Retsgip’s Anime Blog

Since I don’t have a ton of time with the intensive summer courses I’m taking, I’m not able to blog a decent amount of anime. Seeing as I watch like 182,147,239 different shows, but don’t have enough time to blog them all fully, I figured I’d at least give a little write-up of each in a big long post. Sounds fun huh?! Also, maybe when I have the time, I might start blogging a few of these, we’ll see.

.hack//Roots

I never really liked this series that much, but it was a good way to waste time when I finished watching everything else. The characters have their own unique personalities and manerisms, but they’re not strong enough to shoulder the burden of the entire show. The plot isn’t very good, and nothing ever seems to get done within an episode. I think the only reason I watch it is because the environment intrigues me more than anything else. I wish that someday I could play a game where I felt like I was actually there. Wouldn’t that be cool?

I don’t really have a favorite character in the show, and nobody has really stood out and taken hold of the series yet either. I’m wondering how long they’re willing to wait before they actually put some interesting plot development into the show. Oh well, I keep watching it and have my eyes open for anything new and exciting, hopefully they don’t let me down.

Black Lagoon

I know this show is already done, but the fansubs are insanely slow at putting any new episodes out. I guess they’re busy subbing Blood+ and various other Animes. Too bad because I really enjoy watching Black Lagoon, and I’d like to get some closure on the season. Apparently, they announced that they’ll do a 2nd season, and I’m pretty happy about that.

If you look at all the peices that make an Anime good, Black Lagoon seems to have most of them. I think the only thing it really lacks, is a strong plot. With that, I would have said this is one of my favorite Animes, but without a good plot, I find it to be a good Anime to pass the time.

The characters don’t have too much complexity about them, which is nice since it’s only a 12 episode series, but it also makes them feel a little empty. I think the most fleshed out characters are Rock and Revi (obviously), but it wouldn’t hurt to see a little more of Dutch or Benny, and why they decided to live the way they do now. At least they let you appreciate the sexual tension between Rock and Revi, and also create some pretty memorable scenes (check episode 7, the market scene). Sometimes I just wish they’d just beat each other up, start kissing, rip off each other’s clothes and get it over with. You know as well as I do, that’s all they really want to do with each other. They just have a hard time expressing themselves.

Overall, I found it to be a great series so far. It feels like Cowboy Bebop but with a female lead and a different setting. Although, I would argue that Cowboy Bebop was better, just based on the entertainment and re-watch value it has. If you like sexy chicks with guns and an attitude, who is trying not to nurture a sweet spot she has for a new man in her life, check out this anime. Only 10 of the 12 episodes are subbed so far (was over a month from ep. 9 to ep. 10), but hopefully they’ll get cracking and finish it up, and we wont be forced to use blogs to figure out what happens in the end.

Bleach

I’m somewhat ashamed now, but still somewhat proud that I found Bleach on my own. I was not yet reading blogs or really even watching anything besides Naruto when I stumbled across this show. I’d have to say that it was a decent show up until episode 63. After that it felt a little “off,” as if they were forcing material into the show to keep it going, and that’s never a good thing.

All the characters are well developed, and even now they’re developing all the side characters with their pseudo-filler episodes. I think my favorite scenes are still: When Rukia explains Soul Reapers/Society to Ichigo (episode 1, also the pic above), When Ichigo summons his sword (the crazy 80’s sounding rock in the background is classic), and when Ichigo goes Bankai all over Kuchiki Byakuya. Beyond that, most of it is pretty straight forward: fight win, fight lose, get stronger, fight win type stuff.

I’d suggest at least watching to episode 63, but that’s a shitload of episodes. I wouldn’t bother watching more than that though, it starts going down hill and tries to turn into a comedy for awhile, then goes back to fighting. I must the writers credit though, these filler episodes are 100x better than Naruto fillers. At least it feels like it’s part of the plot, and there’s a problem that takes more than 3 episodes to be resolved.

Blood+

The thing I like most about Blood+ is that it always delivers exactly what I expect it to deliver. I have yet to be surprised with a fanservice (at least not that I can remember), or any useless filler episodes. It seems they follow a storyline pretty closely and don’t stray from the path. To me, it feels like a stronger, more powerful anime for exactly that reason.

I’ve never liked the female character artwork (the lips drive me crazy sometimes), but the fight scenes and everything else are superb. Maybe if Saya (the protagonist) grew her hair longer, then she’d look less retarded, but when she’s fighting it doesn’t really matter because she instantly turns bad-ass. Saya is a pretty good lead. She’s got her fair share of faults and problems, but she’s also pretty dependable and very passionate about protecting her friends. It’s strange though, the show feels more like Kai’s show than Saya, but somehow Saya is the lead. I wonder if anyone else feels the same way.

After mentioning Kai, I must say that Saya needs to up and bite this bitch. Isn’t it about time he’s able to protect her like he’s always wanted to? Wouldn’t that then allow them both to live forever together. This also seems like the best way to protect Kai as well, since he’s already risking his life, why not give him vampire powers?? This is just a dream of course, I don’t know what really happens, but I think it’d be cool if the plot allowed for this sort of development.

How could I talk about Blood+ without mentioning Haji???? He’s one of my favorite male characters (didn’t make my top 10 though), and definitely fun to watch in this show. He’s mysterious, quiet, loyal, strong, and he plays the cello. Can’t really beat that.

Pretty good character development. Good artwork/fight scenes (minus female lips). Decent story that doesn’t seem to drag on too long (yet). All in all, I found this to be a must watch, and am very pleased with this anime so far.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

This anime was pretty good up until about episode 13. I was really enjoying the creepy side of the story, as well as all the emo/crazy-ass females that are featured in the story. There is definitely a good reason that the fansubbers labeled the females of the show “killer lolis.” Although, I believe “crazy lolis” would be more suitable.
The artwork is a little weird, but in a good way. I think it adds to the overall atmosphere of the Anime, and can sometimes make for some crazy emo shots of the characters. In fact, this show probably ranks pretty high on the emo face list, because in every arc there’s at least one person who goes emo. It’s madness!

Kamisama Kazoku

This little anime has actually impressed me more than I expected it to. The story is by no means great, and the artwork is more cutesy than anything, but I’m a sucker for love stories. I guess the idea of God playing a human to help him become a better God when he’s older is an okay idea, but there’s just no plot (it kinda just hovers through time, not many important things happen).

Favorite character of this Anime would probably be Tenko. I love when steam shoots from her head whenever something embarrasses her. I also feel for her when Samataro is a dick and doesn’t realize that she really does love him and cares for him a lot. “Just get married already geez.” I actually don’t want it to happen that easily because it will make for a rather dull story, but sometimes stories are too much for me to bare. Just get it over with so I can go “AWWWWWW *hugs self*” already!

Ouran High School Host Club

I had super high hopes when I watched the first few episodes of Ouran. The story intrigued me a little bit at first, but now I find it rather overdone. It was funny watching a girl be a guy for a few episodes, and even more funny watching Tamaki make a fool of himself, but then it got old. I haven’t watched 3-4 of the episodes so far, but am determined to start watching again. The show definitely has its moments, at the very least I should watch it for that.

I think, if I had to choose a host, I’d probably pick Tamaki just because he’s so outrageously stereotypical and it’d probably make for a good laugh. He does indeed please his women though, and if I were a women, I’d want to be pleased too. Also, the other hosts are just a little too weird for me. Mori and Hani(Honey?) are a little too weird for my tastes. And Hikaru and Kaoru are just too touchy feely of themselves to ever notice me, so no for them. Kyoya is a little too uh, evil feeling, so that leaves Tamaki in all his glory.

Yes, I just pretended I was a female to better enhance my view of this anime.

Strawberry Panic

*embarassed* All girls school, who could ask for more? Nah Nah. In actuality, I find Strawberry Panic to be way too super cute. There’s all these girl emotions flying around and so many “omg so cool!” that I tend to become a girl every time I start up one of these episodes (is something wrong with me?? I bet there is!).

The characters are actually pretty well developed, and there seems to be quite a few of them. Even though I would never be able to name them all, they have left a small impression on me so thats good. I read somewhere that even though its fanservice galore, this anime tends to have a higher female fan base. Sooo, I guess there’s a little bit for each gender in this one.

There’s no action, no suspense, and can only love most of the characters for their cuteness, but still it’s strangely addicting. You’d think I’d stop watching because I was bored, but I’m strangely drawn to it, like a moth to a lantern. Maybe, at some point, I’m gonna get burnt.

Utawarerumono

At first, I didn’t think much of Utawarerumono (I’ll call it Utaware for short), but as the story progressed, I found myself enjoying the characters a lot more than I had originally thought. They are all unique in their own way, and most of them all have their moments in the spotlight, allowing for any of them to be the favorites.

The story is mostly based on a war between kings, but there are a few side stories going on that are worth watching. There’s a forbiden love story (Eruruu x Hakuoro), which at sometimes is painful to watch, but that’s what makes it so juicy right? Then of course the “finding oneself” story, that involved Hakuoro and his struggle to find himself and stop the beast within him. There’s also minor love stories between a few of the characters, which is probably nothing more than casual flirting, but tends to leave you hoping for more in the future. All this happens in the presence of war, and they must juggle their wants and their needs, with what they must do to survive.

I still think the CG battles are a little weird, but maybe it’s just me being overly analytical. The characters tend to use the same moves over and over in battle which sometimes gets boring, but luckily the fighting isn’t the reason to watch the show. (<3 Eruruu)

–End–

I’m sure there are a few others, but they don’t stand out to me and thus don’t really need to be mentioned. I’ll probably do a full series review of each of these if/when they end. Also, I’m watching Zero no Tsukaima, but instead of doing a breif review here, I might actually end up blogging it in the next few days(I looks like Darkshaunz will pick this one up for me to save me time). I think most of these that I mentioned are worth watching, at least once, and if you’ve got time to kill I’d suggest picking any of them up.

-Retsgip