What do you get when you mix Azumanga Daioh (perhaps the greatest show about nothing) and Kyoto Animation (one of the – if not the – greatest animation companies out there)? You get the super moe~ Lucky☆ Star.

At first, when I heard that Kyoto Animation was working on another project, I was overjoyed. Then when I heard they were doing a 4-panel manga (like Azumanga Daioh), I was even more overjoyed. I think anymore and my head might’ve exploded.

Plot? Pfft, we don’t need no stinkin’ plot! Seriously, the plot is nonexistent. This is, to quote George Costanza, a “show about nothing.” You may have experienced this kind of show before if you’ve watched Azumanga Daioh. Only in this kind of show can you have a five-minute dialogue on how to eat various food items. Also included is a dialogue about the difference between a flu and a cold. Don’t try to discover any hidden meanings in these trivial dialogues or your brain might melt.

Perhaps my favorite part of the episode was the Lucky☆Channel segment at the end. Lucky☆Channel is a TV show (in a TV show) with junior high student Akira Kogami, being very cute (or very angry wondering where her money goes). It’s all very random but absolutely hilarious.

Since Kyoto Animation animated this series, you can expect the animation to be crisp and fluid. The character designs are very cute and full of moe. The animation is first-class just like in the rest of their projects. The OP animation features the characters dancing in what is the most fluidly animated dance since the dance of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya‘s “Hare Hare Yukai” (also animated by Kyoto Animation). I sense a trend. Anyway, on the topic of music, the OP in this series is perhaps the wackiest I’ve ever seen since Azumanga Daioh‘s “Sora Mimi Cake.” They haven’t given us an ED yet. Or maybe they have. . . The ED of the first episode is composed of the four main characters behind a door where they’re talking and doing karaoke. Like I said before, it’s all really random. But that’s what makes this show so awesome.

This is a show for those of you who like the slice-of-life, random, “show about nothing” genres. If you liked Azumanga Daioh or Pani Poni Dash, you’ll probably like this Lucky☆ Star. I’m definitely going to be watching this one.

When I first saw the preview to this anime, I felt a resemblance to Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex. It has a kind of futuristic and cyberpunkish edge without being overtly futuristic or cyberpunkish.

Now that I think about it, this series is actually more like Witch Hunter Robin. The story takes place in modern Japan, and because of the appearance of what is called “Hell’s Gate,” beings known as Contractors, who have supernatural abilities, appeared. Based on what we can infer from the first episode, the story focuses on Hei, a Contractor that seems to hunt other Contractors.

The visuals are beautiful, and the use of CG and scenery reminds you of a not-so futuristic Ghost in the Shell. The animation is top-notch, and the art is very well done. This is one series that offers a lot of eye candy to its audience.

I said earlier that this series gave me the impression of a Cowboy Bebop or Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex. This series isn’t like that, but I think I know what made me think so. It’s the music. The music is composed by the one and only Yoko Kanno, who blessed us with music from the two aforementioned titles. The OP is also done by abingdon boys school, of which T.M. Revolution is the lead singer in. It’s an upbeat, rock song, and I really like it. The background music is also beautiful. There’s this one bgm with the violin that is very pleasing to listen to. The ED is on the soft side, and it’s sung by Rie Fu, whom you might know from Bleach. Another winner.

With beautiful visuals, outstanding audio, and an interesting storyline, Darker than Black is definitely something I will be watching.

This is an anime for those who like anime of the supernatural variety that takes place in a modern setting. If you liked Witch Hunter Robin, then you will like Darker than Black. If you didn’t like Witch Hunter Robin, watch this anime anyway.

From the makers of Noir and MADLAX comes El Cazador de la Bruja (The Witch Hunter). I myself have actually been anticipating this one for a while.

The story involves a bounty hunter named Nadie who comes to this town in search of a small girl named Ellis (Elise?) who has a bounty on her head. Unlike the rest of the bounty hunters in town who want to kill her and turn her in, Nadie is patient with the girl, and by request of an old woman whom Ellis had been taking care of, she (Nadie) agrees to protect Ellis. Ellis wants to head south in search of something, but she is not sure what. She knows that there is a bounty on her head because she is a “murderer,” but she does not remember the details behind the murder.

At its core, this anime is quite similar to its predecessors. It revolves around the journey that involves an older and younger female. Like her counterparts (Mireille from Noir and Madlax from MADLAX), Nadie is very skilled with a gun. You can see how this all kind of ties together.

The scenery remind you less of Noir and MADLAX and more of Trigun or a less futuristic Cowboy Bebop. The character designs are nice, and the animation is fluid. As expected of a series by the makers of Noir and MADLAX, Yuki Kajiura is the composer behind this project. Unfortunately, in the first episode at least, there isn’t a lot of noteworthy pieces, and it doesn’t help that the OP and ED are decent at best.

The story has plenty of potential, and since I loved Noir, I’m going to try and stay optimistic on this one.

Recommended for fans of the action genre and the girls-with-guns subgenre. If you liked Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, or Coyote Ragtime Show, you may like this El Cazador de la Bruja.

I heard that this series is a pretty anticipated one, so after some recommendations, I decided to check it out. It’s essentially a medieval kind of action series, as far as I can tell. The story revolves around this group of people that are called Claymores that are hired to go around, killing creatures called Yoma (demons, basically). Not much plot has developed yet, but it looks like that may change soon.

The first episode mainly consists of this town that is plagued by a Yoma who is killing the villagers. They agree to call Yoma, a Claymore (a group of half-human, half-Yoma Yoma exterminators). While in town, she meets a young boy named Raki. After a series of incidents, the two set out on a journey together.

Visually, the series is very beautiful. The animation is fluid, and the character designs are nice (or rightfully grotseque when it comes to the Yoma). This series doesn’t hold back on its blood and gore content either, so if you’re hungry for that kind of stuff, this is for you. The music is also quite nice. The OP and ED songs are incredible, and the background music in the episode really gives off a creepy vibe.

What almost completely ruined my enjoyment of the series, though, is the main male protagonist, Raki. He irritates me to no end, and he has almost no purpose. His existence only gives us some insight on the main female lead’s, Clare’s (Claire?), backstory. What do you do with an annoying character like this? You certainly don’t take him along on your journey where he can last for another 25 episodes. Unfortunately, it seems that the makers of Claymore are heading towards this path. I might keep watching it, and hopefully the cons (Raki) won’t overshadow the pros (almost everything else).

Recommended for action fans and those who don’t mind something dark in their anime. If you like series like Berserk, you may enjoy this one.

This isn’t anime-related, but I think this is worth mentioning anyway.

I saw 300 a couple of days ago in IMAX. And. It. Was. Incredible. Go out, and see it now. You definitely want to see this in the theater. Don’t be the one that sees it on DVD and says to himself, “. . . Damn, I should’ve seen this in the theater!” (Note: Small children, squeemish people, and people who just can’t handle over-the-top violence need not apply)

Some of you may be familiar with the name Frank Miller. He is the creator of Sin City, another graphic novel that was adapted to film (a very incredible film, no less). 300 follows a similar path; it’s a graphic novel that was also adapted to film. Much like its predecessor, 300 is a film to behold.

First off, let me get this out of the way. There is almost no plot. The movie centers around the Battle of Thermopylae, an ancient battle of the Greco-Persian war where a few hundred Spartans and Athenians stood off hundreds-of-thousands of Persians. Since it centers on this battle, there isn’t much you can expect in terms of plot development. Even so, if you can just enjoy a film for its entertainment value (read: mindless violence), then you better go out and see this movie.

First, let me touch on the visuals. Every shot looks like it can be a stand-alone art piece. The use of CGI and lighting is quite astonishing. Now, you will see a lot of stabbings, beheadings, dismemberments, and other things of that type in this movie. The fight scenes are simply epic. I enjoyed how certain parts of the action were sped up until it gets to the stabbing/beheading/dismemberment, in which it switches over to slow motion.

Now, the audio is also impressive. A lot of the soundtrack reinforces the ancient Greece setting and makes the battles seem a lot more epic. Something else that’s interesting is the inclusion of some metal rock pieces. Though one might not think that it would be very fitting for such a movie, it did fit the scenes quite well.

The acting is top-notch, despite the fact that there wasn’t too much of it. I really liked Gerard Butler’s role as King Leonidus. Most of you have probably seen the “Madness? This is Sparta!” scene in a trailer. He plays his role perfectly as the king of Sparta. David Wenham of Lord of the Rings fame also did well as Dilios, and Lena Headley was also great as Queen Gorgo. Despite the fact that most of the cast isn’t very well-known, they did an excellent job pulling the movie along.

Altogether, it’s a must for any person who doesn’t feel like thinking too much and just wants to see some people get chopped up into pieces. Enjoy 300. Just don’t expect anything deep.

300 – 9/10

I’ve been anticipating this movie since the summer of last year, and it has lived up to and may have even surpassed my expectations. This movie is simply stunning.

From the masterful director Makoto Shinkai, who also brought you Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in our Early Days has released his newest work, 5 Centimeters Per Second, very recently. Now, the full movie only shows in Japan, so I haven’t had the opportunity to see it yet (and probably won’t until the DVD comes out). However, the people behind the movie put a stream of the first part of the movie, Oukashou, on the Yahoo! Japan website. Someone captured the footage and released it on the web. It wasn’t soon until I downloaded it and watched it.

And when I finished it, I watched it again.

“Hey. It’s said that it’s five centimeters per second.”
“Hm? What is?”
“The speed at which cherry blossoms fall. Five centimeters per second.”

Fairly new to the directing scene, Makoto Shinkai has already blessed us with his magnificent directing skills. His first feature work, Voices of a Distant Star, was animated entirely by himself on his Mac. The movie itself had a simple story and was only thirty minutes. However, that’s where Shinkai truly excels. He has the ability to make simple stories into the most powerful and moving stories. With Oukashou, he does it again.

If you’re unfamiliar to the Shinkai name, you may be skeptical as to how a thirty-minute piece can be. As he has proven previously, Shinkai is able to create works of art that will move you deeply.

The screenshots honestly do not do the movie justice.

Oukashou is the first of three parts of the entire movie 5 Centimeters Per Second. This tells of the past of two childhood friends, Takaki Tohno and Akari Shinohara. They’ve always been together ever since they met in elementary school. They hoped to go to the same middle school together, but as fate would have it, Akari had to move away after they graduated from elementary school. Oukashou covers the events that occur a year after their parting. Takaki goes to see Akari.

Now, the story moves quite slowly. A good amount of the movie is spent with flashbacks that give background to the relationship of Takaki and Akari. These flashbacks in no way disrupted the pace of the movie. In fact, they executed their roles wonderfully. All of the emotional build-up you get through the flashbacks in the film prepare you for the climax.

Oukashou proves that Makoto Shinkai is a master of aesthetics. Every scene in the movie has amazingly detailed backgrounds and a first-rate use of lighting. Shinkai also truly takes advantage of the freedom that one gets in regards to camera angles. If you thought Kyoto Animation’s works were good, (and believe me, they are very, very good) then you will be blown away by Oukashou. Every single scene in the movie is its own work of art. Truly, the amount of detail in the backgrounds almost makes it look real. There is just so much beauty in the artwork and in the animation. Shinkai has definitely raised the bar for visual beauty in an anime.

“Back then, we were both short and sickly children, who would rather stay in the library than in the bright sunlight. So it’s probably quite natural that we got along so well. And because of that, the other students would tease us now and then. Yet, strange as it may be, when we were together, we were not afraid of any of those things.”

It isn’t just the art, though. The movie just wouldn’t be complete without the outstanding audio backing it up. The background music is often soft and minimalistic, but this kind of simple tune amplifies the beauty of the scenes greatly. Although I’m not the biggest fan of the ending song, “One More Time, One More Chance,” the song did suit the movie wonderfully.

The voice actors do an incredible job with their characters as well. While narrating, Takaki’s voice actor portrays Takaki’s sorrow and loneliness well. And on the foreground, you can just feel the emotion in Takaki’s words as he’s talking to Akari on the phone. At the same time, Akari (my favorite voice actor of the two) does her role beautifully. Akari’s voice is humble and melancholic yet also has a playful tone. You hear Akari reading her letters to Takaki at the beginning of the film, and the way she reads them makes it seem like she’s really there talking to him. Especially when she’s sad, you can hear her voice actor make the small cackle in her voice as if she’s really trying to hold back her tears. The movie with all of its visual beauty would not be half of what it is without the wonderful audio.

“I was keenly aware, suddenly, that we couldn’t remain together forever. The overwhelming power of our lives, the boundless vastness of time were stretching hopelessly before us. Yet, the disquiet that had seized me was soon melting away mildly. All that was left was Akari’s soft lips.”

Those of you who are familiar with Shinkai’s films will probably notice that this movie has no sci-fi elements in it. It’s just a simple, realistic story with relatable, realistic characters. I place emphasis on the word “realistic.” I believe Shinkai’s goal with this film is to place the audience in the characters’ shoes. He has the audience not just observe the story from afar but to be there. He lets you feel the kind of pain that Takaki and Akari feel. Another thing that I believe he was aiming for with this film is to have the audience have a greater appreciation for real life. Through the plethora of still, beautiful, and extremely detailed shots, Shinkai is conveying to the audience how beautiful the world really is; that same world that we take for granted.

To fully appreciate the film, watch it without subtitles. It allows you to absorb the visual and aural beauty of this artful film. If you’re like me and don’t speak Japanese fluently, watch it with subtitles once or twice so you know what’s going on in the scenes. Then switch off the subtitles and then just enjoy it. I’ve found that there is more emotional impact this way, especially with this kind of movie.

And this was only the first part of three. I can’t wait to see the other two parts of the movie. I’m definitely going to pick it up when it comes to the states.

Oukashou – 10/10

Welcome to RANT (my subpar stab at a pun which stands for Random Assortment of Nonsensical Thoughts). The topic today is about learning Japanese from anime. Summary: Besides learning very, very rudimentary words and phrases, a beginner should not rely on anime to learn the language. A more experienced learner who is learning somewhere else (classes, books, websites, etc.) should also be careful not to absorb any unusual speaking patterns from anime. If you can take these ideas to heart, then you can actually benefit in learning Japanese by watching anime (in Japanese, naturally). The following is a post I wrote back in July on the animepaper.net message boards. I thought that bringing the post here would be a good idea since some people in our community may be wondering about this issue.

Possible to learn Japanese just from watching anime? Anyone is welcome to prove me wrong and become fluent using this method, but as of now, I don’t think that it’s possible. I use the word “learn” here in the sense of being able to hold a natural conversation and not just being familiar in identifying random words that you encounter. Let me give you a couple parts of the language that would be difficult to acquire if you were to just rely on anime.

*Note: My thoughts from this point on are probably going to be completely thrown together and disorganized
** Another Note: I’m not a native Japanese speaker but a self-study student of the language who has his books and resources to practice with, so I’m not (completely) just speaking out of my rear

To start off, let me say that I’m saying this from a native English-speaker’s point of view. Learning Japanese just by watching anime would be one heck of a feat. There are so many different things that separate English from Japanese that makes it very unlikely for someone to be able to become fluent in the language. This being said, I don’t think it’s possible to be fluent in any language just by watching media based around it. Moreover with Japanese since you’re dealing with a language with completely different grammar and cultural background. In Japanese grammar, you have a different sentence structure, the particle (very loosely related to a preposition [of, in, at]), numerous verb conjugations, and various other intricacies that look back upon politeness and social status. Getting a strong grasp of such things by simply watching anime seems like an incredibly arduous feat.

Now that I’ve given you some background on just how different Japanese is from English, let me give you another obstacle to look at in anime: subtitles.

First, let’s get this out in the open: When somebody translates a piece of work, you don’t translate the words, you translate the meanings. A common example of this is idioms. If I were to translate the English phrase “you’re pulling my leg” into Japanese, word-for-word, you wouldn’t get the same meaning across. The Japanese speaker would think that you are talking about literally pulling his leg. The translator’s job isn’t to translate a piece of text word-for-word but to translate it so that the meaning is carried across and sounds natural to the person that views the translation. Thus, if a Japanese person were to watch a subtitled English film with “you’re pulling my leg,” what might show up in the Japanese subtitles is something like “uso!” (“No way!” “You’re kidding me!”) That being said, one shouldn’t listen to Japanese in an anime and then look at the subtitles as an infallable source of knowing exactly what the words are saying.

In my research (yes, I have that much time), it turns out that one of the biggest hazards to being fluent in another language is having to translate one word in a language into a different language. An example is this thinking process: (step 1)ringo -> (step 2)apple -> (step 3)(picture of apple in one’s mind). There is no real such thing as “thinking in a language.” If you think of the word apple, you don’t think to yourself, “an apple is a sweet, crunchy, red fruit.” Instead, you just correspond the word “apple” to a picture of an apple, or something along those lines. The point I’m trying to bring across is that you mustn’t rely on subtitles as a source of bankable words. You should be able to correspond “ringo” to a picture of an apple in your mind or something else that helps you remember what an apple is. So when you see an apple, the first thing you, in your Japanese-speaking mindset, should be able to blurt out is “ringo!” It gets more complicated than this, but you get the idea. (If you want to read more about learning foreign vocabulary, then I would suggest reading these sites and forming your own opinion about them: http://www.english-learning.co.uk/voc.html and http://www.english-learning.co.uk/vocdb.html [shameless plugs, I know. ])

Okay, all of the above that I have mentioned apply to those who have no background in learning the Japanese language. The following is my personal take on Japanese students and their using anime to learn the language:

Basically, anime shouldn’t be a primary source of learning for the Japanese student, but it can be used as a supplement for the student who has a relatively strong foundation in the language. With a good foundation in Japanese grammar and cultural background, a person should be able to use anime to pick up some things such as what particles are used in what situation, the exact structure and vocabulary used for so-and-so situation, and so on. I know I said that simply referring to subtitles is a bad idea, and I stick by that. However, the Japanese student with a good foundation in the language should be able to differentiate when to completely disregard the subtitles’ translations and using the subtitles as a ‘guide’ to further his own understanding of the language. One situation I came across recently is this: In episode 10 of “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” one character says “korosaretakunai?” which meant in the context “you don’t want to be killed?” To the person who no background in learning the language, it’d be a pretty difficult sentence to understand, grammar-wise. However, to the person who is experienced in Japanese grammar, including the verb conjugations and what not, he would be able to decipher this sentence without going to the obstacle of referring to the English translation. He would think “Ah, ‘korosareru’ is the passive conjugation of ‘korosu,’ the ‘tai’ at the end expresses desire or want, and the conjugation of ‘tai’ to the negative, nonpast form ‘takunai’ all comes together with ‘korosareru’ to ‘korosaretakunai’ roughly meaning ‘don’t want to be killed.’ The understood subject is ‘you.’” (Please excuse this gibberish of an example. It makes sense if you study the language.)

So, to finalize, I wouldn’t recommend using anime as a primary source of learning the language. It’s much more useful to buy a textbook, get a teacher, or even look online for some sites to help you. (I highly recommend learning the language too. It’s very different from English, but that’s one of the most appealing things about it. Though it’s so different, it makes a lot of sense. [much more so than the exception-ridden English language]) It’s a very fun experience. At the same time, for the student who is learning the language, there is absolutely nothing wrong with (cautiously) using anime to help you with some aspects of the language. Just be careful not to take everything the subtitles read for gospel.

So some of you may recognize this blog from another particular place. Right, I have moved the blog over to wordpress.com. Although, my blogger blog (. . .) was very, very short-lived to begin with. Hopefully it won’t be the case here. Hopefully. I’ll try to keep the blog updated at least a couple of times a week, particularly on the weekends.

At any rate, here’s to a brand new start. For the sake of keeping a blog recent, I’m not going to move all of my old posts over. However, I may move some things that I find can still serve a purpose here. Thus, you may find some posts that look unusually familiar.

Anyway, if you have as much free time as me (you’re reading this blog, aren’t you?), then you may be wondering exactly what “uruchai” is. If you’re an anime fan who watches anime in Japanese at least some of the time, you’ve probably heard the word “urusai” being thrown around. “Urusai” is literally an adjective for “noisy,” but depending on the tone and context, it can mean “be quiet!” or “shut up!” “Uruchai” is basically just a change in the spelling of “urusai.” While it isn’t common, you can hear it being said repeatedly by Hecate-tan and Shana-tan in Itadaki no Hecate-tan (the girls you see in the image on the top of this post). The last thing I want is someone calling me on my misspelling of the word.