Episode 2 of NEEDLESS introduces us to an awesome villain. A shota who is a nasty piece of work.

Yeah! He was that guy with Shrek's voice in Monsters vs Aliens.

I really liked Uten. Not only did he have his NEEDLESS power, he had a far more powerful power. What he said. He was able to choose his words that not only disguised his true power, but made him sound more intimidating then he really was. The effects of this were seen in Cruz who was definitely scared of Uten. I was a little sad that Uten only lasted for one episode.

I was glad to see that the drink was actually good for something. I wanted the juice to be used for something awesome, and it was. I’m a little confused how it restored Eve’s energy though. Did she absorb it through her pores?

All in all, it was an engaging fight, and made for a strong second episode. I’m really hooked on this series, I look foreword to seeing more.

He looks so cute with his top hat!

As I said, nasty piece of work.

Cheep!

With this show, I have officially finished my first impressions on the summer shows. From here on out, I’ll blog about the episode if something about it catches my eye, but if nothing particular stands out, I won’t.

 At first I wasn’t going to watch Tokyo Magnitude 8. After all most disaster things are really cheesy, poorly done and just not a genre I’m interested in. After seeing some screenshots on another blog, I decided to check it out. I was further relieved to hear the claim that a lot of research was put into do making this anime. How much really was is another question, but I’d like to think they did their homework.

The robot cat was so cute! It didn't really have much to do with the story, but it was still cute.

I actually really liked it! The first episode was mainly an introduction episode, but to me it proved to far more captivating then some other shows this season, and was something different then I’m typically use to in anime.

 Some people have complained about how ungrateful the main character is, I personally am happy to see a character who actually shows what being in middle school is like and the emotions that follow it. Most middle schoolers in anime are mature for their age, but this one is typical. Middle school is flat out an awful time. In middle school, you’re still young enough to be considered a child, still are mostly a child, but these scary adult feelings start happening, you feel alone as if no one else could possibly understand what it’s like and it’s upsetting. Also, no matter what life you have, in middle school, everyone is convinced that their lives suck.

 Still, the mom did not impress me and I did not feel sorry for her. Spend some time with your children lady! The little boy has to still be in elementary school, and I think the mom spends less time with him then his older sister.

 It was really cool how much the sister cared about her brother. I do hope that he’s okay.

Although to be honest, I’m more interested in the science in the show then the characters. 

I think my only compliant with the episode is the actual earthquake made me feel kinda queasy. It was fairly intense.

This show was just awesome. I also think I have found my anime twin.

Sora no Manimani was a standout show among all the ones I have watched for the summer season. It’s a typical school story, yet at the same time, it’s different from the norm. We have the old childhood friends who were separated, except they weren’t exactly the picture perfect childhood friends, and other small differences. What I really like is that the astronomy club is a science club, which is more interesting to me, then a music club or an art club. I’ll be interested to see how much science ends up in the show.

 What Sora no Manimani has that will make any show is interesting characters. I actually can’t wait to meet our entire cast, as the ones we have are pretty interesting already. Especially the main heroine who I think is my long lost anime twin.

 Will definitely be watching.

This feels a little close to home...

That girl sounds familiar...*looks in mirror*

Oh SHAFT. How am I suppose to take your show seriously when the opening shot is a PANTY SHOT?!?! Seriously, what is it with feeling like I’m being trolled by shows this season? Summer insanity?

Just so we're clear about this...

This one definitely falls in the category, ‘I’m going to have to see a few more episodes whether I decide to watch it or not’. This show has potential, but many things in the opening episode were rather weak. The animation quality was low, especially for SHAFT. The first half of the episode was a really boring information drop. There was also the attempt as humor with the moe/tsundere/tundra conversation, but it was poorly timed. Overall, the premise of the show is too serious for humor to work very well unless it was well done.

 What is in this show’s favor are two things. One is that when the show gets moving, the supernatural premise is actually pretty interesting and the show itself is kinda intense. The other thing is that using school supplies as weapons is just damn cool.

There also the mystery of what exactly happened to our vampire. From the hints we got in this episode, my thought is that she wanted to lose weight, and got her wish in a way she didn’t want. Why do I say this? Well, for the one, she was put in her condition by a weight god. Her condition typically only affects rich spoiled girls–anorexia in fiction usually occurs in families where the protagonist is ignored by their parents, in anime, rich spoiled girl are almost always ignored by their parents. She was always very popular and athletic. She would have been subjected to a lot pressure to stay on top of the popularity game as well as stay on top atheletically.

I get the feeling I’ll know whether this is a hit or miss in a couple more episodes.

School supplies as weapons is pretty awesome.

At this point, the new season of Haruhi has released five episodes. Four of them are the same series of events as our chracaters are trapped in a repeating summer. Four episodes is about 80 minutes of watching the same thing over and over. It’s not very entertaining.

What makes it even odder is that KyoAni is drawing it out. People who have read the light novels have commented that it didn’t take as long in the light novels as it has in the anime. Personally, I was betting on this episode to be the final one in this ridiculous game.

The thing is, this isn’t even the first stunt KyoAni has pulled with Haruhi. There was the infamous ‘Nice Boat’ incident where KyoAni claimed that they were giving us the first episode of the next installment. Instead, we got footage of a very nice boat–but it wasn’t Haruhi.

Could KyoAni just be sick of Haruhi and not want to continue? That does bring up the question of why didn’t they just cancel it. Even if the episodes are a joke, they’re still putting money into the project. Each episode, while the same series of events, does contain different animation.

Some people have pointed out that KyoAni has subtley slipped the hints to what Haruhi wants into the episodes, but if that is their intention, is isn’t really working. For one, it’s kinda obvious. Two, many fans already know the answer thanks to the light novels, so it’s not really a puzzle to them. Some people have said the variations are interesting to watch for. I personally don’t care to much for them.

Who know why KyoAni is doing what they’re doing. Personally, I’m going to stop watching Haruhi until we move beyond this arc.

Episode 14 was a strong episode of Cross Game as we move into the character’s second year of high school. This was a good episode, although it had more fanservice then I’ve typically seen in the episodes. In this episode, we also met a new character.

Best screenshot in the whole episode.

The first thing of note in this episode was the growing tension between Azuma and his coach. While Azuma is far too controlled to show his anger or confront the coach right now, I wonder if it’s going to get to the point where Azuma turns on the coach. I’m not quite sure how that would play out. Without Azuma, the team wouldn’t stand a chance of winning the championship. I guess we’ll see.

In this episode, we met Azuma’s brother who is the complete opposite of Azuma. He also has a crush on and a past with Ichiyo. While we don’t know what the past is right now, I’m sure we’ll find out later.

A nifty bit of irony occured where Azuma’s brother was telling Azuma that the outcome of a game doesn’t matter as long as you walk away with a smile on your face. Which is sound advice…except that Azuma never smiles.

The last part of the episode was just goofy, but it was fun. It seems Momiji is growing up into a very sharp girl. Overall, a very good episode. I was very glad to see Ichiyo get some more screentime for once, she’s a character I’m very fond of.

We also had a new ending theme that I like much better then the last one.

Those melons are quite intimidating.

The animation with the ending theme is also quite spiffy.

This show hasn’t been getting the greatest reviews. It’s infamous ending theme hasn’t been helping it’s cause any. However a friend of mine encouraged me to give it a try, and to be honest, it was awesome. First off, the ending theme is in no way a sign of what you should expect in the show. The characters in the ending theme haven’t even appeared in the show!

This is more what the episode was like.

If you are a person who likes really cool super powers, or hot blooded fights, this show is for you. That’s what this show is about, and delivers on that in the first episode. For the most part, the characters aren’t special but they’re wacky enough to be likable. Although I do admit I found Eve very annoying, but she wasn’t in the show enough to really bother me.

I haven’t watched a shonen show in a long time, so I think I’ll be watching this one.

The opening theme was extremely cool, and I think everyone should watch it. The episode itself though was more confusing than anything else.

Something kinky.

Mainly this episode suffers from not thinking of the saying, ‘Everything in moderation.’ It was very cool, but there were definitely too many settings and too many people to adquetely keep track of what was going on, not to mention that what’s going on is a big mystery. There really were some moments that were true ‘WTF?!?’ moment.

Also, I never thought I’d say this, but there were too many women. I really wasn’t sure what the difference betwen the women with Kanon, the women in the bathtub, and the women in the army truck was. Nor did I really care. The only character I cared for is the lovely lady featured above. She’s a sterotype that I have a huge soft spot for, so it makes sense.

I’ll keep watching for a couple more episodes, but if they remain this overwhelming, I’ll probably drop it.

This is one of those things I’ve always wanted to read, but never really got around to: the Pokemon manga.  Now, the games aren’t necessarily known for their stellar plots, and especially not the TV series which is almost entirely episodic, so is the manga any different?  Let’s find out.

Pokemon Special starts at the logical beginning of the series.  Red wants to become a Pokemon Master.  And then it immediately takes a left turn on the plotline.  If you’re expecting the anime or the game series in your story, forget it, it’s not happening.  The first chapter actually has to do with Red meeting Mew for the first time, as well as Green, who you might know better as Gary Oak.  Red heads off to Professor Oak’s lab, and ends up getting Bulbasaur as his second pokemon, with a Poliwhirl that he’s raised from childhood as his first.  The plot gets moving from there.

The locations are all familiar, but everything’s been shifted around.  Brock and Misty don’t follow Red around, which means he lacks that guaranteed safety net that Ash enjoyed.  Red also tends to thrust himself into a situation regardless of the cost to him, he can even be reckless at times.  This really causes him to be a much better trainer that the anime’s Ash will probably ever be, and there’s some actual character growth to be found here.  On that point, the battles make way more sense too.  There’s no turn based combat here, and the trainers are actually competent in their maneuvers, setting traps and using the rapidly changing conditions to their advantage.  There’s also a bit more of a fantasy tone to the whole process.  Naturally, this makes for better entertainment overall.

As for the plotline, it’s infinitely more involved than any other medium.  There really aren’t that many one-shot chapters, in fact, the Law of Conservation of Detail is pretty well enforced.  Even minor events will have some effect on the overarching plotline.  While the overall goal is to become a Pokemon Master, it really takes up a subplot role for the majority of the arc.  The real story is about Team Rocket, who are much more expansive and cruel; this story is downright dark by comparison.  All of the pieces finally fall into place to spawn a massive battle that spans the majority of the third volume.  Afterwards, the author starts setting up plot points for the subsequent arc, to end after Red and Green’s battle at the Indigo Plateau.

There’s not much to say about the art style.  Characters are drawn in a more chibified form more often than not, and there isn’t a tremendous amount of physical detail.  It’s charming though, and it’s played up a lot for humor, after all, it’s still Pokemon we’re talking about.

Overall, if you like Pokemon, and you haven’t checked this out yet, you need to do so.  If you don’t particularly care for it, the better and more entertaining elements might at least draw you in for the ride.

Score: 8.5/10 Magikarps

What an awesome first episode!

I was a little creeped out by the singing in the beginning, but it was cute, so I went along with it. The song was cute enough, but luckily the show proved to have a little more depth then that. There seem to be two conflicts, one being the conflict of trying to start  a sport’s team, the other fighting the idea of a women’s place in society. I’m especially interested in seeing how the second conflict plays out. Otherwise, the art was downright gorgeous, and the characters were very enjoyable. I’m really excited to watch more.