Dantalian no Shoka

As a child, I was quiet the reader. I would read almost anything from mystery, to action, and even the stuff in between. When coming across this anime, I couldn't help but to smile, and feel a warmth spreading over me, because it had to deal with books and mysterious powers, and it was set in one of my favorite times in history: The Victorian Era.

The story for this anime is almost simple: a young man named Hugh Anthony Diswald, living in London when his grandfather dies, and leaves him the estate, along with his massive library. When he arrives at the estate, and goes down to the library, he meets a young girl named Dalian, the black biblioprincess, who is one of the keepers of 906,666 deadly books called the phantom books-books with special powers that enable strange things to happen, such as resurrection, hypnotism, and other strange occurrences. Together, the seek out phantom books to bring about the balance of the world.

The story in mind had premise, but it felt like later on in the anime that nothing truely connected. In the episodes, it seemed that a point could be elaborated upon, but it didn't happen, and the characters by the next episode were relaxing again. The story in each episode sort of got repetitive, due to the fact it was basically start of in house to meet problem character, to investigation "could there be a phantom book," to discovering phantom book, to battling crazy person with phantom book, to crappy end of episode.  True, while I do like episodic anime, this was a bit too serious of an anime to really pull the episodic execution, and thus the biggest failure of this anime.

The characters for this anime were likable, if not a bit dull. Diswald has an interesting back story of being a former army pilot, but they only expand on this at the last minute, and I truly wish they did more with that. Dalian was the token tsundere loli of the series, and just being as much use as just saying "Hey, I sense a phantom book," and she grants access to the library that has all the books to stop the phantom book, and even then, Diswald is responsible mostly for stopping the rampage of the book. The minor characters were very forgettable, and even the ones that they tried to make seem important were still easily forgettable.

The art for this anime was what actually drew me into this anime. It has a serious tone to it, but also has a light-hearted tone to it, which make me happy. In the anime, the art was fluid, and the effects for obtaining the books was interesting. The characters were well designed, though I felt like that the side character designs were repeated,and I had a hard time distinguishing them sometimes.

Overall, despite its flaws, I enjoyed this anime, even  though at the end it seemed to stop making sense. I liked the concept, I just wish that they had gone a bit more in depth with the characters, and perhaps not make it so episodic in nature, and have a bit more character development. Also, this anime was too short and serious to even pull off the episodic execution.
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2011-A Year to Remember

The past year for me has been eventful, I will admit. Even though I haven't had this blog for a year, 2011, however is drawing to a close. Over the past  year, I feel like I have accomplished a lot, though it has not been without its pitfalls.

This past year has come many successes, such as graduating high school, and starting college. It might be a community college, but college none the less, and the next chapter in my life. Though both might seem like an easy feet, the stress that went with both was quite frankly horrendous, though I am glad I have done both. Though I treasure my time in high school, I am excited about completing my first semester at college. College is a new experience for me, due to the fact that everyone is more relaxed somewhat, and there is none of the high school drama, though it does have its own bit of drama. It's also a more diverse group of people in college, anyone from just out of high school people like me, to working adults, to even ex-military people. 

First of all, I would like to thank the wonderful people I have met in 2011. One of my best friends I actually met this year in high school, and he is amazingly kind to me, despite some rough patches. He was the one that introduced me to Team Fortress 2, and other computer games, because before I will honestly say I saw computer games as a waste of space on the computer's hard drive. He has also been there for me when I needed him, and we have really fun memories together.

Along with my best friend, I also met some wonderful people in my English class. These people were the party in my life, and even though they are quite insane, I still treasure that class dearly. Everyday was like a riot, a good riot though, due to the fact we would kind of pick on each other, though some of us got picked on more than others. (я ниет лоли). Besides the folks in my English class, my math class buddies were also amazingly nice. They knew how to joke around, and most of them were new to college, like me, and we had a rough time at first adjusting to the class, and some of us, like my self, had to drop the class. 

Also, this year, I have gotten into more American movies, and gotten more into different types of movies. Before I met my best friend, and also one of my friends on my English class, I usually stuck to anime, and I still tend to, though I am becoming more acquainted with American movies. (If you have any movies that you want me to see or review, email me). Also, I have come to appreciate torrenting a lot more for american movies, and not just downloading three hundred plus gigabytes of anime. 

In 2011, I started this blog. Taking inspiration from one of my friends and fellow blog writer, I have started my own blog. I realized that I could actually write(not that well) about movies, life, and anime. Although it's just a beginning blog, I hope to make this blog my own sort of ramblings about anime and movies, with a few game reviews in between(when I have time to play them...seriously). And even though I cannot write particularly well, this blog is a fun experience to try and become better at writing. 

This year, however, has not been with out its problems. Between my computer crashing, and huge amounts of stress and boredom, it probably has made me a stronger person (also taught me to back up my data regularly.) Along with my computer crashing, I am currently still working on building a computer (like built from scratch) and that has come with its problem; for example, it now lacks the BIOS systems, making it virtually living, but a vegetable. (Thank you infinite loops, you murderous killers). 

But as I look towards 2012, I actually do have a couple goals in mind, most of these revolving around my life and my future. One such goal is to go into the air force, though I doubt it will happen in 2012, though I want to talk to the recruiter. Also, I wanna complete my second semester at college, and do some summer classes so I can hurry up and graduate and go into the air force, due to the fact a college degree will make it easier to join. Along with getting on board with the military, I want to at least learn a language and become decently fluent in it, probably become more fluent in Japanese and Spanish, and maybe pick up the romance languages in my mind: German and Russian. (French is ugly thank you)

Overall, this year has been an excellent year, many mile stones I have gotten passed, and I have met many, many people over the past year. I can honestly say that I hope 2012 is as good, if not better than 2011, and I look forward on keeping the reader(s) posted on the movies I have seen. If you have any anime, movie, game, books, and any other stuff that you may want me to review, or even questions or comments,although I will ask you to make the subject of the email about the blog. (I don't read spam).

I'd Like to thank those who have stumbled across this blog, and hope to see some of you return. Until next year (or a few hours) have fun!

C³~CubeXCursedXCurious~

It is a given that every season needs an anime with a loli in it. It is almost undeniable fact. In the Winter 2011, it was the loli, Fear, who brought love to our hearts. Her story is unusual, for being a type of yandere loli, as well as a bit of tsundere. Her past is dark and bloody, and her friends' pasts seem to be equally so. C³ is a tale of despair, curses, magic, and perhaps some blood shed.

The story starts out with Yachi Haruaki, your normal teenage boy, living at home (because kids seem to do that a lot in Japan now a days), just living the normal life. One day, a package arrives from his father, a cube of some sort. He puts the cube in his house, only the next morning to discover a naked girl has now taken the cube's place. She seems to know nothing of how the world works, though she is trying her best to learn the ways of the world, even if it leads to her destroying the house in the process. One of Haruaki's friends, Muramasa Konoha discovers the girl, and rivalries ensue, of course in a harem like fashion. As it turns out, along with Konoha and Fear, it seems that sometimes curses take human form. It is revealed that Konoha can transform into a sword and is able to be used by Haruaki in order to defeat the bad guys, and Fear is the human form of the Black Cube, a torture device, and her weapon is the cube of which she is named. She can use over twenty different torture devices, but wishes to be rid of the curse. The anime follows Fear, Haruaki, Konoha, and later Ueno Kirika, the mysterious class president, in their adventure of cursed objects, and protecting, and hoping ridding the objects of the curse.

The art in C³ is actually rather quirky, but in a good way. Sometimes, the color shades will change on you, just like in a SHAFT production or like Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu. With that, the art work also tends to shift to what they are talking about, like when Fear mentions the fact Konoha has bigger boobs than her, they show her boobs in a way that is sort of mocking. Also, they tend to handle the serious situations with serious art work, and the light hearted ones with lighthearted artwork, such as flowers and over expressionate faces.  The art work, with the mood and quirkiness, is very consistent and fluid.

As basically a harem anime, each girl sort of fell into a stereo-type. Haruaki is one of these male leads that had some unknown power that seems to draw the girls in, and looks like just like every other male lead in existances: Brown hair and brown eyes. Konoha takes the role of the child hood friends, and also the sort of the main girl that Haruaki would pursue. Kirika is the definite tsundere, being that some of the stuff that Haruaki does kind of turns her on, but it comes out as fustration. Fear is definite tsundere, but she is a loli tsundere, meaning that, like Kirika, she get turned on in the same way, but she is too adorable about it. Also, she is sort of a yangire, due to her dark past and the fact she is a torture device.

The characters I think could have done with a bit more development. For example, I want to know more back story on Fear, and i thought I could see some more, besides the fact she was a machine used for killing and torture, but they kept adding new characters, like Sovereignty and Shiraho. It seemed as with the case with Sovereignty, even though her arc was done, I still felt incomplete with her character, and the characters that were introduced at the end hardly had any development. For a character cast like this, they probably needed to extend the anime to twenty-four episodes, or perhaps a second season. But as the loli of the series, Fear was very funny, where as the other characters were amusing, but didn't have me laughing like Fear did.

On the musical side of things, the first opening theme was amazing. The way Fear sort of danced at the beginning was super cute, and well coordinated. The same goes for the second opening, though with Kirika was more elegate than cute, but all the same, well coordinated. The songs for both will most likely end up on my iPod due the cuteness of the first, and the darkness of the second. Also, the voice acting was well done, especially Fear's "I'll curse you!" is super cute.

Overall, it is an excellent watch, despite what people might say. Lolis, cursed objects, and some what of a harem make this an excellent anime, though thankfully they don't concentrate too much on the harem aspect, just mostly the cursed object. Also, a word of advice when watching this anime: Watch until after the credits, some hilarious stuff happens then.

Fall 2011 Anime Season:Impressions

Every new season of anime brings forth for me joy and excitement. It allows me to kick back, enjoy some cartoons that aren't meant for children, and provide me with entertainment when I can't sleep. Though the season is only half over, I feel it necessary to review some of the series that are airing because honestly, some of them are actually pretty good this year. True, there is ecchi, which is anime soft core porn, and maybe a bit of mystery, they bring me entertainment none the less. 


(Note: Done Alphabetically) 


Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai 

I'll admit, the first thing that attracted me to this anime was not only the theme, which is something kind of close to me, but also the moe-like art. It follows a boy named Hasegawa Kodoka, a half-British transfer student who makes all the wrong impressions due to his hair color and expressions, thought the thing he really wants is friends. Mikazuki Yozora is in a similar boat, though she is not misinterpreted as molesting the female student body, though she has an imaginary friend to compensate for lack of friends. Kashiwazaki Sena is the girl who appears popular, but has no true friends. The anime revolves around Kodaka joining the club Yozora created in order to help people make friends.  Along the way, genius, perverted girl Siguma Rika, and girly-boy Kusonuki Yukimura join, all in order to try and make friends. They all get along pretty well,though Sena and Yozora have a love/hate relationship, tending more to the hate, I think deep down they're very good friends. 
With this anime, I'm impressed I'll have to admit. The art style is fluid and happy. The comedy is funny, like Sena's idea of making friends is making friends with the virtual girls in games. (Hey, Kami nomi anyone?) Also, Yozora constantly calling Sena "meat," referring to her noticeably larger chest size, is also funny. For any one that wants to kick backa nd watch an anime bout how friendship works, and for a bit of moe and comedy, I highly recommend this one. 


C³ 
Who doesn't love a loli? A loli with a history of torturing people, just turning up on your doorstep, mailed from your dad? Well, thats what happened to Yachi Haruaki, average boy, suddenly thrown into a world of cursed object because a cursed cube that can take human form named Fear showed up on his door step. Now, at first Fear seems normal, barely managing house chores while Haruaki is at school, though when angered she can use her cube to use about thirty different torture devices. Muramasa Konoha, a girl who can change into a sword, and Ueno Kirika join the cast and form, you guessed it, a harem. 
With this anime, I honestly don't know whether or not to be impressed. The art style and story presentation is very similar to that of SHAFT, basically a mind fuck/trip. The story is progressing a bit too slowly as well, but since there is a loli, i think I can manage. Also, I want to know why the objects are cursed. Over all, a good watch (for the loli).


Chihayafuru
Karuta, the game of one hundred poems. This anime follows the story of a girl trying to become the world master at karuta, because quite frankly, no one outside of Japan played the game. She makes a club for it, and it trying to get people to join it, though its a rough journey. Her goal is to play with a boy named Arata, the boy that taught her how to play. The story has not progressed a lot, though it is holding my interest.
What attracted me to this was the art. It's very shoujou, and very happy. Also, the prospect about learning about a new game also enthralled me. However, I will complain that most of the stuff in the anime makes no sense to me, though I think that the Japanese are considering that Americans are watching the anime, because bit by bit, the game is being explained. But, the thing I'm wondering is how exactly  do you play? They have been shown throwing cards around, and all. Seriously, how the hell do you play this game?


Maji de Watashi ni Koi ni Shinasai
Two words are sufficient enough to describe this anime: Mind Fuck. Yep, that's what this anime is. It starts off serious, but then degrades to penis jokes. In fact, the "synopsis" is very misleading. It should be shortened to "We start off serious but don't worry boys, you will get your fan service plus a bunch of penis jokes." But otherwise, the art style is good. You have some girls with big boobs,a nd some with out the boobs. Also, the personalities of the girls are well diversed, from the quiet one, to the one that likes to beat people up. The main guy, Yamato, is a laugh. At one point, he basically whips it out, and makes a girl faint. He is actually thr source of the humor for me, not the girls( for once).




Maken-ki

If Maji de was Mind Fuck, then Maken-ki is mind rape.It's about this boy who get into a school for basically magic users, except he can't use it. (Maburaho anyone?) The girls all kick ass, and he is the defenseless one, except the girls need protecting against his perverted-ness. They fight with these things called "Maken" which I have no idea what the hell they are. Are they a spirit, or they a part of the soul? Also, what are the different classes that they keep mentioning? Also, it's another case of the females falling head over heels for the male lead for no apparent reason, even though he has zero personality, besides being a pervert. 
Character wise, I actually like none of them. Takeru is a pervert, and an ugly one at that. Seriously, who designs characters like that? Inaho, the big boobed fiancee that pops up at the beginning is annoying. Yes, I like kitty mouth face, but her face seems to be stuck in one. its ugly, and old. Himegami has the most personality in my mind, in fact she kind of has none. She's not fighting directly for the guy, but she is still part of his harem. Basically, she's the tsundere of the harem. Haruko is the child friend essentially, so I think she will automatically win. To be honest, the design of the characters is ugly, because in my mind, the girls have too much curves and boobs. Here's the rule for anime: If it looks like a D, it's an A. 


Mashiro-iro Symphony: Color of Lovers
A guy at an all girls school that recently went co-ed. Could this produce laughter, seriousness, or could it produce a train wreck of a mess? Honestly, even at the mid-way point of the season, I still don't know what to think about this anime. Since it's an eroge adaption, I was expecting basically a flop due to those types of anime being usually a flop. But, with this one, I'm not sure. The art work is fluid, but the story is sort of not there. True, it's a slice of life where the male lead is trying to win the hearts of the of the girls, or more or less make the girls accept him, due Shingo being male. But, it seems that is lost somewhere along the line,. 
Honestly, for this anime, I was praying it would be funny co-ed, like Seitokai Yakuindomo, though I am sort of disappointed at the humor. It has its cutesy moments, though it it just mainly just the journeys of the cast and their interactions with the main characters. To be honest, it's just another anime, though its just a good way to kill time.  


Shinraku?! Ika Musume

She back, and invading land for those stupid humans polluting her waters! That's right! Ika Musume is back, and still hell bent on invading land. The squid girl never succeeds in any of her plans, but it's still fun to watch her try. In the second season, we follow more of her daily journeys. True, while she doesn't succeed in invading land properly, she does end up learning about humans, and what we do. True, everyone finds her adorable, but warning: shes still out to invade land.
The art style is that of the first season, so not much change. The humor, though sometimes is lost on me. Some episodes make me laugh, while others were like, ok whats the point. The opening theme actually grew on me a bit. At first, I was opposed to it, as a lover of the original opening, but then I recognized that the second one is just as catchy.   


UN-GO

In recent times, I have actually enjoyed detective anime. They provide thriler, suspense, and usually very good art. seeing the newest series coming from Bones, I got really excited due the fact that that it was produced by them, and their previous detective anime, Gosick, was epic. I will admit, the story is odd in Un-Go, for its about the "Defeated Dective," due the fact that the the head detective guy, Kaishou Rinroko, is credited with solving all the cases. Shinjuurou Yuuki, and his assistant, Inga, go about solving the cases in unusual ways, due the fact Inga can force the truth for one question out of one person. However, Kaishou recieves all the credit.
This anime to me is basically a modern version of Kuroshitsuji. Where as Kuroshitsuji is set in Victorian Era, UN-GO is set in modern times. Also, UN-GO so far is very strange because right now, I want to know where Inga comes from, and why can't she stay loli? 


Working'!!

Most of us who are old enough to work have jobs that are arduous, and that grind our nerves. Those annoying co-workers, the stuff that doesn't go right, the horrible and rude customers, those all components of a job. However in Working'!!, the co-workers seems to all get along, and there aren't any rude customers, and while not everything goes right, it seems moat thing do go right. In the second season of Working!!, it follows the same slice of life/comedy as the first season. Inami Ahiru is still scared of men, Takanashi is still fond of cute things,and only pays attention to only loli, and none to the girl that has affections for him, Kyouko still doesn't do anything except eat through the restaurants food stock; Souma is still in everyone's business, and  Satou is still torturing the underlings. 
The comedy style is much like the first season, though I wish they would get on with it. Seriously, hurry up Takanashi and realize that Inami likes you. Hopefully this can provide me with more laughs in the future and get on with it. The one other thing I will praise Working'!! on besides the humor, is the opening song. The song from the first season was catchy, and they somehow mangaed to make it catchier in the second. 

Definition of a Loli

In recent debates with one of my friends, the thing of what makes a Lolita, or loli, a loli. Is it height? And how tall or short must a girl be to be qualified as a loli? Is it age? Is it breast size? Is it body type? On my quest to find out what a true loli is, we must find the origin and how it came to be.
The term "Lolita" first came in to use after a Russian Novel was written under the same name, written by Vladimir Nabokov. It brings about the use of sexual lust between a grown man and a thirteen year old girl. However, the man loses the girl to death, and tries to move on with his life. However, he becomes obsessed with the desire to have sex with sexually aware young girls. He eventually meets Delores, or known as Lolita, and almost stalks her. He keeps all recordings of their meetings in a little log book.
Now, in the book, Lolita is a young girl, around twelve years in age. Under the presumption that age makes a loli,then my friend calling me a loli would not be correct, as I am 18. If a loli is a minor, or under 18, then most people, by the time they get out of high school should not be called a loli.
But what if height makes the loli? In anime, a loli is considered just about anyone shorter than average. Also, these individuals may be falt chested, and they may act childish and innocent. However, in some anime, they girls are average height, like anime like Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica or in cases of anime like Chobits, the main heroines may all considered lolis because of the way they are drawn. In fact, most Mahou Shoujo, or Magical Girl, animes may be considered loli because the girls are usually flat chested, and child like, but they lack the height of a true loli. Anime that portray a true loli would a (quite frankly messed up) anime like Kodomo no Jikan. The girls are short, and they are in fact true lolis, age-wise, height wise, and breast size wise.

Also, it also bring in the question: what about boobs size? Loli's are known for their flat chested-ness. People claim that loli's can have bigger boobs, but i disagree. If they have bigger boobs, then I believe that they loose some of the child-like inocnce that lolis are supposed to have. Lolis plus bigger boobs to me is not possible. Lolis with bigger boobs look wrong, and it signals to me that they are not as innocent as they seem. Imagine a twelve year old with a full rack, and no hips? That to me is not a loli, that is called messed up twelve year old.
Body type is also an important factor in determining whether or not a person is a loli. A person with full hips to me can not be considered a loli. They are not child like appearance enough, because, honestly, how many children do you see with full hips? Children are usually flat as washboard and lack curves, so if a full out adult tried to be a loli with hips, that is not loli.
Lolis also can reffer to a certain way some one is dressed. Lolita dresses are usually pink, frilly, and have tons of lace. This trend has also taken a turn to fit the those who don't like pink as much to Gothic Lolita, which has more black dresses. But, if an adult, full height and boobs dresses in a lolita dress, are they still considered loli? I say no, because they lack the innocence of a loli, and they are impersonating a loli.
Along with physical characteristics, there is the mentality of a loli. Lolis are usually child like, with the mentality of a child. These characters in anime may not be a aware of whats going on around them and may in fact be a little ADHD. These girls in harems will typically not interest the male lead due the fact he will find them too childish, and he will care for them like a little sister, unless it was a loli harem, then all the typical rules of a harem apply.

Now, can boys be lolis? The answer is yes and no. "Boy Lolis" are not called such; the term used for older women preying on such character is known as "shota-con," derived from a character called Shotarou. Though I don't know the specifics of the book, it
The Definition of a loli may vary from person to person, but to me, it will always be that a child who is sexually attractive, but it flat and acts childish. An adult cannot be loli, and neither can a male. If someone were to consider an adult with hips and boobs a loli, what kind of children have you been looking at?