Konoe Subaru is a butler-disguised female in a school filled with people who have crushes on him (her.) Meeting Sakamachi Kinjirou changed her life in more meaningful ways than one

Background

Mayo Chiki! began (and continues) as a light novel series by writer Hajime Asano and illustrator Seiji Kikuchi. The title is an abbreviation of Mayoeru Shitsuji to Chikin na Ore to - The Stray Butler and Myself the Chicken

Review

Plot

Mayo Chiki! is, surprisingly, very clever. Of course we can’t just ignore all the sexual innuendos the anime have displayed, but putting that aside, what we have is anime full of fun and a plot full of cleverness. That’s not to mention the misunderstandings where the series tried to revolve upon.

Characters

Sakamachi Kinjirou is one pretty interesting guy (not to mention that he looks like me.) I don’t want to dig into details about Gynophobia and what it really entails apart from what the anime has explained, but him and his sickness pretty much is where all the fun and antics the series have revolve in. His relationship with the other girls were in conflict with a sickness that seems to make him to not go out with them. But beyond that, his strength as character probably relies on the way he can endure all the tease and temptations around him. Good thing the anime is not hentai. And as such Sakamachi doesn’t need to go too far.

Konoe Subaru, I’m sure she has a legion of fans not just in the anime but also in the anime community as well. (I should have took a pic of one figma display in the anime con I previously attended.) Her deep voice, her manly strength, her will and determination. Her kawaii looks when she’s so defenseless. She was one those anime characters I never want to see not having clothes on.  Unfortunately, what I have is the blu-ray version. And you what it means when you reached episode 12.

Suzutsuki Kanade is another interesting one. She looks more of a maid than a rich girl to me (what with that outfit.) There is something that’s a bit sad and sadist in her eyes. She’s one anime character who does things differently from what she says (well, kind of.) Other than that I have no objections with her character. And besides, since Kanade is the one who pretty much moves the plot episode after episode, without her in the scenes, it sometimes gets pretty much boring, what with that attitude.

I must also describe Masamune Usami. I could have sworn she is my favorite character if Konoe is not around. I love the way she portrays her Tsundere attitude. I love how she hides her upbringing and can get along with the rich girls in the anime. I love it when she opens up, when she’s lost in thoughts, and when she’s not speaking, BUT NOT when she suddenly undresses as if that’s even needed in the scene.

Conclusion

Mayo Chiki! tried to stay in the fun level I think, and it did just that. You can tell me to go to hell if I said I enjoyed every moment of it. Yes, we can’t separate it’s ecchiness from the story, but perhaps, even without that, there can be a way for it to be fun. Should you watch it? Yes.

With a hanging ending at episode 3, Accel World’s definitely one promising anime at this point.

There are dozens of anime that have already discuss the future… What it’s like…. How do people live. Not just in anime but in any form of media as well. Accel World is one of those that try to portray what the people are doing in its time. But it has an underlying conception few have tried to do:

The Present Provides A Foundation For Its Futuristic Setting

We are all online in the 21st century. Virtually everyone’s in Facebook. If you’re reading sites like Techcrunch and Mashable, you’ll know that Social Media is the “it” thing these days. In Social Media, we share what we like, we blog our thoughts, we communicate with like-minded people, we tell the world what we eat for breakfast.

Accel World moves it up higher in the way that there are now Social Cameras that can know our every move. Why would there be a need to post at Facebook if the social cameras are there?

In Accel World, it looks like the Internet is fully connected within our mind. We no longer need a computer or even an iPad. Clearly, the show exhibits the flow of how the Internet technology will evolve in the future. And from what I believe, this is the realization that I like best with this anime.

In Accel World, people can access the virtual world easily. If you’re into Internet marketing (my current job,) and if you’re studying social media, you’ll probably know that Virtual Worlds are the ultimate manifestation of social media because it can replicate even the most minute thing you do in your real life! In Accel World, you yourself are so immersed that your persona can live technically inside the virtual world and be whoever you want to be….

…Just like our main character…

Meet Haruyuki. As a teenager, he’s low on self esteem and suffered bullying as if he’s on hell every moment of his life. But in the virtual world he’s unbeatable. He’s a top scorer in that tennis game. He can be who he wants to be. There are no bullies. He is free. You’ll see just from his character how the mangaka portrayed the future – advanced technology but with the same old problems teenagers suffer today. In the Accel World we witness how the virtual world can become an alternate reality. And oh boy did his wishes come true when he came in contact with the Black Lotus.

Just signing up for the Brain Burst program is like drugs. It creeps innocently at first but then when you get addicted you would never want it to be gone. Okay, that’s a weak analogy. But then, in Accel World, once you realize what the Brain Burst can give you and the price you will pay to keep it, you will never want to be kicked out of the system. Koruyukihime, the straight-A girl who picks up Haruyuki to be by her side, will never be as glad as she was when she choses him. He’s someone who is low on self esteem, has nothing to lose, but everything to gain. The Brain Burst program clicks well for Naruyuki and will do everything after he found something he wanted to protect…and gain.

As I’ve said, the anime looks promising. You’ll certainly read more of Accel World here in my anime blog after some more episodes. I will not do an episodic this time. Many in the anime blogosphere will be doing that and I will more than likely comment on them.. so yeah.. Let’s enjoy the anime while it last.

This stunning Madoka art is so gorgeous I cannot just let it pass by my blog.

Done in watercolor, the picture depicts Madoka and the time-traveling Homura from the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I don’t know about you. I ain’t that spot on with regards to art but you can’t blame me from loving this awesome art.

This, my friends, is the definition of beautiful.

Click on the picture to view it on min.us. which has a link to the original one at Pixiv.

Shion lives in No. 6, a city which is like an Utopia. However, he meets a boy named Nezumi on one rainy night only to disappear the next day. 4 years later, he meets the same Nezumi who rescued him from being escorted to prison when he was charged of murder. Slowly, Nezumi opened Shion’s eyes on what No. 6 really is.

Brief Background

Written by Atsuko Asano, No. 6 is a 9 – volume series that got published until 2011. Bones produced the anime in 2011.

Review

Plot

No. 6 reminds me of George Orwell’s 1984. Yup. You heard me. That iconic novel where a certain “Big Brother” watched every move of its citizens. The Utopia that was No. 6 is the central plot of the anime. How Nezumi tries to destroy No. 6 while Shion wants to change it. As we go from episode to episode, we see one aspect of No. 6 after another that really reminds me of 1984 and other novels and film related to the media. No. 6 is a Utopia that is perfect, but no. The city tries to be perfect by eliminating every thing that can stain its reputation – even going so far as killing the elderly because they are in no way useful anymore. How cruel is that?

Ultimately, we saw how No. 6 (or its government) tries to be more perfect by trying to get the power of a certain mystical tribe and their god. Whether they are successful or not is the subject of the last episode.

Characters

I immediately thought of the anime as Shounen-Ai but heck. When I watched the anime, I never felt I was watching a Shounen-Ai story at all! The references to the genre are albeit very little as compared to the grand scheme of things.

Shion and Nezumi are likeable characters; Shion for his charm, and Nezumi for his badass charm. lol. Safu is well, a weak one. I felt the story around her was rather rushed.

Karan, Shion’s mother gets the most empathy out of everyone. Her role as a mother remains as a mother. I don’t know about you but perhaps she was one of the more natural depictions of motherhood in all the latest anime I have seen so far. Devotion, loyalty, trust, and patience. She has them all.

Setting and Design

While you can say that you have seen the face of Shion and Nezumi a thousand times in other anime, at least, No. 6 looks neat. Set in a future where there is no England, one can say that the way people live in No. 6 is still a cross between the now and the future. People still bake cakes in the traditional way. There are still loud speakers. I don’t know. Even if it tries to tell us that it is indeed the future, still something feels off.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that No. 6 has a more solid story than all the anime that aired in its time. The plot, while there are holes, still is likeable and reminiscent of a classic literature. That alone can give No. 6 the award for being “excellent” for trying to put the big brother genre, in a different perspective. The Shounen-Ai subtleties are very little and you wouldn’t notice those at all. Should you watch it? Yes.

Saya Kisaragi is a cheerful girl who treasures her father and her friends. But when the Elder Bairns began to kill people in succession, she questioned her identity, and the reason why she was being tested.

Brief Background:

Blood-C is an anime from Production I.G and the manga group CLAMP (who also designed the characters.) As part of the Blood franchise, the anime features a girl named Saya with a sword that fights off non-human entities – the Elder Bairns in this particular case. Running from July to September last year, it’ll be having a movie this year.

Review

Plot

The story starts off very promising. You can see my high hopes and enthusiasm in my previous episodic reviews of Blood-C how, in every episode, I tried to say, that everything is just building up for the climax… like it was being set up. Low behold everything was really just a set up and what we witness is an anti climax which seemingly felt distant from what episode 1 was about.

Characters

With the exception of Saya, who seems to e very kind-hearted, the other characters who at least was developed in my opinion was the guy Tomofusa – the class president. While everyone feels static from beginning to end, the penultimate episode lead me to think of their reasons behind their actions. Why was Tokizane (the black haired guy) acting cool and silent? Why was he on the scene when Saya killed an elder bairn and wasn’t shocked? Why was he running to Saya in middle of the dead night?

Fumito, the guy from Cafe Gimauve was another interesting one. Oh how I twitched when he reveled himself as the main villain in the final episode. It was so bittersweet one can’t help but feel bad on how the anime turned out that way.

Setting and Design

Clamp has literally made their art literally visible everywhere, from the characters to the costumes, from the backdrops to the monsters. Everything is CLAMP template – and I’m not saying it’s bad. Actually I like their art. While people complain on the long arms and legs, I just feel that those things make the characters smaller – nothing bad about it. Plus the school costume – yet another perfect elaboration from the sailor to the embroidery. Their design was perfect, it;s just a pity that the characters get stained by blood and literally decapitated.. tearing the wonderful school uniforms and soiling them in red…

Conclusion

If you’re wanting to watch the Blu-ray, you better prepared yourself from the gore fest that is Blood-C. Never let Saya’s charm and Tokizane’s bishie looks into fooling you that the anime is elegant. It tries in the beginning, but I never like the anti climax. I hope the movie will rightfully correct the wrongs of the 12-episode anime, and make Blood-C shine even just on the silver screen

Blood-C – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Narumi, a bored high school student, became a member of the gardening club at his school due to the pestering of his classmate Ayaka. Ayaka has friends in a Ramen Shop. Her friends are NEETs – people who are not in education, employmentm or training even though they are eligible to become one. The NEETs that Narumi meets are a strange bunch. One is a military otaku. Another’s a gigolo. Then an ex-boxer. And finally, Narumi meets “Alice” – the detective. Narumi joined this group (without stopping education) and became Alice’s assistant. Together, they solve detective cases that will involve gangs, money laundering, and murder. This happening, while they forged their friendship and start to rely on each other every time.

One way or the other, Kamisama no Memo-chou has an interesting concept – a genius girl and her assistant who is a boy. At the time it was released, another anime- Dantalian no Shoka, featured the same concept (only that the male protagonist there looks certainly dashing.) Prior to these two, the anime Gosick had aired, which is set in historic Europe with the female protagonist solving cases along with her assistant (whose name is inspiration to the name of this blog.

Kamisama no Memo-chou certainly strikes a chord in the Gosick comparison. For one, they both have the Holmes-Watson archetype. Alice is Holmes to Narumi’s Watson. Alice does the thinking while Narumi does the work that requires physical effort, such as going to a place, fighting off the bad guys, etc. To some, Kamisama no Memo-chou is a rather weak representation of the archetype, and also a weak Gosick-inspired story. I might agree to that, but No.

The anime is set in Modern Japan – as opposed to Gosick’s early 20th century Europe. With that, Kamisama no Mem0-chou deals with cases that naturally happens in a Modern setting – theft, murder, etc. Add that there’s no one in the anime that still believes in mystic forces. But the setting is all but a weak argument of the anime’s difference. Where the anime shines the most is its discussion of social issues of modern society. I particularly digged the last case involving Ayaka and her drug-addict brother. That particular case is socially relevant, not just in Japan but elsewhere too. As to how they did to solve the case, it might strike a chord as to the way they did that, but keep in mind that Kamisama no Memo-chou also tried to focus on friendship. As to why they went over the top, I have no right to say that they did it the wrong way.

I have been fascinated with stories where detectives try to solve a murder case with little to no clue at first, and then eventually gathering evidence, establishing motive, how the crime was perpetrated and the opportunity for the crime to occur. Kamisama no Memo-chou follows this premise but with a twist. Alice does everything without leaving her room. She reminds me of Agatha Christie’s Jane Marple, but only to some extent, because of course, you cannot deny the youth that flowed through Alice.

The characters, though somewhat weak, may also be a bit underdeveloped. But what can be done in a 12 episode anime? Well, there were brilliant 12-episode anime out there, but at least Kamisama no Memo-chou tried to digest some of what has happened in the manga. I just learned earlier (actually, last April 6, since I’ve had this draft since that day ) that the last case in the anime is the first one in the manga. But why did the production did that? Probably to try to flesh out the characters a bit, or maybe to give the effect of longing. For one, the girl – Ayaka, we have seen her most of the episodes. To suddenly be the subject of the last case… just as we thought that she really isn’t that significant. It was done brilliantly.

The characters that were fleshed out more were Yondaime – the gang leader, and of course – Alice. You can’t deny the cute factor with Alice. I’ve got to admit sometimes, I don’t dig her voice, but it was kinda okay. I’m just glad the anime didn’t went to ecchi mode the way it was during the first few episodes. Instead, it tries to focus more on the cases. Commendable.

Should you watch this anime? Yes. If you get over the first few episodes, you will eventually like it.

Above is Saya Kisaragi, or just Saya, if you’ve watched the anime up to episode 12. The still picture is a screenshot from the second preview video for Blood-C: The Last Dark, the upcoming movie from the Blood Franchise and of course, the movie tie-in and sequel for Blood-C. Below is the trailer:

The video above reveals… nothing. Really, I just hope that there will be new reveals in the movie that I will definitely like. After all, I am a fan of the Blood franchise. Say what they want about the franchise but girls drawing their swords will always be cool to me.

Oh, and the glasses too.

My Awesome Source:
SeventhStyle.

The latest incarnation of the Lupin III franchise, titled Lupin III – The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (Lupin III – Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna) comes with a not-so-unexpected twist – it will be focusing on Fujiko Mine – the series heroine since time immemorial.

The first episode starts with a grand gathering. A so-called religious cult has gathered followers en masse. The cult leader, Lupin suspects, is using a drug that hallucinates his followers to control them. In this grand gathering where the cult leader will get married in front of many, Lupin first met Fujiko, the leader’s wife.

The episode continues as a game between thieves. Lupin and Fujiko decided on a contest on to who can steal the cult’s secret first. It is a somewhat interesting episode of the 2 characters trying to outwit each other while making sure they are ahead every other step of the way.

It is the story of how the master thief first met Fujiko.

The latest from the Monkey Punch franchise may prove to be a trip down Nostalgia. Every Japanese alive in the last 3 decades or so will probably still remember the classic Lupin III series. Lupin III – The Woman Called Fujiko Mine takes you aback with its aesthetics. The way the anime seems hand-drawn, or perhaps the way it uses manual-like drawing – as if it was drawn from paper, will prove to be visual appreciating. Fujiko’s curves are now well-defined, Lupin’s facial structure… and hair… at least looks like he gets his hair cut from a modernist salon who knows that side burns are still cool if you shape it in a certain way. The imagery of the grand gathering looks like it was from a Miyazaki film. But how dare am I to compare this anime to an iconic director’s film. Forgive me. But the anime seems theatrical at the beginning.

Only in the beginning..

As the story progresses, the character-centric plot took over, and we get to see more of the 2 characters in almost every scene. That’s understandable – given the major plot of the episode.

I don’t even mind the addition of suggestive visuals for this anime. This is Lupin III to begin with. It’s suppose to be sensual, though I have never watched an uncut Lupin III episode, given the chance, I will just watch a version of that if it exist for this anime.

Overall, great episode 1. I hope the story gets better as the series progresses. After all, focusing on Fujiko will get the attention of adoration of many fans – and the entirety of Japan – which still considers Fujiko as one of the sexiest characters in all of manga and anime.

What can I say with High School DxD. For starters – it’s about demons and fallen angels. For those in the know, it is an Anime series with lots of uncensored nudity and fanservice. And finally (you guess it!) it has a story.