Unfortunately–episodes 3, 4, and 5 are the same thing. With a twist. In the middle of the episode Kyon, Asahina, Nagato, and Itskuki gather in the middle of the night to announce a discovery:  they’re in a time loop.

It’s interesting the way it’s done. It definitely continues the Haruhi Suzumiya tradition of making people say “What the crap?”

But it’s getting on my nerves–and the nerves of many others. With any luck, episode 6 will be the episode in which they figure out what they need to do. I know it.

If anybody was impatient, like me, and wanted to look up the spoiler, it’s here:

They need a group study session. o.o Apparently Haruhi feels guilty about keeping them from their homework.

Careful not to highlight too much!

Jaa ne!
~Lulie

I finished it out though–and kinda regretted it. These people sleep around. They get drunk. They beat each other up. And there are no consequences. In fact, we are supposed to admire them.

Sorry. NO.

Anyone with a moral compass is going to feel something very, very off about this anime. It is lost in translation, I suppose; I know the Japanese culture is different from ours. As an American, however, I am deeply offended that Doctor Natsume gets away with beating up and sleeping with his patients. I don’t care if his wife died; he is not a mentor and he is not a good person.

I’m disappointed in Yuuichi too for something that happens later in the series I won’t spoil.

I understand the point this anime tries to make:  Even the corrupt fall in love and even they are strong enough to stand up to loss. Some people, like Yuuichi, are willing to sacrifice their future for a fleeting love.

But it could have been done so much better.

Sorry. This one is scathing. I give it:  Two stars for premise and compulsion.

More later! <3

So with all the discussion of Michael Jackson going around, I knew I would hear something that interested me eventually. One of my friends planted a bug in my ear, and I had to run with it.

It’s almost bizarre how much the Japanese love Michael Jackson. He is the image that many of them associate with America (a bit unfortunately). My friend believe that this could be an anime connection. I thought about it. Hunted up some pictures.

Let’s start with a common character. Does he resemble L to you at all? I’m a little sold on the eyes and nose, but not the mouth….

All right, there’s a resemblance there, but it’s still stretching it a little. I didn’t 100% freak until I saw THESE three pictures side by side.

What do you think? Do you think Mr. White & Plastic looked fake enough to seem completely 2-Dimensional? Could this have to do with his popularity with the Japanese?

Does he look like an anime character?

]]> http://luliko.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/is-michael-jacksons-japanese-appeal-an-anime-connection/feed/ 0 rurikotamaki michael-jackson2 DeathNote__L_by_Akai_012 michael_jackson AnimeMaleMage Aminegirlwithgun michael_jackson_110707 http://luliko.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/upcoming-in-the-next-few-weeks/ http://luliko.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/upcoming-in-the-next-few-weeks/#comments Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:36:07 +0000 rurikotamaki http://luliko.wordpress.com/?p=17 ]]> GOMENNASAI! I haven’t posted anything in a while. Holiday madness. Family demands.

I still don’t have time to write a well-thought-out review, so I thought I’d post a list of animes I will be reviewing soon:

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora – Full Series

FMA Brotherhood episodes 4-6

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya S2 Episode 3 (If there is one)

Tweeny Witches Episodes 1 &2

Peach Girl Episode 1

Boys Over Flowers (Hana Yori Aoshi) Episode 1

Fruits Basket Vol. 23 (DEFINITELY)

A Discussion of Moe

A Discussion of Key’s new project Angel Beats! (Which sounds mildly retarded…if they’re serious.)

I’ll be back with more soon =)

Again by Yui

I couldn’t have been more sold than I was when I began watching the series.

And yet it lost me.

I have to praise many things about it. The opening theme, for one: Again by Yui. I can tell how proud of it she and Bones are by the way they’re keeping it off Youtube. It’s disappeared from my favorites three times T.T

I appreciate the decision to remake it according to the manga. It’s more craftily told in this narrative design, if less commercially. The change did make me a little uncomfortable, but that wasn’t something I was going to hold against it.

What lost me was the shift in tone. The original FMA has a tone of Ready, Steady, Go. Positivity, power, and upbeat drive soak Ed’s and Al’s attitudes—despite the dark lessons they’ve learned. The optimistic attitude empowers the horrific past, in my opinion, boosting the emotional resonance with the characters and underlying themes of the story. Gives it awesome takeaway value. I love it.

In this one, these driving elements behind the Elric brother’s characters are more difficult to detect. Without them, I’m disappointed. My will to keep watching dwindles at a single turnoff….

I’m going to try again, though. I’ll keep you updated!

Taken from animediet.com

All right, I’m going to frame this entry in positivity. I like the premise for this. It has the potential to be a heart-warming inspirational story and a nice, painful romance. Whoever heard of a boy going for a girl even though he knows she’s going to die? Do I sense a carpe diem message here?

The actual storytelling doesn’t quite live up to the premise, however. The pacing is off, for one thing. I think it would take more than two or three days for a boy to get so emotionally involved with a girl. There needed to be some indication that they’d been friends for a few weeks, I think, before the ending scene had a right to take place.

The other thing I didn’t like. The girl treats him like shit. I understand, and so does he, that she is dying. She’s grumpy. Sure. But it didn’t make sense to me that he put up with her degrading abuse so passively right after he’d first met her. It also makes her a less sympathetic character. I don’t feel like I can get as emotionally involved with her as I could have if she’d simply said one mean thing and then apologized, rather than pitching a hissy.

It also had a Moment of Cheese:  Yuuichi heads out to the library at her command after taking his abuse, pausing in the doorway to have a coughing fit. It tempted me to think he was manipulating her in return, but I don’t think this is what Matsushita and Group TAC wanted. Oh, well.

I did, however, love the character Akiko Tanizaki. She kicked patootie. And the expression on Rika’s face at the end of the final scene stuck in my head and my heart. That was well done.

Overall, despite the flaws, I find myself wanting more. The series is only six episodes long. Perhaps I’ll return with a review of the whole anime.

Well, it turns out we still can’t get too excited. This isn’t really a season 2. This is a re-airing of season 1–in order and with bonus episodes they kinda sorta forgot the first time. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has a plot!

Taken from TRXD's blog

The new episodes were fun. I have to admit it’s been a while since I’ve watched the series. I did make it all the way through–and learn the dance–but I was never a huge fan of Miss Suzumiya. She’s a personality, even an inspiring one at times, but she’s not very nice.

I do love how Nagaru manages to make a thoroughly inspiring anime with a bitch of a main character. Looking at it all through Kyon’s eyes certainly helps, but Haruhi herself is a driven person who gets out and does what she daydreams–something not all of us have the strength to do. Furthermore, when she does have her moment of kindness and feel herself changing and growing, we cheer. We love it. Because she’s “God,” and a kind god is the only kind we want to think about. If this turns into an anime about the creation of a kind god, what more could we ask for?

~My Actual Review of the Two New Epies~

My Verdict:  FUN. If you haven’t watched them and you’re afraid to because they might ruin the original for you, I say, dispell your fear. They fit into the original series, and I can tell not because I’ve watched the series recently but because they aroused nostalgia. They made me want to watch it again. I slavered after more, and I don’t even like Haruhi.

Ep 1~
When I realized this was an Asahina episode, I got worried. The number one reason I don’t watch this anime more is the sexual harassment she gets from Little Miss Bitch God. I was releived when it was perfectly free of molestations.  One scene bothered me a little. Either Kyon is something paranormal and doesn’t know it or his character is messed up. He’s too calm and cool in stressful situations. Even if it’s cute lil Asahina, I would ask a few questions if she randomly said, “I have a favor to ask you. Travel back in time with me please?”

Then again, the boy really is just perfect for Haruhi.

Ep 2~
I adored this episode because it gave me a To Do List for when I visit Japan in the summer! Really it was just fun. I was a little curious about the lack of conflict in it, at first. I realized that the only tension I felt was worry about Kyon’s homework. Would he get it done? I disregarded this as real conflict because I’m a nerd. Only I would think that.

BUT IN JAPAN the academic pressure is intense. They’re known for it. Viewers in Japan would worry about Kyon’s homework the whole time. This gets lost in translation, unless you’re a nerd. Come to the dark side. We have cook–I mean better, more Japanese anime-watching experiences.