It’s been one hell of a crazy summer. Check out the list:

• I got a new job.
• My external HD (anime storage box) filled itself, effectively cutting my anime consumption down to exactly nil.
• I lost interest in 90% of currently airing shows and discovered exactly what Impz was talking about when he said that he drops shows like crazy.
• typeZERO, a solo venture of mine, was quite successful (by my standards). This proved to me that people read my stuff ’cause they like it, and not just because I write at THAT.
• Due to the above, I lost all motivation to try and crowd-please, resulting in a month long hiatus from blogging. (this was also caused by my new job, having money again, friends being down for the summer, full ExHD, some very entertaining books I got a hold of, and lack of interest in current shows)

NO loli is safe. Notice how Impz does anything to be the center of attention. (He forced me to use this image…no lie.)

But life has finally settled down again and I feel like I’m ready to get back into the old writing chair. So here’s what’s rolling around in my head in terms of ideas for Riex @ THAT:

• Judging by the previews/pvs/cms/trailers, info, etc I’ve seen for the upcoming summer line up, the only show I’m even slightly interested in blogging is Birdy the Mighty Decode. And it’ll probably disappoint.
• From episode summaries, screens, and general viewing, the only two shows currently airing that I’m still interested in are Soul Eater and Itazura na Kiss (and Code Geass, but it doesn’t count).
• Due to the two above, the fact that I have a sexy new netflix subscription, and my interest in “old-school” anime, I’ve decided to concentrate on (DVD volume summaries?). Basically, I’m going to blog old (in internet terms) shit.

We’s is skrate gangstas…or was it punks?

So Soul Eater/Itazura updates, old-school stuff, my typical random feature posts, and maybe Decode in the near future.

I also have super-secret plans in the works that you don’t get details on! Hah. And does anyone know in what order I’m supposed to watch all the R.O.D. shit?

Impz, after he finds out I wrote this post.

So this post isn’t super amazing in length or depth, but it’s does pose a valid, interesting question…so start posting answers people!

Question: How do you go about your anime viewing?

I was talking to Impz about this a couple of weeks ago, and after hearing about my “odd” anime viewing habits, he mentioned possibly wanting to do a post on the subject. I’m here to ruin that dream with a crappy, less informed post. Or I could say this is preliminary research for Impz’s super in-depth high-tech super-awesomeness post later.

As for me, I generally let my episodes pile up until I have a good 4-7 on backlog before I sit down and digest them all in one day. I’ll go for a week or so just casually watching an episode here or there, then go on a 1-2 day spree where I bum out and watch like 20+ episodes.

This makes me a shitty episodic blogger. Sorry THAT. What about you?

Riex brings the WTF, and for those that care, he’s been hiding at typeZERO.

OH, AND IF THE COMMENT WASN’T ENOUGH…HAPPY CAPS B-DAY EXTRANGE!

THAT Wall of the Week: The Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya by jaoi55
Thoughts: Have we not all been wondering where Haruhi-sama hath vanished to? WTF Kyoto, give me Haruhi or give me death…or at least more Full Metal Panic. You have to admit, this wall is hawt stuff. Makes me think the Haruhi crew is going all mob-style on us. Kyon + Tommy Gun = WIN.
Rating: 9/10 I give it a high rating for it’s incredible sense of style. And for the fact that it does exactly what it intends to do…portrays Haruhi’s disappearance as the cold cut mystery that it is (and we get to be detectives!).
How to improve it: You’ll find out after the jump!

Damn right.

Just add what Kyon is really thinking.

Welcome to the first edition of THAT: BS. Now, BS might stand for Big ‘n’ Sexy, but I’m pretty sure you all know what it really means. What is the BS Edition? Well, I’ve made it my goal to bring the WTF, and I’m now bringing the BS as well. It’s basically a couple different weekly things all thrown into a mess of a post and presented for you to stress over. So without any further ado, enjoy!

[That YouTube Battle of the week!]
This week we’re sticking with the Haruhi theme and I’m offering up two fan crafted AMVs. I give my thoughts and opinions, but it’s up to you to decide who the victor shall be. Post your choice in your comment and remember: I want a fscking straight answer!

Contestant #1
Title: Enoz feat. S.O.S. Brigade: Forever

Video broken? Try clicking it for the actual YouTube page, or use this link.

Was that concert episode not the coolest thing ever? This vid does a great job of capturing of intensity of what I consider one of the greatest moments in Haruhistory. The lip-synching is fantastic, as well as the timing for the musicians. Whoever made this video was smart for going the Haruhi x Kyon route…soooo much nostalgia brought up. The umbrella scene, Haruhi and her furry jacket + cell phone, I could go on and on (resist…the…temptation). The ending adds a bit of humor that I find all too bittersweet. Superbly done.

Contestant #2
Title: She’s Just Oblivious

Video broken? Try clicking it for the actual YouTube page, or use this link.

It has the dance. If that’s not enough for you, this vid is fantastically put together. Go listen to the lyrics again…this is the perfect song for Haruhi if I could ever name one. Instead of a romantic focus, this vid flawlessly captures the essence of Haruhi’s personality: crazy, different, spectacular, beautiful. It reminds me of everything about TMoSH that was FUN. And once again, it has the dance.

[THAT Challenge of the Week!]
Try to spot Haruhi in the wallpaper above. Bet you can’t do it. It’s like Where’s Waldo…but not.

[Riex Rants!]
Well, I unintentionally stirred up way too much of my own nostalgia for TMoSH, and I know that I’m going to have to go back and watch the series again before the second season comes out. I almost never (read: 99% of the time) watch an anime series more than once, so for any series to be able to garner an entire second viewing from me, it has to be amazing. Look forward to next week where hopefully I won’t get all sappy without noticing it. (Curses, my plan to be a cold-hearted dictator is failing! Oh noesssss!)

Anything else you’d like to see in the BS Edition of THAT? There aren’t really any rules here, so make some suggestions. Bitches.

…she’s got her head up in the clouds, sharada sharada…

I continue to be impressed. This time it’s not by crazy fighting shenanigans, but by the subtleties in the story telling.

It’s hawt shiz! Hah! Did you think I was gonna go all serious and stuff? For those worried about the future of Nabari posts, never fear…I’ll continue to put out nice concise posts full of pictures for the fangirls. I’m too intrigued by this show and too fond of my bite-sized posts to do anything else.

Damn right, that’s sexy for ya right there…and no, I’m not talking about Miharu or Kouichi.

[OneLiner Summary]
In the aftermath of the attack on Fuma village, Miharu and the others brainstorm with Kotarou to find a way to remove the Shinrabanshou…or at least stop the Iga ninjas from getting it.

[Thoughts]
I was expecting this episode to be pretty boring, but I got a decent “recovery” episode instead. It looks like Miharu is coming out of his shell a little bit, even if he doesn’t notice it (would he have even said anything in front of all of those people before?). Finally I get multiple options for which female to root for, and currently Anti-Gravity Shirt chick is beating Tiny Moe Loli who is beating Raimei. Nothing like a nice WOMAN to stare at instead of some little girl drawn like she’s 20 even though the facts say she’s 13.

Obligatory Yoite Shot: I want YOU for the psychopathic ninja brigade. We knit on Thursdays.

The end of this episode is what really grabbed my attention and provoked a “finally, hell yes” from me. At the end of the episode, everyone is sitting around talking about plans when someone points out that their plan would make them no different than the Iga ninjas. Instead of going baby mode and offering some lame ass logic or trying to find another way, Kotarou basically says “Damn right…I never said what we’re doing would be just.” Thank you oh fellow lover of ladies…you finally take the pretty layers off of all the heroics and point out the bullshit that’s underneath it all. It’s time to man up, grow some balls, and kick some ass like a badass instead of a hero. Here’s hoping Nabari no Ou pulls it off well.

My sentiments exactly. Like how I did that ladies…more shots for me this week! Muahaha.

Highlight: The appearance of a chick with a rack, and Kotarou’s line at the end. Hands down.
Next Week: Looks like we end up back at school again…at least for a while. Raimei’s still swinging her sword around though.
Trivia: The name “Kotarou” makes me think of the little kid from Black Blood Brothers every time I hear it.

Riex brings the WTF! Want more ninja action? Check out my exclusive interview with Naruto @ typeZERO!

THAT Wallpaper of the week: Everylittle thing by Xyric.
Thoughts: LOLOLOLOLOLOL. This is the gayest shit I’ve ever seen. But it’s still fscking awesome. If I was one of the Pokemon in the wallpaper above, which would I be and why?
Rating: 8/10 Pokemon + Gay Expressions + Rainbows = WIN…points off for the background though.
How to improve it: Add a Care Bear.

Dear THAT readers,

Today I bought a pony, it spoke to me and said:
There’s an awful lot of randomness that’s floating in your head
Oh yes, I said to Pony, you know I do not jest
When I tell you it’s on anime that I ramble the best.

You probably can’t see this picture. WTF, right? I can’t either.

It is with feigned dismay that I must inform you of a grave situation that has arisen at THAT animeblog. My position has crumbled, my will has left me, and my inspiration has been packaged in the wrong box. Somewhere along the way, Impz and I discovered that I have been blogging in a lame conventional box that makes me feel like my shit’s mediocre. This doesn’t make any sense, and I wonder why you’re still reading it. Seriously, this has been done before…you all know where it leads. You’ll stick through all the way to the end thinking that I’ll eventually offer up some tidbit of information that’s worth it. But it’s not going to happen. I’ll just keep rambling until you stop. I won’t say anything about how my place in this blog is changing, or how I’m going to be posting both here and at my own site.

Wasn’t I supposed to write about some ninja anime today? Here’s your pic ladies.

Seriously though, all stupidity aside, cats are better than dogs. I mean…uh…I will no longer be blogging on THAT in an episodic or editorial fashion. Impz and I both agree that my strengths lie elsewhere (I is not a SRS Business blogger)…be it in quick news posts, bite sized hilarity (aka Naruto in the Friday Ramble), and just random crap that no one cares about but me. So instead of trying to fit into conventional blogging, we said “let Riex bring the WTF to the table”. And so I will. My goal: one digestible post a day. All my other nonsense will be posted on my newly made personal animeblog typeZERO.

*I’ll still be ranting about Soul Eater and Nabari, for those that care. I just won’t be running my mouth as much.

Riex brings the WTF! For more, check out typeZERO (launched on Tuesday, April 29th…empty as hell right now).

[Intro]
This week I’m bringing you the start of our new, out-of-the-box Soul Eater blogging. Episode 03 was the end of the Soul Eater prologue and I think it’s an appropriate starting point for our “SRS Business” blogging. After the obligatory summary and thoughts I’ve begun work on our “SE Character Reference Sheet”. It takes a fair amount of work/time to fill in the information there so I’ve only done our main characters for this week. This sheet will continually be updated and revised (so long as the anime continues) and is based on EVENTS SHOWN IN THE ANIME SO FAR. Yes, some information not listed here has been revealed in the manga, but until it appears in the anime, I consider it “unknown”. Any help filling in details is welcomed, be it aliases, quirks, (anime current) information, etc. More characters will be added next week, and I’m planning on at least 2 or more characters added per episode. Enjoy!

[OneLiner Summary]
Death the Kid appears as the final character in the Soul Eater prologue as we watch his battle against the Egyptian Pharaoh Anubis and his own personal…”difficulties”.

You just wait Tony Hawk, someday I’ll have 18 of my own games on multiple consoles too…

[Thoughts]
It’s been almost a week since I first watched this episode, and I’ve discovered one important fact: I’m going to keep saying the same crap over and over again when it comes to this show. I love the soundtrack, I love the fight scenes, the voices, everything. I would say that episode 03 was by far the funniest episode I’ve watched so far…it had me rolling laughing at Death’s “I’m filth, I’m swine, I should die!” antics, Patty’s psychotic child-like laughter, Liz’s paranoia and her reaction to being licked by a “kinda cute” mummy. That’s what I love about Soul Eater, the soul! Every character has quirks and faults and while full of shoneny GARness, manages to remain extremely human and accessible.

Highlight: I’ll admit it…Patty and Liz wrapped up in mummy dressings…Hawt. (with a capital ‘H’) Other than that, any scene where Kid was flying around to that ridiculously awesome JPOP theme song.
Next Week: Maka and Black Star battle a zombified Sid in a graveyard during “extended classes”.

[Content]
Note: I’m writing about our protagonists as if they’re being monitored from the antagonists’ perspective and vice versa. Hence the “threat” evaluation. Also, I held back on a lot of the “funny” that will be added in the future due to not wanting to spoil the anime.

Soul Eater Character Reference Sheet

Name: Maka Albarn
Alias: n/a
Information: Maka Albarn, Shibusen technician and partner of Soul Eater. Daughter of Death Scthye and an as of yet unknown female scythe technician. Harbors a strong distrust for all males, with the exception of her weapon partner, Soul Eater. Appears very down-to-earth and level-headed.
Battle Performance: So far all we’ve been able to ascertain is her armed combat abilities. Maka wields her partner Soul in the form of a scythe with above-average skill, however due to a lack of data, she is currently not considered a threat.
Quirks: Small chest, jealousy towards females with larger chests, and an obvious bitterness towards her “cheating” father.

Name: Soul Eater
Alias: n/a
Information: Soul Eater, Shibusen student and partner of Maka Albarn. Origins are currently unknown. Obsessed with all things “cool” and manly. Can’t seem to handle his women.
Battle Performance: Reports so far state that while usually in weapon form, Soul can transform parts of his body into weapons and, in a way, wield himself. This does not appear to be overly effective though, and his threat is determined by the status of his partner, Maka.
Quirks: Bleeds from the nose at the appearance of beautiful women and wishes he was a GAR as Kamina (see: TTGL).

Name: Black Star
Alias: “Pop*Star!”
Information: Black Star, Shibusen technician and partner of Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. Origins currently unknown. Appears to be a trained assassin, although he is fatally flawed by his fixation on making himself the biggest, most noticeable character. Although a bit of a pushover normally, Black Star is a force to be reckoned with once he becomes serious.
Battle Performance: While fairly capable with his weapons, Black Star’s tendency to expose himself at the wrong times for theatrical purposes make him a minor threat. Once he starts to take a battle seriously, his prowess for both hand-to-hand and armed combat jump to exceptionally high levels.
Quirks: Currently competing against Blair on Shibusen Idol (and losing), angry because Death the Kid will always be more popular than him, wishes Tsubaki would bathe with earplugs.

Name: Tsubaki Nakatsukasa
Alias: the Dark Demon Blade
Information: Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, Shibusen student and partner of Black Star. Origins unknown. How she puts up with Black Star we may never know, especially considering she is an extremely talented and professional student. Tsubaki is capable of shifting into multiple weapon forms.
Battle Performance: No independent battle action has been shown yet, although she is capable of serving as a decoy for her partner when necessary. Due to her partner, her threat level is determined by his seriousness. Ability to shift into multiple weapon types does rank her higher than Soul Eater though.
Quirks: A defender to bathing women everywhere, currently competing in Shibusen’s Next Top Model, Riex’s current SE crush.

Name: Death the Kid
Alias: n/a
Information: Death the Kid, Shibusen shinigami and partner of Patty and Liz Thompson. Son of Shinigami and an unknown partner. Obsessed with perfection, Death the Kid (casually known as “Kid”) is already a shinigami, but wishes to collect souls for his weapons like everyone else. He’s got an odd passion for symmetry and so he wields two weapons partners, doubling the amount of souls he must collect. Travels around on a flying skateboard.
Battle Performance: When faced with a symmetrical opponent, Kid is even less threatening than freshman Shibusen technicians as he is rendered totally incapable of fighting. Once that symetry is destroyed, Kid becomes a psychotic madman harnessing immense destructive power. If he’s around and your hair doesn’t part down the middle, GTFO.
Quirks: Has attempted to make an appearance in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Again, handles his women much better (and rougher, I might add) than Soul, has more mood swings than a teenage female on the rag.

Name: Patricia & Elizabeth Thompson
Alias: Double Team Demon Guns
Information: Patty and Liz Thompson, shinigami weapons of Death the Kid. Origins currently unknown. Sisters with very distinct personalities, the Thompsons serve not only as Kid’s weapons, but as his moral support as well. Patty is the younger sister with a larger bust size (which drives Liz crazy) and a very child-like personality. Elizabeth is the older sister with a smaller bust size who has a more age appropriate attitude.
Battle Performance: In the hands of [a functional] Death the Kid, Patty & Liz live up to their alias “Double Team Demon Guns”. Even without Kid, the duo is capable of using one sister as a weapon while the other sister wields her. This is a significant increase in battle prowess compare to Soul/Tsubaki, although no solo skills and abilities have been found yet.
Quirks: Both sisters are competing in Shibusen’s Next Top Model.

So that’s what the character sheet looks like. By the time this show is done it’s going to be huge! My goal is to create a informative, humorous, and yes, slightly opinionated point of reference for current/future visitors/viewers of the show. I’m not trying to make a Wiki, but something personalized for my tastes and those of the readers at THAT. Chip in, and let’s turn this into something great.

No no no, you don’t walk away from that. *sigh*

So what do you think, is this kind of content worth waiting until the weekend for? Or would you rather just have the churned out summary/thoughts ASAP?

Any stats you’d like to add to the character sheets? (IE: favorite color…and no, I’m not adding that)

I’ve got “competitions” planned for the future. Mostly spoofs off of popular American TV shows, hence Shibusen’s Next Top Model and Shibusen Idol. Any other ideas?

Holy shit.

In one episode, Nabari no Ou has instantly grabbed my top spot for the week so far. I don’t even think Soul Eater’s third episode is going to be able to top this one. To describe it in one word: Intense. I was going to mock this show ala Naruto style, but after being riveted to the screen for the entirety of the episode, there’s just no way I can do that. And man, I’m not disappointed. I’m freaking excited.

Kouichi: OMG! Injuries aren’t just composed of random blood and dirt-caked faces! I didn’t sign up for this!

[OneLiner Summary]
The group heads into the exposed Fuma village where they are assaulted by a group of Iga ninjas and summarily pwned.

[Thoughts]
We get a good sampling of the fighting intensity that J.C. Staff is putting into this show, especially with Yoite’s power. I was sitting in my chair cringing at the sound of bones cracking, muscles ripping and voices screaming in agony. The anime manages to be more explicit than the manga in a less graphic way. The music and lack of music during battles was superb. Go back and watch the beginning of Raimei’s solo fight to see what I mean about the absence of music making a scene that much more intense, and check out the closing of Yoite’s battle and see if the music there gets your heart racing any faster.

I haven’t really read anything beyond this point in the manga, and I’m beginning to wonder exactly where the show’s going to go from here. Is Miharu going to go through the all-too-typical training procedures that every shounen character must face before setting out on some grand journey? I honestly would like to see the plot continue with Miharu at his same power because it’d be nice to see Nabari really put an emphasis on urgency. However, considering the fact that there doesn’t seem to be anything to race the clock for we’ll probably settle into a bit of a character development lull. Not a bad thing, but with an episode this intense, you can’t help but want more.

He makes the ladies swoon…Oh yes, that means you. You’re all ladies in the eyes of Yoite.

Highlight: This episode had so many “Oh Fsck!” moments I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’m going to have to award the highlight to Yoite getting swatted by a giant cat/fox/whatever though. I was practically jumping out of my seat when that happened.

Next week wraps up the battle at Fuma village and introduces us to Fuma Kotaru’s antics.

Bonus!!!

Check out the video for the OP song! It’s one of my faves this season.

Now that I’ve seen the whole video I like the song even more…not to mention there’s a cute chick ripping on bass. Hawt.

*sigh* Why do the retards end up with all the cute girls?

[Intro]
I’ve explained my disdain for episode summaries. I’ve rambled about the Friday Ramble and my One-Shot War ideas. Sweated my face off working on the site theme and the majority of the previews for the current season. I’ve pestered and harassed you guys as much as I can. The funniest part? I haven’t had a show to blog regularly until now. So I think it’s important to set some standards before we start this journey.

[Bullet-Speed/OneLiner Summary]
Episode 02 introduces the character Black Star and depicts his failure to obtain the 99 kishin souls and 1 witch soul he needs to turn his weapon partner Tsubaki into a death scythe.

Mifune, Destroyer of Worlds. Has a soft spot for tiny witches and long walks in derelict castles.

[Thoughts]
Black Star is an absolute idiot. But that’s what makes his character all the more awesome. The moments when he gets serious and shows his true self usually end with him dishing out some unbelievable pwnage. I’m officially a HUGE fan of Tsubaki and I can’t wait until we get to see more of her story later on. If you need to, go back and rewatch the fight between Black Star and Mifune (who’s badass in his own right) and really pay attention to how awesome the background music was, especially near the beginning of the encounter. Keep in mind Tsubaki’s ability to change into different weapons, as this comes in to play later on in the plot.

Highlight: Black Star showing his real skills as an assassin and pulling his crazy “Black Star Big Wave” out to kick Mifune’s ass. The set up and execution was flawless and just plain sick. And I love Tsubaki’s voice!
Next Week: First there was Jack the Ripper, then Al Capone, now Death the Kidd takes on Lupin the Thief. This is the last of the “prelude”/introduction episodes.

[Content]
I’ve mentioned it several times before, but I’ve got some crazy ideas for Soul Eater. If all goes well, it’ll be like nothing you’ve seen on THAT before. Some of you will love it, some of you will hate it. If you want episode summaries you’re going to have to look elsewhere. I you want an essay of my thoughts on an episode…you guessed it, look elsewhere. My thoughts on the show can be summed up in four words: I’m still watching it. You should be able to see anything beyond that in the effort that I put into the posts that I write and then use your common sense and context clues to figure it out from there.

My goal is to make these posts sort a “DVD extra” if you will. An addition to the show that offers something a little more fun and unusual that you wouldn’t normally find. I want you to come back to these posts because you know there’s going to be something interesting that is more than just someone’s opinion and summary. I’ll shut up for now though, because seeing it is much better than just hearing about it.

A note on comments: For these posts, I will be leaving comments open for 2 weeks after the post date. After that comments will be closed, a link to the latest post will be added and discussion from any episode can be continued there. I think it’s ridiculous for someone to post on an episodic article months after it’s already been written. Post on the latest episode…that’s where the discussion’s at anyway.

Black Star Big Wave! Usually followed by the phrase: PWNED! and/or “Who’s the Star now Biatch!”

Here’s the basic post format I’m going to be using (it’s outlined for example purposes in this post):

Intro – Whatever I want to mention before we dig into the main course of our post.
Bullet-Speed/OneLiner Summary – The summary as quick and to the point as possible. OneLiner will be used as much as possible because from the reader feedback in the questionnaire I posted, not many people care about summaries anyway.
Thoughts – This is where I mention general thoughts on the episode and anything specific that I found terrible or awesome, etc. Expect this to be 1-3 paragraphs long for normal posts.
Content – The “DVD Bonus Feature” of the post. This is the main content of the post and may or may not be directly related to the episode, but will be related to the show as a whole and what has happened in it so far.
Outro/Questions – Spot for me to wrap things up, pose questions to the readers, and offer the preview for next week’s Bonus Feature.

This picture is worth 2,000 words. OBO…bids start on Sunday.

[Outro/Questions]
I focused a lot this week on explaining what things are going to be coming soon, but hopefully you’ve got a grasp on how I’m trying to handle these posts. Next week we jump into the real content and begin our “Character Reference Sheet” and I hope it’s the beginning of something that’s been worth waiting for.
A few things to be thinking about/offer ideas on:

- I don’t want to keep saying “DVD Extras”…any great Soul Eater themed ideas for a title?

- Every main character in Soul Eater is going to get a consistently updated nickname. This is based on personality and actions. Start thinking of ideas for your favorites now…they’re going on the character sheet we start building next week.

- I know it’s pretty vague right now, but any comments on my ideas? Look forward to next week!

Hahaha! LOL…yeah! Fag.

Nabari no Ou entries are not going to be of epic proportions (yet). Due to some “complications” I guess I’ll be handling Nabari mostly by myself. This wasn’t the planned idea, so you’ll have to give me a week or two to redo my mindset and get this series kicked into gear. For now, you get a glimpse of some ideas stolen from my future Soul Eater posts, as well as my outlook on the show and where it could go.

And by the way, for anyone who’s interested I’ve shortened my name to just “Rieu Riex”…may the lazy (me) rejoice!

Let’s start out by saying that I LOVE this show, it’s great. However, as it has become the substitute for Naruto in my blogging world I find myself compelled to blog it in a similar manner. These posts are more than likely going to filled with a substantial dose of vitriolic commentary, just know that at the heart I love this show no matter how much I make fun of or praise it.

Uh huh. I bet one day you’ll be the Hokage too, right?

Stolen from future Soul Eater posts, the Bullet Speed Summary:

• A new character, Raimei is introduced. She arrives in Banten village to examine the Shinrabanshou’s worthiness as a leader in the “psh…are you even cool enough to be king?” manner. This eventually leads to her discovering that Miharu isn’t a cold-hearted bastard and blah blah blah…we’ve seen this drill before.
• Miharu has been secretly practicing his ninja techniques, and once Raimei finds out she decides to take Miharu to her native village of Fuma. It is here that she hopes to introduce him to Fuma Kotaru, a leading authority on all things related to ninja techniques. The group takes a train to Tokyo and a bus from there to the woodlands where Fuma village is located. Along the way we discover that Tobari is afraid of riding in vehicles and walks everywhere he goes.
• Upon arriving at the woodlands, Raimei starts describing the “Mist” technique that keeps Fuma village hidden. As the group progresses further into the woods they discover that somehow the mist technique has been destroyed and the village attacked…

*crush* Lucky Miharu…

Not a whole lot of action going on in this episode, although we did get a closer look at some of the quirks of our protagonists. Tobari sensei is afraid of vehicles, Kouichi instantly gets an uber crush on Samurai-Blonde, Miharu likes to save birds…and Raimei has a habit of mistaking people’s identities. I’ve only read a little further than this in the manga, so I know enough to be excited about the next couple of episodes but I’m as lost as anyone else after that.

I’m trying to come up with appropriate nicknames (semi-stolen from future Soul Eater posts, though not as in depth) for all the characters and reader suggestions are welcome. Samurai-Blonde is staying because it’s just way too fitting. I don’t have any great ideas for the other characters yet although I do like calling Kouichi “Fag”. That’s not very original however…

Didn’t someone ask for a million pictures of this guy? Maybe I should call him “Oh shi-! Sensei”

Highlight: My personal favorite moment from this episode (and probably what I’ve read of the manga) is when Miharu totally disarms two opposing basketballs players with just a look. Absolutely hilarious, especially when you add their line “My parents would’ve killed me.” Go watch it again…absolutely classic.

I need feedback! Below are a few questions and I would LOVE some responses…be as verbose or concise as you like. What I end up doing here is dependant upon your answers! (yes, I know this is late…sorry)

Soul Eater update: I’m going to be following the ‘Late Night’ subbed version of the show. So yes, episode 02 has been released in regular version RAW, I’ve watched it and it was hawt. As much as I want to blog it, I’m waiting until Thursday/Friday when the LN version comes out and gets subbed. Feel free to go elsewhere for quick and easy Soul Eater information, but I can guarantee that you won’t regret sticking with me for the ride…I’ve got a lot planned.

Anyway, on to the questions:

1. I expected to pick up 3-4 shows this season, but so far I’ve only got Soul Eater and Nabari no Ou (and I’m co-blogging Nabari with Extrange, so it only counts as a half). I’m willing to do one of two things: a) pick up one other show that isn’t already being blogged (and blog it extensively), or b) do a “Friday Ramble” style post where I briefly cover 2-4 random shows every week. Which would you prefer to see? For either option, please list 2-3 shows you’d like to see get attention.
2. Extrange and I really hate doing summaries…I’ve got that all covered and worked out as far as Soul Eater goes, but I really don’t want to steal those ideas and apply them to Nabari. So Nabari fans, what would you like to see in our posts? If you say summary, we’ll stab you…no joke.
3. This one’s just for me: how important are images to you in a post? Do you like/need a million pics? Do you prefer large pics with captions, the 6-images per picture deal, or thumbnails that you can enlarge?
4. And last, I don’t blog to hear my own voice. I write in the hopes that something I said will spark a discussion amongst readers or at least motivate them enough that they’ll post a giant comment or a ‘that sucked’ or ‘that rocked’. How do you feel about posts where reader participation is a central component? Would you rather have slabs of content that you can read and digest, or content that is more of a frame/motivator to get readers to flesh out the content with discussion?

I know that looks huge, but the questions themselves are fairly simple. For those of you who read and leave, this is the one time that I would really love for you to go the extra mile and let me know how you feel/what you want. I honestly don’t want to waste my time either putting out content that is boring or generic, or trying to cook up creative ideas when you don’t even want them. Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

This is the third series in the spring 08 season that I am very keen about. Library War plays on a rather unique storyline: the understanding of information and the use of information as a social control. In my undergraduate studies, I have been very interested in politics and the use of information. In one of my research papers, I discuss on the ban of the podcast during the Singapore General Elections, using a laboratory experiment to see the persuasion effects between using podcasts and text-based websites. Currently, on my graduate courses, I have taken a module on Information and Communication technologies.

Needless to say, the concept of Library Wars attract me a lot. I will try to add in a bit of what I have learned in my studies. I hope that it will be an enriching look, yet sticking with the ditsy style of Impz’s writing. Also, I will like to thank fellow lover of Toshokan Sensou, Usagijen, for her invaluable insights to the characters.

Episode summary

The Media Improvement project is a clause created by the government seemingly to restrict access of offensive media and the freedom of expression. From that project, the Media Improvement Brigade Militia (MIB) is born, a group that can take to task any personnel who attempts to impede the project. Iku Kasahara, then a young girl, picks up a novel that she has been waiting. A group of the MIB came to the bookstore, attempting to confiscate all the books. She notices that the book she is holding is within the pile and tries to hide it. When she struggles to hold on, a man from the Library Task Force’s Defense Group (LTF) protects her.

In present day, we see Iku running drills under the supervisor of Dojo. She collapses in exhaustion, only to be punished by Dojo. After training, she complains how Dojo is clearly picking on her. Her friend, Asako, thinks he is quite cute. However, Iku says that he is short and has a horrible character. Dojo hears it and warns her how he might take it personally during their training. Asako “betrays” her, saying that she only complimented Dojo just now. While leaving, Iku drops a letter that is addressed to her parents, telling them that she is doing fine. She tells Dojo that she will not send it back since her parents banned her from joining the LTF.

We learn more about the MIB, and the reason for their harsh measures. As a counter measure, The LTF is set up to protect these books, and bring books to protected zones. These two forces have clashed over the control of information, and it has become a militarized war. Komika asks how Dojo thinks of Iku, and it’s clear he knows about her good physical abilities. Komika asks if Dojo has made “his choice” and Dojo says he is not sure since it is not all about physical strength. In the judo ground, Iku dispatches a fellow classmate, only to be beaten flat by Dojo.

After the training, Iku complains why Doujou deliberately picks a fight. Her friend asks if that constitutes a drop kick on him, but she complains that he literally made a painful arm bar grip. Asako tells her that Dojo probably took it easy on her but is not appreciated by the wild monkey (Iku). Asako asks about Iku’s parents but Iku says she is hiding it from them. Asako also asks why she joins despite the objections and it is clear Asako has checked on Iku’s background. When Asako presses further, Iku goes to sleep to avoid the embarrassing situation. Iku joined the LTF due to that person who saved her, and thinks of him as a prince charming.

The next day, Iku discusses about her hate of studying to Komika. Komika also gives a hint to Iku on why Dojo is so harsh on her. He tells her about how training is similar to her former athletics training. Iku, while meeting Dojo, does not understand Komika’s words. A suspicious person seems to be hiding a book underneath his clothes. It seems that he is trying to cut out a swimsuit poster, and charges at Iku with a penknife when he is discovered. Iku easily floors him but is too complacent as the man charges again. Dojo took a punch for her, and easily pins down the man with handcuffs. However, he slaps her due to her complacency, saying that she should quit if she thinks she is just doing sports.

Iku is still feeling down, but Ayako tells Iku that he places her name as the officer who caught the man. As she goes to the lounge, she gets into an argument with him. She asks why Dojo puts her name and starts to cry uncontrollably, as she mumbles she does not have the right to be listed. Dojo just tells her to rest. Iku says she will not give up as she wants to be like her prince charming. The next morning, Iku goes out with Ryusuke, with Ryusuke secretly telling Iku that Dojo has been depressed that he is unable to protect Iku well.

The MIB is seemingly trying to steal books from a girl in a bookstore. Ryusuke warns her that they cannot do anything in a bookstore, only in the library. They are not justice enforcers. However, Iku rushes in, and Ryusuke calls Dojo to help. Iku warns the three MIB officers about taking the book, only to realize that her rank is too small for any enforcement duties. She faces the same situation back when she is young, only for Dojo, Komaki and Ryusuke to save her. Dojo literally screamed the living lights out of her as she acted like an idiot, just like her prince charming. Nonetheless, he told her to give the child the book. After that incident, Iku finds out that she is invited to the secret “task force”.

Impz’s thoughts

You know, without our Rabbit blogger whoring the life out of the show, I am already interested in blogging this show. Her endorsement (which is one of the few bloggers I bother listening to, though I sound elitist) just piles up to the “must watch” factor. I must say that the episode does not disappoint. In fact, it went beyond my expectations.

Using information as a storyline is a very refreshing approach for a story. It is perhaps over dramatized, but there is a hint of truth in which information is used as a form of controlling or managing social life. Let me explain. In an information society, information can now be easily be broken into digits and bits (the 1 and 0 as they say). In that case, it allows the information to be commodified in a capitalistic market. That means we consider certain information (like watching a World Cup match on pay-per-view) to have a cost.

Hence, with the increasing ability to measure and commodify the information, we are seeing a situation when technology can monitor our movement easily. That is why in times of war, the mass media is often the one that propagates pro-government values. Remember Hitler, Mussolini and their use of the mass media? Despite people using their personal view to resist such messages, they manage to bring a whole nation into a fervent war path.

In addition, books and the mass media represent values that can spread. Can democracy spread in a world where no one is able to read any books that are remotely promoting this form of ideology? In a condition where there is a fear climate, will there be a widespread of knowledge and information? The loss of talent and knowledge during the WWII is tremendous with the Holocaust, and the fact that something so stupid like a bikini babe poster has to be banned shows the amount of desperation of such times where information becomes a scarce commodity. Hence, it’s definitely not silly. All right, enough of theory, back to the show.

The first thing that catches my eye is the animation. I am not a crazy sucker for animation, and I am fine with just average. However, I am not stupid to see that graphics is great in Library Wars. The music (OP + ED) is awesome, something that many series do not have. I am quite appalled at the poor OPs by most series in this season. This makes it all worthwhile for me for such a show that I am anticipating.

The characters are also voiced by excellent seiyuus, including Marina Inoue, Miyuki Sawashiro and Akira Ishida. All of them have been excellent in bringing their characters to life. I particularly like Komaki, if only because his funny behavior seeing Iku and Dojo fighting it out all the time. I think his response is just so hilarious, considering he keeps laughing at the antics of the two. Iku is a very strong lead, and it’s good. Without a good female lead, I cannot watch a show.

So, will I recommend the show? Hell yeah! Action fans, shoujo fans should find something nice in this show. I am sure that the series will become a bit more famous at the juicy parts. Moreover, the chibi forms are used in a very good time, creating nice humor. There is something for everyone, blended in with a very eclectic mix. This show is one to catch, without a shadow of a doubt.

Rieu’s thoughts

After doing it 3-4 times, the whole sub-section audio/animation/etc stuff got kind of old, so I probably won’t be doing that for the rest of the series that are coming out this season (the few that are left). I’m much more excited to just bring you my initial impressions and reactions in whatever form my randomness decides to take.

So, Library Wars (LW). This was one show that I was interested in when I heard about it, although the only details I knew about it were the things you could read in any summary on any website/blog. I haven’t read any of the manga (didn’t know there was one until Impz informed me that he’d been reading it), and I honestly don’t understand that much Japanese.

In a sense, you can say that I watched the Library Wars RAW clueless as to what was being said and with only a basic understanding of the plot. That, readers, is why LW has managed to impress me so much with a single episode. I got excited about Nabari, then flipped my lid over Soul Eater, and right now, I’d say that LW now has a place in my Top 3 Most Anticipated shows of the season.

Why? The animation is top-notch. I like the character designs, something about the hard black edges that frame the characters really appeals to me. The chibi-ish forms and over exaggerated expressions are something found in about every anime, but LW still managed to have a subtlety distinguished style of it’s own. The music was sometimes a little repetitive, but not bad repetitive…you noticed that the same song had been playing for a while, but it wasn’t a bad song so you didn’t mind that much.

Most importantly, with the exception of 1-2 places where the focus was on scenery (ie: an overview of the city), LW had me riveted to the screen. Absolutely sucked into it’s world and characters even though the episode was relatively calm and despite the fact that I didn’t know what anyone was saying. I am surprisingly impressed and humbled, and you should definitely not miss the chance to check this series out. Oh, and did I mention that I like both the OP and the ED?

For those who haven’t heard already (or didn’t read the tiny hint I gave in my previous Soul Eater post), Soul Eater is set to air on two different days each week. On Mondays, the regular daytime version is released, and on Thursdays a “Late Night” (LN) version will be released. Although everyone kept calling it an “unedited” version (which has been pissing me off soooo bad), this is not the case. The LN version features additional content. Now you’ve all read what I thought about Soul Eater episode one (it’s was awesome!), and I just finished watching the RAW of the LN version. So how do the two add up and what differences are there? As of right now, not many.

As I watched the episode I only found two major differences. One, there was a very breif clip where Shinigami said a few words and then it showed a close-up of Blair’s well-endowed rack. Two, at the end of the episode there was a much longer preview that showed scenes from what I believe should be the next 2-4 episodes. Now, there could be differences in some of the dialogue, but as I’ve stated many times, I’m not fluent enough in Japanese to pick up the differences without paying very close attention.

So is the LN version anything to get super-excited about? Not really, but I have to admit, I did get kind of excited about that extended preview…nice shots of action from Black Star, Death the Kid, Maka, and several others. The LN version itself wasn’t all I’d hoped it be, but it has managed to get me even more excited about the next episode…screw H2O, Soul Eater rocks your soul! (as for what version I’ll be following…it’ll be whatever the best sub group is following)

There are only a few shows that have yet to premiere (or that don’t have RAWs yet), those being: Kaiba, Junjou Romantica, Golgo 13, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, and Nijuu Menzou Musume. I doubt we’ll be covering Golgo 13 extensively, but the rest of those shows should have a decently sized entry committed to them.

Some shows have aired and we haven’t written anything on them yet. For the most part this is because they were either horrible, or the first episodes just didn’t catch us in a way that made us want to put in the extra effort to write about them on top of all the work we’ve been doing for the shows we are interested in. 30+ shows is a LOT. We are working on a “Spring 2008: Leftovers” post though, in which we we’ll briefly touch on those series we have missed. Look for it sometime Saturday/Sunday.

Library Wars was the hawtness and there will be a post on it later tonight when Impzie wakes up. Go watch it and be ready to rant about it with us!

Thanks for reading and I want you all to be ready to post some massive feedback come Saturday. I’m planning on posting a small questionnaire to our readers about the new season, ideas you may have, things you want and don’t want, etc…so start brainstorming (don’t post here…wait until Saturday!!)!

I’m currently shaking from a 25 minute non-stop intake of Soul Eater crack. I’m seriously shaking with excitement as I sit here trying to pull my brain together in an attempt to write up some kind of episode review for you guys. I guess we could start off by saying that I was so eager to watch this show that I ended up stealing Impzie’s Chinese ninja subs before the regular RAW for the episode was out. I don’t care who you are, or what you like…WATCH THIS SHOW! (at least the first episode) Our resident trap and shonen-hating shoujo-fanatic Impz even tolerated this episode.

This…is the most amazing shit I’ve seen in a long time.

So far, the anime follows the manga quite closely, and if that’s any indication, then the first three episodes of this show will focus on three different pairings of characters. You see, Soul Eater (SE) is about shimigami scythe technicians, humans who are paired with a “weapon” partner in an attempt to create a “Death Scythe”. A Death Scythe is an ultimate weapon that is used by Shinigami-sama, the president of the school for scythe technicians. The manga focuses on three initial pairings: Maka and Soul Eater, Black Star and Tsubaki, and Death the Kid (DtK) with his two weapon partners, Patty and Liz. If the anime follows suit, ep 01 will be about Maka and Soul Eater, ep 02 will be about Black Star and Tsubaki, ep 03 will be about DtK/Patty and Liz, and ep 04 will bring them all together. So far, it’s looks like that will be the case.

In this episode, we’re introduced to scythe technician Maka and her weapon partner Soul Eater. They’re out in the human world trying to collect the 99 evil humans souls and 1 witch soul needed to turn Soul Eater into a Death Scythe. They’re up to 98 human souls when they come across Jack the Ripper, a psychotic murderer with a carrot nose and some crazy ass wicked blades for fingers. As the battle ensues, Soul Eater transforms into a scythe that Maka wields to fight the Ripper. At this point, I could only think a few things…

“OMG! OMG OMG OMG! BADASS! WOOOOOOOOOO! HELLZ YEAH! THAT ANIMATION IS THE SHIIIIIIIIIT!”

*cough* Anyway..the animation for fight scenes (and just in general) is superb. I mean, I got excited when I found out that BONES was animating this, not because of ‘oh my gawd Ouran!’, but because I’ve watched all of Fullmetal Alchemist and the fight scenes were fantastic. BONES has outdone themselves. I can’t describe it in words, you just have to see it for yourself. All I can say is that it’s worth it for you to watch this in the highest quality you can get your hands on.

After pwning Jack the Ripper, Soul Eater proceeds to…well, eat his soul. That makes 99 human souls for the Maka/Soul Eater combo, and all that’s left is for them to get the soul of one witch and BAM! Death Scythe complete! So they dial 1-800-Shimigami-sama (or 42-42-564) to find out where you can get a hold of a witch to eat. Enter Blair, neko-witch, seductress and pumpkin flinger all in one. Hawtness. Determined to get their last soul, Maka and Soul Eater begin their assault on Blair’s house…if you can call it that. Soul Eater does what any normal man would do at the sight of a naked woman in a bath tub: spews blood from his nose, collapses in shock, and stares in awe. Oh wait, that’s probably not what a REAL man would do.

As technicians battle witches and pumpkins are exploding all over the place, we encounter yet another of SE’s strengths, art style. Now, there are more detailed or shinier character designs and backdrops out there, but the reason I list art style as a strength is simply because SE manages to look unique without being so out there that no one would want to go near it. From Blair’s neko-cuteness to Shinigami-sama’s blocky fingers…there are a million little things that stand out if you’re paying attention. Soul Eater is fun to watch simply for the sake of watching it.

Eventually, Maka and Soul use a nice trick to take down Blair, and Soul chows down on her sparkling blue soul. However, instead of a full transformation into a Death Scythe, Soul only sees the beginings of the process before something goes terribly wrong. As it turns out, Blair wasn’t really a witch! Even worse, due to him ingesting the wrong type of soul, Maka and Soul have lost all the souls they gathered up until now, placing them back at square one! Bummer.

Maka and Soul head back to the school with Blair in tow (on a flying pumpkin) as the scene transitions into a preview of the show’s next pairing, Black Star and Tsubaki. It is here that I’d like point out another of SE’s strong points: the audio. I want to bring it up here because as Black Star is introduced, there’s an insert song playing that works perfectly to build the suspense and excitement for what’s coming in the next episode. Whatever that song was, I want it…now.

Staying on the topic of audio, the voice acting was great. So far, not only do I not mind any of the voices, there are several that I’m psyched about (Maka, Soul Eater, Black Star, to name a few). I’ll have to admit though, on the part of the Op and ED, I wasn’t all that excited about the OP song. However, the beat behind the song fit well with the OP animation, and I ended up liking it after seeing the two together. There are better songs out there this season, but this one was pretty good in and of itself. The ED seemed like standard fair until it suddenly exploded out of nowhere it a driving punk-style tune. Once again, not one of my faves, but not bad either. The background music was fantastic and evoked the proper emotions for each scene (I was even tapping my foot to it at one point without noticing).

After all is said and done, THIS is the show I’ve been waiting for…maybe for this season, or maybe it’s the show I’ve been waiting for for longer than I’ve known. Either way, I’m excited, I’m psyched, I’m pumped…I can’t wait. This show is going to be amazing. Quote me on it.

Notes:

The write up here was massively long due to it being the first episode and me having to do something with my excitement. I don’t plan on write-ups this long for the future, especially not with another version of the show airing every week with bonus content. So my question for you is this: what do you want to see each week for Soul Eater? In-depth summaries? More focus on thoughts? Or quick summaries/thoughts with greater focus on crazy content that goes above and beyond the norm?

Extrange’s Short Remark: This is also fscking better than Naruto. Wait for episode 2 and Black Star’s insanity ( free loli too).

More like Nabari no PIMP. That’s right, the PIMP of Nabari. Let’s just go ahead and start this out right by saying that I am automatically going to be biased in every way possible in regards to this show. Hell, the ED wasn’t anything special, but I’m gonna say it rocked anyway. If that doesn’t give you an idea of what’s ahead, then you’re out of luck.

Instead of the whole sub-section shebang, I’m just going to give a general overview of what I thought ramble and rant about the first episode of the show.

I still haven’t been able to adjust to females doing male voices yet (you don’t notice it as much when you’re reading subtitles as opposed to watching the raws), but I’ve actually got no complaints for Narabai’s auditory gender-bender. What the heck am I talking about? The main character, Miharu Rokujo (a male), is voiced by Rie Kugimiya (a female), who also voiced Shana in another production by J.C Staff, Shakugan no Shana. Despite the male/female difference, I thought the voice-acting was pulled off quite well. Kugimiya is joined by some other noteworthy talent that I don’t feel like going into detail about. The OP for Nabari…was craziness…I LOVED it, especially when it got to the chorus.

The art style is fantastic. The characters are very well done (can’t expect any less from J.C.Staff) and designed to my liking. I did notice that a lot of the backdrops in the episode were still-shots that looked like they had been painted…at first glance you think “cheap”, but after a few seconds of adjusting to it, it just seems to add to the look of the show. The fight scenes…OMG THE FIGHT SCENES…absolutely great. Like…pre-Chonin exam Naruto, good-day-Bleach, or omgtheyareactuallyfighting Shakugan no Shana good. Pretty…

There aren’t any subs out yet, so I won’t attempt to go into detail about who did what to who’s mother or where Ninja-boy gets his magical flower-powers from, but just know, without a doubt I WILL be blogging this. WILL. *exit fanboy…*

Extrange Small Remark: Fscking better than Naruto. *draws out the katana to fence off any incoming Narutard.*

Let’s start with my initial impressions of Kure-nai. Pulling a few quotes from a previous THAT post:

• “Rieuzedx: I’m not feeling the character designs. The PV was kinda interesting looking though. Wait and see, wait and see.”
• “Rieuzedx: Kodomo no Jikan meets Persona…Kure-nai is their visual offspring. I’m not too keen on the art style here, and the first black-haired chick you see looks like she got hit in the side of the face with a sledgehammer…I like the second musical track though.”

After watching the first episode of this, I’m gonna have to say…even without subs Kure-nai has managed to grab my attention more than I thought it would.

Summary

A boy, Shinkurō Kurenai, is taking care of a stalker for a job. As Kurenai moves off, he feels an acute pain in his right arm. In the next scene, Murasaki (the little girl), Yayoi (the servant) and Benika (the deep red-haired woman) are escaping from the Kuhoin clan. Renjo Kuhoin is investigating how Murasaki is able to escape, and realizes it is due to Benika. Renjo questions one of the servants about the escape. The servant says she is the one who allows Murasaki to escape. Murasaki voiced out her interest to escape. Renjo screams that the servant should know that Murasaki is not allowed to escape.

The servant asks if Murasaki is a sad being and she has been crying all the time. Renjo crushes the servant to the floor, saying how women are just ridiculous, worthless beings. A flashback showed that Renjo is forced to betray his feelings of his love to follow the will of his family to marry Kazuho. Eventually, we realize that Murasaki already knows her real mother. Renjo says the servants have been brainwashed by Benika, but the servant adds that it is all for Murasaki’s sake. In class, Shinkuro is talking about a television show with his friends.

He discusses with Ginko (someone who gives him insider information) about his latest job given by Benika (the stalker case). The grandmother who tasked him for the job gives him some additional money for his work and he bought a television. When Yuno comes over, Ginko moves away clearly showing her dislike of Yuno. In a hotel meeting, Shinkuro appeals to Benika to give him a better job. Benika asks about his “free” body and how it is a weapon. As Shinkuro leaves, Yayoi voices out her concern about giving Shinkuro the “job”. Benika says that she never cares about competency but her gut feeling when giving a task.

Shinkuro is given a lie by a room mate about her dead boyfriend. However, she predicts that Shinkuro will have women trouble. Another room mate is sexually harassing him, as he goes into his room. Benika comes over to give Shinkuro a job: to protect Murasaki. He is hesitant due to the lack of details until he remembers a scene of him crying in the past. He agrees to protect Murasaki. As he introduces himself, Murasaki clearly shows her haughty side. She is shocked that the room is so small and rundown. She thought that she is treated as a kid as she is lied to about the living conditions, but Shinkuro replies that this is the truth.

Murasaki adds that it looks like a servant’s room. Murasaki strips down to change, as Shinkuro asks whether he should leave the room. Murasaki says that if he leaves, no one can help her dress up. Shinkuro speaks to her in a friendly way, and Murasaki warns him of his status as a servant. Shinkuro says he is not a servant, but a guardian. Shinkuro tells her to sleep well, and she should appreciate the time she can sleep peacefully. The next day, Shinkuro goes to school and Murasaki seems to be very resistant that he needs to go to school. As he leaves and tells him that he will be back in the evening, she gave a lonely look.

He also asks Ginko to find out more about Murasaki, and it is then he realizes that the Kuhiro family is reputable. When Shinkuro returns home, he realizes Murasaki is not there. He runs out and calls Benika but she did not pick up the phone. She then calls him back when he is taking a break. He did not report about the disappearance of Murasaki but simply what she likes to eat. The situation is under the keen eye of Yayoi as he remembers how he cries before. Eventually, he finds her in a park and calms her down. She is actually crying, and she adds that she will just disappear like her real mother. He apologizes for leaving her behind, and that she is no longer alone.

Tech Summary

Audio
Wtf was up with that OP? I’m kinda iffy on the song, it definitely won’t be in my top 5 songs for the season (although, I’m a sucker for a techno beat)…but what got me is the strange, chibi-ish 2D art style that was used throughout the whole thing. Not what I was expecting, and the first thing to make me pay a little more attention to this show.

Next surprise? The brat of the show didn’t have an overly annoying voice! I’ll admit, she sounds kinda old for her character, but she’s no Nel (from Bleach) by any means. Thank god. No complaints on the other voices, but is that Allen-kun (from D.Gray-Man) I hear as the main character?

Background music was good, but nothing to brag about.

OMG! I freaking LOVE the ED for this show. It starts out all subtle and chill and picks up this crazy poppy, addictive sing along. Top 5 competition in my book. (I’ve now listened to it like 10 times)

Animation

My biggest complaints about this anime were the fact that one of the central characters is a little brat, and that I didn’t like the character designs. Due to the voice and general mannerisms in this episode, I’m not seeing the brat as a big problem in the future. As far as character designs go, I HATE the design of the older people in this show, but for the most part everyone else looks fine. There’s the occasional odd moment, but the style started to grow on me after a little while.

Aside from that, the art style is definitely a bit different, and the quality seemed to bounce around from cheap to well done. There was a short fight scene at the beginning of the episode, and judging from that it looks like the animators have a good handle on things in the fisticuffs department.

Vibe

I had a very negative idea of this show before watching it, and while I won’t praise it just yet, depending on the actual story/content (once I get subs) and how the next 2-3 episodes go, it might be a contender for a main blogging spot or at least a place in the Friday Ramble. I mentioned in the above comment that this show reminded me of Kodomo no Jikan meets Persona, but I actually got more of a D.Gray-Man/Ergo Proxy feel off of it. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Best/Worst Feature
Best: The ED! (and that quick fight scene…lol)
Worst: The character design of the older man. Ugh.