Please don’t blame me for the spoilers. It’s your fault for reading it!

.hack//Sign
I can be very short about this whole anime. It’s based on the .hack games, but still very watchable. The story revolves about a player in the RPG game ‘The World’ named Tsukasa. Somehow, all the events that are happening in the game world seem to be connected to this just one person, a boy who is best to describe as an emo. The reason for this seems to be that Tsukasa is stuck in the game and isn’t able to log out. He meets up with other players, who are trying to help him. Every person of this group has his or her own issues, but are wondering about the fact that Tsukasa isn’t able to log out. They eventually start looking for clues, both in the real world and in ‘The World’ and they find out that Tsukasa is probably a girl in a hospital. In the end Tsukasa gets out of the hospital and meets up with Subaru, a girl who she met in ‘The World’ and it turns out that Tsukasa is indeed a girl.

Well, to make things short, the only thing that makes this series bizarre is the huge amount of dialogue. Really, a lot. There is little action in it and if there are fights, they are pretty badly animated. The animation is not the best, but not the worst: just so-so. The sound is well, very western stylized. A lot of the inserted songs are in English, not Engrish, and there are only one or two songs in Japanese. I’m still wondering why this series was even made in Japan… This could be something that will do fine with fervent fans of the .hack games, but not with me. A better example of ‘’stuck in the virtual world” is Digimon. That’s one worth watching. Don’t watch .hack//Sign if you dislike long dialogues and little action. A more ”mind”bleep version is Chaos;head, which has more action (and censored) parts.

Toradora 13
Still going on with Taiga’s father and the cultural festival arc, here’s episode13. What the heck was with Ami’s outfit? I don’t recall Toradora being a ecchi anime. Just when I was happy that the fanservice was low, they insert Ami… Oh well. It’s time for the beauty contest and Taiga has to enter. Luckily Ryuuji has made this awesome white dress with angel wings in which she looks very kawaii, so she draws a lot of attention, despite her weak presentation. Why? Her baka father didn’t show up, as read from Ryuuji’s cellphone. Ryuuji is the only one clapping for her, all alone. Eventually Minori starts to clap as well, in tears. Anyhow, after another brilliant move of Taiga, the whole audience supports her and Taiga wins the beauty contest. Ryuuji goes towards her, while the student council president makes an annoucement. There will be a race around the school to decide who will put the tiara on Taiga’s head and will dance with her! Every boy in the school joins and so does Ryuuji. The race starts and every boy lets Ryuuji feel the hard ground, but he stands up. He then decides that he has to win and so he went into ”delinquent” mode, running like the devil. However, just about 50 meters for the finish, he gets attacked by Taiga fanboys. But then there’s Kushieda, running out of the nowhere! Everyone is surprised that a girl entered the race and the president allows also girls. Kushieda, very good friend of Taiga, sacrifices herself and jumps on four boys with all of her body in order to stop them and with succes. Ryuuji decides that he’ll go over the finish,  together with Minorin. That’s how both of them actually won the race and they put the tiara on Taiga’s head, but they don’t get to dance with her. After that, Ryuuji and Minorin are talking with each other again and Minorin explains why she was stupid. She knew about Taiga’s father all along, but never said a word about it. That’s not everything! She even pulls a joke, saying that she might like girls over boys. I’m not a fan of shoujo ai, so I’ll stick with either Taiga x Ryuuji or Taiga x Kitamura. In the end, Taiga dances with Kitamura, after he explains how they should dance: take each others hands and look into each others eyes and then go round and round untill you get bored of it. Aww.

A very interesting episode. I’m just hoping that Taiga’s father won’t ever show up again in the next 12 episodes. That bastard.

To Aru Majutsu no Index 10 - 13
Episode ten starts of with a new arc, the Mikoto Misaka and her sisters versus Accelerator arc or at least that’s what I call it. We finally get to know about the other main character of Toaru, which would be time. It looks like Mikoto is on the roof like a sniper and is aiming for a boy with dirty looks. However, when the bullets reach the boy, they get returned to her immediately and she suffers damage. She runs away and later, Touma meets up with her. Was it really her? No, it was her sister. At least that’s what Touma calls her. It then turns out the sister is part of a big plan of scientists, who want to create the first Level 6 Esper. That boy, whose name is Accelerator, is the one who is scheduled to be that Level 6 Esper. He is already Level 5 and on par with Mikoto, but he doesn’t even has anyone that can match him in battle. That’s why he wants absolute power, or something. He’s just insane. Anyhow, after Touma learns that the sisters of Mikoto are actually clones, he wants to meet up with Mikoto. She wants to die, because she wants to save all her sisters, but Touma doesn’t allow to do so. Mikoto starts attacking Touma with all her voltage, but he won’t give up. He won’t let her die. That’s why, after a long talk with Mikoto, he is going to pick a fight with Accelerator. He should be able to save the sisters, if he can beat Accelerator as a Level 0 Esper with Imagine Breaker. Next up: Touma versus Accelerator…
 

It’s that time of the year again… And I’m celebrating it this Saturday. I do visit my family on these days, though. Let’s get the thing crackin’!

December, the 24th. Something pops up in my mind: I want to watch Kyou Kara Maou! So, for that reason, I started my torrent and I could start watching it succesfully this morning. The first thing that I noticed was the quality of the animation. The opening and ending are okay, but the animation of the ending is… really boring and seems low-budget. That’s not a problem for the opening, that one is a bit better. Anyhow, the story begins. Normal boy lives a normal boy, tries to help a classmate of his and is at the point of being flushed down through the toilet thanks to some bullies. Point is, he actually got flushed down. When Yuuri wakes up, he is in an other world. Wait, don’t I know some other stories that go like this? Yes, exactly. Almost every shoujo harem adventure starts out like this. Harukanara Toki no Naka de, Fushigi Yuugi… Enough said. Yuuri spots a girl who is calling out to, but she runs away, scared. Then the other villagers appear and throw rocks at the boy. But then, suddenly, a knight appears! Cough. Enter Adelbert, the villain. He activates a language trigger within Yuuri so Yuuri can understand everyone. The only thing needed to do that was something that looked like he got strangled. It seems that he is the Maou, aka demon king. Anyhow, Yuuri can understand everyone now, but enter… Another knight, but this time from the good guys. Enter Conrad, who brings Yuuri to the castle where he meets a mysterious, good looking boy. At least he thinks so. True, he looks good, but his ego… This good looking boy is named Wolfram and he is the youngest son of the ex-Maou, nicknamed ‘Sexy Queen.’ The ex-Maou that is, not the bishounen. Anyhow, it turns out that Wolfram is the youngest, in the middle is Conrad and the eldest son is Gwendel… I always thought Gwendel was a girl’s name…

The dinner starts. Wolfram and Yuuri don’t seem to come to an agreement about the war between the Mazoku and the humans and Yuuri snaps. He bitchslaps Wolfram at full girly power and oh my goodness, Yuuri won’t take it back. With that, they are… engaged. That whole country has weird rules, so it’s not unusual. It is for me, though. Why didn’t I mention yet that Wolfram is just a tsundere bishounen? Sigh. So, both are surprised, but Yuuri also drops a fork. He picks it up and that means that it’s a sign for a duel. I told you, those rules in that country don’t make any sense. The staff thinks that it’s a good time for Yuuri to prove that he is really the Maou, so Yuuri starts to train. It appears that Conrad was the passenger that named him, when Conrad was sitting next to Yuuri’s mother in a taxi in America. Yay… Later on, the duel starts. First round is a ridiculous sumo fight and then Wolfram wants a next round. Sure, but with swords. Wolfram makes Yuuri once again pissed, by firing fire at him and Yuuri grows long hair and gets a evil face, together with a Water element. Woopdeedoo. He then passes out after using this power and both of them drop down. Yuuri wakes up, three days later. Seems that he is worthy the Maou now.

Because Yuuri is worthy of being the Maou, he has to go through a ceremony. It’s a very difficult thing, because the thing that he has to do is putting his hand in a waterfall! Now, it that isn’t tough… So, boy puts hand in the waterfall, but oh no, he is being pulled in! When he’s conscience, he is back at Earth. His friend seems to be glad that he’s back, but what is Yuuri wearing? A G-string. Aha. A joke from earlier in the episode. Next up, Yuuri is back at home. His mother murmurs what he’s doing with that string underneath his bed and then starts a flashback. She knows that he is the Maou… Anyhow, Yuuri plays baseball again and when he takes a bath with his friend after training, he gets flushed down again. Again. He ends up in the castle of Gwendel. Not to Gwendel’s liking. Afraid that there are women are in the bath, Yuuri stands up [very logic...] and tries to escape, but he got caught. By some other bishounen guys with long hair, zero brains and who totally adore Yuuri. Gunter, who also got an eye on Yuuri, appears and seems to attract and distract the lame guys, while Conrad ‘’saves” Yuuri. Then they, the nobles, commence a meeting and the most important thing is to keep the humans away from this place. In order to do that, the best thing they could use is an demon sword, much to Yuuri’s dislike. But hey, you’re the demon king, so what’s your problem? Now the search for the demon sword has started…

Pros and cons~nya!
+ Bishounen.
+ Shounen-ai overtones

[please note, all these pros are seen from the eye of a fangirl.]

- Animation is sloppy.
- Only difference between a standard shoujo adventure harem anime and this is that the main character is actually a boy.
- Story isn’t worth that much.

Current rating: 7.

Conclusion: fangirl/boy only. Otherwise, not recommended. Untill now, that is. 

Small note to anyone who lives in the Netherlands or around: the ticketbooth for AnimeCon 2009 opened!

It’s been a while and I apologise for my previous not-finished posted blog. Oh, and you might want to know why I didn’t update my blog in such a long time. First of all, when I finally wrote, and I mean litterally wrote, a new part for my blog, I was to lazy to actually type it. Sorry for that. Second: I’ve been in the hospital for three weeks. Let’s just say that I’ve been through a hell in the first week, but I’m back at home. Don’t sweat it, I’m all right now. Anyhow, let’s get back to the blog!

The season already started and some anime or better than I expected, others are a bit dissapointing. Anyhow, I don’t really feel to discuss those right now, as there are too much of them… I want to have it about Shugo Chara! Shugo Chara! can be easy to describe, but also a bit hard. It’s shoujo, but it isn’t. It’s sarcastic, but also sweet or sometimes neither. It’s funny, but sometimes the truth is hard. Okay, a bit exxagerated perhaps. There are two facts: first of them is that it’s created by Peach-Pit. Second fact: I just like this series. Whenever I need some fun, I watch Shugo Chara. At least once in a week, now that I’m on the same level as it’s being subbed. The reason that I like it is that I most likely simply love the characters. Amu is an awesome and cool girl on the outside, but she also is just a girl on the inside. Ikuto as the ”bad, but not bad” guy and possible romantic person in the future is most of the time serious, but also has his funny sides. One of the most noteable characters are the Shugo Chara, the ”would be selves” of the persons. They’re drawn as chibi, but they can also act like they’re huge. Example: Kiseki, the would be selve of Tadase. Always acting high and mighty and wanting to find the Embryo, but not always being listened to. Okay, the main thing about the Chara is that they are what the person should be like in the future. Ikuto has Yoru, a cat Chara, which should mean that he’s free in the future, while Kairi’s Chara would mean that he’ll become a strong man. Oh, since Shugo Chara is still shoujo, it does have transformations and lame parts. Sorry for that. I’m not going to explain transformation. You know how it goes. ”Blablabla!” -transforms- ”Transformed sentence!”

Reminds me: I’ll use this from now on for both reviews and daily anime.

 Therefore this post will be all about the upcoming anime season! Before I start with the anime, I’d say sorry that I’m so late with my blog. School, busy busy. Argh. Oh, and I’m seventeen years right now. My first entry was before my birthday, which is 15/08. Now, let’s start!

First of all, I’d like to sum up all of the upcoming anime this year. Here they come!

September
Hakashaku to Yosei, Lucky Star OVA.

October
Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka, Biohazard: Degeneration, Casshern Sins, Chaos;Head, Clannad After Story, ef - A tale of melodies, Ga-rei: Zero, Genius Party Beyond, Goku Sayonara Setzubou Sensei, Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden Ten no Haoh, Hyakko, Inazuma Eleven, Jigoku Shoujo: Mitsuganae, Junjo Romantica 2, Kannagi, Kemeko Deluxe!, Kidou Senshi Gundam 00 Second Season, Kidou Senshi Gundam MS IGLOO 2 Juuryoku Sensen, Kuro Shitsuji, Kurogane no Linebarrels,Kurozuka, Kyou no Go no ni, Macademi Wasshoi!, Michiko to Hatchin, Mouryou no Hako, Nodame Cantabile : Paris - Hen, Noramimi 2, One Outs, Rosario to Vampire Capu2, Shikabane Hime: Aka, Shin Kyuuseishu Densetsu Hokuto no Ken Zero Kenshirou-den, Skip Beat!, Stitch!, Switch, Tales of the Abyss, Tentai Senshi Sunred, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Toradora!, Tytania, Vampire Knight : Guilty, Yozakura Quartet, Zettai Shougeki: Platonic Heart.

December
Gekijouban Bleach: Fade to Black - Kimi no Na o Yobu, Gekijouban Major, Initial D Extra Stage 2 : Tabidachi no Green.

Considering that these are 49 anime, it will take a while for me to give a whole preview on all of them! A till J will be in this post, the other remaining will be in the next post. Just use Ctrl+F to find the anime you’re looking for!

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka

Starting date: 10/2
Type: Series, +-12 episodes
Genre: Romance, game adaptation
Opinion: Ofcourse, looking good. But what else to expect from a (H)-game adaptation? With seiyus as Hirano Aya(The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, Lucky Star), Kugimiya Rie (Shakugan no Shana, Full Metal Alchemist) and Inoue Marina (Le Portrait de Petit Cosette, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS), we can expect an good voiced anime. The story looks a bit too simple for me, but that’s with most romance anime! I’m just hoping that it won’t turn out to be a harem anime.
Preview rating: +

Biohazard: Degeneration

Starting date: 10/18
Type: Movie.
Genre: Adventure, Action, Game, Sci-Fi, Horror, 3D
Opinion: I’m not expecting much of this and that’s why I won’t watch it. I don’t like 3D movies and I’m not a fan of Resident Evil at all. Acceptable for RE fans only I guess. Please leave a comment if you don’t agree.
Preview rating: -

Casshern Sins

Starting date: 10/1
Type: Series, 24 episodes.
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mecha, Action
Opinion: It’s a remake from the original. I haven’t watched the original, but they stick to the ‘74 animaton, which is a good thing for old school fans. You can expect a lot of action as far as I know and a ”Save the world” scenario from a guy in a white suit with a robot dog and a girl next to him. Go watch Code Geass, Suzaku is hotter.
Preview rating: +-

Chaos;Head

Starting date: 10/9
Type: Series, 12 episodes.
Genre: Supernatural, Sci-Fi, Game, Mystery, Horror
Opinion: Not sure what to say of this, but it reminds me of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. There’ll be a dark atmosphere, that’s a guarantee. 
Preview rating: +

Clannad After Story

Starting date: 10/2
Type: Series, 13 episodes.
Genre: Slice of life, romance, drama, game-adaptation
Opinion: Clannad is similiar to high quality animation, a lot of cute girls and a beautiful story. At least, that’s what the fans think. I’m not a fan of Clannad, but I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who has seen Clannad, as this is a sequel.
Preview rating: +

ef - A tale of melodies

Starting date: 10/6
Type: Series,  13 episodes
Genre: Romance, mystery, drama, game adaptation.
Opinion: I really loved ef - A tale of memories and so I’m looking forward to this, the sequel! If you liked Clannad, you’ll enjoy ef - A tale of melodies as well, but watch ef - a tale of memories first. Good animation and a touching story. I’m just hoping that we’ll learn more about that mysterious girl from the previous season.
Preview rating: +

Ga-rei: Zero

Starting date: 10/5
Type: Series, unknown episodes.
Genre: Action, supernatural.
Opinion: The picture looks good, but the story just sounds so… full of action only? The names of the producers don’t really make this anime interesting, namely AIC Spirits and asread. Two pretty not well-known names. Let’s hope that it’s something nice.
Preview rating: +-

Genius Party Beyond
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Starting date: 10/11
Type: Movie
Genre: Sci-Fi, psychological, horror, dementia.
Opinion: It's from Studio 4 and these are the films that weren't in Genius Party, so... more short films!
Preview rating: +-

Goku Sayonara Setzubou Sensei

Starting date: 10/17
Type: OVA, 2 episodes.
Genre: Slice of life, school, parody, comedy, drama.
Opinion: It'll be sold for 3740 yen, which you can pronounce as Sa-Yo-Na-Ra. You'll only like it if you can stand this desperate Nozomu Itoshiki! ''Zetsuboushita!''
Preview rating: +-

Hakushaku to Yosei

Starting date: 9/28
Type: Series, unknown episodes.
Genre: Adventure, fantasy, romance
Opinion: I'm really looking forward to Count and Fairy! Historical setting, shoujo and a talking cat and ofcourse a good looking man. Okay, not only that, but the seiyus are impressive as well. We have both Mizuki Nana(Itazura na Kiss, Rosario to Vampire, Shugo Chara!, Tales of Symphonia) ánd Mamoru Miyano(Death Note, Ouran High School Host Club) as two of the characters. Enjoy!
Preview rating: +

Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden Ten no Haoh

Starting date: 10/3
Type: Movie.
Genre: Shounen, sci-fi, martial arts, drama, action.
Opinion: Martial arts and shounen aren't my cup of tea, but I think it should be a bit different than the previous Hokuto no Ken, as this one focuses more on Raoh, Kenshiro's enemy. Lots of action in this one.
Preview rating: +-
 
Hyakko

Starting date: 10/1
Type: Series, 13 episodes.
Genre: School, slice of life, comedy.
Opinion: It's from Nippon Animation and NA means to me that it's looking more suitable for the western countries than Japan. It does have good seiyus, namely Hirano Aya and Orikasa Fumiko(Bleach), but that's it for me.
Preview rating: +-

Inazuma Eleven

Starting date: 10/5
Type: Series, unknown episodes.
Genre: Sports, shounen, game-adaptation.
Opinion: It was announced in Corocoro magazine and if Corocoro magazine doesn't ring a bell, here is it. Pokémon. Yes, expect another franchise game.
Preview rating: -

Jigoku Shoujo: Mitsuganae

Starting date: 10/4
Type: Series, unknown episodes.
Genre: Supernatural, psychological, horror, mystery, drama
Opinion: For  those who can't get enough of the Hell Girl named Enma Ai.
Preview rating: +

Junjo Romantica 2

Starting date: 10/11
Type: Series, 12 episodes.
Genre: Comedy, drama, romance, shounen-ai
Opinion: I loved the first season and well, this is ofcourse the continuation! Will Misaki be able to overwin Usagi-san weird things like actually reading all those... books? Not to mention the other two couples... How will it go? Go fangirls, go! [And fanboys as well]
Preview rating: +

Okay, I’ll leave at at this, as it actually took me more than two hours to write all this and checking the information and trailers, etcetera. Coming up: The rest of K till Z!