could cover it. I also find myself hard to devote onto a specific series these days, considering my time constraints and workload. It’s definitely fulfilling to find a job you enjoy that surprises you everyday, yet it can be tiring at times when you struggle to figure out how to make it work. I am not sure if anyone could give some advice, but I will be glad to hear from you about your work-life balance.

Side note:

I have been enjoying the blog entries about the PSC scholarship through DarkMirage’s entry and Moto’s entry, who were/might have been high fliers within the public service. As I am hardly of that caliber myself, I find it fascinating to see how differently they consider things from the elite point of view. Perhaps, this is why they and many others might have left. Still, I cannot dive in deeper to publicly voice my views due to the confidentiality of a currently hired civil servant. Those who might be interested to listen to my views could always contact me on my MSN when I have some spare time to come on.

I can’t believe the stupid perverts (i.e. Crusader and Calawain) laughed at my title post. What’s so funny about the title anyway?

So, let’s get the key thing started first. We need your feedback on our new spanking blog design. Kabitizin of Sea Slugs Team fame helped us with this wonderful blog design, and we love you to give us some feedback on how it can be improved. In essence, we are asking you to give us feedback so we can torture Kabitizin until he goes like “no more, no more changes, SCREW THAT!!!!” Actually, no, That will be fun ugly. As you do know though, we always respect your feedback, so give it to us!

Secondly, the stupid poll about where I am gone is finally taken down since I am back. FYI, I was gone not because of the reasons in the poll but it was due to a time traveler kidnapping me for a inter-galactic sales call. Meh. It’s time for a new poll and I blame the anger in my head for this really weird poll. I swear it is my viewing of “Lost” and the games with Battle Royale-styled themes. Anyway, tell us why you think a certain blogger would win (I personally know who would, actually) in an online Battle Royale fight? Tell us how the fight will go, and the likely weapons we might use.

Edit: Fixed author’s page.

Hi all random THAT anime blog readers,

My nick is Impz and I currently reside in a place known as the abyss of bloggers. You know, the place where retired bloggers think about how cool they used to be and brag about their former glories. Obviously, I cannot even say that I have ever been popular, what with no one possibly remembering me. Self-pity is probably my greatest trait right now, so bite me. I want my random attention from random online people! With that out of the way, I can proudly announce the arrival of the newest afk blogger in THAT Anime Blog.

Nonsense aside, it has been a long while since I step into this blog. It’s really strange how I suddenly decided to pick up my keyboard, and decided to type some random things on this space. I thought I have gone past the hill and over the mountain when it comes to doing any form of blogging. A few days ago, Crusader messaged me and said that I have not blogged for three anime seasons. It suddenly dawned on me that it really has been a while since I last dealt with anything anime-ish. That is, if you exclude the obsessive reading of Skip Beat (DARN YOU, DICKTARO!) AND the rampant kyaa-ing for Kaichou wa Maid-sama manga. I also finally transited from a lazy student to a working adult in the Ministry of Education. It’s definitely a huge change. You will never appreciate weekends that much until you start on your first real job.

Anyway, fast forward 9 months to the present (I love totally terrible attempts at Segue). This season came with a bag of surprises. Kimi ni Todoke was hilarious, with Sawako an extremely adorable lead. I mean, who doesn’t like leads that are adorable without trying so hard to be the cute-kawaii anime girl? I am sick of anime girls who are pandering to anime fans simply through extreme crazy forms of cuteness. In addition, it has been a while since side characters become side characters instead of decorations. Come on, you have to admit that most side characters in shoujo series are like generic stereotypes that can be easily substituted with a dog… or a cheesecake. In addition, how can a shoujo fanboy find shoujo fare boring?

Yumeiro Patissiere is another shoujo, albeit more of a food series. It is hardly a form of artistic excellence by any measure; in fact you can even consider it rather childish. The main lead, Ichigo, is a very standard shoujo female lead. When I mean standard, I mean stupid, clumsy and generally a typical damsel in distress that needs her food knights to save her from getting fat screwing up all her baking and cooking. Yet, I find myself enjoying the silly childish antics. I might eventually grow to dislike the show, but currently I am lapping it all up.

Amusingly, I also found myself enjoying Kobato. Perhaps it is the light-hearted approach of the show. Perhaps, Kobato has that innocence that manages to penetrate this old cynical man. I cannot even accurately pinpoint what is right about the show. Is it the beautiful lush animation? Is it the fact that I enjoy Clamp works (I disliked Tsubasa Chronicles though)? I do not know, maybe you have an answer?

If you ask me if I will actually start blogging (or if anyone still cares to hear what I like to say), I don’t know. Still, it’s good to be back. If only for one post. That’s what all semi-retired unpopular bloggers like to say when they make a comeback, don’t they?

p/s: I also succumbed to the greatest sin of all anime bloggers: Watching Bleach with my girlfriend and actually liking it. It’s depressing, I know.

Chapter 4 is finally done after a pretty busy week for me. It’s a background story about Vito and his wife that is mentioned in Episode 3 (at least I think it is). It’s quite nice to be honest, and there are some interesting themes for such a short chapter. Anyway, you can read it for yourself.

Cheers! As usual, this is based on the Chinese scans.

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The usual statement

If you want to share this around, go ahead. Just make sure you give credit where it’s due, and do link to THAT anime blog. In addition, I am not sure how fast I will translate the manga. I am going to take my time with this, but you should see a chapter every week or so. If you wish to make more mirrors, please go ahead and post a comment. Cheers! I will try to remember to update the post, or any admin can do that ^^.

I must admit that my knowledge of Cao Cao before the Romance of the Three Kingdoms era is very low (which means the later period of Eastern Han and its fall). I would probably need some help from nice readers to enlighten me on some issues that I will be discussing here. Obviously, rather than talking about the story, I prefer to highlight how the anime portrays and shapes the Cao Cao in a light that is largely different compared to the stereotypical vicious villain in most drama/anime series. Also, for those who are interested in historical anime, this is a series that you should watch EVEN IF you do not know much about that time period.

Anyway, Episode 3 spoke of Cao Cao’s posting as the captain of the North gate in the city of Luoyang. For those who do not know about Luoyang, Luoyang is considered to be one of the ancient centers for China civilization. In other words, it is the capital where the emperor stays. Cao Cao is still trying his best despite his tender age (he is twenty at this period of his life) to change the corrupt government. What is the next move for this young Cao Cao who would one day be a legend of China history?

Episode summary

This episode started with a conspiracy by an eunuch who was in the alliance with Zhang Ran. He wanted Cao Cao to kill one of the uncles of the king. The plan is to ask the uncle, a supposedly curious man, to go through the North gate and break the rules. It was to make Cao Cao punish and eventually kill the uncle from punishment as to blame him. Cao Cao did exactly as the eunuch expected and ordered to give 200 slaps to the uncle. After 47 slaps, the uncle died from sheer pain. Seizing the opportunity, the eunuch came out to assault his attempt to kill the uncle. However, it turned out that Cao Cao already expected such a thing, and the uncle was actually safe to observe the tyranny of the eunuch.

After the incident, Cao Cao then asked the uncle to send his proposal that contains the tyranny and corruption of the court to the emperor. Through an elaborate festival, Cao Cao captured the emperor’s attention through an exquistie sword dance. They also survived an ambush by Zhang Ran’s man in the procession. Cao Cao managed to give the proposal to the emperor, but also realized that the emperor was a man who only cared for lust and fun. Cao Cao also recognized that the power in the court is strongly controlled by the group of eunuchs led by Zhang Ran. In other words, he knew that his proposal would fall on deaf ears. As expected, he is sent as a “promotion” to Dunqiu County to remove him from power. However, this will pave the way to strengthen Cao Cao, as we already know.

Thoughts

I personally thought that Souten Kouro should be considered the definitive series for anyone who enjoys historical anime. Contrary to belief, I think that this series does not require you to have any knowledge of the Three Kingdoms Era. However, for those who are well acquainted, the series is pretty dedicated to keeping it close to the true history of the era, rather than the romanticized novel version. The chief reason why I like this anime is how it does not pander to an obvious black-white axis toward the characters in this series, but see them as unique men who all have their ideals to unify China. Obviously, rather than sticking with the extremely biased portrayal in general media of Cao Cao as a villain (stupid novel), this provides a more accurate portrayal of Cao Cao as a brilliant ruler. I will probably write more about this when the other main characters appear, so let me focus on the episode at hand.

Before I go on, a brief description of the crisis in the Eastern Wu period when Cao Cao is the captain of Luoyang’s North district is required. One of the key reasons for the downfall of Eastern Han (the period before the Three Kingdoms Era) is the amount of corruption in the capital that resulted in a lot of suffering for the agricultural-based population. Unlike modern times, agriculture is perhaps the most important form of economy, with the majority of the population depending on farming to survive. A government that cannot take care of the well being of farmers is poor governance, and an imperial court that requires a revolution. That is why Cao Cao often talks about changing the world, and it is a recurring theme for the last three episodes about how a man of ambition is still unstained by the powers to be.

Living in such an era, it is amazing how Cao Cao manages to stick to his ideals so strongly without compromising on rules. Rather than vicious, he was a strict superior that cares for his men and is willing to die for them in any situation. Recollecting on episode three, it’s just a show of Cao Cao’s great character when he punished one of his men for insubordination before making the man his assistant as a show of how he is willing to trust someone after they showed clear support for him. You can perhaps interpret this as fear for death, but I rather see it as awe for a man who feared no one but justice and heaven. Despite little insight on how he interacts with his men, it is clear that Cao Cao clearly deserved the saying of “”You would be a capable minister in peaceful times and an unscrupulous hero in chaotic times.”

The appearance of Liu Hong was a clear sign for Cao Cao that the imperial court is in chaos. It is sad that a man of such optimism that justice will be delivered was shown that corruption is prevalent even in the throne. It is said that a good leader can bring a turbulent nation together while a corrupted leader will split a nation apart. Controlled by the eunuchs in the court, the festival showed everything that is wrong of the nation then. The poor is rising, the emperor cared little of the world, assassinations are open to the world without any fear of repercussions while corrupted officials abused their power. Is it little wonder why the ending of the era was waiting for a revolution to begin?

It’s really little wonder why Cao Cao is a rare being that they fear. That’s why he is sent away. Zhang Ran probably knew that it will be hard to bring down Cao Cao through any means that they could currently, so a “promotion” is probably best for them to remove Cao Cao without killing him. Anyway, I have a question for those who knows their history more. Who is that uncle? Is he anyone prominent in the future? Also, what do you feel about the anime’s approach about Cao Cao’s childhood, which is honestly less documented than his persona in the Three Kingdoms Era?

Chapter 3 took much longer because there is a lot of dialogue compared to the first 2 chapters. It’s a very interesting chapter to say the very least. I urge you to read it. Oh, and I decided to be shameless and make a credit page for myself. Don’t kill me for it!

Cheers! As usual, this is based on the Chinese scans.

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The usual statement

If you want to share this around, go ahead. Just make sure you give credit where it’s due, and do link to THAT anime blog. In addition, I am not sure how fast I will translate the manga. I am going to take my time with this, but you should see a chapter every week or so.

There are some shows out there that are great, and you know why they are great. FLCL is great because it has an insane level of energy and craziness that makes your heart pounding for more. On the other hand, Simoun is wonderful because it has a very intrinsic plot that never becomes predictable and the character development is intense. Saiunkoku Monogatari’s strong and interesting plot twists are perhaps the series’ biggest strength, and makes me want to watch it.

Now, here comes a very different series, Ristorante Paradiso. I am not going to say that this series will ever reach the giddy heights of those great anime. However, from the first three episodes, it has managed to evoke a feeling that only Aria could do to me: that tranquil feeling that calms you down. That says something about this anime.

Good Luciano, you grumpy old man!

The third episode has many scenes that are worthy of mention. One of us concerns the character that I adore the most: Luciano. Shown as merely a grumpy old man in the first episode, Luciano is probably the most sensitive man in the restaurant among all, and I do not mean it in a negative way. For all his grumpiness, this man is very gentle and treats Nicoletta very well in this episode. Yes, he complained and whined about everything under the sun, but that’s simply because he is just a “tsundere.” I probably misused the meaning of tsundere, but he is the type that doesn’t warm up unless it is required to step in. He is the only one that said something at the start of the episode to Claudio. He makes sure that Claudio either stops being overly kind to Nicoletta, if he is not going to give the poor girl a chance. Luciano, without a doubt, is the one that wants to keep harmony for all his grumpiness. He rocks.

He is perhaps the best “gentleman” in terms of quality because he fully respected every single being, and treats everyone with skepticism initially but will be the most loyal ally if you show your worth. That, to me, is pure chivalry at its best. I also smiled when he shook his head over everyone’s insensitivity over the “young wife-old husband” topic.

The main gist of the story involves Olga and Gabriella discussing about Gabriella’s past relationship with Claudio. Olga also revealed that Nicoletta is her child, and it is perhaps interesting how she also mentioned about the child’s love interest in Claudio. The discussion between these two women clearly showed that Gabriella has moved off from the past, and it is clear that she is enjoying her life to the maximum. On the other hand, Claudio continues to live in the past despite knowing that there is no way back for them.

Sadly, the next scene gave false hope to Nicoletta. The bunch were discussing about Vito’s relationship with his young wife. His young wife, merely an university student, met up when they were working in the same place. I thought that the boys were being rather insensitive to Nicoletta while giving her false hope that her obvious pursuit of Claudio might be successful one day. From their associations with Claudio, they should know better that Claudio is extremely stubborn despite being a horribly nice guy. To give a 21 year old innocent pure girl (other than her trying to jump on Claudio in episode 2) false hope is a very mean thing. I can totally understand why Luciano simply sighed.

Obviously from all the talk about older men and younger women, we have Gigi. Gigi is a very interesting entity because he hardly gets involved in the conversation. In fact, he has only said two entire lines for three episodes. Whoever is his voice actor is perhaps earning easy money! (HAH!) However, his relationship and the reason why he is in Ristorante Paradiso is particularly interesting, and I am pretty sure that a future episode will devote some time to him, particularly his friendship with Lorenzo.

The discussion between Olga and Nicoletta is particularly enlightening too. We see that Nicoletta is very straightforward and amusingly similar to Olga. Olga is not the perfect mother by any standards, but she does care about her daughter. Sadly, she did love Lorenzo too much that she has to hide Nicoletta. Is it selfish of her to pursue her love? Perhaps. Is it wrong? I do not have the answer.

At the end of the episode, we realize that Claudio and Gabriella separated because of Gabriella’s work commitments. Claudio realizes that Gabriella’s priority is in her work, and Claudio has to expect being second place in her life. Knowing that dragging the marriage will be painful for both of them, the good guy Claudio decides to pull out. He also told Nicoletta that she can always talk to him about problems if she wanted to. For Nicoletta, she revealed the secret about her and Olga to Claudio.

At the very end of this entry, I like to talk about Claudio. My girlfriend is totally in love with him because of his “gentleman” traits. I have to admit that I dislike Claudio for the same reason she likes him. I feel that his kindness toward all is something that is a major double-edged sword. You cannot be sure that he is kind because it is his way of treating everyone, or because you are a special entity to him. It is misleading and often causes pain. How can that be gentlemanly or chivalrous at all? I am not sure about you, the reader, but I find that Claudio’s treatment of people that way shows somewhat that he is not willing to get close to anyone. He is for everyone, but no one is for him. Isn’t that sad, painful or most of all, horrible to anyone associated with him?

Well, it seems for some reason that Modicus causes a total 500 internal server error when we try to revert to it, so you have an old-school styled theme, aka fspring, (when we first started) for the blog. Obviously, it might not be as awesome as our last theme, but I am quite sure that this intermittent blog theme will please everyone before we work on the current theme to make it look awesome.

Of course, we might take into a certain blogger’s suggestion for a new blog theme, but for now, we will work with the tons of constructive criticism for our “new” theme. Thanks! Now, I will get back to doing the translation for Gente 3 because my girlfriend is annoying me about more Gente chapters!

You can probably tell that we have made a major change from our previous blog template. So, the most important for us right now is to get your feedback, because we always want to see if there are any plausible changes we can make to improve your blog reading experience. We do have to admit that we might not be able to incorporate everything that you mention, but we try our best to see if it makes sense!

Anyway, give your feedback please!

Here are some of the reasons for the template change.

1. The loading time for the previous blog is horrendous. I guess it’s the images that needed to be loaded, or perhaps the number of entries that are shown on the front page. This alerts me that we got to have a splash page to reduce the loading times.

2. I always wanted a better categorization, and show more entries on the front page while not causing longer loading times. This blog template allows us to get the best of two worlds.

3. Always wanted a featured section for posts that we want to keep on the front page no matter what.

4. I wanted a simplistic theme rather than something that complicates matters. It’s of course a little less exciting than our previous template, but it is cleaner and more user friendly in my opinion. We are still working and fixing some issues due to such a major change (Astrobunny nearly died in action for this).

5. If you notice, we provided a specific section for editorials. It’s mostly for Lelangir so that the editorial posts (which are not time-specific posts in general) can get more readership and be exposed often.

6. New template = awesome.

Anyway, we still have a few things to work on because it is not the final product.

- We still need to include the plugins to tidy up our stuff on the sidebar.
- The top menu bar looks dirty ugly, and we have to get it done too.
- The recent comments is not showing what it should, but it will be fixed in the next few days.
- The bright red on the front page can kill, and we have to fix that with a much milder red.

Now, do you think there are any other things that can be improved? Please tell us and we hope to hear the feedback from you!

Edits from comments

1. The anime banners are definitely making a comeback! This is a bit of a “work-in-progress”
2. We will be trying to centralize the blog template, rather than have the main stuff “left aligned”. Not sure how we can do it.
3. We are going to figure out how to do a blogroll on the front page. Give us a little time!
4. We are going to explain the features in the splash page.
5. Calawain is pissed off at me. Scatterbrained Impz is going to be so dead!
6. Thinking of having a sidebar…

Keep up the feedback. We need it!

A bored Impz + Lazy Sunday + Girlfriend demands for more manga releases so she will stop threatening to kill me + She likes gentlemen = Chapter 2 of Gente. Cheers! As usual, this is based on the Chinese scans.

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The usual statement

If you want to share this around, go ahead. Just make sure you give credit where it’s due, In addition, I am not sure how fast I will translate the manga. I am going to take my time with this, but you should see a chapter every week or so.

And you better. If not, he will haunt you with supremely great Engrish for twenty four minutes.

This is a story of a traveler who decides to collect some heroes so that he can see his two friends smooching each other. The big bad overlord seen in episode two needs to be killed, but the heroes have to meet each other through various quests. Of course, they need to gain enough retarded experience to level up. I mean, this is a freaking grinding Japanese game after all.

Hence, first stop: Gay man and horny female ninja. Flag time.

However, the traveler knew that the world is in chaos and will collapse soon if he does not collect all the stars of change. The traveler obviously fears the day that he won’t get enough sex and everyone won’t have time to make love. Oh, and his monkey friend will become puffy ball. He needed more help, especially from someone who can kick ass while looking completely ridiculous. Of course, it will be great if his horse can actually climb vertically. A good logical realistic bonus, if you ask me. Still, since gay man and horny female ninja are peace-loving (read: sit down and look pretty) people, it’s always good to get some useless help.

It was said that his ability of persuasion can make all females going into rosy orgasm. One down.

…and even persuade a gay-dressing man who generally did nothing other than teasing his barely-fanservice ninja to agree with him. What’s the purpose of persuading this gay man when he does not even look like he can defend a single hit? Anyway, two down.

Random sky shot with traveler to add word count.

Of course, there are people who are unhappy that the traveler forgot to visit them.

So, as expected of the extremely stupid warrior type and the muscle man…

They engage in some violent S&M action to provide some fanservice to those with acquired taste. They do try hard to please you sickos after all.

Next stop to collect heroes: Eye patch man. So, the traveler decided to flirt with the eyepatch’s subordinate.

Obviously, the eye patch man does not agree. It’s surprising how this egoistical man goes from totally emo (I mean, rain, swinging the sword alone is so cliche!) to fight this random traveler. I bet the eye patch man only has two modes in his brain: Engrish and Violence.

…And they keep fighting.

In the end, three down. Mission accomplished. Please press START to continue.

Anyway, these are the mirrors for the upload of chapter 1.

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If you want to share this around, go ahead. Just make sure you give credit where it’s due, and do link to THAT. Cheers!

I have not been covering the spring anime for a whole week due to a bad bout of cold and fever. After that, I got very lazy. It’s really bad weather these days (like it will ever be good), and people are dropping faster than popcorn being released into the open. Anyway, I have the fortune to finally make up my mind on the shows I am going to watch. That said, I am still ambivalent whether to follow a series through and through due to my inability to follow a commitment to the very end. If you notice, I have not finished blogging a complete series for ages, and I am not sure if I can do it well too due to time commitments.

Still, here is a quick look at the top five shows that I might be following to the very end for the spring season after the first two/three episodes.

5th place – Sengoku Basara

I have no idea why I like this show. I still cannot remember a single character’s name. The plot is so flimsy and done to death. Even the characters are hardly revolutionary. There’s the arrogant Engrish speaking general, the hot-headed but expected to be a great warrior guy, the typical gay-looking (I still don’t know if he/she is supposed to look androgynous) guy with the huge boob assassin. Cue on for many other cliches. I actually took fifteen minutes of quiet time to figure out why this show is attracting me, since it is not exactly the type of show I care about.

After some thought, I realize it is the sheer over-exaggeration that actually makes the show a rather lighthearted series to follow. You can go in with your head completely empty, look at all the silly crazy fighting that makes almost no sense and just laugh along. It is not deep, nor is it anything meant to be deep. Yet, I realize that it is good because it balances the usual diet of slice-of-life/romance series I watch. If you want something shounen and war-based, and does not treat it seriously at all, Sengoku Basara is one to catch.

4th place – Full metal Alchemist

I have been a huge fan of FMA, so it is unsurprising that it will be included in this list. However, it might be a little surprising how I only placed it in the 4th position. One of the major issues I had with the current series is its voice actors. It is probably how I am pampered with the previous series, particularly the voice actor of Mustang. It just feels a little strange that the arrogance feel of Roy is missing. I am not even sure why, but it just didn’t feel right. It is perhaps just me being picky over the voice acting.

However, there is almost nothing you can really hate about this franchise. BONES, as usual, makes animation look great and cool. The OP by Yui is excellent, as with her many other works. The ED is so unorthodox but it works perfectly fine, with a more wistful and relaxing vibe. My favorite character in FMA, Mr “Super-exhibitionist” Armstrong is also back in a vengeance. What’s not to like about it?

3rd – Asura Cryin

The first episode was clearly exciting. The second episode confused me so much that I wonder if I should drop the whole darn show. I didn’t need the fanservice too that was rather abundant in the second episode. However, they manage to save it and actually make it awesome by the third episode. Many things were immediately apparent, and it saved the show from being dropped to becoming one of the shows I am waiting for.

One thing I like about the show is how all the characters manage to be extremely interesting. For one, we do not have a wimpy, whiny piece of crap for the main male character. He is decently timid but he is just a normal balanced guy. Anime like this, particularly mecha shows, tend to make the male character either abnormally brave or totally gutless. It’s refreshing to see a typical guy going around trying to figure out what is going on. He is not trying to save the world or anything, just protecting his friends. Asura Cryin manages to do what good anime generally does: Keep it simple, keep it tangible and keep it real.

2nd – Souten Kouro

Souten Kouro is obviously one of the shows that I have been keen to watch ever since Calawain’s spring post. I mean, a show with Cao Cao as the main character is something I have to catch at all costs. It did not disappoint me with a very unique way of introducing Cao Cao. The first episode deals with his youth, and the motivation to protect the weak in an era of trouble just before the Three Kingdoms period. The second episode slows down a little with the quick introduction of his first love, and how it has shaped his beliefs over corrupted officials who abuse their power against commoners.

This is something not everyone can enjoy for sure. It is not exactly funny, and I am not sure if someone who is not interested in the Three Kingdoms Era can appreciate such a show. However, the story plot is very strong in my opinion, and I am amazed how it projects a very different feel to most other adaptations of that era. It’s a definite must watch and Madhouse has a clear winner.

1st – Ristorante Paradiso

I actually watched the first two episodes of Ristorante Paradiso with my girlfriend today, and man I was completely hooked. I didn’t expect myself to enjoy it and delayed my viewing for this series. After a long period of annoying persuasion by my naggy girlfriend, I decided to finally watch the series on streaming. After the first episode, I can totally understand why she liked it. It’s like the old man’s version of Aria.

It’s relaxing, it has romance vibes in the first episode. The guys are generally very different from the usual assortment of guys in anime series. For one, they are old/middle aged and that provides very different characters from the norm. The setting of the series is a restaurant with only old gentlemen with glasses serving the customers. I am not sure if this is for everyone but the interactions between the characters will soothe the heart of those that are stressed out after a long day at work or school. This is the type of show you will watch while sipping a soothing cup of earl grey tea in your comfort. Since I have been looking for a good slice-of-life romantic series, this has to be first place in my rankings.

So there you have it, the top five picks for the spring season. The next edition will present the top five drops of the spring season for me. Yes, after the compliments, it’s time for the hate! So, before that entry appears, so long and have fun! Do tell me if I am missing out some gems in this spring season.

You know that the spring season offering is pretty poor for now, when I find a bishie-filled show more charming than all the other pathetic stuff out there. Hanasakeru Seishonen is the story of a half-Japanese heiress transplanted from her ordinary high school days in Japan to a life in America filled with intrigue involving international oil and wealth distribution. Well, they have mixed politics along with romance. It can’t really go wrong for me, can it?

Edit: After finishing the show, I cannot call this bishie. It’s more shoujo than bishie. In addition, most of the thoughts section belong to 13sugars. Her thoughts are in red.

Episode summary

Kajika is a transfer student from America. Her silver eyes and blond appearance was extremely interesting for her Japanese classmates. One of them, Yui, mustered the courage to talk to her, and became good friends with Kajika. The other classmates also asked for her love life. Kajika started to mention about a beautiful “man”, only to reveal that Mustafa is a white leopard. Yui warned Kajika that she was mean to tease those girls. With time, the closeness of Yui and Kajika was starting to annoy the other classmates. This all boils over when Kajika was taunted by her classmates by being lovey dovey with her friend. Yui asked why they were bullying Kajika, and wanted to protect Kajika. However, Kajika managed to dispel the tension through feeding a strawberry to one of the bullies. She then shared her strawberries to everyone in the class.

Yui was a little annoyed that her efforts were seen as “meddlesome.” Kajika did not understand Yui’s behavior, and she explained that she was surrounded by adults since she was young. Hence, she was glad to find a friend in Yui. Just then, a senior bumped into Yui, but Yui was the one to apologize. Kajika asked the woman to apologize, and her stare stumbled the senior a little as she backed off. Yui later told Kajika that senior’s boyfriend was a gangster, and she might have antagonized someone powerful. On their way home, Kajika decided to walk with Yui, and she was waylaid by the gangsters. Brought back to their base, the gangsters tried to intimidate her. The gang leader even wanted to take Kajika as his own, and he was scoffed at for his insolence. They were infuriated and was going to attack Kajika, when her aide Lin Ren came to her rescue.

It turned out that Lin Ren was asked to bring Kajika back to America. Kajika was annoyed that she was called back when she was promised six months for herself. Lin Ren explained that it was the orders of her father. When she returned home, she remembered to give her father a tight slap for bringing her so abruptly. It turned out that he had a game for her. It was a game for her to choose a husband out of three men. These three men would not know about this game, but her father would simply let her have a chance meeting with them. He explained that those men have to choose her, and she had to choose one of them. Kajika asked what would happen if she did not pick any of the guys. Her father said that it meant he lost the game. Later on, her father asked Lin Ren to look after Kajika, and see if the man she chooses is suited for her. Lin Ren accepted the mission, but it seems that there was some quiet resentment over the decision when he left the room.

Thoughts

13sugar’s thoughts

All in all, this is a show for all shoujo-fans. The first episode is worth the watch. And I’m definitely going to follow this.

I actually stole her content from a forum post she made about the first episode of Hanasakeru Seishounen. To add on to her views, I think that it is really good to have female leads like Kajika. I do not know why shoujo series have the issue of having mousey, wussy or damsel in distress female leads that cannot decide what to do on their own.

Sure, I do not mind times of weaknesses when they weep and cry, but not a situation when they cry like a bloody river. They do not have to look like they will die if a wind just about blows at their face. That is why the spunky, straight forward Kajika attracts me to the show almost immediately. She faces up to anyone without any fear, and her ability to state exactly what she thinks makes me fall in love almost immediately. Still, I see her as a girl who has hardly discovered the love side. Let’s see if she’s the thick headed or the gooey type when faced with imminent love. I hope for something in between.

I actually laughed when 13sugars told me that she did not kyaa a lot over the bishie (Lin Ren is her type of bishie). I actually find that the characters are not really that bishie. In fact, it fits more into a shoujo style, even though there’s an obvious josei touch to the show. Nonetheless, the plot of “arranged marriage” is hardly revolutionary, but it is understandable that the source material was a 1980s manga. To be precise, it was released in 1987. Nonetheless, this manga’s story plot and character seemed to age pretty well, and Kajika is like a breeze of fresh air from the annoying little girls that plague our anime screens. All in all, I have to agree with 13sugars that this is extremely interesting, and I am keen to watch this. If you like shoujo, this might be a very good series to feed your addiction for love.

Impz’s recommendation: Great for shoujo lovers, others try at your own risk.

Impz continues to toil on for the search for good anime in this recession spring season. First up is Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou, a show about a little girl who considers herself to be the most important person of all. Tears to Tiara is a fantasy story about a Demon King named Arawn who was sealed away for 1,000 years. Lastly, we have the typical crazy Gonzo shounen production, Slap Up Party ~Arad Senki~.

Note: No summary for this entry, because I cannot be bothered. Maybe, I am just a tad lazy.

Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou

“In the story-department, this show also sucks beyond belief: the lead female tries to reform a bunch of rebellious youths (and of course falling in love with one of them who had a tragic accident in his past that makes him all emo right now) and she tries to fight the super elite club in the school in which only pretty people can join. Even when compared to your average shoujo, this series is the epitome of blatant stupidity. ” — Psgels

 
Psgels completely summarized the essence of this show for me. I agree with him too because this is not even shoujo. It is only crap. The characters are extremely bland and boring, and what is wrong with the animation. It feels like someone decided to be extremely lazy with this, and they actually look 2D rather than the usual pseudo 3D effects that we are used to viewing. Moreover, the seiyuu sound like they do not even want to voice act in this series, because the voice acting was very stunted and passive. It’s as though they are simply talking rather than trying to act like they are somewhat interested. Hell, even for a porn show like Queen’s blade, you can see the attempts of the top seiyuus trying to bring in some personality. It’s almost non-existent here. All in all, it is downright impossible to watch this unless you are some god or something.

Recommendation: Not worth wasting 20 minutes for it

Slap Up Party ~Arad Senki~

Random crazy things on the screen does not make you a FLCL. According to my girlfriend, the amount of time I took to drop this series (at 7 minutes, 22 seconds) is the average amount of time it takes for me to poop. Which by the way is amusingly true. Honestly, I could not be bothered with it after seven minutes. It’s made by GONZO and should have some funny potential but I just find it to be extremely ridiculous and it is hard to immerse into the show.

Recommendation: Try at your own risk

Tears to Tiara

Tears to Tiara isn’t bad. It just wasn’t exciting enough. I am not sure why it didn’t touch me. It has the essentials to work. It starts off with a crazy general who wants world domination by using Riannon, a pure priestess in this village, as a sacrifice in order to conjure a demon lord. The village was empty because the men went to pick mushrooms deep in the forest. The men of this village came back, and found Riannon missing. Obviously, they decided to save her, but is it too late as the demon lord looked to be summoned.

Riannon, voiced by Yuko Goto, was decent but a tad bland for my liking. The other characters are hardly sparkling by any measure. That said, I watched this through Nico Nico Douga, so talking about the animation might seem to be a little weird since the quality is degraded through the streaming channel. However, the first episode sometimes feel like it’s throwing way too many red herrings.

I also spoiled myself a little and realized that the main crust of the story is only starting. The demon lord, where Riannon was used as a live sacrifice for revival, is a pretty interesting character. That might be some interesting batter between the two. So, even though this show bored me, it might still have some potential. I am not sure if I will be bothered to follow it.

Recommendation: It’s ok, but unsure of its potential.